Is it the cost or time factor that deters many ?

[Goober]

I’ve always heard golf is an upper class hobby. Which I disagree with. As one can find many courses locally for $30 or less a round. During my golfing year I seem to jump from goat ranches. All the way to resort $300 plus round; However, it seems golf is way more readily available for any budget

 I personally think the main deferent is the time factor. I could easily make time to play at least 4-5 days a week if need be. But I’ve chosen the fitness lifestyle attending a gym more frequently than I golf. As I see more benefit for me at this juncture in my life 

What is your take on it ? Is it too pricey for many ? Or too time consuming ?

[Tom the Golf Nut]

A question with to many variables.

The average cost of a round of golf in the US is $61.00 for 18 holes and $33.00 for 9 holes based on 2020 data. Do you make enough money to afford spending that much on a hobby? Each of us will have a different answer on how many rounds we want to and can afford to play a week, a month, or a year. Are you on a budget or maybe a fixed retirement income? Can you afford to be part of a country club? Then you can play all the golf you want but you have to pay your monthly dues. 

Time is dependent on ones situation. Are you married with small children, are they involved in sports? Are you retired with plenty of time on you hands?

We are all on this site because we like to play golf. Some would like to play more but funds and time are limited. Others don't have these concerns. But some time in our lives we all had factors that limited our play time. Depending on where you live, you can find courses on a budget for $30.00. Other places it's not happening.

Speaking for myself everything changes over time. In my 30's and 40's it was budget and children which equates to not enough money or time. In my late 40's I relocated and golf was much more affordable in my new area and my youngest children were 2 and 4 at the time. Then joining a country club was a wise choice. My kids had a place to swim, play tennis, and learn to golf and most importantly grow up in a safe environment. While they swam at the pool I played golf. Even though the youngest is 18 now and away at college I still can only play once a week and occasionally twice a week. I still am working full time so I don't have as much time to play as I would like to. I'm still a weekend warrior! Someday that will change. 

[RickyBobby_PR]

For me it’s time to an extent. I spend 4-5 days training and they are after work and or one of the weekend days. It has cut down on the amount of time I spend practicing and to a small extent playing.

Work schedule has kind of forced this since lunch time workouts aren’t possible anymore. I could easily practice after the gym and play later in the day on weekends which is how I played most of my rounds this year.  These are all choices I make and golf has gone back to being one of several activities I do and not as much a priority as my training and also giving back to powerlifting by refereeing meets

[Kenny B]

I'm retired and it's not a cost or time factor.  While I can't afford the country club life, my wife and I are members at an upscale muni and can play as much golf as we want.  When I retired 6 years ago, I spent nearly every day at the course... mostly practicing, but playing every weekend and a few times during the week, sometimes only 9-holes.

Nowadays, the amount of time I spend playing/practicing is more dependent of how I feel when I get up in the morning.  I still play every weekend and maybe once during the week, but my practice time has been severely cut by my aches and pains.  It's hard for me to get excited about hitting the practice area like I used to.  I need to do it, but... 

[russtopherb]

Definitely time. There are so many courses (at least around here) that are great values, and used gear can be had a very decent prices. Granted, it's still a little harder to find given how costs seem to be up across the board, but a little patience and looking around can get someone a full set of good clubs for short money. For me, working 50 hours a week plus having all my kid's activities, in addition to being on a non-profit board, it's tough to consistently find time to get out there for 18 holes. Sometimes even 9 holes is a chore. It's not even pace of play, there are enough courses around here to divvy up the golfers that it's rare I have a round that takes forever. It's simply scheduling. 

I personally don't sweat it though - time flies. In a few years both of my kids will either be off at college or living their own lives post-college, so I'll have more time to play then. For now I just want to enjoy what time I have left with them.

[Shapotomous]

Still working full time and having some other responsibilities, time is the main constraint as we have a public course membership to play as much as we can.   

Second place like @Kenny B mentioned is aches and pains.  There are days that I have time to get in 9 holes but my back or hip have me deciding it's not worth the trip.  Instead I'll hit a few wedge shots at home or putt or hit some into the net to try to loosen up.

Some that look to get into the game may think its $$ because they see list prices for the newest clubs.  As mentioned if they look around a little they could get some good used gear for a lot less money.  Skiing is kinda the same way, spend a lot on new gear or look around and buy good used stuff for a lot less.  

[Middler]

No matter what the OP wants to believe, it's still an upper class hobby played mostly by older Caucasian males - but hope springs eternal.

Quote

Between clubs, shoes and greens fees, a golfing habit can eat up a lot of cash. The average golfer spends nearly $2,800 on the game annually.

The median household income of golfers in the U.S. is over $100,000 annually.

The average age of golfers in the U.S. is 54 .

As of 2010, right around 20% of all golfers belonged to a minority group, including African, Asian and Hispanic Americans. 

https://www.creditdonkey.com/golf-player-demographic.html#:~:text=For the most part%2C golfers are pulling in,technology and the same goes for its players.

[russtopherb]

58 minutes ago, Middler said:

No matter what the OP wants to believe, it's still an upper class hobby played mostly by older Caucasian males - but hope springs eternal.

https://www.creditdonkey.com/golf-player-demographic.html#:~:text=For the most part%2C golfers are pulling in,technology and the same goes for its players.

I'd be interested to see what recent statistics show, not research from nearly 12 years ago.

[Middler]

51 minutes ago, russtopherb said:

I'd be interested to see what recent statistics show, not research from nearly 12 years ago.

I seriously doubt it’s changed, do you have updated info? You believe golf is affordable to the masses in 2021 as the OP contends?

[russtopherb]

10 minutes ago, Middler said:

I seriously doubt it’s changed, do you have updated info? You believe golf is affordable to the masses in 2021 as the OP contends?

I said that I'd like to see updated info & stats - if I had it, don't you think I would have posted it?

And yes I do believe it's affordable to the masses for the reasons I posted. 

EDIT: Literally 10 seconds of Googling shows that golfing among women, juniors, and millenials was all on the rise in 2020 and continuing to grow - https://www.golfdigest.com/story/national-golf-foundation-reports-numbers-for-2020-were-record-se

Now, granted, a lot of that was pandemic related - will those trends continue? We'll see. 

[cnosil]

3 hours ago, russtopherb said:

I'd be interested to see what recent statistics show, not research from nearly 12 years ago.

You can probably find that information on this site and in their reports:  https://www.ngf.org/

[russtopherb]

50 minutes ago, cnosil said:

You can probably find that information on this site and in their reports:  https://www.ngf.org/

The Golf Digest link I shared above references them extensively

[RichL85]

For me, it is definitely the time factor. Finances play some part, but I am perfectly happy with my older gear. The biggest thing for me is my wife works a lot of weekends, which is when I'm off work, and we have a 4 year old and a 7 year old. It's very uncommon for our schedules to sync up where I can realistically be gone for 5 hours on a Saturday. 

It wasn't mentioned, but I also feel that for some people (myself included) there is a bit of fear involved, especially for new players. I don't know anyone in my area to golf with, so I'm at the mercy of being paired up, and that can either be great, fine, or absolutely miserable depending on who you get. Newer players might not want to feel like a burden on this group of people they don't know and end up so scared of embarrassing themselves that they don't even try. 

[russtopherb]

46 minutes ago, RichL85 said:

I'm at the mercy of being paired up, and that can either be great, fine, or absolutely miserable depending on who you get. Newer players might not want to feel like a burden on this group of people they don't know and end up so scared of embarrassing themselves that they don't even try. 

I want to try and dispel this as best as I can. I very often show up as a single and get paired up, or my son & I go together and get paired up with another duo. I can count on one hand the amount of miserable experiences I've had when being paired up with strangers. Actually it's only a couple of fingers, not even a whole hand. While we share horror stories online, we rarely talk about the other 98% of nice people we get paired with because that's the norm. Miserable people are the rare exception.

As far as embarrassing yourself as a newbie - it doesn't happen unless you willingly put that burden on yourself. All other golfers care about is that you're respectful and keep up the pace. I cannot for the life of me tell you what anyone I've ever been paired up with scored. Every golfer is far more concerned with what they're shooting than what anyone else is. Show up with a good attitude, and you'll have a good round. 

[fixyurdivot]

Like @Kenny B, it switched from a time issue to a no issue since retirement.  When I was working it was definitely a time issue since it competed with fly fishing, and finding opportunities to play when it wasn't raining in Puget Sound were challenging. I think most will agree that golf is not one of the less expensive hobbies and cost is likely a deterrent for many.  

2 hours ago, RichL85 said:

Newer players might not want to feel like a burden on this group of people they don't know and end up so scared of embarrassing themselves that they don't even try.

This too is a deterrent for many - perhaps even more so for women and kids.  

[Kenny B]

50 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

Like @Kenny B, it switched from a time issue to a no issue since retirement.  When I was working it was definitely a time issue since it competed with fly fishing, and finding opportunities to play when it wasn't raining in Puget Sound were challenging. I think most will agree that golf is not one of the less expensive hobbies and cost is likely a deterrent for many.  

This too is a deterrent for many - perhaps even more so for women and kids.  

Why is it that I enjoy the more expensive hobbies?    

Actually, golf is not one of the more expensive hobbies IMO.  It is only as expensive as you want to make it, just like most hobbies.  You don't need the best or most expensive equipment; good used equipment can be found rather cheap.  While lessons are nice to help improve, learning the fundamentals on the internet and by playing with better players is adequate for that and for having fun.  You don't need to play at the nicest or expensive courses; I've played at many places around the country, and there are relatively inexpensive courses... par 3's, execs, and dog tracks that can be quite challenging.  I played until 2015 at a par 35 executive course dog track with green fees that were $10-15, met a lot of nice people and had a lot of fun.  Of course, I made golf more expensive... joined a nice muni, travel to play golf, and... oh yeah... married an avid golfer!!  Poof!  Double the cost!!  

[RickyBobby_PR]

4 hours ago, RichL85 said:

For me, it is definitely the time factor. Finances play some part, but I am perfectly happy with my older gear. The biggest thing for me is my wife works a lot of weekends, which is when I'm off work, and we have a 4 year old and a 7 year old. It's very uncommon for our schedules to sync up where I can realistically be gone for 5 hours on a Saturday. 

It wasn't mentioned, but I also feel that for some people (myself included) there is a bit of fear involved, especially for new players. I don't know anyone in my area to golf with, so I'm at the mercy of being paired up, and that can either be great, fine, or absolutely miserable depending on who you get. Newer players might not want to feel like a burden on this group of people they don't know and end up so scared of embarrassing themselves that they don't even try. 

I play a lot as a single and have been paired up with a lot of people across all kinds of backgrounds. Also have been out as a two or three ball and had pepped paired with our group.

the number of bad experiences or golfers that care how good or bad the people they are playing with is very smalls. Even some of the bad or not so ideal experiences were still fun times on the course.

Im pretty introverted and that hasn’t impacted me playing a single or the experiences I have on the course. I have a couple people I met on the course that became friends or at least acquaintances til this day

[RichL85]

I didn't think I would have to clarify this, but here goes. I am not saying all pairings are horrible. They aren't. In fact, I've had a total of one time that I was paired up with a group that dragged down the day. That is definitely not the normal, but it is something that can happen.

A bigger thing for me, is that I am a bit of an extreme introvert, especially around new people. I am the type that can have long conversations with people that I am comfortable with, but extremely awkward around people that I do not know. When I started, I played with classmates from school or co-workers, so I learned to treat golf much more as a social thing. When I get paired up with people I don't know, I'm not comfortable enough to have much interaction, which defeats part of the reason I enjoy golf to begin with. When I was around friends or co-workers, it's a completely different environment because I am in a situation that I am comfortable in. It really has little to do with anyone else most of the time, it's my own voice in my head messing with me and no external factors to cut through the noise so to speak. 

[DiscipleofPenick]

Cost is the issue for me. I was able to play 36, and sometimes 54 holes a week this past year. However, that's because I bought a membership to a less than quality (but still good layout) course for the year. A decent course in Cleveland is around $50 for 18 on weekend mornings. Even a lot of the goat farms are pushing up over $40. Short game practice is free, or a range bucket is under $10. I'm trying to find a side hustle for this, well it's more than a habit.

I've already contacted a number of country clubs in the area, but I can't find one under $5k per year. I'm too old for junior memberships, and some courses have introductory rates that are lower for the first season, but then they jump up to the above number in season 2. I don't know of a club that offers in-season only memberships, so I'm stuck paying for 2-3 months plus dues, that I won't be using the place. I'm thinking my best option to may be actually pull back on my number of rounds in 2022, to make sure I have funds to play the top quality courses more, and then spend that extra time practicing or playing 9 holes during the week.

[Tom the Golf Nut]

4 hours ago, DiscipleofPenick said:

I've already contacted a number of country clubs in the area, but I can't find one under $5k per year. I'm too old for junior memberships, and some courses have introductory rates that are lower for the first season, but then they jump up to the above number in season 2. I don't know of a club that offers in-season only memberships, so I'm stuck paying for 2-3 months plus dues, that I won't be using the place. I'm thinking my best option to may be actually pull back on my number of rounds in 2022, to make sure I have funds to play the top quality courses more, and then spend that extra time practicing or playing 9 holes during the week.

I say you should move. 

Part of the bonus of moving to my area of TN. Im at a private Robert Trent Jones course, get to play 10/11 months of the year or 12 if you really want to. Full family membership $3,000 for the year paid any way you want. Monthly, every 6 months, in full for the year. Includes golf, pool, tennis, pickle ball, and restaurant access. Wait for it...... a whopping $25.00 food minimum per month. Thats like two burgers and a beer a month in the pub or one dinner in the restaurant. Oh, if you don't want to walk it is $6.00 to rent a golf cart. I haven't had to make a tee time in 16 years. So that's the private route.

Public memberships at a course range from $800 to $1,200 a year non goat track. Includes golf only and walking. Cart rental is about $1.00 a hole. 

Didn't mean to rub it in! Just showing the differences between areas. 

[DiscipleofPenick]

On 12/9/2021 at 7:40 PM, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I say you should move. 

Part of the bonus of moving to my area of TN. Im at a private Robert Trent Jones course, get to play 10/11 months of the year or 12 if you really want to. Full family membership $3,000 for the year paid any way you want. Monthly, every 6 months, in full for the year. Includes golf, pool, tennis, pickle ball, and restaurant access. Wait for it...... a whopping $25.00 food minimum per month. Thats like two burgers and a beer a month in the pub or one dinner in the restaurant. Oh, if you don't want to walk it is $6.00 to rent a golf cart. I haven't had to make a tee time in 16 years. So that's the private route.

Public memberships at a course range from $800 to $1,200 a year non goat track. Includes golf only and walking. Cart rental is about $1.00 a hole. 

Didn't mean to rub it in! Just showing the differences between areas. 

I understand you're not trying to rub it in, but it still makes me jealous. At my current club I pay $650 for a 7 day walking membership, I have to pay $10 per time if I want to take a cart, which I did about a dozen times. Even still, it worked out to less than $20 per round. The next least expensive public courses near me is over $2000, and that's only 2 courses where carts are required because they run through developments and you can't walk them. There's one public course that to get full access is $4700!? There's some courses I love that are around $1000, but it's a 45 min+ drive, don't think that would work 2-3 days a week. 

The next best option is the Cleveland Metroparks. https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/golf/courses They offers a players card for $50 and it works out that every 6th round would be free. The courses include 2 of the courses named to the top 25 munis in the US - Sleepy Hollow (Stanley Thompson) & Manakiki (Donald Ross). They also have 2 other Stanley Thompson designs - Big Met & Little Met (Little is only 9), and Seneca which is 36 holes. Seneca isn't famous but it's 7000+ yards and a course Arnold Palmer was known to frequent. There there's a handful of other shorter courses and 9/par 3s.

The lowest price private I found was around $3200 all in with initiation, but that was only the first year. After that it jumped into the $5k range with everyone else. Luckily, the courses I'm checking in on have mostly removed food minimums or they are low like yours, under $100 a month. Depending on the course, you are allowed to walk for no extra cost, but others require a cart or caddy fee. And as a former caddy, if I joined a club with a caddy program and didn't use it, I would feel awful. So the biggest deterrent for me is having to shell out the money for a club I'm not going to use for at least 3 months, that's about a quarter of the price and it's a sunk cost. That math doesn't work out in my book.

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by DiscipleofPenick
Add info

[Goober]

I do think golf is for the upper median of our society. Some may say this is bias. But having free time and the funds eliminates quite a few 

[JFish350]

On 12/9/2021 at 4:40 PM, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I say you should move. 

Part of the bonus of moving to my area of TN. Im at a private Robert Trent Jones course, get to play 10/11 months of the year or 12 if you really want to. Full family membership $3,000 for the year paid any way you want. Monthly, every 6 months, in full for the year. Includes golf, pool, tennis, pickle ball, and restaurant access. Wait for it...... a whopping $25.00 food minimum per month. Thats like two burgers and a beer a month in the pub or one dinner in the restaurant. Oh, if you don't want to walk it is $6.00 to rent a golf cart. I haven't had to make a tee time in 16 years. So that's the private route.

Public memberships at a course range from $800 to $1,200 a year non goat track. Includes golf only and walking. Cart rental is about $1.00 a hole. 

Didn't mean to rub it in! Just showing the differences between areas. 

Currently looking for homes in your area, LOL...

 

My area of the country there are deals to be had just nothing that close to me. I was a member at a course that was 45 min away for 2 years. Just couldn't make the deal work out so I cancelled it.