Is golf immune to the 'cost of living crisis'?

[r0wly86]

If more people were driving old bangers instead of new BMW's and Merc's, I would go along with the "cost of living blah blah blah" or trainers that are £200. But people don't want to make sacrifices and compromises and have it all, all the time.
How much is it to go skiing for a week?
How much is a set of quality darts or quality snooker cue?
Golf doesn't have to be expensive, and avereage membershipos aren't, if you make use of it.

I think the cots of living crisis is pretty much universally accepted as is happening.

Costs are up, inflation, energy price etc

Wages are not going up by anywhere near what inflation is, plus interest rates are now higher, meaning mortgage payments are going to increase.

That doesn't mean some people won't have enough disposable income to absorb the costs, but I would state that these will be a minority

 

[IanM]

Are you trying to say that golf membership is cheaper if you play more?

Well, cost per round changes with use!

 

[Neilds]

Well, cost per round changes with use!

But the overall cost doesn't change

(and you end up spending more on balls/gloves/etc )

 

[The Fader]

It's all about how you prioritise your discretionary spend after you've met your living costs.

And that discretionary spend is unique in every household.

Also golf can be as cheap as you want to make it. You don't need a £500 driver, a £95 polo shirt or a £100 green fee.

And by and large membership offers tremendous value. Even a golfer paying £2000 p.a. who plays once a week gets 4 hours
entertainment for £40. In this day and age that's pretty good.

In my experience most keen golfers will curtail other spending before cutting golf expenditure, so whilst not immune to the COL
crisis - golf is reasonably well insulated.

 

[D-S]

For me the interesting thing is that this crisis doesn’t seem to have had any effect on golf whatsoever, not even at the margins.
In fact if you just look at the golf economy you wouldn’t even know there was any crisis.
It would be interesting to know how the golf travel operators volumes are holding up, courses abroad that we have played in the last 18 months have been busy and our group trip to Jerez this year is going ahead for the first time since the other crisis although the cost is some 40% up vs. 2019.

 

[howbow88]

If more people were driving old bangers instead of new BMW's and Merc's, I would go along with the "cost of living blah blah blah" or trainers that are £200. But people don't want to make sacrifices and compromises and have it all, all the time.
How much is it to go skiing for a week?
How much is a set of quality darts or quality snooker cue?
Golf doesn't have to be expensive, and avereage membershipos aren't, if you make use of it.

I'm making sacrifices and I know many people who are. I'll not be playing as much golf this year, I've cancelled Sky, I drive a Ford Fiesta. Are you saying there isn't an issue with the cost of living in the UK? The cost of food is now very high compared to a couple of years ago, and my mortgage is set to go up by £300 next year.

I imagine a lot of people will be able to cope with all of these price increases and good luck to them. But I also don't think I'm the only golfer in the UK that will be playing less this year as a result of these cost increases.

It also worth noting that golf isn't a cheap hobby. Playing football means paying your yearly subs and possibly buying a pair of boots for a ton. If you have already invested in the gear, then cricket is just subs. Rugby is just subs, etc. I think golf can definitely be good value for money, but it is definitely a higher cost hobby than other a lot of other typical UK sports.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Are you trying to say that golf membership is cheaper if you play more?

I tried that one with Mrs V.

"The more I play, the cheaper it is."

She said, "Not as cheap as it would be if you packed it in."

I made no response to that. She's too clever for me.

 

[jim8flog]

At the end of the day there are other things in life I would give up long before golf itself.

I have given up playing in club matches and the cost is a factor that has come in to it.

Food and drink in the club house has gone up in line with the rises in costs.

 

[Deleted member 25575]

I think it’s tough for a good number of people, I understand what is meant by golfers on the whole are probably a more affluent cross section of society, but I think the current cost of living crisis is impacting more people than a lot who are maybe fortunate enough not to feel it too deeply, and a lot of golfers are or will be more and more impacted by this. Also understand that the more you play the more value for money you get from a membership, the quoted £2,000 playing once a week gets 4h entertainment for £40, but to some, to a lot, £2,000 is a huge outlay regardless of how much you use it.
Hard times for a lot of people

 

[Bobthesock]

My membership costs less per week than 3 pints in the pub. If I was struggling Its an easy decision which one to get rid of first.
Granted I'm in the north, people in the south paying 2000 a year plus might have a bigger question to ask

 

[Neilds]

My membership costs less per week than 3 pints in the pub. If I was struggling Its an easy decision which one to get rid of first.
Granted I'm in the north, people in the south paying 2000 a year plus might have a bigger question to ask

Or have a drink problem

 

[Jason.H]

Our club has just introduced a significant joining fee due to demand and increased visitor fees. Are there clubs struggling due to cost of living?
If you look at some of the expensive cars in the car park, a monthly payment on one of those would be a year’s membership.

 

[Teebs]

My membership works out to be £71/month

That's one night out on the sauce
I don't drink so essentially, Golf is free for me.

Like most hobbies, Golf is as expensive or as cheap as you make it.
I used to road cycle and jesus, that can be expensive.

 

[RichA]

My membership costs less per week than 3 pints in the pub. If I was struggling Its an easy decision which one to get rid of first.
Granted I'm in the north, people in the south paying 2000 a year plus might have a bigger question to ask

I am in the south, on the Herts / Essex border. Our course is 25 miles from central London, as the crow flies. It's £745 per year, £50 of which is bar credit so it works out similar to you.

 

[Orikoru]

I tried that one with Mrs V.

"The more I play, the cheaper it is."

She said, "Not as cheap as it would be if you packed it in."

I made no response to that. She's too clever for me.

You accidentally married a smart one? Mine is the "I need to spend £25 more to save £4 on free postage" type.

 

[Voyager EMH]

You accidentally married a smart one? Mine is the "I need to spend £25 more to save £4 on free postage" type.

Not accidentally, but you are mostly correct.

If she complains about me, I tell her that it was her mistake for marrying beneath her.
Still - I'm trustworthy, reliable and affectionate - a bit like a dog, I suppose.

And I make her laugh sometimes - like right now.

 

[PJ87]

While I don't subscribe to the theory that it's a 'rich man's game' I still think you have to have been pretty comfortable to be buying golf membership even before this 'crisis'. If you had a Venn diagram of 'people who are struggling to make ends meet' and 'people who possess a golf club membership' the crossover must be pretty small.

Depends a lot on other bits aswell

I mean I don't drink so I save a fortune on that so the £115 a month I shell out for my club is worth it, play 4-5 times a month aswell so keeps the cost of golf to a set fee

 

[jim8flog]

My membership costs less per week than 3 pints in the pub. If I was struggling Its an easy decision which one to get rid of first.
Granted I'm in the north, people in the south paying 2000 a year plus might have a bigger question to ask

and a deeper pocket for 3 pints in the pub.

 

[timd77]

I’d say golf isn’t immune to it. My usual PP’s job is under threat and so he quit golf until it’s sorted. I imagine there are a few like that or having other reasons for not renewing membership.

For me personally, I’m an average earner as is my wife so we’re not affluent by any stretch. My membership costs around £120 a month, add in comps and beers I think I’m probably paying £150-160 a month on golf. Comp fees recently went up and as a result I’ll skip one comp a month to compensate.

I drive an old banger car as I work from home and only use it to get to golf and back, costs me about £30 a month in fuel, pay the insurance in one go as it’s only a couple of hundred quid, no finance payment. So I don’t really spend that much on myself.

If things got bad and I needed to find £100-150 a month I’d trim other areas of spending or even just save less until things got better. I currently waste money on buying golf gear when I don’t really need it, beers when I don’t really need it etc etc. I’d cut back on them first.

 

[PJ87]

I’d say golf isn’t immune to it. My usual PP’s job is under threat and so he quit golf until it’s sorted. I imagine there are a few like that or having other reasons for not renewing membership.

For me personally, I’m an average earner as is my wife so we’re not affluent by any stretch. My membership costs around £120 a month, add in comps and beers I think I’m probably paying £150-160 a month on golf. Comp fees recently went up and as a result I’ll skip one comp a month to compensate.

I drive an old banger car as I work from home and only use it to get to golf and back, costs me about £30 a month in fuel, pay the insurance in one go as it’s only a couple of hundred quid, no finance payment. So I don’t really spend that much on myself.

If things got bad and I needed to find £100-150 a month I’d trim other areas of spending or even just save less until things got better. I currently waste money on buying golf gear when I don’t really need it, beers when I don’t really need it etc etc. I’d cut back on them first.

similar situation if I had to trim back £100 or so a month id trim other areas first , it would take a lot to trim back on the golf membership.

where as one my PP was saying the increase in membership (not announced yet but we have inflation based increases I believe) is going to make x number of people jack it in because they cant afford it.. they need to think of the members etc

well no.. they A supported us during covid and we werent charged.. thats a good thing.. they didnt have to B their costs have risen massively be it fuel for the machines or for treatments for the grass etc... and C a big bug bear of mine is he forgets golf is a hobby not a essential.. if energy bills go up and phone contracts its annoying and sometimes angry because of the companies profits but we need them... golf? its a choice.. if we cant afford it we simply dont play. surely?