Is Golf now too expensive???

[RichA]

All things are relative.
I don't find the idea of £1000 a year membership and a couple of hundred a year on kit excessive but I know other people find it off-putting.
Some of those people spend £6 every day on take away coffee, £400 a month to always drive a new car, eat out twice a week and have 2 foreign holidays a year.

 

[RichA]

This summer, I'll be making use of two bags.

Orvis real leather and canvass for when there is zero chance of rain. (£7.50)
Slazenger vinyl tour bag for other days. (£18)

View attachment 45911View attachment 45912

Absolutely gorgeous top quality bags, both of them.

Why must you constantly taunt me with that Orvis bag?

 

[Voyager EMH]

Why must you constantly taunt me with that Orvis bag?

... and the £7.50 included the wheeled travel cover.



Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Why does anything we do have to stay the same?
People pay ludicrous amounts for a pair of trainers, not handmade leather shoes but trainers. Everything goes up over time and when labels are involved, even more.
Golf can be expensive if you choose to pay those prices. But you don’t have to or need to.

 

[Tongo]

That's exactly my take on golf. Prices have risen considerably and are probably spiraling out of control for the vast majority of working class golfers - and I include subscription rates in that. The cost of living, dramatic rise of costs in raw materials have forced clubs to raise fees to cover rising running costs.

Obviously the demographic of this forum is not working class judging by the amount of responses that say golf isn't experience.

We all have budgets and priorities in life. Two of our regular group have resigned due to a 10% hike in fees. They're away to a neighbouring club who are £400 cheaper per annum. Another in our group has said he would cut out the family holiday before he gave up his membership.

Some interesting responses and takes on the golf industry. Thanks.

To be fair, its only a couple of courses that have noticeably increased their greenfee rates and I suspect that's more a case of not needing casual golfers as much because membership numbers of increased. Most greenfees for the courses I play are similar to what they were pre-COVID.

But, as I said in my original post, golf, like cricket, is not a cheap sport to play full stop.

 

[Robster59]

Gorgeous is certainly in the eye of the beholder. That top bag looks like it belongs to a teenage mutant turtle.

It's certainly a conversation piece.

 

[D-S]

The pity of the staggering rise in green fees at better courses is that 'nornmal' golfers just won't get to play them unless it is for a very special occasion.
My wife and I started playing golf in the 90s, we would often pop down to Porthcawl for a game or if we were visiting family in Devon, have a game at Saunton at the normal visitor prices in Summer, maybe pop down to Dorset for a game at Ferndownor Parkstone etc. The green fees were a few pounds more than local clubs maybe 20-30% more expensive. Now Porthcawl is £170 per round and Saunton £130, £160 at Ferndown - you can still get a game on a decent mid level course round here for £35. This is a sea change in the accessibility of good courses for normal golfers and in this regard golf has become 'too expensive'.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Nobody is arguing that you have to have shiny new gear - £300 may still be too expensive for some.

I've just ordered new irons. I chose to pay what I paid - that said I genuinely think it's an absolute nonsense how much they're costing me compared to a few years ago.

Likewise. Last year I did a complete replacement of all my irons and woods with all Pings. The only club that I kept was my putter. I also bought an electric trolley.

I was only able to do this as, for the first time, I had the money in the bank from a pension lump sum that I took on retirement - but even then had to be persuaded by my pro that it was a worthwhile investment now as I most probably wouldn’t have to buy a new club for at least ten years…and that’s also how he persuaded my Mrs.

If I stop and think of what I’ve spent I would shudder and question my sanity (and so I don’t stop and think) as I could never have imagined I’d spent so much on golf gear. That I have been a real Scrooge and bargain hunter club-wise over all my time playing I also used to justify the spend to myself. But good grief…what a cost. Hopefully never again.

Similarly I don‘t dwell on the cost of my club membership, likely to breach £2k at our end March renewal. Golf is just something that I do and my Mrs knows and accepts that…she knew when we met that I was a member of a golf club, and by the time we got married she knew how much it cost me. I just make it my priority optional spend of the year above anything else I might spend money on.

 

[Banchory Buddha]

Golfers are rich. .

errr what?

 

[BrianM]

errr what?

Clearly doesn’t have kids ???

 

[timd77]

I’d say golf is getting more expensive, not sure how long until it becomes too expensive for me.

In terms of green fees, I pay around £100 a month for membership currently. When I first joined a club (a different one), it was around £75 and that was 4 years ago. Add on a pint after the round it’s probably £120 a month. I earn an average wage, don’t have loads of surplus cash each month, but golf is pretty much the only thing I spend money on just for myself, and so I can justify it. I work from home so have an old banger for a car, outgoings are low. Some people spend similar amounts on going out drinking, or going to the gym or maybe following their football team every week.

The club emailed yesterday informing us that they’re changing the PGA pro structure, partly to cut costs, partly to bring in more income, in an effort to ‘keep down membership fee increases’. I don’t know how high it would have to go for me to Jack it in. I guess where I feel it’s not value for money.

In terms of equipment, I do like to tinker and buy new clubs. However, I either have them for Christmas/birthdays, or I buy second hand at a good value price and sell on if I don’t like them (or sell the clubs they’ve replaced). Don’t think I could ever justify spending more than a couple of hundred on a new driver, or 300-400 on irons, I’d feel too guilty, especially in the current climate where gas and electric is costing a new driver every month!

 

[Mel Smooth]

When I started playing in the early 80’s, it was expensive then. Dad could never afford new clubs, we’d look through the rough trying to snag lost balls. That’s 40 years back, it’s always been expensive.

My annual golf expenditure for myself, my 12 year old - including what I spend in the pros shop and clubhouse won’t exceed £2000. I think that’s pretty good considering we can play as much golf as we like for that outlay. If I followed a football team home and away with him, it would be far more than that - in what is supposedly a working man’s game

 

[Jacko_G]

Why does anything we do have to stay the same?
People pay ludicrous amounts for a pair of trainers, not handmade leather shoes but trainers. Everything goes up over time and when labels are involved, even more.
Golf can be expensive if you choose to pay those prices. But you don’t have to or need to.

Actually for some people you do have to pay it or you're no longer going to be a member if a golf club they joined 30+ years ago.

Some people on here are clearly not in touch with how much working class clubs and members struggle.

(I appreciate memberships have deviated from my original post but it's still valid)

Golf as a whole industry is far far too expensive.

Just wait until the sterling rises again and the US dollar isn't as powerful, lets see what happens at our top courses.

 

[clubchamp98]

Maybe a system like parts of the USA use .
Visitors / tourists £250
Live in the County£200
Live in the town £150.

This is just a guide, most Florida courses use this system.
But most top end clubs here don’t need visits from locals.
They make enough from tourists.

As for clubs they cost what we will pay.
But a new ping G430 driver at £469 will be minus what I get for my G425 so given eBay prices might cost me £180.
It’s my big hobby so that’s not to bad.
I will buy one if it improves my length if it dosnt I won’t as the G425 is so accurate.

 

[Jacko_G]

Singling out driver costs is an outlier. The cost of carbon fibre has rocketed in the last few years, disproportionately boosting the retail prices.. All sports have been affected by this. How does the price of a premium brand set of steel shafted irons compare?

Thanks wasn't aware carbon fibre had increased "rocketed" but it makes sense in the current climate.

 

[GB72]

A totally personal point of view but golf for me remains affordable but stopped being value for money. As someone who can only play once a week, the cost of a full membership that was required to play that round at weekends was just not good value, I set in my head a maximum I would pay for that privelege and when that was reached, I quit. There was simply no value for money in membership any more and I have not been a member anywhere for 3 years now. Play the odd round when I feel like it with mates but looked at other actiivities to occupy my weekends. If the points scheme at Stoke Rochford has room again then I may consider that but normal club membership at current prices is not for me until I am in a postion to play 3 or more times a week.

 

[Jacko_G]

A totally personal point of view but golf for me remains affordable but stopped being value for money. As someone who can only play once a week, the cost of a full membership that was required to play that round at weekends was just not good value, I set in my head a maximum I would pay for that privelege and when that was reached, I quit. There was simply no value for money in membership any more and I have not been a member anywhere for 3 years now. Play the odd round when I feel like it with mates but looked at other actiivities to occupy my weekends. If the points scheme at Stoke Rochford has room again then I may consider that but normal club membership at current prices is not for me until I am in a postion to play 3 or more times a week.

I'm lucky being a shift worker that I get a good few games midweek when courses are quieter. Downside for me is I miss out in a lot of medal/club comp golf.

I still get good value per game I play. I'm lucky in that respect otherwise like you I would probably be nomad or walk away from the game.

 

[Imurg]

Not disagreeing with much on here but an interesting fact is that nearly 20 years ago the Callaway ERC Fusion driver was retailing at £449........
OK, it was top of the tree but only 80 quid less than the top of the tree now....

 

[BiMGuy]

Not disagreeing with much on here but an interesting fact is that nearly 20 years ago the Callaway ERC Fusion driver was retailing at £449........
OK, it was top of the tree but only 80 quid less than the top of the tree now....

Titliest and TM were selling drivers at £400 in the late 90s early 2000s.

How much did a persimmon driver cost in the 50? Maybe @Crow knows? And how much was it compared to the average wage at the time?

 

[GB72]

I'm lucky being a shift worker that I get a good few games midweek when courses are quieter. Downside for me is I miss out in a lot of medal/club comp golf.

I still get good value per game I play. I'm lucky in that respect otherwise like you I would probably be nomad or walk away from the game.

I am a 9-5 worker (normally later) and so with one day at the weekend with my wife, I get 1 day to play golf. When you add the amount of weekend rounds lost to weather, other commitments etx, there was just no value in paying out a grand for that amount of golf.

 

[Bdill93]

I certainly agree that new clubs are now very expensive and to be honest, I don't think ill ever buy brand new again except for maybe an upgraded (Mizuno, TM, Ping) set of irons in the future - due to my height its hard to find used clubs fitted to me.

You can go one of two ways though - I've accumulated bargains (besides buying a brand new set of D9 irons) My SIM2 Driver cost me £200 from a guy with a golf spending problem, used D7 3W, ex demo hybrid from the shop, kirkland wedges and an Odyssey O works putter (£110 brand new)

My old man has gone wild - Ping G425 Driver, 3w, 5w, 7w, 9w, 5-PW all brand new (plus a ping putter for xmas that my mum brought) so he's probably spent the best part of 3k on his clubs and another 1k on a trolley and trolley bag...

Our membership isn't expensive - I don't think anyone could argue that £55 for full adults and £35 for under 30's isn't affordable - and we then don't mind paying respectable fees to play elsewhere.

I would however, never pay more than £100 for a round of golf that didn't include food/ night stay or a charity donation (society events) etc - To me, no course is worth that amount of money. Only exception is the old course which is a once in a lifetime thing.