It is well known that golf is a sport usually played by individuals that are well off. Although this legend holds some truth to it, it is still possible to enjoy yourself while playing golf on a budget. However, to get a realistic view of what you need and what it costs to play golf, look no further than down below in this article.
How Much Does It Cost to Play Golf?
How much does it cost to play golf? Playing golf requires many things, including equipment, paid access to golf courses (unless…you own a personal golf course), lessons, and other things. Down below is a list of the costs you need to consider.
Golf Bag
The average price of a golf bag is around 150-200$.
If you are looking for a budget option, look at second hand sports equipment stores and online second hand marketplaces (like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, etc.) and you can get great deals. There are golf bags on the used market that go for as low as 20$!
There are many different types of golf bags on the market that feature a different number of compartments. These compartments are meant for separating and protecting your golf clubs.
To figure out the best golf bag configuration for you, check out our article: How To Arrange Golf Clubs In ANY Golf Bag.
Set of 14 Golf Clubs
The average price of a full beginner set of 14 golf clubs is around 250-350$. This includes all 14 clubs you may need, but it is definitely not a professional set. A professional set of 14 golf clubs will cost upwards of 1000$. In fact, a single professional golf club can cost more than 1500$, so imagine how much a full bag of clubs would cost.
If you are looking for an option for the lowest budget possible, once again, look at second hand sports equipment stores and online second hand marketplaces (like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, etc.). You can find great deals on there, and complete golf club sets for as low as 60-100$.
Golf Gloves
Golf gloves are not necessarily required for every golfer, but most golfer like to wear a single glove on the top hand of their golf club’s shaft. It is recommended for most people to own one golf glove to improve grip and shot control when holding a golf club.
The average price of a golf glove is 5-30$. We consider this is already a good price for any budget. You should avoid getting second hand golf gloves, because they typically crust up and harden over time. You will likely need to purchase more than one golf glove over the course of your time practicing the sport or hobby.
To figure out how to choose the best golf glove size for you, read our article: How to Size Golf Gloves.
Golf Balls
Golf ball prices are often given per dozen golf balls.
The average price of 12 golf balls usually hovers around 10-60$.
You will likely run through about 5 to 6 dozen golf balls every year.
If you are looking for the most budget-friendly price for golf balls, you should look for “lake balls”. Lake balls are golf balls that have been lost in hazards such as…lakes…and refurbished & cleaned up to be resold for a cheaper price than usually possible. The cheaper sale price is due to the seller not having to produce the balls again. You can find lake balls for as cheap as 7$ per dozen.
Golf Shoes
You typically are encouraged to buy golf specific shoes if you are serious about the sport, or will be playing many times. However, you cannot wear shoes that will damage the golf course’s grass. Golf shoes will protect the grass as much as possible, on top of increasing your stability and balance. These elements will contribute to making you a better performing golf player.
The average price of golf shoes is around 75-200$.
If you are looking for a budget option, once again, look at second hand sports equipment stores and online second hand marketplaces (like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, etc.). You can find great deals on there, and second hand golf shoes for as little as 10$.
Look for shoes that are not damaged and do not seemed too beat up. Some people buy brand new shoes to try out golf, but decide golf is not for them. These people resell their brand new golf shoes for a fraction of the price.
To figure out how to choose the correct golf shoe size, read our article: How to Size Golf Shoes.
Golf Course Access
The average price of access to a golf course is around 30-40$ per day.
The average price to build your own golf course is around 15M$, but you can find options as low as 7M$.
Golf Cart Access
The average price of purchasing your own golf cart is around 8000-10000$. The cheaper golf carts you can purchase on the market are around 2500$.
If you want to buy the cheapest golf cart possible, you should look to purchase a second-hand unit. Make sure you inspect it thoroughly, and do your research before. Our article on troubleshooting golf cart batteries is a great read to prepare you for knowing some of the defects golf carts can present.
The average price of renting a golf cart is around 25-125$ per day.
Golf Lessons
The price of golf lessons can vary wildly according to the experience of your golf coach. Tiger Woods is not going to take the same hourly rate as Joe at the driving range will.
However, golf lessons are not a necessity if you are not trying to become a professional golf player. Alternatively, a great way to improve without a golf coach is to film yourself taking your shots, and reviewing your technique in the footage later on.
You can compare the footage of yourself with footage on online tutorials, or with the tips in our articles, and adjust accordingly. Furthermore, analyze your shot selection after every shot, and think hard to see if you could not have chosen a different club, or a different shot direction. If you noticed your shots frequently pulling or pushing, try to compensate for your tendencies by aiming a little more to the left or to the right.
The average price of a golf lesson is around 50-100$ per hour.
Total Cost of Playing Golf with Average Costs
To determine the average price to play golf, for at least one year, assuming you play 18 holes every 2 weeks (in a region where golf is playable year-round), we can sum up the individual costs.
Yearly Costs Of Playing Golf With An Average Budget
| Fees | Average Cost |
| Golf Course Access (26 x 35$) | 910$ |
| Golf Bag | 150$ |
| Set of Golf Clubs | 300$ |
| Golf Gloves | 15$ |
| Golf Balls (5 x 35$) | 175$ |
| Golf Shoes | 125$ |
| Golf Cart Access (26 x 75$) | 1950$ |
| Average Total With Golf Cart | 3625$ |
| Average Total Without Golf Cart | 1675$ |
| Average Total With Golf Cart, Without One-Time Costs | 3035$ |
| Average Total Without Golf Cart and One-Time Costs | 1085$ |
For your first year playing golf, assuming you will be purchasing new, average quality equipment at an average cost, playing 26 times a year, paying for golf cart access, you will need to pay, on average, 3625$.
For your first year playing golf, assuming you will be purchasing new, average quality equipment at an average cost, playing 26 times a year, but walking instead of paying for golf cart access, you will need to pay, on average, 1675$.
After your first year of playing golf, you will, hopefully, no longer need to purchase new equipment. In this case, you will only need to pay recurring costs. If you already own golf equipment, wish to play 26 rounds a year, paying for golf cart access, you will need to pay, on average, 3035$ a year.
If you already own golf equipment, wish to play 26 rounds a year, but will walk instead of paying for golf cart access, you will need to pay, on average, 1085$ a year.
Total Cost Of Playing Golf With The Lowest Budget Possible
Yearly Costs Of Playing Golf With The Lowest Budget Possible
| Fees | Average Cost |
| Golf Course Access (26 x 35$) | 910$ |
| Golf Bag | 20$ |
| Set of Golf Clubs | 80$ |
| Golf Gloves | 5$ |
| Golf Balls (lake balls) (5 x 7$) | 35$ |
| Golf Shoes | 10$ |
| Average Total | 1060$ |
| Average Total Without One-Time Costs | 945$ |
As you can see in the graph above, buying mostly second-hand equipment, and walking instead of renting a golf cart makes your costs as a first year golfer 3 times smaller (3625$ VS 1060$)!
You should also notice that the biggest costs come from paying for access to a golf course, and renting golf carts. In fact, if you are looking for the most budget friendly equipment, you can get away by paying only 115$ for a full set of equipment, which is an incredible bargain.
Therefore, on average, you can expect to pay only 945$ a year to pay for golf course access and golf balls if you reuse your equipment every year. 945$ a year is likely much lower of a cost than many people think golf actually costs, and this cost is for playing every 2 weeks!
This 945$ a year estimation of the yearly cost to play golf takes into account that you are using lake balls (refurbished golf balls), which are cheaper than brand new golf balls.
We do hope you try this amazing sport now that you see the costs can be lower than you might have thought! A different solution you could try is to buy a full set of very budget-friendly used equipment for around 115-200$, and then go to a golf course once if you like it. Your total cost to try golf would then be only around 157$!
Conclusion
There you go! After reading this article, you have a better understanding of relatively average costs for playing golf. In addition, you learned how low of a budget you can get away with to start playing golf and discovering this awesome sport!
Golf is an awesome sport you can play for a very, very long time, way longer than more athletically-demanding sports, and it does not have to be wildly expensive!
Welcome to golf! What is your budget? What inspired you to want to start playing golf? Let us know in the comments down below!
