Many would perceive golf to be an expensive sport, and it would be quite easy to rack up a bill of tens of thousands of pounds, if you want the best clubs, equipment, clothing and to be a member of one of the most prestigious clubs. However, it doesn’t need to be this way, and it’s entirely possible to play golf on a relative shoestring. Here’s some tips for playing golf on a budget:
- Find some bargain clubs. Whilst the best set of irons will run into 4 figures, a decent set of clubs can be secured for a fraction of this cost. Discount retailers such as Sports Direct will sell basic sets including irons, wood(s), putter and bag for under £100 for juniors, and less than double for adults. EBay can also be a great source of second hand clubs significantly less than new ones. You might even get lucky finding some clubs in a charity shop, or even for nothing, on sites like Freecycle.
- Improvise on clothing. Dress codes at courses are fairly relaxed these days, so as long as you’re not in jeans and a t-shirt, a polo shirt (or quarter-zip top), and trousers should do the trick. Many golf shoes resemble trainers these days, but even if you observe this protocol, a respectable pair can be secured for £30 from Sports Direct or around £45 from Decathlon. If you get lucky (and if it’s Spring you just might be), then the middle aisle of Lidl and Aldi could be a good source of functional, low-cost clothing (£20 shoes / £8 tops spotted in Lidl). As before, eBay, and other online sources could be trawled for even greater bargains. Like free stuff? If you sign up for American Golf’s membership (quick / free), they send a £10 voucher on your birthday. No gotchas (30 day validity). No doubt they hope you’ll put it towards grand’s worth of irons, but no-one’s stopping you buying a £10 glove, smugly presenting your voucher, and fist pumping as you leave! #winning
- Don’t buy balls! OK, obviously you’ll need some to play with, but that needn’t mean spending £50 on a dozen Pro V1s. Unless you’re a total beginner, or play a course riddled with water hazards, even a mediocre golfer should be able to find more balls than they lose – especially with a little treasure hunting tenacity, whenever wandering through or near rough (ideal if killing time waiting for the group in front to hit). Alternatively, you’ve probably got friends with a bag of balls in their garage that are just gathering dust, or again sites like Freecycle occasionally have a collection of balls for free. Tee collections, also, can also usually be sustained by collecting discarded and lost tees (particularly plastic ones that can last for years) rather than having to buy new.
- Minimise green fees. The most expensive aspect of golf, has to be the cost of getting onto the course. Green fees for the UK’s finest courses can easily top £200, or even £400. But whilst we can all dream of that post-lottery win life, sustaining a healthy golf addiction can be fed for a fraction of these costs. Here’s our top tips:
a) Check out 3rd party sites like GolfNow or TeeTimes, where clubs list their available tee times at reduced prices. 2Fore1 has a more innovative approach, selling vouchers that entitle the bearer to book a two-ball for the rate of a single golfer
b) Shop around for deals on clubs’ websites – if you’re flexible on tee times, deals can be found for as little as £5 (i.e. Mellor & Towncliffe… Malkins Banks found at £7.50)
c) Consider membership of your local / favourite club. If you’re intending to play regularly, and are happy to work on mastering the same course, then most clubs will have introductory offers – potentially even short-term commitments – to entice new joiners. Maybe your club has an ‘Artisan’ membership option, with a minimal annual fee, in exchange for limited playing rights, and an agreement to contribute (say) a few days a year to help with general maintenance
d) Utilise the ‘county card’. This has the pre-requisite of membership of an affiliated club, and a handicap / England Golf ID. But if you can navigate these hurdles, there are some fantastic and seemingly exclusive discounts at courses in the same county as your home club. For instance, a round at championship course Shrigley Hall was secured for £20pp, almost half the rate advertised on their website and notable 3rd party sites
Prices correct at time of writing (May 2023).
What have we missed? Got some other top tips? Let us know here.
