Is golf too expensive?

The cost of membership, greens fees, gear and more can give our game a bad rap. Is that fair or are there more affordable ways to play? Michael Weston investigates...

It’s fair to say that traditional 18-hole golf has struggled with a perception that it is an expensive hobby. Add up the cost of membership, green fees, equipment, clothing and lessons, and it can be seen as a sport that only the wealthy or socially elite can afford.

That perception is changing, though. The game has evolved over the last 20 years and, while 18-hole golf may still be the backbone of the game, there are now many more ways to play via different versions of the sport that are a lot more affordable.

There’s a feeling among many that ‘golf has become cool’. Even before the pandemic did golf a favour and ended up boosting participation levels with lots of new faces, the game had started to shrug off its elitist image. Golf has never been more accessible.

“We are very clear as part of our strategy that golf should be considered to be played across multiple formats,” Phil Anderton, chief development officer at The R&A, has told Golf Monthly. “Outside of America, there are close to 20 million people who only play golf through what we call alternative formats.

“That can be chip-and-putt, adventure golf, driving ranges, all those types of formats – and these are typically less expensive for people to be able to participate in and play.”

Research carried out by The R&A supports a change in perception. The governing body’s ‘barometer’ measures attitudes towards the game, and it shows “steady year-on-year increases” in the numbers responding positively to questions such as, “Is golf appealing?” and towards statements expressing the physical, mental and social benefits of playing the sport.