Does a round of golf cost too much

[Argonne69]

[quote name='ctmason_98' timestamp='1370469239' post='7176952']
Forgive the thread-jack...

Argonne69, my Dad purchased a similar package for himself and my stepmom. She initially rolled her eyes at a getaway in Indiana <imagine the sarcastic pronunciation here> but both had an awesome time and complimented the courses, said the food was above average for the package value and the Baden was very nice and comfortable. Think they did a little gambling, too and enjoyed that.

Hope to convince the wife to go out there for a family outing one day, looks like a pretty darn good value, any other tips/things to do you can share?
[/quote]

I think it's worth the trip. The golf is great, albeit expensive. The hotel was very nice, at least for an upgraded 100+ year old structure. There appears to be a number of activities, e.g. indoor/outdoor pools, horse back riding, gambling, to keep one busy when not golfing. I ate in the steak joint in the French Lick hotel, and I was a bit disappointed. The steak was good, but not great for the price.

The drive from Indy to French Lick wasn't as bad as I feared, as IN37 is a 4 lane divided highway for the majority of the trip. The terrain in southern Indiana is quite rolling and rather beautiful.

I was disappointed in the casino. I loathe smoking, and they had a small non-smoking room in the casino with a limited number of games. Illinois has banned smoking in casinos and bars for years, so I forget how absolutely disgusting it is to walk into a smoke filled casino and try to sit at a table with smokers blowing smoke in your face, not to mention that your clothes reek of smoke after you leave.

In a nutshell, it's not a bad getaway for a long weekend.

[Argonne69]

[quote name='Steve Ryan' timestamp='1370472302' post='7177244']
I worked at The Badlands back in 2003 and non-residents were paying $190.

They have a deal right now for residents after 2:00 = $25

After 3:00 is $19
[/quote]

Ouch. Yeah, those non-resident rates are killers in some places. I travel to Scottsdale every January, and wind up paying $150 to $250 a round on the premium courses, whereas the locals pay a fraction of that.

I played Crandon GC at Key Biscayne outside Miami a year ago in December, a muni, and I paid something like $130, whereas the locals were paying something like $40.

[Tiptx1122]

I think to play the game has become very expensive. This is one reason why I'm working so hard on cutting down on my Ho'ing. I usually walk as I can put up pretty decent number at some of my local courses if I only play 9. I have shot -5 for 18 holes but that was -4 on the front on one day and -1 on the back the next day. I very seldom ever pay over $30. They may not be as nice as what most people play on that are on the site but they are very playable which I enjoy. I hardly ever play the same course twice in a row. I like to rotate my outings which keeps me in a mood to be challenged as this game isn't very kind to me at times but there are a lot of moments where I take away from the course with a few birdies. I find that there are just as many bad golfers on the better and more expensive ones as there are on the cheaper ones. I have to drive to far to play on the better ones and with my work schedule it's hard to plan as I go at the spur of the moment sometimes.

[tocino]

I'm probably enjoying the most amount it golf I've ever experienced before due to my home course starting they're twilight walking rate at $15 after 2pm/$10 after 5:30 for the rest of the summer. I usually play no less than 15 holes a round.
Golf can be expensive but there's definitely a way to enjoy golf on the cheap if you look around

[Spiritomb]

I wish you guys had it like me, because the course I walk on. They let kids under the age of 17 walk for free. I also pay 10 dollars, to play 9 holes with my pro.

[Playaway]

[quote name='amaeyzing' timestamp='1370273042' post='7159862']
I think my limit would be $50 for a course I play on regularly.
The $150-250 fee would be fine once or twice a year on a really fancy/famous course.

Looking at the $500 fee at Pebble Beach makes me nauseous....
[/quote]

$500 plus the overnight at the Lodge to the tune of $400-700 per night.

That price is steep. But, unlike some of the courses that are mentioned here, Pebble is truly world class with features that cannot be and are not duplicated anywhere on the planet.

A round of golf there and cocktails and dinner in Carmel is tough to beat.

[Roody]

The basic laws of supply and demand apply to golf courses the same as they apply to any other product. If course management believes they can get the price they're charging, they'll continue to charge it until people stop paying it.

In my area (Rochester, NY) we have I believe close to 80 courses that are within reasonable driving distance. You'd think the supply is more than the demand, but the courses are filling the tee sheets every weekend from what I can see. It might also have something to do with the fact that we can't golf during the winter for 5 months, so during the months that we can we go nuts to get on the course as much as possible.

High-end of price range is $70, low-end is about $25-$30 for weekends. But more and more courses that used to be in the $30's are creeping up to the $40's and $50's I've noticed.

[JustTapItIn]

[size=5][sup]I use golfnow and hardly ever pay more than 20-30 bucks a round. Greens are very expensive initially and to maintain but more than $50 is too much IMO[/sup][/size]

[coreyl]

watched a thing on the GC with fuzzy z once, think he said golf course should be charging to the tune of $10 for ever $1M they have into the course. i like the idea, but it seems a lot of them dont buy into his logic.

[esketores]

I've said it before and will say it again... The greater Akron, OH area is the place to live (6/7 months of the year) if you're a golfer. A plethora of public play courses at reasonable rates.
While the course is certainly nothing to write home about, it is well maintained and the greens roll smooth, one can play at Kent State Universities course this 4th of July (Thursday - Sunday) for $21 (w/cart).

[msegroves]

I think it depends on what time you go. Overall though I would say yes. You can play just about any other sport for free because the facilities are considered public parks. The only purchase is a few pieces equipment that last for quite a long time and can be shared by other team mates and players.

Here in Dallas/Ft Worth, the prices average about 60.00 on the weekend with a cart before 3 pm (which I think is too high for municipal courses). By the time you factor in balls and all the other equipment needed to play around you probably looking at 70.00 a round. On average, if you play twice a month that is 140.00 a month.

If you go out on the week days after 5pm, you can walk for about 12.00 to 15.00 on most municipal courses. This is what I stick to mostly because my budget is very tight

[etakmit]

[quote name='Roody' timestamp='1372856690' post='7379596']
The basic laws of supply and demand apply to golf courses the same as they apply to any other product. If course management believes they can get the price they're charging, they'll continue to charge it until people stop paying it.

In my area (Rochester, NY) we have I believe close to 80 courses that are within reasonable driving distance. You'd think the supply is more than the demand, but the courses are filling the tee sheets every weekend from what I can see. It might also have something to do with the fact that we can't golf during the winter for 5 months, so during the months that we can we go nuts to get on the course as much as possible.

High-end of price range is $70, low-end is about $25-$30 for weekends. But more and more courses that used to be in the $30's are creeping up to the $40's and $50's I've noticed.
[/quote]

Yep, as I mentioned earlier, we have a TON of options here and its very nice. Fortunately for me, my wife prefers afternoon playing (courses are emptier and she feels more comfortable). So it helps keep the cost down even further. We have some VERY nice tracks at very reasonable prices.

[ethanlculver]

Even the $30 to $50 is too much in my opinion, unless the quality of the course deserves it. Most courses in my area don't.

For me it's not bad because I'm 17 and still get junior discounts. $15 to walk 18 holes. Although there are some days I'd like to take a cart, which is $15 more itself.

[Senna]

Do you guys (in the USA) not join a course, pay membership and play as much as you like?

[Pepperturbo]

Hate to remind some apparently unaware people, golf has been expensive for most of my life. Only over the last ten-fifteen years with more courses popping up, has green fees went down somewhat, likely out of supply and demand; that which so many poo poo.

Now, with the economy adjusting somewhat and more people realizing they can't afford to golf all that much, maybe prioritizing expenditures, courses in certain areas are gradually raising green fees, to offset fewer golfers. I take that to mean golf will again be what it use to be, for those with financial resources. Look at the good side, maybe pace of play will no longer be the issue.

[marmooskapaul]

[quote name='Senna' timestamp='1372890945' post='7383658']
Do you guys (in the USA) not join a course, pay membership and play as much as you like?
[/quote]Some do? I have been a member of four different courses over the past 10 years. All of these courses open to the public. The most I've paid is 550$. Currently at the same course for three years and paid 450 a year. Can walk for free and cart is another 14$. There are areway more expensive clubs closer to Indianapolis, but out of my way distance/financialy. Still nice to play other courses though. Playing a nice course fridayfor 30$ with cart. Thats not to bad for good course.
Paul

[SurfDuffer]

[quote name='Senna' timestamp='1372890945' post='7383658']
Do you guys (in the USA) not join a course, pay membership and play as much as you like?
[/quote]

I have a membership at the private course about 5 minutes from my house. If I ever had to go back to playing public courses I would walk away from the game and not look back. To be able to walk a few holes on the way home from work is absolutely worth the price of admission. Rarely even ever play 18 cause I can just go and do as I wish out on the course. That's my quiet time....evenings out on the course after most everyone else is gone.

[PooN]

In SE Wisconsin I rarely pay more than $30 to ride 18 - weekdays pretty much any time and weekends I just golf in the afternoon when the prices come down. I use GolfNow and some local coupons as well as Groupon type deals. I'm talking some pretty decent courses... I will not play cow pastures or swamplands.

Every so often, however, I end up playing a really really nice course during peak times and I cry inside a little when swiping the card at the counter for the $70+ tee time.

[Nick6771]

Im off Kent, SE England in a few weeks. Its my long term ambition to play all the courses which have hosted an Open Championship so you have Royal St Georges £180 (fully booked), Royal Cinque Ports (just hosted the Amateur Championship) £130 and Princes £70. St Georges goes so show that people will pay silly ££££ to play the famous courses.

I'm playing Princes - although the Open course doesnt exist as such anymore (the RAF used it for bombing practise during WWII) 17 of the original greens remain. Looking forward to it.

[geoangus]

Lake of Isles North, which is part of a nearby casino, charges ~$150 for a mid-day tee time. In the early Spring and late Fall, they offer a buy one round at prevailing rate and comeback for a free second round, usually within a month. I've taken advantage of that deal a few times, but cold weather has always been a factor during those rounds.

But this week, they offered the same deal, which I took advantage of, largely because I wanted to play the course once during the summer months. So yesterday's round was $142, but I'll be back for a second round sometime soon for free. At $71 per round, not bad. But I'd never have paid $142 for one. It's a nice course, but that's a bit more than I can justify.

[swbyps]

I dont like paying more than $50 for golf. In fact, I play the overwhelming majority of my rounds at the course where I have a membership and can play for $20 if I tee off after 2:00..$12 after 4:00. I will on occasion pay more if its a nice course or somewhere that I would otherwise not get an opportunity to play. Ive spent over $100 for golf maybe 4 or 5 times..and a couple of those were on vacation.

[Parker0065]

[quote name='Pepperturbo' timestamp='1372892710' post='7383848']
Hate to remind some apparently unaware people, golf has been expensive for most of my life. Only over the last ten-fifteen years with more courses popping up, has green fees went down somewhat, likely out of supply and demand; that which so many poo poo.

Now, with the economy adjusting somewhat and more people realizing they can't afford to golf all that much, maybe prioritizing expenditures, courses in certain areas are gradually raising green fees, to offset fewer golfers. I take that to mean golf will again be what it use to be, for those with financial resources. Look at the good side, maybe pace of play will no longer be the issue.
[/quote]

I agree with you that golf has always been an expensive sport compared to most others but as far as green fees falling out of supply and demand is purely a locational situation. During the building boom of the last 15 years my area added a few new courses and none of their green fees have reduced during the current economic down turn. At best some of them advertise that they haven't raised their rates from last year. In the last 5 years we have lost 2 public courses closing their doors and 2 private courses have changed to semi-private but with a high dollar rate of $60-$80 per round. At the start of the economic down turn in 2008-2009 a couple private courses were waving their initiation fee but that has since been dissolved in the last couple years.

I could understand an area that may have over built and over charged for their facilities and now have a little wiggle room to lower prices in an attempt to keep the doors open. That isn't the case in my area and if they had to lower prices then it becomes a matter of whether it's worth keeping the doors open at all. Which is basically what happened to the 2 public courses we lost. Day to day operation of a golf course does not get cheaper every year, it gets more and more expensive. I don't know about your area, but in mine the price of fertilizer, water, gasoline, and property taxes go up every year. So no, in my area golf has not gotten cheaper because of supply and demand or the economic down turn, but overall I'll say golf is still relatively cheap compared to some other areas of the U.S. I will add that the area I live in has not suffered as badly as many other parts of the country during these difficult economic times which also contributes to golf fees not being reduced.

[Lucky_Craft]

We are lucky in Omaha NE. We have some good public courses are are $20-$40 for a walking rate (18). You can sometimes gets a better deal with twilight rates or GolfNow.
Places I'd play any day around here:

Indian Creek
Tiberon
Stone Creek
Miracle Hill
Johnny Goodman (A Muni and some of the best greens in Omaha)
Traegeron
Shoreline

[Stylez]

Whether I can afford it or not doesn't mean it justifies the course charging said rates. Horrible Muni tracks by me in Jersey are charging $52-72(no cart) a round. And that's with my county card discount. Just because other nicer tracks around them Charge that much doesn't mean they have to. If your course is failing, then either get out of the business or find a way to actually fix your issues without raising prices to offset it. Don't treat it like Jersey taxes. Sure people show up and play either way because it's either pay it or don't play at all or play a lot less. I play a lot less due to this especially locally. Also if I am going to pay the rates they try to justify then I expect the course to be taken care of and not have 5-5.5 hour rounds. Payed $70 this past Sunday at a local course. Teeing off on tee boxes that have grass as high as a 2.5'' tee and sloped like a side hill is a joke. But hey, that new 5k hotdog machines did wonders for the course.

[Playaway]

How many courses around you guys have twilight rates. I know that some in my area do not, and I wonder why. The golf course is wide open after 6:00 and they still want regular fees. Isn't 40% of the regular fee better than $0?

Maybe there is a good reason. Why do some courses have a twilight fee, and an early bird fee and some do not?

[Smash Factors]

[quote name='Playaway' timestamp='1373041533' post='7393148']
How many courses around you guys have twilight rates. I know that some in my area do not, and I wonder why. The golf course is wide open after 6:00 and they still want regular fees. Isn't 40% of the regular fee better than $0?

Maybe there is a good reason. Why do some courses have a twilight fee, and an early bird fee and some do not?
[/quote]

Good question. I would guess it's because they use formulas to determine what rate will result in the most revenue.

[Playaway]

[quote name='Steve Ryan' timestamp='1373048744' post='7393742']
[quote name='Playaway' timestamp='1373041533' post='7393148']
How many courses around you guys have twilight rates. I know that some in my area do not, and I wonder why. The golf course is wide open after 6:00 and they still want regular fees. Isn't 40% of the regular fee better than $0?

Maybe there is a good reason. Why do some courses have a twilight fee, and an early bird fee and some do not?
[/quote]

Good question. I would guess it's because they use formulas to determine what rate will result in the most revenue.
[/quote]

To be clear, I mean when the golf course is empty or near empty. Early AM and late PM, nobody there. Maybe the golf course thinks that guys will just not play prime time, they would wait for twilight. I don't think so. Some courses just are not worth $3/hole, even in prime time.

[Moose_Hack]

We have 2 county courses(one has 36 holes) and they are usually in good shape but pretty expensive. 70 to play in the mornings and 40 is the lowest you will pay. Now I don't mind that but it really ticks me off that they don't give our county residents a little break on the price on memberships or even greens fees when other counties in the state so that for their residents.

[Hot Rod 71]

[quote name='Playaway' timestamp='1373041533' post='7393148']
How many courses around you guys have twilight rates. I know that some in my area do not, and I wonder why. The golf course is wide open after 6:00 and they still want regular fees. Isn't 40% of the regular fee better than $0?

Maybe there is a good reason. Why do some courses have a twilight fee, and an early bird fee and some do not?
[/quote]

I work at a semi-private course part-time in the pro shop and we offer twilight rates. Our weekend rates are $57 from open to noon, $48 from noon to 3, and $39 after 3 (twilight rate). We get quite a lot of business after 3 on weekdays from the folks getting off work at 4 or 5.

In response to questions about private club memberships......There is a nice private course near by that was offering some fantastic memberships a couple of years ago. $1000 initiation fee and $300 per month for a family. They have two huge pools, tennis courts, golf, a very nice restaurant and bar, and numerous tournaments and social events each month. You can walk as many rounds as you want for that price, or pay an additional $15 for a power cart. If I wasn't working where I am, I would have jumped all over this deal.

[Playaway]

[quote name='Hot Rod 71' timestamp='1373203722' post='7402370']
[quote name='Playaway' timestamp='1373041533' post='7393148']
How many courses around you guys have twilight rates. I know that some in my area do not, and I wonder why. The golf course is wide open after 6:00 and they still want regular fees. Isn't 40% of the regular fee better than $0?

Maybe there is a good reason. Why do some courses have a twilight fee, and an early bird fee and some do not?
[/quote]

I work at a semi-private course part-time in the pro shop and we offer twilight rates. Our weekend rates are $57 from open to noon, $48 from noon to 3, and $39 after 3 (twilight rate). We get quite a lot of business after 3 on weekdays from the folks getting off work at 4 or 5.

In response to questions about private club memberships......There is a nice private course near by that was offering some fantastic memberships a couple of years ago. $1000 initiation fee and $300 per month for a family. They have two huge pools, tennis courts, golf, a very nice restaurant and bar, and numerous tournaments and social events each month. You can walk as many rounds as you want for that price, or pay an additional $15 for a power cart. If I wasn't working where I am, I would have jumped all over this deal.
[/quote]

OK, asstpro, would the guys who get off work still play if they had to pay regular fees?