Golfing on a Budget...need some advice...

[Jax]

i have no job and am in school got a nice set of clubs IMO V for $20 at a garage sale. I go twice a week to shooting range $20 for 278 balls and then its about $30 for twilight rounds i will play 1 round once a month maybe twice

[senorchipotle]

Ok, I am 17, my parents will not pay for my golf, and they shouldn't, I should pay for it. I currently work a summer job in fast food, and make about 70-100$ on a usual week. The local golf courses around me are about 25$ and they are pretty nice(this is for twilight hours), and I can afford to do that once a week. However, I want to also be able to practice on the range, and save up for some new clubs also. Anybody have any budgeting ideas? And getting a job at a local golf course for free golf is outta the question, I have already asked if they are hiring :X I have to pay for gasoline, etc... thanks for the help!

dude... you live in golf heaven. come on, south carolina, all those courses and you can't find one for under 25? i live in dallas, where everything's over priced, and i never pay over 15 bucks a round during the week. after one minute of searching municipal gc's in greenville, this is what i found:

http://www.crosswinds-golf.com/ , http://www.furman.edu/golf/greenfees-daily.htm , http://www.summersett.net/pages/pricing.html .... they're all under 15 bucks if you're willing to play after 2 and walk.

[senorchipotle]

dude... you live in golf heaven. come on, south carolina, all those courses and you can't find one for under 25? i live in dallas, where everything's over priced, and i never pay over 15 bucks a round during the week. after one minute of searching municipal gc's in greenville, this is what i found:

https://www.verdaegreens.com/content/view/35/98/ and this one looks really nice, it's only 18 for juniors. consider yourself lucky, junior rates are a gift from the golfing gods, take advantage while you still can.

[Philip9210]

dude... you live in golf heaven. come on, south carolina, all those courses and you can't find one for under 25? i live in dallas, where everything's over priced, and i never pay over 15 bucks a round during the week. after one minute of searching municipal gc's in greenville, this is what i found:

I called around to the local courses around me, and found out that I can play most courses around here for around 22$ with a cart, and prolly like 15$ w/o a cart...just never really occured to me to ask price w/o cart, seeing as I prefer to walk(stupid me haha)...thanks for all the advice!!!

[wedge player]

You need to find a new / another job. $100 a week is nothing, doesn't matter how you budget.

agreed wasnt to long ago i was IN school making more than that,find a job at wal-mart stocker or something get more hours simple as that find a job you can work 40 hours a week.more hours=more money

[senorchipotle]

Well, I dont agree that your parents shouldnt help, unless they cant affordto, then it is understandable. They should be encouraging you to play, golf is a wonderful sport and will teach you many lessons about life, loss, accomplishment, and failure.

WHAT?!? ''the driver is your least important club''... i submit that it is not. imho, it is your second MOST important club, behind your sand wedge. i think putting is generally a more important part of your game, but you don't need a fancy putter to be good at it. a crappy driver on the other hand, is a whole lot worse than a crappy putter.

[OnePutt]

This is beyond making more money and finding cheaper green fees, because that's your job. Places to save big money are clubs(buy used at store, eBay, or craigslist) and tees (buy in bulk at walmart etc rather than overpaying at course) and balls (lostgolfballs.com is a good site, also check eBay and craigslist for deals). You don't have to live horribly, but a little cutting back (or working extra hours) can free up some cash for fun stuff.

[alcorn]

wow... you remind me of me about ten years ago.. working fast food and trying to keep enough to go to the range and play. so here's a few little tips. As far as getting "new" clubs, check out craigs list and golf galaxy and golfsmith stores in the used section. I know it sounds weird but you can find some great deals. heck, today I bought a set of blades to fool around with for only about $50. They're old and beat up but they hit good so I took em. The point being as many people have probably already pointed alot of us start out with used clubs.

As far having enough money to play and go to the range. Personally, when I was your age I had a shag bag full of balls and figured out the hours of the day when no one was at my local soccer field. I could get all the way out to a six iron doing that. If you are a 36 handicap as you're profile says then my suggestion is to find the course in your area with decent putting/chipping green and practice your game 150 yds and in.

The budgeting stuff is tricky because alot of courses will have a junior or college student membership and that'll keep ya good til your 24ish. One idea is to walk. the only other thing I can think of is finish the season playing twilight and put aside a little money each week for your membership next year.
Hope this helps.

[buddycris75]

gotta agree with alot of these guys. first go find a different job. you can be makin alot more money than that if you want to.

[ApocG10]

WHAT?!? ''the driver is your least important club''... i submit that it is not. imho, it is your second MOST important club, behind your sand wedge. i think putting is generally a more important part of your game, but you don't need a fancy putter to be good at it. a crappy driver on the other hand, is a whole lot worse than a crappy putter.

true, it was a bad choice of words. I should have said least used club. My bad.

[Rob2686]

I just started golfing this year, and have very little income. (Wow, this game is expensive!)

I'm on a pretty tight budget (and the money I do have will hopefully go to club upgrades), I'm using clubs that I got at least seven or eight years ago. (Hence the penny pinch )

I found a range near my home that has two approach shot practice greens. They are free to use, I've been there every single day this week. I have sort of tricked myself into thinking it's an actual course, I suppose I like practicing more than playing ATM though.

When I want to practice putting I go to my local expensive course and practice on their well groomed greens. If I feel the urge to drive (I always do) I scout kids (no pedo) or old people and wait until they leave and pick up their 5 foot balls. O_O

As for actually playing rounds of golf, I have two coupon books that offer buy one get one free admission. (I haven't played a nice course yet, trying to master my putting / short game first)

[enis750]

just started this year and have a 5 HCP??? ...really.....

[Mr3Putt]

Are there any local country clubs that you could be a caddy?

You get to play free on Mondays! (plus all the nice balls you can hawk)

When I was a kid, we used to play blackjack for dimes while waiting for the caddy master to call out our number. There were many days I made more in dimes than in caddy fees. After a while, I wouldn't even sign up to caddy, I would just deal cards. I would be back home by 10 with a pocketful of loot thinking Am I glad these these idiots don't hit a 14 when I have a 9 up...

But I digress... you can play free on Mondays!

[Fat Slice]

I asked someone in your area about your situation and here is her response. You should follow up.

The First Tee of Greenville will be setting up its schedule in the next few weeks. We offer classes for juniors 8-18 for $50 for a 8 week session. I am also working on getting some area golf courses to give me some junior rates and will have all this available on the web site very soon.
Thank you for getting in touch with us and look forward to seeing and talking with you.
Sincerely
Nancy Daniel

Executive Director
The First Tee Greenville
864-787-3188
www.thefirstteegreenville.org
gvillefirsttee@bellsouth.net

[localhawaii]

Why not try marshaling at one of the local courses near you? A friend told me that at one course they could serve a 6 hour shift and get free play monday to thursday and all the range balls you can hit. This would allow you to save money since you wouldnt have to pay for greens fees or range balls. I am sure your YMMV but its worth a shot.

[murphmjm]

i know this post is from june but if your still looking around for next season why not try the south carolina junior golf association - http://scjga.org/ . They have a list of courses that give you a discounted rate with your scjga card. I think it runs till your 18 as well, my sisters a member and plays in a few of their tournaments.

[Kraemer]

becoming a caddie is a great way to go; plus you'll make at least $100/day.
I was a caddie back in '80's and would make 80 back then! Lucky to have a course near that allowed caddies.
You'll need to find one near you.

[mc0388]

How much is a membership? Some memberships are a few hundred bucks. Save for a few months (its winter). buy the membership in spring, and save more funds for clubs, lessons, and/or etc...