Thinking
about taking up golf? Here's the bottom line
on expenses
By
RAYMUND FLANDEZ
WSJ - For beginners, one of
the most daunting things about golf is the price
tag. It's tough to sort through the game's specialized
equipment and figure out how much all of it
is going to cost. How many clubs do you need,
and should you go for a basic bagful or shell
out for top-of-the-line models? What's the difference
between a public and private course, and how
much will it cost to get on the links?
Here's a closer look at what
you'll need to get started in golf, and what
you can expect to pay - whether you go the bargain
route with generic clubs and public courses,
or buy custom-fitted irons to use on private
greens.
CLUBS
Golf's basic piece of equipment
presents a dizzying array of choices - and prices.
Many manufacturers offer a
packaged set of inexpensive clubs for beginners.
These sets retail for around $99 to $149. For
that price, you'll usually get woods, irons
and a putter - 14 clubs in all, the same number
the pros carry. Beyond the cheapest tier, clubs
are marketed differently. Most manufacturers
offer sets of eight irons, but you must buy
the rest of the clubs a la carte.
Midprice sets can run $300
to $400, and the top of the line ranges as high
as $2,000. Meanwhile, individual clubs range
from $30 to $40 for the cheapest, $50 to $100
for midprice models and up to $600 for top-of-the-line,
custom-fitted ones, according to Ken Morton
Jr., vice president of the Association of Golf
Merchandisers and director of marketing at Haggin
Oaks Golf Complex, a municipal course in Sacramento,
Calif.
The difference between the
three price tiers comes down to quality and
reliability. Cheaper clubs and midprice ones
may not last as long as pricey pieces, and they
don't offer the technological enhancements that
top-of-the-line models do. For example, expensive
drivers have composite or graphite shafts that
maintain good stability and lower the center
of gravity. So you hit the ball with a straighter
club face, and your shots will be less likely
to go off target.
Which tier of club is right
for you? Anne Lyndrup, director of player development
for the National Golf Course Owners Association
in Charleston, S.C., suggests starting out on
the driving range by borrowing free "loaner"
clubs from the golf facility. If you want to
play on the course but don't have the equipment,
you can also rent clubs, which are newer than
the "loaner" clubs, for about $25
a round. A bargain buying tip: Most courses
sell these rental clubs at discounted prices
at a certain point during the year to make way
for the next season's clubs.
Mr. Morton goes further, and
suggests waiting to buy clubs until after you've
taken some lessons so that you and your teacher
can identify any irregularities in your swing
- and then buy clubs to correct them. For instance,
he uses an iron that has the club face built
at a special angle and with a shaft about a
half-inch over the standard length. "I
have a tendency to hit a ball high to the right
if I don't have properly fitted equipment,"
he says.
Many shops charge $50 for a
custom fitting, but sometimes offer the service
free on "demo days." Larry Dorman,
a spokesman for Callaway Golf, adds that the
custom fitting often is deducted from your club
purchase. The downside of customization? You
usually can get a custom fitting only for midtier
to expensive clubs, so you're committing to
a much higher price.
A caveat: You may not need
a full set of 14 clubs at the start. Dana Garmany,
chairman and chief executive of Troon Golf,
a Scottsdale, Ariz., company that manages upscale
golf courses, argues that beginners should go
with eight to 12. Andy Silis, national sales
manager of Tour Edge Golf of St. Charles, Ill.,
recommends that beginners get eight irons, a
putter and a couple of woods. Depending on the
price tier you choose, that could save you several
hundred dollars.
Why cut back? Pros use a number
of specialized clubs because they have a precise
idea of how powerful their swings are, and they
know that particular irons or wedges will allow
them to hit the ball very specific distances.
Beginners usually don't have that kind of control
over their shots.
BALLS AND ACCESSORIES
After selecting a club, you'll
need something to use it on. Generic balls go
for $10 to $15 a dozen; they also come in packs
of 15 and 18. The basic difference between these
and higher-tech models is that they're made
of two pieces of material - the core and cover
- instead of four. This creates a harder ball
that can be tougher to control: Balls in this
range are more likely to slide off the green
and into the rough, rather than stay put for
an easy putt.
Golfers like the softer, four-piece
golf balls because they allow you to manipulate
the spin more precisely, giving you more control.
These balls tend to run about $30 to $40 a dozen.
How can you be sure which type you're getting?
Check the packaging. Harder, cheaper balls have
a "Surlyn" cover; softer, more costly
balls have an "elastomer" cover.
You'll also want to look into
accessories at this point. Golf shoes, whose
spikes give you a better grip on the turf, range
from $60 a pair to more than $500 for top-of-the-line,
all-leather models. For the dedicated, rainwear
will cost $175 to $400, while umbrellas go for
$10 to $50.
LESSONS
Before you start playing in
earnest, you'll need somebody to show you the
ropes: the grip, the stance and how to drive,
putt and chip, as well as golf lingo, etiquette
and the layout of a facility.
Individual training sessions
with a pro usually run $40 to $100 for a half-hour,
depending on the quality of the pro and the
state of the local market. (You can often find
a set of 10 lessons for $250 to $450.) Golf
clinics for beginners - typically with one pro
and about seven students - can be had for $125
per student, once a week for four weeks, with
lessons that last for about an hour and a half.
The best bet for finding a
teacher who's worth the money: word-of-mouth.
Barry
Lotz, president of the
Professional
Golf Teachers Association of America,
advises asking friends for recommendations,
or going to golf retailers in the area; one
name should start popping up frequently. Also,
ask your prospective teacher if you could talk
to some former students. If the teacher refuses,
don't take the lessons.
For those seeking free lessons,
golf pros often give free instruction in May
as part of an awareness campaign sponsored by
the Professional Golfers' Association of America.
You can find a local pro at PGA.com or PlayGolfAmerica.com.
COURSES
Next you'll want to find a
place to play. Courses vary widely in terms
of quality and offerings. Private courses, which
require membership, generally feature lots of
amenities, such as swimming pools and tennis
courts, and tend to have better course conditions
and maintenance. Public courses, where anyone
can play for a daily fee, generally have fewer
extras, and golfers can face six-hour rounds
because of the crowds. There are also some options
in between public and private courses.
Public courses can save you
a lot of money. The median weekend price at
an 18-hole public course is $34, including cart
to drive and greens fee, the National Golf Foundation
says - though certain high-fee or resort courses
can run into the hundreds of dollars.
But those fees offer some wiggle
room. For one thing, most courses vary their
prices according to time of the week and time
of day. So consider skipping Saturday mornings,
when demand - and the cost - is typically highest.
For instance, Canyon Springs Golf Club, a public
course in San Antonio, charges $74.95 during
prime tee times. But you can pay about half
that if you start after 1 p.m. on a weekday.
Most courses offer a similar discount. (Courses
are usually open seven days a week, 7 a.m. till
dusk.)
If you're bargain hunting,
you might also join a local or national golf
organization, says Pam Swensen, vice president
of sales and marketing for the Executive Women's
Golf Association in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
The EWGA, for instance, partners with about
260 golf courses, which offer the group's members
10 percent to 15 percent off greens fees. The
EWGA has an annual membership fee of $100; fees
vary widely at other groups. There's no central
directory of these organizations, but individual
groups are easy to find online.
Another option is membership
at a public course, some of which offer such
packages. Most recreational golfers prefer the
pay-as-you-go method, but if you know you're
going to play at least once a week, a membership
could save you lots of money.
Let's say you play golf once
a week at Canyon Springs. If you pay a $74.95
greens fee every time, you would end up shelling
out $3,897.40 for a year. But with a membership
of $2,995, or $275 a month, you could shave
almost $900 off that amount. (For a family membership,
the cost is $3,495, or $317 a month.) Joe Munsch,
president and chief executive officer of Evergreen
Alliance Golf Ltd., says annual memberships
at the 27 public courses the company manages
usually start at an average of $1,800.
Memberships at private clubs
can run much higher, depending on the cachet
and quality of the course and the kinds of perks
it offers, such as top-notch food and beverage
service. Some extremely exclusive courses, such
as Augusta National Golf Club's men-only membership,
are invitation only.
When you join a private club,
you'll usually have to pay an initiation fee,
which can range anywhere from $1,000 to $500,000.
According to the Club Managers Association of
America, in a survey of 3,000 members, the average
initiation fee for a regular or full member
in 2004 was $59,880. Monthly dues were $486.
Clearly, you would have to
play a lot of golf to make up for the initiation
fee. But you'd get a locker with your name on
it - and really fluffy towels.
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