Frugal Golf

Golf is getting more and more expensive, and because of that, some folks refuse to try it. Here are some ways for beginners to minimize their expenses.

You can get golf balls free, just stomp around in the taller rough, and chances are good that you will find them by stepping on them. Also you can borrow someone’s ball retriever and fish them out of water hazards.

Clubs can be very very inexpensive at most garage sales, where people just want to get rid of them. For example, since my wife loves going to garage sales, I tag along with no intentions of finding anything, but I always see clubs, balls, and bags for sale for dirt cheap prices. Recently I saw a full set of older Titleist woods and irons, complete with bag for $30, and although I did not need them, I offered $15 and they took it. I figure this could be a better than average starter set for a friend, or I can probably resell them for at least $100.

Practice could be mostly free, since most of your strokes come from the short game, and most courses have a free practice green, some of which allow chipping also. For pitches, you can practice at most open fields, baseball fields, or local parks, although some parks may not allow this. You can even take full swings at the park with wiffle balls.

When beginners are ready to play a real course, start with a par 3 course, they are usually inexpensive. Check for resident discounts at your local courses. Check for coupon deals on the internet and the newspapers, sometimes you can get 2 for 1 greens fees. Also, playing on weekdays is cheaper than weekends, and twilight rates are even lower. (see www.geocities.com/golfwithjoey)