As most of you know, my local course, The Golf Club At Echo Falls, offers players a spectacular deal during the winter months. For about $200 you can get all the golf you want if you walk the course. For an extra $100 you can add a cart to the round. The only ‘drawback” to this deal is that your weekend tee times can’t be before noon. That’s it. Other than that, from mid-October through the end of February, you can play all you want on the course. Now, that said, summertime gets a bit more expensive, especially for unlimited play. A full year membership at Echo Falls runs nearly $3000. When you factor that you get 5 months for $300 – those 7 months end up costing you quite a bit extra. In fact, those 7 months cost you $2640 or almost $400 a month. That’s a lot of golf to try and cram in before the membership pays off. The question is, are there better ways to stretch that dollar and get a better deal?
Tip #1 – Skip the cart.
Golf carts are great for getting around hilly courses. In fact, playing 18 at Echo without one is almost impossible. The hill on the 12th hole is a killer and a cart should just be parked there to run people up and down it. Still, at my local courses, carts cost between $10 and $16 a round. This takes a $25 twilight round and runs it right up over $40 immediately. By skipping that cart, you can stretch $100 into four rounds instead of two.
Tip #2 - Skip the snacks and drinks.
As tempting as a nice Gatorade (or an adult beverage) sounds on the course during a warm day, the extra cost of them can really shake your golf budget quickly. Just like a cart, adding $5 for a drink or $15 for a lunch to a round will really add up. By packing a water bottle and a snack for during the round, you can easily survive the day and get home to eat a bit healthier and cheaper. If you’re really wanting to support the amenities of your course, try to stick to water to drink and get the daily specials. They are usually a bit lower cost and still will help support the local businesses that you frequent.
Tip #3 - Twilight people! Twilight!
On average, most budget conscious golfers play once a month due to the costs that that round runs up. Some courses offer something called an “early bird” rate – which is usually right about the time the sun comes up to their “prime time” rates. These vary by location and are sometimes available and sometimes not. Something that is pretty universal though, is twilight rates. These usually start about 1 or 2 in the afternoon and decrease as the day goes on. For example, a course that costs $38 to play in prime time is $7 cheaper after 1:00 in the afternoon. That’s almost 20% off the price to play the same course. If you factor that over 4 rounds, that’s a free round every 5th time you play. Look for the twilight start times at your course and see how much you can save by playing after you get the chores done on Saturday.
Tip #4 – A 9 hole round?
Golf doesn’t have to take all your time or money. Sure it will try, but it doesn’t have to. A course is 18 holes long, but that doesn’t mean you have to play all 18. A nice sunny evening or even a Saturday morning round can be shortened to 9 holes and not cost anything more the $20. You get the nice benefit of a 2 mile walk and the ability to work on that game a bit in just a couple hours in the evening. It’s a great way to go about saving a ton of cash and still working your game. In fact, there are some 9 hole rates in my area that rival the price of a bucket of balls. If you compare playing a nine hole weekend round to the prime time rate with a cart, you will find yourself able to get in 3 rounds to the price of one. That’s stretching that golf dollar pretty far.
Tip #5 – Don’t fall for the gimmicks…
Now that you are walking the course on a gorgeous evening, you may find yourself with a bit of extra cash to invest in your game. Please don’t fall for the gimmicks here. There’s no magical driver that will give you 20 yards off the tee. There’s no cart that works better than another (well maybe a few, but don’t spend $300 on one, please!) You don’t need a new bag or a new putter or any of that nonsense. It’s a simple game that can be quite enjoyable with even the most simple tools. I always recommend finding a golf buddy to share your evening rounds with instead of using new toys to keep your interest. Find a decent quality ball that won’t make you sad if it happens to land in a lake. Just find what works best for your game and stick with it – though, that cart with the seat attached to it is great for those really slow evenings when the group in front of you won’t let you through.
Honestly, the best way to save yourself a ton of money this year and still play the maximum amount of golf is to check out your local course and see what they have to offer. Maybe they have a membership at a good price. Maybe they have resident specials, military discounts or another deal that you qualify for that you don’t know about. Worse case, try the tips above and see how much you can stretch your budget with just a few simple tweaks to your playing times. You’d be surprised how far $100 a month can go when you use all the deals you can find.
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