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I love golf - when I was a kid, I had a membership and I golfed nearly every day, including being the first ones out on the course before the school day started.  
 
But now I have no time. Most nice courses are 18 holes, and on a weekend, that's a 4-5 hour commitment, minimum, not to mention the cost involved.  
 
Maybe when my kids get older my wife and I will find the time for it again, but I don't see it anytime soon.

My husband and I love to golf, unfortunately, it's the price that stops us from going on a regular basis. We would love to go 2-3x per week, but only go 2-3x per year.

pudds said "I love golf - when I was a kid, I had a membership and I golfed nearly every day, including being the first ones out on the course before the school day started.     But now I have no time. Most nice courses are 18 holes, and on a weekend, that's a 4-5 hour commitment, minimum, not to mention the cost involved.     Maybe when my kids get older my wife and I will find the time for it again, but I don't see it anytime soon. "

You are aware you can golf 9 holes even if the golf course is an 18 hole course?

I am an avid player, but these are a couple of issues I don't understand about the golf business  
 
-why do you charge more than 1/2 the price of a full round to play 9 holes? If the course is packed I understand it, but they're not, so.....?  
 
-set up tees that are fair to all levels of players. Hitting driver , fairway wood, wedge on every hole isn't fun or fair. Please don't just throw a set of blocks in the middle of the fairway and expect people to actually play from them.  
 
Edited by duffer2, 2017-08-29 06:06:10

I guess it all depends on where people want to spend their money. I think $3000 (average for one season as per Hockey Canada) or more for minor hockey is absurd, but lots of people don't mind. A family membership is about half that at most courses.  
 
And golf around here really isn't as expensive as some think it is. Yeah, if you want you can spend $82 and go play Clear Lake on a Saturday morning, but you don't have to.  
 
All summer Minnedosa, Neepawa, Poplar Ridge, and Dauphin Lake (that last one is a long hike I'll admit) had $12 rounds on Monday when you rented a cart. So for around $30 you got yourself a round at a really good course.  
 
Most courses offer early bird rates on memberships. For my membership it takes 21 rounds to "break even" which is less than 1 round a week, this year with the early start to the season it's about 1 round every 10 days. I choose to have a golf cart, for which I pay yearly storage and trail fees, but that's a choice I make. You can easily walk and it's much better for you as well.  
 
When looking at equipment you can spend as little or as much as you want to as well, especially if you buy used clubs. I paid $75 for my current driver and it's 4 model years old. Last year I bought new-to-me irons for $400, and sold my old irons for $160. They had lots of life in them, I was just looking for an upgrade.

Xuser said "    pudds said "I love golf - when I was a kid, I had a membership and I golfed nearly every day, including being the first ones out on the course before the school day started.     But now I have no time. Most nice courses are 18 holes, and on a weekend, that's a 4-5 hour commitment, minimum, not to mention the cost involved.     Maybe when my kids get older my wife and I will find the time for it again, but I don't see it anytime soon. " You are aware you can golf 9 holes even if the golf course is an 18 hole course? "

Of course, but 9 holes is usually a rip-off, or has limited availability.  
 
Clear Lake, for instance, has an ok rate for 9 holes (56% of 18 hole price), but they allow 9 hole green fees over lunch time or after 3:30.  
 
Sunnyside charges 75% of the 18 hole rate for 9 holes. Minnedosa and Shilo both charge 70%, and Shilo only allows 9 hole rounds during the week.

Trevor said "I guess it all depends on where people want to spend their money. I think $3000 (average for one season as per Hockey Canada) or more for minor hockey is absurd, but lots of people don't mind. A family membership is about half that at most courses.     And golf around here really isn't as expensive as some think it is. Yeah, if you want you can spend $82 and go play Clear Lake on a Saturday morning, but you don't have to.     All summer Minnedosa, Neepawa, Poplar Ridge, and Dauphin Lake (that last one is a long hike I'll admit) had $12 rounds on Monday when you rented a cart. So for around $30 you got yourself a round at a really good course.     Most courses offer early bird rates on memberships. For my membership it takes 21 rounds to "break even" which is less than 1 round a week, this year with the early start to the season it's about 1 round every 10 days. I choose to have a golf cart, for which I pay yearly storage and trail fees, but that's a choice I make. You can easily walk and it's much better for you as well.     When looking at equipment you can spend as little or as much as you want to as well, especially if you buy used clubs. I paid $75 for my current driver and it's 4 model years old. Last year I bought new-to-me irons for $400, and sold my old irons for $160. They had lots of life in them, I was just looking for an upgrade. "

No, it's not super expensive, but it's expensive enough if you want to do it regularly, and especially compared to other casual sports. I play softball for $40 a season, for instance, and volleyball all winter for $75.

I'm not saying golf isn't worth what the courses are charging, but I am saying it's more than we like to spend. We are a DINK (double income, no kids) couple with no debt, decent jobs and yet still find the cost high for us, as I have other entertainment options that rank higher than golf. We have been out for 2 rounds together this year, male has been 3 other times and female 2 other times. We have never golfed Shilo so I just looked it up. If I read the website correctly, it would cost a couple around $94.00 to golf 18 holes with a cart. If we were to do this once a week over the summer, say 12 weeks the cost would be $1,128.00. This doesn't include the price of clubs (we do currently own our own, but they don't last forever), gas, probably a meal, and maybe a drink or two while on the course. If we were golf enthusiasts I am sure we wouldn't think that cost is high. I would prefer however to save that money to put towards a hot tub or a hot vacation. If golf was more cost effective I know we would golf a lot more often. If the price was somewhere around the $50 - $60 mark combined (cart included) I am sure we would be out a few times a month, instead of a few times a summer. I am by no means saying it's not worth what courses charge, I am saying it's not worth it to us.

I have never been a big golf guy but i do enjoy the odd game. But I dont even keep score anymore cause it just did not mean any thing when I was only golfing a few times a year. not scoring helped me not get down on myself.  
 
I find the biggest issue now outside of the cost and time would be to find 3 others that have the same outlook to go with.  
 
any time i do 18 by the time i get to #12 I am looking longly at the 19th hole.  
 
Here is a suggestion, if you are in the mood for organizing something like this.  
 
put together a casual tournament all welcome, shotgun start and you pair up with like minded golfers when you get there keep the price down, supply the carts, have some wings or something mid way through.  
 
There are lots of fund raisers a person can go to but they tend to be expensive, prizes, meals etc.  
 
you might get those of us that have drifted away to come back.

I use to play every weekend. Enjoyed a leisurely round of golf. As the years wore on the game like everything else in life became more rushed. It always seemed rushed so the people behind you didn't get angry because they had to wait a couple of minutes. When you shoot an average 114 you will naturally be slower so after always being told to hurry up the game lost its appeal.  
 
Cost is also a factor.