Quote:
Originally Posted by fitness1
People are just downright crazy...
I play M-F during the season here in MI. I shoot around and under 80 most days.....Here's what's in my bag:
20 year old Callaway Hawkeye driver (actually have 3 - two 7 degrees and a 6)
8-10 year old Callaway Diablo 3-5-7 wood
10-12 year old Nike 4 hybrid
10 year old Wilson Fat Shaft Deep Red 6-PW
5-6 year old Powerbilt SX wedge set 52-56-60
15 year old Taylor Rossa Daytona putter
All of these clubs were purchased used or at deep discounts new on Ebay. For 529 I could buy all of them twice at what I paid and still have money left over for a bag and shoes! 
I haven't bought a golf ball in about 15 years - but have sold enough (thanks to those who leave them behind!) to help pay for my 900.00 yearly membership, which, since I play 140-150 round a year costs me a little over 6 bucks a round!
So, golf does NOT have to be a rich mans game as it's always said......when I divide my output by the hours of enjoyment, it's actually pretty darn cheap! |
Obviously for people who are WAY into golf, there are ways to mitigate the costs and bring the per-round cost down quite a lot. I mean, if you're into it enough to join a country club, you have an incentive to play five rounds per day and then you could get the per-round cost way down there. But you'd have to play the same course pretty much all the time, which some would see as a negative. I ski bummed for a couple years as a kid and it was dirt cheap for me because my seasonal lift pass was included in working for the ski-area, I knew all of the shop owners in town and got great deals on used and discontinued gear, waited tables a night and got most of my meals free, etc, etc, etc.
But the cost of the activity for the casual skier or golfer has gotten pretty out of hand. Because if you're paying retail for gear and buying daily lift passes or greens fees, it's wildly more expensive than it used to be. I haven't golfed or gone downhill skiing in decades despite doing a whole lot of both in my youth.
My most recent sports endeavor was about 20 years as a very serious bicyclist. People were shocked, SHOCKED, that I'd spend $3000 on a custom bicycle frame and that's obviously a lot if you're not into it. But once I bought the frame and built it up into a functional bicycle (using parts I already owned), I'd ride nearly for free after that. I'd have to keep good tires and chains on the bike, but other than those relatively small costs, thee were no "user fees" for cycling other than the road taxes I was and am already paying.
Kind of the same with guitars. I just got back into playing a lot a few years ago after 30 years of barely playing at all. And I upgraded my gear and did some buying and selling figuring out what I really liked. But I'm at the point now that I've gotten to with most recent hobbies/activities where I've pretty much figured out what I like and now own a good mix of acoustic and electric gear and the GAS has largely subsided. I never really had GAS except in the early stages when I was still educating myself about the options that were out there. Now I'm pretty much down to the cost of strings with my three electric and one acoustic guitar. I can play as much as I want with no real additional expense. Those are the kinds of activities I've gravitated to for many years now.