Added up my golf spending for the year and I'm not okay

[DoglegDave]

So I did the stupid thing and actually tallied up my golf spending for the year last night. I keep a rough spreadsheet for the handicap stuff (don't ask, it's a whole thing) so the numbers were just sitting there waiting to ruin my evening.

Greens fees alone. I play twice a week, mostly the same muni at $42 walking, plus one nicer course a month in the $70-90 range. That's a mortgage payment. Then balls. I'm losing 3-4 a round lately which is its own separate problem, so figure two boxes of Kirklands a month. Plus grips, a hybrid I swore I'd never buy, two lessons, and the range bucket habit I refuse to track.

The kicker is the small stuff nobody counts. The $9 hot dog and Gatorade. A new glove every six weeks because I sweat through them like a sprinkler. The $5 I lose to my brother every single time we play. The push cart I bought when my back started complaining. It adds up fast.

I'm not posting the total because my wife might eventually find this forum, but it's more than my car insurance. And here's the thing. I don't regret a dollar of it. Best money I spend all year.

But now I'm curious if I'm the outlier or if you guys are all quietly in the same boat. What's your "I can't believe I spend that on golf" line item? For me it's gloves. I go through them like nothing and I've just accepted it.

[FairwayFrank]

Gloves are cheap and you know it. Two boxes of Kirklands a month is where the real bleed is, and you glossed right over it because losing 3-4 balls a round feels like a skill problem instead of a spending problem. It's both. Fix the slice and you just found yourself sixty-ish bucks a month.

The line item that actually gets me is the range. You said you refuse to track it, which tells me you already know it's the ugly one. I did the same thing for years, then one day I counted the receipts in my console and it was more than my greens fees. Buckets are the most expensive part of this hobby and nobody wants to say it out loud because hitting balls feels like practice and practice feels virtuous.

Also, respectfully, the spreadsheet is the thing that ruined your evening, not the golf. I've watched guys quit over a number on a screen when they were perfectly happy the week before. Your brother taking your $5 every round is a bargain though. That's entertainment.

What muni are you playing at $42 walking? That's a good rate and I'm genuinely asking.