The only reason I could marginally agree with someone who hates golf is if they hate it because of the price. Golf has always been expensive, but nowadays it’s even worse. Getting some decent golf equipment will cost more than people think, and a lot of the time, it breaks the bank, too.
There are 3 huge reasons why golf should be cheaper. The first reason is that there would be increased accessibility and diversity in the golf community. The high price point of golf is a big barrier to the game. Because of that, people with more money or higher incomes tend to play more often and have nicer equipment and venues to play at.
This increase in accessibility and diversity will draw in new, younger players, people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, and even casual players to play more often. People might really want to play, but their funds won’t cut it.
The second main reason why golf should be cheaper is that it would improve the public perception of golf. Because of the high price to play golf, it reinforces the reputation of people with more money playing the sport more often. People judge this and see the sport as for only rich, wealthy, and even selfish people.
Lowering the cost to play will make the sport overall seem more welcoming and mainstream to most. This would counter the “luxury sport” rap it gets. Lowering the cost to play is connected to how the course charges its players. If courses started to think more frugally with their spending, maybe by lowering fertilizer use or simplifying the landscape, they could lower the price to play.
The last reason is that these lower prices would help the long-term economic health of the sport. Courses have since started to raise their prices more and more over the years. Courses are trying to “strike the iron while it’s hot,” and that could hurt the sport in the long run.
As courses rely on inflated prices to boost their income, they may be pricing out the average local golfer, which could hinder the game’s overall growth. If the sport were more affordable, it would significantly attract more lifelong players, resulting in increased long-term revenue. Also, a larger pool of people would help the whole golf industry to rely on a constant revenue.
Golf isn’t great when it comes to the price whatsoever, but this could change. People would view the sport differently, and more demographics would join. Even average golfers who have money to play are getting more lenient with how they spend their money in the golf industry. Really, nobody wants to spend upwards of $70 per round, or $500 on an okay set of clubs. I can definitely say I don’t like to, or even want to.
