by Andre Sanchez

Golf can be an expensive game to play, but if you know how to play golf on a tight budget, you will be able to play a lot more with the money you have available. Golf need not be the expensive game that most people believe that it is if you approach it the right way.

You can save money with the golf course itself, before we look at equipment. There are many municipal and public courses available for you to play on for which you don’t have to pay a membership, and for which the green fees are generally cheaper. Keep in mind that if you are on a tight budget, you will not be able to keep up with the high flyers with unlimited bank accounts, and will have to make sacrifices somewhere.  The purpose of this article is to point them all out to you, and you can employ those that you must and ignore those that you can afford to ignore. You might be able to play Pinehurst, but with a cheaper set of clubs! The choice is yours.

So, back to the public golf courses. You are going to be able to cut around 50% off the green fees, and if you can play midweek rather than at weekends, you might get your round even cheaper. There are also several nine-hole courses you can play at a fraction of the price, and it can sometimes be cheaper to play a nine-hole course twice, than a full course once. You can find a list of municipal golf courses in your local directory or Yellow Pages.

Now onto your clubs.  Many people, especially beginners that are short of cash, start off with second hand clubs.  What’s the point in splashing out on expensive new clubs before you know if you even like the game or not.  You don’t know what flex you want or even what woods and irons you want to play with.  Do you need a one iron or can you play with a three wood? Find out first before you pay too much, and there are lots of very good second hand sets for sale.  Don’t rent, because that is wasted money.

Many people have started the game and found it not for them, or that the clubs they have are not suited to them.  They sell them and start again.  You can often get a good set at an excellent price, and let’s face it,  a set is classed as ‘used’ after only one round of golf!  The same is true of your putter:  putters are often personal things so don’t buy a new one until you know the basic style or design that suits you best. There are many weird and wonderful putter styles out there, so buy second hand until you know what you want.  You can save a minimum 50% on a set of clubs that way.

Now you have saved a fortune on your golf clubs, how about the balls. Unless you are a very good golfer, you don’t need expensive golf balls.  In fact you can save yourself a fortune by using lake balls to start with.  Good second hand golf balls are very cheap, and some don’t have scratch on them.  You can get the very best makes at very low prices.  Just what you need if you are playing golf on a budget.

While on the golf course, walk it.  You don’t need a trolley or a cart, unless you have some sort of disability in which case a cheap golf trolley should do. Otherwise, carry your golf bag and walk the course.  It will keep you fit and improve your game by persuading you that the fewer shots you take the better! Another way to save money is to give the nineteenth hole a miss.  That can be even more costly than the round, so go straight home afterwards.  If you must socialize stick at something  inexpensive, and don’t get caught up with the lunch crowd.  Then you will be digging deep into your pockets!

Keep an eye out for discounts in the golf shops.  You often find golf gear and bags on sale at low prices when a new line is being launched. The retailer is selling the old line off cheaply to make room for the new stuff.  These discounts are actually generally provided by the manufacturers that build them into the pricing structure of the goods to allow a seamless switch from one model to the other. You can take advantage of that by buying yours at the discount price.

You have no need for fancy training equipment. You can get fit for golf by using a heavy metal bar as a weighted club for swing exercising, and heavy rocks to hold in front of you as you twist your body from side to the other with your arms straight out in front of you holding the weights.  That is an excellent way to improve the flexibility of the muscles and joints you use in your swing. Expensive training aids are fine. But not necessary.  The cheapest and best you can buy, if you must, is some exercise tubing you can use for strength and flexibility training.

It is not difficult to learn how to play golf on a tight budget. These tips will help you to play the game with the minimum of expenditure, and as final tip, check out eBay.  You can often get great bargains there for clubs, balls and everything else needed to play golf on a budget.

How to Play Golf on a Tight Budget was originally published at http://www.golfplayernow.com