Mike Davis from USGA just said average 18-hole round cost $26

[Ferguson]

$ 26? Oh, Pshaw.

Mike Davis needs to put away his incredible hulk coloring book and crayons and query some real GD golf courses.

[Replant]

Obviously not USGA as I'm from Alberta, Canada, but in my area twilight is $32-$49 and regular rounds are $39-84 at the five courses in my (rural) area. Closer to the major cities you'll pay $70 for a pretty average course.

[RiskyBusiness]

Could be true and fortunate in some locations but not here.

[beerpressure]

I live in NY state and semi private course wants $55 for 18 and a cart. It's not even a good course either.

I swear PA and Ohio is way cheaper to play golf.

[richbryce]

I live on the South Side of Atlanta. With the Golf Now App I have not payed more than 50 all year. Most of my rounds have been with in 25-35 dollars on some nice courses.

[Cobranoke]

I'm not even sure if in south west, Virginia you could get 18 for $26 at a time when most guys can play. This is telling as sw va is dirt cheap for everything. Back in ny or vt, $26 for 18 is a pipe dream. In my opinion USGA has lost its way and I will no longer be supporting them with my membership fees.

[jli2636]

You have to remember it means average in every sense of the word, factoring off season times, twilight, super twilight, etc. Where I grew up you could walk 18 for $18, they often ran specials for $25 with a cart. In Erie, PA where I lived for a couple years the most I ever spent was $30. Living in Mid Missouri you can walk 18 for as cheap as $17 and you fan get all the way up into the $100s. You have to remember all of the dog tracks that are out there. Yes we don't like to play them but they exist and charge a green fee that is probably next to nothing. The most I have ever personally spent on a round of golf is $50. And yes I realize I am lucky. Heck just a couple weeks ago my dad, brother and I played on a Saturday morning at 7 AM and paid $28 with cart and played in under 4 hours.

[SatelliteGuy]

Isn't a single course over 70.00 with a cart where I live.. 90% under 50...

We have a few courses they've used for U.S. Open Qfying... Some really great courses really... Several with genuine character... We have one course, Par71... Driver stays home.... Will test your placement every time you strike a ball...

I have that mother....

And love it all at the same time.

Golf is cheap here... Time is not.

[naj959]

Here in Cen Cal. It ranges $20-60. I love the summer because I can squeeze in 18 holes with a cart for $15 after 5pm. The days are long enough that you can finish and even squeeze in an extra 2 or 3 holes.

[Matt97GT]

I can play a round for $26, but here in south FL it means hunting the golfnow website for a special deal on a late afternoon out of season time.


No way "average".

[cam]

$26... I call bullxxxx... Only if I'm playing the crapiest course in the valley... On summer rates.. For a decent course I gotta she'll out over $50

[golfcarte]

anyhow, just to prove i wasn't making this up (which i think most of you don't think i was), here's the transcript link, with davis's actual words....

http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=108813

[color=#000000]MIKE DAVIS:.......[/color][color=#000000]By the way, on the cost thing, one thing I didn't mention is that it's not as bad as people would think. The average 18-hole round, I believe, Steve, I'm right on this, is $28 per round?[/color]

[color=#000000]STEVE MONA: 26 actually now.[/color]

[color=#000000]MIKE DAVIS: 26 dollars a round, even better. So I suppose if you're an owner-operator maybe that's not the best thing, but as golfer it certainly is.[/color]

[color=#000000]and his take on water....[/color]

[color=#000000]So the whole idea with this, when we look at helping the game from a resource management standpoint is reducing the footprint of golf courses. And if you can take a golf course, for example, and go from 130 acres down to 90 acres, the amount of money and resources you will spend is substantial. It's not only saving water, which we would contend long-term is the biggest threat to the game, it's not participation, it's water. That's going to be doing a lot of good things.[/color]

[Stillboard]

Most municipal and public courses are around $30 w/ cart, 15-20 to walk. Knock off a few dollars for weekday rates. Also most courses will not allow walking before 2-3pm on the weekends during 'season', which is April-September. I tend to rotate courses and will walk nine holes in the late afternoons during the weekends of the summer. Many of the local courses are around $12 to walk the nine. One muni is a nine hole course, par 35 in good shape and difficulty, they charge $10 for unlimited walking or $5 for city residents.

But most public and muni courses around me in central NC are under $40 for 18 holes and a cart.

[Ferguson]

I can't stand Mike Davis right now. Sounds like a made up name to me.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

$26 doesn’t sound too far off without a cart in WNY.

[JustTheTips]

[quote name='cam' timestamp='1430974792' post='11515001']
$26... I call bullxxxx... Only if I'm playing the crapiest course in the valley... On summer rates.. For a decent course I gotta she'll out over $50
[/quote]

Have you considered that you are playing expensive courses as a result of living in an expensive area?

[etakmit]

I can easily see 26 for 18 holes on average. There are a few areas that only offer golf at far higher rates but I don't think that's the norm throughout the country, hence the "average".

Our MOST expensive course (that isn't private) in the area is 85 bucks or so midsummer on a weekend with a cart.

[drn92]

[quote name='cphrey' timestamp='1430932835' post='11510677']
$40-$75 around Denver with a cart. There is not one single course that I would actually consider worth playing around here, weekday or weekend, that you can get on for $28...Wellshire, my local muni and where I play my mens league tourneys, is $37 to walk on a weekend. $54 with a cart. And that is a muni. Legacy Ridge for example, a nicer public course, is near $70 to ride on a weekend.
[/quote]

From Colorado Springs to Fort Collins I would bet the "average" to walk 18 is close to $45. Especially on the weekends. Weekdays (when normal people are working) might be under $40.

drn92

[BoogieThumper]

This is what $26 gets you here in the Bay Area. An executive course with one hole you can pull the driver out.

[center][b][background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]9:40 AM[/background][/b][/center]

[center][color=#F23803][size=3][b][background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]Monarch Bay - Marina 9 Hole[/background][/b][/size][/color][/center]

[center][color=#363636][size=3][b][background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]$26.00 /player[/background][/b][/size][/color][/center]

[center][color=#333333][size=2][background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]Players 1 - 41 2 3 4 [/background][/size][/color][/center]

[Gap22]

I play at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail course in Dothan, Alabama. It has hosted BUY.com Tour Championships and Hooter's Tour events in the past, so it is a pretty nice track. With my annual pass for couples, my wife and I pay $2250 per year total which allows us to walk as many rounds per year we want for no extra cost. We live 5 minutes from the course and over the course of a year we play an average of 200 rounds between us, if not more. That comes to $11.25 per round. If we want to ride, it costs $20 per person. If we upgraded to the Platinum Plus plan, we would pay $4000 per year total, and it includes all greens fees, all cart fees and unlimited range balls. At 200 rounds per year, that comes to $19.75 per round if we rode every round. If you subtract $5 for free range balls, it comes to $14.75 per round. These passes also get us free greens fees at all other RTJ Trail courses in Alabama, including Auburn and Mobile which host a PGA and LPGA events respectively. So all in all, we are getting a pretty sweet deal.

[billh17]

His numbers may be close ...with no cart......I never paid any attention to what was charged for use of a cart...I always walked....Now that I am getting a little age on these

old bones,i am amazed at what they are charging....as most people are saying,around 40 to 60 with a cart...middle of week....Cost may not be the only factor,but it is a big one'and some places I feel

the "water savings" issue is nothing more than saving money on mowing by reducing the fairways width,and growing the rough higher....we have several courses that a ball cannot be seen

five feet off the fairway unless you're standing on top of it........yeah...cost is a factor...

[ZacR88]

Wow, here in Toronto and the GTA your looking at $60+ walking and add another $20-$30 if you want a cart. Your guys down south are lucky. I drive an hour out of the city to play cheap courses that are really nice. To play a similar course in the city would cost $200.

[braincramp52]

You can play some very nice courses around here for $25 with a cart. That's during the week and 18 holes. Unlimited yearly pass will cost you $600

[thaar]

I wish I could get my average to $26 per round. I would say it's closer to $40 overall. I can find some deals/twilight specials that get me around $30 with no cart, but I find that Colorado golf is somewhat expensive compared to Michigan.

[Argonne69]

A bit surprising at first glance, but as others have stated, when you throw in mid-week and twilight rates, it's probably correct. Here in Chicago, you can walk 18 on a Tuesday afternoon at the Jackson Park GC (Muni) or Indian Boundary (Muni) for $22. You can also pay $160 (plus cart fee) to play at The Glen Club on Sunday morning at 8:10 am.

The typical muni around Chicago charges ~$45 to walk during the week, and another $5 on the weekends during the summer season. Spring/Fall rates are generally 20% cheaper.

[Tcann32]

$26 would be great! I'd say in my area the cheapest rate you'd find would be $25 walking with no specials, but by far the going average is $35+.. and it's not because the courses are prestiges. Rates seem to be increasing I think.. And I have a hard time telling a difference between the majority of $25 and $45 courses, with a few exceptions. Most courses around here are city owned, and I would equate course conditions to road conditions as far as how they are cared for.

[Exactice808]

HAHAHAAHAHAHA $26 for 18 holes...........


Thats 9 holes super twilight here in Hawaii


$26...... I dont think I ever saw those prices since I was in middles school....

[ZBigStick]

[quote name='richbryce' timestamp='1430959787' post='11513503']I live on the South Side of Atlanta. With the Golf Now App I have not payed more than 50 all year. Most of my rounds have been with in 25-35 dollars on some nice courses.[/quote]

In Atlanta This Year, has been Out Of Season. Factor in Summer Rates and that's an increase of 10-20 per round. So in a year's worth of golf your average will be 35-40 or 20% more than what Mr. Davis is quoting. Which nice courses on the South Side?

[ZBigStick]

Obviously stated before numbers can lie. If they took all of the tee times on a sheet, including twilight and Winter rates (up North) the average for the country could be $26. If they took the average PAID, it would be higher and more realistic. It should also be broken down by population density.

Sure there are great bargains in Dothan, AL, but head into Birmingham or Atlanta and those bargains disappear. There are many set ups like the RTJ Trail else wear.

Could people include their Region when talking about prices? Your personal location does not show up on the app.

[Reds]

Not only is water getting scarce in some parts but the electricity to run the pumps is outrageous. A 150 gallon per minute pump that is run every day for a couple of hours could cost upwards of 500 bucks a month just for a 9 hole course. Everything is getting more expensive in this country. Its sad that so many courses are closing. I think it was something like 300 courses closed last year in the United States.