GGs!

Our goal is to write and provide content that is non-geographical, as relevant and timeless as possible, and useful to you ladies. We thought the best place to start is with one of the largest obstacles preventing most ladies from even picking up a club: Budget. 

From my 13+ years in the golf community, the three biggest stigmas I have seen and continue to hear are women (and people in general) are discouraged from golf because it is:

1. Expensive
2. Boring
3. A men’s sport

The GG goal is to break this stereotype.

So let’s take a moment, stop right here, and reset.

We are on a journey to prove those people in the world wrong. 

Today we’ll focus on the first of those three stereotypes. $$$. How to golf without breaking the bank or spending outside of your means whether you are brand new to the game or have been dabbling for a while.

Like with any hobby, there are going to be expenses involved. Whether you join a kickball league, play tennis, or basketball, there are equipment expenses, league dues, and clothing costs. With golf, the must haves are clubs, balls, family/good friends, and either a range or a course.

Let’s start with clubs

A brand new set of 14 clubs plus a golf bag could be as much as $1500 or as low as $100. Second hand clubs are the GG recommended mechanism to acquire your first set. It is an inexpensive alternative to used clubs sold in stores and enables you to get the feel for golf as a new player guilt-free. Once you spend time with this set and identify your personal areas of strength and weakness, you will be prepared to upgrade to a new set with specific requirements in mind.

Okay so how do you go about finding the right second hand clubs? There are definitely multiple approaches to this. In GG’s experience, a solid first step is showing up for yourself! Get involved at your favorite course. The more people that you meet, the more connections that you will make, the more doors will open up. Golf offers a wonderful community of kind people who love to network. If you have a favorite course or range to practice, connect with the pro shop. The second step is leveraging your new friends to test out some clubs – this is called demoing. Oftentimes pro shops will let you demo clubs for free. By demoing, you get acquainted with all different brands and types of clubs.

The third step is to let your new network know you’re in the process of finding new clubs. They might know someone trying to sell a set or at least be able to spread the word to help you find a second hand pair for yourself. Golf players are in all different stages, so some will be selling clubs to upgrade while you’re looking for your first set.

GG fun fact, this is how I got my first set! And guess what? I use the same set to this day AND they’re not even women’s clubs. Oftentimes senior men’s clubs work very well for women. The ultimate hack for Teeing Up Your Weekend hehehe

Onto Golf Balls & Accessories

So now that we have our irons sorted out, don’t we need a couple of sleeves of balls? I’ve heard they’re very pricey and it’s likely I will lose them!

Yes, you do need balls for the course. However, you don’t need professional quality Pro v1s by any means. There are plenty of good quality, kind-to-the-wallet alternatives, brand new golf ball options: Vice balls, Noodles, Nitro Maximum Distance, and Srixon. The GG favorite deal is actually the refurbished tub of balls from Amazon; it is an incredible deal and you score 50 “rescued” balls for $20. Nike also has a similar deal for used balls.

Cool. Let’s talk about clothes and shoes. Our favorite subject, am I right? In the real world yes, in golf NO. Women’s golf attire needs a massive makeover. And this starts with us Golfer Gals. I’m pretty bummed out by the offering out there. I struggle with finding items that fit right. I’m usually uncomfortable. And how are we supposed to play with confidence if we don’t feel our best? However, the shoe collections are drastically improving to offer trendy, classic, sneaker like shoes. Both spiked and spikeless. A step in the right direction! Here are some of my favorites (not all are on sale right now):

Puma/Cobra golf: WOMEN’S RS-G GOLF SHOES

Adidas: PUREBOOST GOLF SHOES

Puma golf: WOMEN’S LAGUNA FUSION SPORT GOLF SHOES

Adidas: CROSSKNIT DPR GOLF SHOES

Puma golf: IGNITE NXT PRO GOLF SHOES

I am doing my best to sift through everything offered and find the best items to link for you GGs. Because there have to be decent tops and shorts out there for us. My latest haul was at combination of the PGA Tour Superstore and Amazon. At PGA Tour Superstore, I found a scallop neck sleeveless polo so I grabbed the white and black. I also found their sleeveless pique polo. I recommend sizing one up for maximum movement and comfort. On Amazon, I scored an on-sale pair of Adidas golf shoes that have the bounce soles.

Now let’s discuss ranges and courses

Across the US, there are plenty of public ranges and public courses to enjoy that do not require a membership fee. Typically a large bucket of balls at the range is ~$10. And 18-holes averages $50 depending on where you are. This is an incredible way to practice on different terrains, grass types, and hazards without the redundancy of playing the same course by way of memberships.

Since forgoing my golf club membership, my Summer 2020 goal has been to travel (due to covid I stuck to just MA) and play as many public courses as possible. I wanted to do this to gain more insights on ladies’ golf and analyze the different obstacles and opportunities we have as female players. I wanted to find the best courses for our dollars and focus on how to breakthrough to inspire more women to join the golf community. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

Another opportunity to practice for less stems from growing our GG network. As we expand our community and meet more people, we will inevitably become friends with GGs who have a go-to set of ranges and courses or belong to private golf clubs. These clubs typically have member discounts and complementary practice areas so the price to pay is reduced. As a bonus, most clubs host very fun tournaments (hint hint, new post coming soon) to get together with your girls and enjoy a day on the course!