From Fiat to Ferrari Part 2

     Golf is too expensive, or so the critics of the game say.  That may be true to some extent, but it truly depends on how you look at the game and it's costs. The choice is your's my friend. The good news is that you don't have to buy the Ferrari or settle for the Fiat.
     I generally play at a good municipal or nearby public course. My green fees rarely exceed $40, even for weekend play. Watching the tee time booking sites such as GolfNow can also reduce the cost of the game as far as green fees. Most courses have email mailing lists which let golfers know of reduced green fees and other specials. If you watch and pay attention, finding a course to play that is fun can challenging can be very reasonable.
     By the way, not all golfers play at private country clubs. Speaking of country clubs, membership pricing can vary as well depending on the membership you want. Yes, this is the "high end" of the spectrum as far as play is concerned but even this varies. Shinnecock Hills in the New York area carries a higher cost of membership than does Merced Country Club in Merced, California. There is no way I can afford The Olympic Club in San Francisco, California but I can almost swing Belmont Country Club in Fresno, California. Location is very important and private clubs do have different membership plans should that be your choice.
    For the longest time when it was just me playing golf in my family, I was very happy playing the local muni. It is a great track and very challenging test of golf which given the amount of play it gets it is always in great shape. My daughter took up the game as did my son and it became cheaper to join a local semi-private course. For me, given the costs involved it was more cost effective to join the semi-private club. This was a matter of choice and not a matter of status. As far as the quality of golf and the service, if it was just me playing I would have been very happy to have stayed at the muni.
     Variety is also the spice of life. As a golfer I have played a lot of courses, from the very inexpensive to the very cheap. Each was an enjoyable experience mostly. Yes, I admit to playing Trump National Los Angeles--OK, I admit to cheating on that one because the round was comped and I was on assignment with a golf magazine--but I have also played Fresno Airways which is an inexpensive muni.
     The bottom line is that the golfer can choose how expensive or how thrifty they want to be as to the green fee. Those options are endless and can range from Fiat to Ferrari. I'm kind of a Chevrolet man myself.

Paso Robles Golf Course has some great holes like this par 3. It is an inexpensive course and fun to play.