• “I want to start playing golf, but it’s too expensive.”
• “I never get any better at golf, and it’s too expensive to improve.”
• “I can’t afford new clubs or a golf membership, so I can’t possibly get better.”

Please stop saying these things, because for 99 percent of people, they’re simply not true.

The vast majority of Americans have enough money to be able to purchase one used putter, one used sand wedge, one used 7 iron, and one used golf ball. That’s all you need to start playing golf… and not just start playing, you can actually get really good at golf with just three clubs and a golf ball. If you have exactly zero extra money, then sell a few things on eBay to support your initial golf club purchase. If you have nothing to sell, go to a local garage sale and purchase something for a deal, then flip it on eBay. Or better yet, find golf clubs at a garage sale! If you simply can’t come up with any money at all, and you can’t find a friend or relative who has old clubs you can borrow, get to your local golf course and I bet they’ll give you a few clubs for free out of the lost and found. If you want to play golf, or you want to get better at golf, there are plenty of ways to do it for cheap and/or free!

And if you can afford to purchase a Starbucks coffee in the morning, pay cover at a nightclub on Fridays, or have enough to eat out at restaurants (not during happy hour) then you have enough to play golf!

As you may already know, I’m the editor of GolfWRX. In May, I switched from playing golf righty for my entire life, to playing lefty. Why? Because of a back injury… and the challenge to break 100. Since I switched to south paw three months ago, I’ve not only broken 100, but I broke 90 and 85. My low score so far is an 83 (on a relatively easy course: 68.8, 115). Do you know how much money I’ve spent on golf since I switched? According to all my bank account transactions over that time period, I’ve spent $908. That’s including my full set of clubs, range sessions, all rounds of golf, lead tape for my slice, golf gloves, and other equipment. And you know what? I’ve overspent. I’ve played rounds of golf I didn’t need to play, bought buckets of balls I didn’t need to and spent too much on golf clubs. The reality is that I could have easily spent way less.

Golf can be as expensive as you want it to be. You can spend $50k on a membership, $10k on golf trips, $10k on a set of clubs, and $500 or more per golf outfit. Or, you can hit TJ Maxx or a thrift shop for collared shirts if you need them, and follow my guide below to learn how to play golf for cheap.

Full disclosure: Yes, I get golf balls for free (perks of the job) and had obviously already had golf apparel from throughout my career. For video footage, I received a free club fitting from Club Champion (the fitting was free, not the used golf clubs I bought), and a free full swing analysis from Urban Golf Performance. 

1) Used golf clubs

This is the number one barrier to entry into the sport of golf, in my opinion. An all-too-common misconception is that you need to spend $500 on a driver, $1000 on irons, $300 on wedges, and of course, at least $200 on a putter. This is so wrong that it hurts my soul — and I’m a journalist, who don’t even have souls.

If you’re a beginning golfer who’s never played the game, head to your nearest big box store (Golf Galaxy, Dicks, etc) or a used golf store (do a quick google search in your area) and pick out the cheapest putter, wedge and 7 iron you can find. Or, head to a local golf course and check out the lost and found; they will either sell you a club for $5, or often, they’ll just give it to you for free. You do not need a driver or a fairway wood or a hybrid or a full set of irons. We’re simply learning the game right now — how to make contact, get the ball airborne, what it means to swing a golf club, etc. A beginning artist doesn’t need to buy expensive paint brushes and fancy tools; just get a cheap paint brush and some paints and start experimenting.

If you’re someone who sort of knows how to play golf already, or you’ve played a few times and want to have a full set, used golf clubs are a great option. Search eBay, rockbottomgolf, TGW, local used shops or the other many options online for a set of golf clubs. Technology that goes back as far as 10 years is all you need; and the bigger the better when it comes to irons and wedges. You want big soles and big toplines (ask customer service for game-improvement wedges and irons)… these will offer you the most forgiveness and help you achieve more height and distance on your golf shots. Also, invest in a bunch of used golf balls; there are plenty of online options, or spend $10 at a local golf course scouring the used golf ball bin. You don’t need premium $50-a-dozen golf balls. You can even buy foam or plastic golf balls to hit in your house, apartment or backyard.

Here’s are the clubs I bought for my lefty set, and it cost me only $430!

2) Short game practice area

When you’re starting out, short game practice should make up 100 percent of your time and effort. At first, don’t even go to a range or a golf course. Putt on a carpet in your living room while watching golf on TV. Try to mimic the tempo, grip, and look of the strokes you see (don’t watch Adam Scott, though). Set up a solo cup or a shoe as your target. If you have a carpet, or a small backyard, you can start chipping using your wedge, too. Work on hitting down and through the ball. Remember, swing down and hit the ground to get the ball to pop up. Golf is a game of opposites.

After you’re comfortable and ready to head to a real green, seek out a local short game area. Most golf courses have a putting green that allows you to chip and putt. The best part? They typically don’t charge for the use of this area!! My local muni has both a chipping green and a putting green; this is where I spent 95 percent of my time practicing during the first few weeks I switched to lefty. Learn how to get the ball airborne on chip shots, how to simply hit the green every time from a variety of lies, how to not three putt from twenty feet, and how to make those 3 foot putts. These are crucial skills to learn, and they will provide you the fundamentals for when you hit the range and take your first full swings on a range.

Again, this is completely free.

3) The range

Once you get your short game and putting to the point where you’re comfortable, it’s time to hit the range for the next few weeks. Yes, many public ranges give you only 30 balls for 5 bucks, or 80 for $10, BUT, most local ranges also have range membership deals, or some cash-saving deal where you get more range balls or tokens for your money. Invest in that deal. Take advantage of what they’re offering, because you’re going to be grinding day-in and day-out at this range. If it’s 100 bucks for 12 jumbo tokens instead of getting only 10 for full retail, do that! This is where you’re going to make yourself into a real golfer, and for WAY cheaper than playing golf everyday at a real course. If you can get an unlimited range membership? Even better! Capitalize on any range deal you can find. If you’re lucky enough to have a local golf course that has a free hitting mat and a net (yes, these do exist), then you’re in luck. You just found a free range and saved yourself hundreds of dollars.

Now, what are we going to do at the range… bang drivers? NO. For the first week or two at the range, really we only need a wedge and a seven iron. Spend your entire jumbo bucket hitting wedges and seven irons, teaching yourself how to hit the ball and get it in the air. You already know that hitting down on the ball is the most effective way to get the ball into the air, because you’ve been practicing that technique over and over and over again at the short game area for the past two weeks. And you’ve developed some great hand-eye coordination in that time as well. Now, we’re just lengthening the swing and teaching our bodies how to react at a faster pace. It’s all about getting the ball into the air consistently and teaching ourselves the golf motion, which will feel very weird at first, but your body will adjust.

Many golfers and people in the golf industry will tell you that you need to get lessons before even bothering going to the range. I disagree, for most cases. Give yourself a chance to develop the proper hand-eye coordination necessary to play golf by yourself before muddying your thoughts with professional advice. The human body and brain is smart… it will take only a few dozen times topping the ball or completely whiffing for you to start to self correct. You just need to give yourself the freedom to learn on your own and experiment.

Remember: Hit down on the ball for it to pop up!

When you start being able to get the ball in the air every time, then and only then is it time to start experimenting with a driver. But, you don’t even need to learn how to hit a driver before heading to the golf course…

4) Executive/Par 3 courses

Full-length 18-hole golf courses are not the only way to play golf, improve, and have a good time playing the sport. Actually, in my opinion, they’re not even the best option.

Chances are, there’s an executive course (consisting of mostly par 3s, but also par 4s or even par 5s), or a pitch-n-putt course (mostly short par-3s) nearby where you live. The chances are also high that playing the course will run you less than $20, and probably more like $8-10.

These courses will give you the opportunity to play real golf against a set par, but you won’t have to deal with the long time commitment, pressure of impatient golfers, or the large cost to play a full 18 holes at a course. Playing an executive or pitch-n-putt course over and over again will allow you to get comfortable actually playing the sport of golf; hitting tee shots, trying to save bogey or par, holing out under pressure for a score, walking a golf course, figuring out yardages, basic etiquette and pace of play.

I’ve told this story on the Two Guys Talking Golf podcast, but when I was growing up, my dad refused to allow me to play golf on a full 18 hole course until I beat him (he’d give me a stroke per hole) on our local pitch n putt course. It took me several rounds and lots of heartbreak to beat him, but once I did, I was fully prepared to play on a real course because I had so much practice playing golf already. You should do this too as a beginner.

5) Twilight golf

So, it’s finally time to go play a full 18 holes for the first time. But, you start checking out the course rates online and the weekend prices are absurd. “Fifty bucks just to play golf? Who can afford that?!” you may be thinking. And you know what, I agree. Golf is ridiculously expensive… but it doesn’t have to be!

Twilight golf is the greatest thing ever for broke golfers who want to improve. Almost every course I’ve ever been to has a twilight rate during the weekdays.

Here’s how it works: If you tee off after a certain time, say 5pm or 6pm, you get a wildly reduced rate than if you play during the day. Sometimes the twilight rate can be half the daily rate, or even less. Yes, it’s named twilight for a reason; because at some point during your round the sun will set. But that’s fine, because there’s several advantages…

1. If you play quickly, you can still get in 18 holes. And you didn’t have to pay the full price for it.
2. Often, there aren’t many other twilight golfers out there. You essentially have the course to yourself. Want to hit a few extra chip shots or tee shots for practice? Fire away. Sometimes, I’ll even play two balls per hole. While the USGA doesn’t recognize it as a real round if you’re taking practice shots or playing more than one ball, it doesn’t really matter. The goal is to get better at golf for cheap, and what better way to do that than on an actual 18 hole golf course, for a reduced rate?
3. In the summer, you aren’t getting the worst of the midday or morning heat.
4. You can play after work or school. You don’t have to take a day off, or even leave early from work, and you do’t have to take up your entire weekend day. Leave work at your normal 5pm time, get to the course by 530, play until dark at 8:30pm, then get some dinner and have plenty of time to relax or enjoy family time before bed.

So, buy/acquire used clubs, go to the free short game area or range for a few weeks to a month, then start playing executive or pitch-n-putt courses until you’re comfortable. Then, play some twilight golf! After a couple months, reward yourself for all of the money saved and improvements made, and make a weekend tee time at a course in your area that you want to play with some of your friends who golf. They’ll be shocked that you just started playing a few months ago and can already beat them. What they won’t know is that you spent next to nothing to do it.

Other tips and tricks to save money

• Use tees and golf balls that you find throughout the course instead of buying new ones.
• Walk instead of taking a cart… carts can be a ripoff depending on the course rates, and walking is very relaxing.
• Budget your money — decide how much money you want to spend on golf per month, and don’t go over no matter what. If that means going to the short game area instead of the golf course one day, then your score will probably thank you for it anyway. And it’s rare that you actually NEED that new wedge, or putter, or driver. If it’s not in the budget, then don’t feel pressure to make any purchases.
• Watch YouTube videos instead of getting lessons. YouTube can be a great place to learn the physics, fundamentals and techniques that are required to improve your golf game. No, you’re not going to get personalized swing advice on YouTube, and you’re not going to suddenly start breaking par after watching a few videos, but in terms of gaining knowledge about the game, it’s a free and great place to start. There are a plethora of professional instructors who have YouTube channels that will be very helpful in your journey.
• Take care of your equipment. Clean your clubs; don’t snap them over your leg or throw them down the fairway. Don’t toss your glove or head cover near the cart and drive away and leave it on the ground. Don’t get pissed after a shot and slam the leg of your golf bag and break it. As we established, golf is expensive enough already; don’t make yourself purchase things twice.

Is there anything I missed? If you have any cost-saving tips for beginners, or for avid golfers on a budget, leave them in the comments below!