By Sam Johnson
Golf Magazine's club testing issue is always one of my favorites. If you're lucky, you've had a chance to hit several of the candidates and formed your own opinion as to what works and what doesn't. In any case, it's fun to let your mind wander through the pages, checking out the hardware.
The system employed by
Golf Magazine lays out the company line about a particular club, followed by the testers' opinions. According to the magazine they spent months selecting the forty club testers with handicaps ranging from 2 to 20 and ages from 20 to 66 years old. Everyone tests every club, except for the so called "better player irons," which are only tested by the better players, and although you only get one guy's opinion spelled out, the total score is a collection of all of the testers' opinions.
It sounds fair enough and it also sounds like it would be fun to participate as a tester. It says in the book that they reviewed thousands of applications, so I assume that you could write
Golf Magazine and ask for an application and shortly be on your way to being considered for next year's test.
As I read through each page I couldn't help think about how much it would cost to have all the latest greatest golf toys. Just for fun, I started thinking about what it would cost if I were taking up this game for the first time and therefore in the market for new clubs and everything else. What do think that's going to cost?
Using
Golf Magazine as the benchmark, let's start with a new TaylorMade r7 Draw, which costs a fairly reasonable $299. Had the Yonex Cyberstar Nanospeed driver been rated number one that would have cost another fifty bucks or $349.
Next, we need a new set of irons. And, because I'm writing this and you're not, I'm thinking that I really need those graphite shafts, so those Titleist 775.CB's are going to cost me a smooth $899.
Now, personally I play with three hybrids, which means three Cobra Baffler DWS hybrids with graphite shafts at a cost of $447. But, even with three hybrids, I'm going to need at least one fairway wood. The Callaway Big Bertha three-wood is listed at $199 with a graphite shaft, so throw that in the buggy.
Because you and I both know that the short game is where it's at, I need two Titleist Vokey Spin Milled wedges at $109 each, but I'll save a few bucks here because they are not available in graphite.
Last but not least is my putter, and to be in with the in crowd this year that means I'll need a new Odyssey Black Series #1 putter for $249 and once again putters don't come with a graphite shaft so I saved another 100 bucks.
Okay, that's $1,894 plus tax, which means I may have to split it up on a couple of different credit cards.
Oh, wait a minute, since I'm just getting starting I need some golf balls, and at this point why wouldn't I buy Titleist ProV1s and that's going to run me $45.99 a dozen. And to chase those balls down I need a new pair of Ecco Wing Tips, which can be had for a cool $399. Now, let me grab that second basket while I toss in a glove, some tees, a shirt, and pants, one of those cool golf belts and a few other knickknacks. And, since I'm a good customer we'll call that an even $500.
Now, I also need a place to play. Where I come from the country clubs run between $12,000 and $200,000 for membership fee, which is what you have pay up front to earn the right to pay them between $250 and $1,500 a month. But, let's not go crazy. Most of us would be happy with a club that charges a mere $50,000 to join and $650 per month to hang around. That's not so bad when you remember that $200 of the monthly fee is a food expenditure, which means it costs you $200 even if you never take a bit. Granted, that doesn't pay for Member/Member Tournament, or Member/Guest Tournament fees either, but it does cover your wife's and kids' greens fees.
Let's see, that $1,894 for clubs, $45.99 for balls, $399 for shoes, $500 for odds and ends. My club memberships is going to cost me $50,000 up front plus another $650 a month times 12 months, and you better throw in another $500 a month for food, guests and golf bets, and the total is $61,093, which would be a reasonable amount if you could break 100. So, you'll need to add another couple thousand bucks in lessons to get you in the 90s and maybe two or three thousand more bucks to break 90.
Accordingly, I should add another $5,000 to the total and go ahead and write a check for $66,093. Gulp.
On second thought, maybe I'll opt for the $12,000 club membership with the $300 monthly fee. I'll still have to pay for the Member/Member and the Member/Guest tournaments and a lot of the other stuff, but $20,000 to $25,000 a year is a lot better. Sure, I could make the down payment on a house, or send my kid to an Ivy League school for a year, or buy myself a pick-up truck with the money, but what the hell.
Okay, perhaps I'll play the public courses and cut my bill to $10,000 or $15,000 annually. That's reasonable, isn't it?
So why isn't golf growing? Sorry, I don't have time to answer that question I have to get to my second job if I'm ever going to be able to afford that new driver.
