All beginnings 10: Golf license passed - and now?

Done, finally: The course is over, the basics learned. And now? There are many ways to start your golf career. But for the most part, it also comes with a cost.

You know the prejudices: First and foremost: playing golf is expensive. Well, you do have to invest a little to get started now. But let's be honest: what hobby isn't like that?

If you want to make music, you have to buy an instrument. And if it's not just the recorder, you can quickly add up to several hundred to several thousand euros.
Or let's take bicycle enthusiasts. Here, too, a few thousand euros can quickly be charged to the credit card for a bike that meets the requirements.

Anyone who likes to work as a handyman in their own home needs good tools. And until the workshop is well equipped, what sum must be invested? Exactly.

Some financial input is necessary

And so it is with golf. Many newcomers do not have a complete set of tools at the beginning of the golf course, first want to see if this sport is really the right one. Then, when the golf license is hanging on the wall and the decision has been made to continue, and to do so with a little ambition and time commitment, it's time to put some money where your mouth is.

There's the old saying, "If you buy cheap, you buy twice." This also applies to a certain extent to equipment for the flying circuit. Of course you can take the cheap complete set from the offer. And certainly that's enough for the first steps, maybe even the first one or two years in this hobby.

But if you're really serious about golf, you'll want to buy a good mid-range set right from the start. You should invest about 500 euros. Economy foxes wait for the next golf fairs to be able to make good bargains there.

Now the bag is in the garage, clubs are sorted and polished for the first time. Now it's time for the clothes. If you've been sporty before, you'll find something suitable in your own closet. Those who haven't will have to reach into their wallets.

Light clothing is enough

Although it is then nice to choose clothing from sports manufacturers that is certainly adapted to golf and provides sufficient space, especially for arm movements. But in the end, there doesn't have to be a big name on the shirt, normal light clothing is quite sufficient for the game.

If you don't necessarily want the name of the manufacturer of the club set and golf bag on your pants, sweater, or cap, you can find a good solution with a little less money. But beware: many clubs completely exclude the wearing of jeans. So it is better to ask the secretary in advance about the dress etiquette.

The same applies to golf shoes with soft spikes, which provide the essential grip for the golf swing on sometimes slippery terrain - especially after a rainy day and at the edge of the fairway.

At this point, many golfers say, "My golf shoes are the most expensive shoes I've ever bought, but also by far the most comfortable." The former doesn't have to be the case; as is typical with fashion, models from previous years are readily available at significantly lower prices than in the year they were launched.

Comfort is important when it comes to footwear, however. An 18-hole round can quickly become torture for the feet if the wrong shoes are worn. And not only is that painful in itself, it certainly affects the game.

The keyword comfort also becomes an important point in other places: Such a golf set including bag and other small things needed on the round can bring quite a lot of weight on the scale. If you want to carry it, you have already opted for a carrying bag, which you strap onto your back - like a backpack - when you're on the move. When you put it down, it automatically extends two stands so that you can reach the clubs easily and don't have to bend down all the time because the thing is lying on the court.

What you can push, you don't have to carry

If you don't always want to use the electric golf cart on the course, a trolley on which you can strap your bag is certainly more convenient. There are pull trolleys with two wheels, push trolleys with three wheels and finally those that move with an electric motor. This can be quite an advantage on a hilly course and save power and sweat. Depending upon execution one is with Trolleys with scarcely hundred up to several thousand euro.

Finally the smaller expenditures follow, which will repeat themselves also with beautiful regularity: Golf glove (about 15 euros, left hand for right-handers and vice versa), balls (about 1.20 euros each - here it is worth looking for lakeballs, which were usually played little before landing in the water hazard and thus out of reach of the former owner). Tees, either wooden, which are mostly broken after the tee shot and end up in the trash can, or plastic, which last longer. Here it is necessary to buy short as well as long, there are uses for both types.

Necessary as well as unnecessary gimmicks

Other accessories abound. And all these small necessary as well as unnecessary gimmicks should be mentioned in the family and friends circle times, if the own birthday before the door stands. They are grateful gifts. They range from counting aids (it's easy to forget how many strokes you really needed after a difficult hole), to pitch forks with ball markers for the green, to head covers (they are often included with woods or hybrids, but irons rarely come with this protection).

A large umbrella with a lock on the handle of the trolley is also a popular purchase, and a holder for scorecard and pencil is not always available. More expensive are aids for distance measurement or clubs that are not yet in the bag, but which one would like to have additionally.

And finally you have everything you need for a round of golf - and much more. Now you're ready to go. Can't you?

More about starting your golf career in the next article in this series.

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