The idea that golf is a game of rich people is widely prevalent in all parts of the world, golf is made for the rich to spend their free time as they have a lot of money, is this idea correct? How much does golf cost? How are the groups of society that play golf distributed? How do we change the community perspective to the game?
Is this idea correct?
To find out if the game is only for the rich, one must look at the cost of playing this game. Currently, there are high-cost equipment in the market and there are lower-cost equipment also. Although it is true that the high-quality equipment used in the game such as clubs, bags, clothes and extras may cost a lot of money, however, with the development of the game many companies started to manufacture equipment at very reasonable prices, and although the rich can acquire high-quality and expensive equipment for playing golf this won’t change much how to enjoy the game compared to the average person who uses less expensive equipment.
There is also the course membership cost, as golf is played on vast green areas, which makes it somewhat expensive to care for, which affects the costs of signing in to the clubs. There are clubs that require huge sums as an annual subscription, but these clubs only exist for a certain class of players or individuals and they are often rich. On the other hand, there are public courses open to the public and often do not cost much money for the annual subscription or one-time play.
So the rich can enjoy golf, and people with limited income can also play and enjoy it if they want.
As for equipment, anyone can start playing golf, regardless of his financial level, there are many used equipment for sale to start learning the sport, and there are many companies offering cheap products for beginners.
On the other hand, the cost of playing golf varies from one region to another around the world, depending on the extent of the game’s development in the region or country, for example, sport is very expensive in the Middle East for two reasons: The first is the scarcity of water for watering large areas of green grass, and second the game is very recent in the region and it is practiced by only a certain class of expatriates in the majority of cases, but if we consider Britain or the United States of America, for example, we will find that it is very inexpensive due to the development of the game and the large number of courses that exist there.
How are the groups of society that play golf distributed?
Since the turn of this century, the popularity of golf has gradually increased dramatically, bringing the number of people who practice the sport to millions of people of all ages. Until the middle of the last century, sport was the preserve of the rich because of the high cost of the game, but with the development of the game and the increase in its popularity, the cost of the game decreased dramatically, so that the number of practitioners of the game from the middle class greatly exceeds that number of the rich class.
We can add the contribution of the emergence of big stars from the middle class such as Tiger Woods to the popularity of the game, so because of the desire of young people to follow the steps of their heroes, the game popularity has increased greatly in recent years.
How do we change the community perspective to the game?
There is a prevailing and incorrect view in society that golf is a game of the rich and only the well-to-do who have financial qualifications and ample free time to spend in the game can practice it, the game does not require any talent and only requires money to play. These views are completely wrong.
Golf is considered one of the most beneficial sports for the body, and anyone can practice it regardless of their age. Just as the elderly can enjoy the game in their free time, young people or children can enjoy the game and train also in the nature. As we mentioned earlier, golf can be expensive as well as completely inexpensive, the idea that sport is only for the rich is incorrect. Finally, whoever thinks that golf does not require talent, he must try playing it, and he will see that sport requires a great deal of ability and requires a lot of training to play it well.
