Golf is officially the most expensive sport to play

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  • Golfers spend £214 a month on the game

  • One in ten hide their expenditure from their partner

  • Biggest expense is golf club membership

Golf is as expensive as you choose to make it. Decide to splash £100,000 or however much they’re charging these days for a membership at Wentworth, get diamond-encrusted balls and clubs forged from gold, and the bill will quickly add up. 

Conversely, if money is tight, you can grab a club from a charity shop for £1, nab a beaten-up old ball for 10p and tear up a nearby field to your heart’s content. 

But how much does the average golfer spend on the game? Well, according to Santander, whose Spendlytics app tells users how and where they spend their money, golfers spend an average of £22 a month on golf clothing, £47 a month on golf club membership, £29 a month on golf equipment and £23 a month on competition fees. When you add in other costs like travel and accommodation if playing further afield, the total cost of playing golf comes out at £214 a month. 

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That makes golf the most expensive sport of all, costing significantly more than football (£141 a month), cycling (£88 a month) and tennis (£80 a month).  

Almost a quarter (23%) of those surveyed said they lose track of how much they spend on their sport, while one in ten golfers admitted to hiding their expenditure from their partner. 

How much do you spend on golf each month?

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