Golf has been around for a long time, and it isn’t going anywhere. Should you invest in this ancient sport, and how much does it cost to take lessons?
Golf lessons generally charge by the hour. The average price of golf lessons is $55 an hour, or around $25 for 30 minutes, but will vary depending on location and type of lessons. Lessons are available for beginners and beyond and are taught to individuals or groups.
So, is it worth the cost to learn the sport of golf? Keep reading to learn more about average costs and experiences.
Group vs Individual Lessons
Golf was first played in 15th century Scotland and has been modified throughout its lifetime to be the game that we play today. Golf is even now an Olympic sport! Golfing is a great skill to have and many people each year decide to make it a goal of theirs to learn. It is not only satisfying to get a ball into a tiny hole, but is also rewarding because of the connections and business it can bring to people.
Individual lessons can be anywhere from 30 minutes up and can happen as frequently as you’d like. Typically a private lesson will range from around $25 for half an hour to $100 or more for an hour. You can also take golf lessons with a group or find more specific classes based on your skill level. They will also offer packages with a discount or other promotional opportunities.
Individual lessons would be between you and the instructor you are assigned or one you have chosen. Group lessons would include a group of people you have brought with you and an instructor or a group you have been assigned to. Either way, you should be able to learn and come to a basic understanding.
If you could get a good group together, maybe group golf lessons are the best way to go for you. They allow the price to drop slightly, and then you would be able to work together to find a common technique and work through your abilities together, maybe even adding in a few practices here and there to polish the skills you are learning.
Individual golf lessons vary in price. They are normally the most expensive because you are paying in full for one-on-one golf instruction. The hourly rate for golf instruction is dependent on the place you live and the individual doing the teaching. If the teacher you request is Tiger Woods, then you are bound to pay a much higher price for lessons than if you just got some average Joe that knew and taught golf. A good price range for individual lessons is anywhere from $50 to $100 an hour. Check out local places near you to get exact prices.
Here are some real world examples of golf lesson prices:
- Grand Junction, Colorado – $85 per 45-minute lesson at Chipeta Golf Course.
- Salt Lake City, Utah – $65 for 1 hour at Salt Lake Golf
- Los Angeles, California – $195 for 1 hour at Rancho Park Golf Academy
- Boise, Idaho – $60 for a 45 minutes lesson at Warm Springs Golf Course
There are a variety of different prices throughout the country as we see, and so it is important to continue to seek out the best price and place for you to take the golf lessons you are desiring. Remember that these are prices for individual lessons, and they can be decreased by taking lessons with a group. For example, in Boise, Idaho it costs $90 for an hour-long adult group lesson or $35 for an adult swing lesson at Warm Springs Golf Course. Other places will have that price even lower, so check out prices near you!
Juniors vs Adult Abilities
In a few cases, you will find that children’s lessons are less expensive, while in others there will be no price difference. A good way to get golf lessons for children is to do it through a local YMCA or other similar recreational programs. This ensures that prices are more reasonable and your child is able to play with players their own age. These instructors will most likely not be as experienced as other instructors that you will find at professional golf courses, but will nonetheless help your child learn the rules and basics of golf.
Duration of Lessons & Instructor
The duration and number of lessons is also a big factor in what the price will be. For just a single lesson, the going rate is maybe $65 an hour, but if you increase the commitment the price will go down. If you plan and schedule three lessons and pay for them through the package, you can get a better price, such as only $60 or $55 an hour. The more lessons you take and commit to, the greater the discount you will receive.
Here is another example that shows the use of packages and groups to decrease the cost:
“A package of six sessions for two golfers is around $450 for hour-long sessions ($37.50 per session), but the price drops to $25 per golfer for a group of five that buys six hour-long sessions for a total of $750.”
Source
We have already briefly mentioned that the instructor will also have a lot to do with the cost of a golf lesson. Finding someone who is incredibly experienced and practiced golf a lot will mean that the instruction will cost more, while just finding a random golf instructor probably will be less expensive. Be sure to see what fits your budget and research the teacher beforehand to learn all that you can in a way that works best for you and doesn’t break the bank.
Types of Golf Lessons
Some places will just offer golf lessons generally that will go through each of these and the basics around what they are and how to achieve them. As you progress in the game from beginner and on to professional, there will be lessons that dive into specifics to help specific aspects of your golfing game. We will mention a couple of these below and what their purpose is in golf and in your knowledge of the game.
Putting
Putting is a golf stroke used when you are not yet on the green, or just barely on the green. It is most often done with a putter club which is used when the ball only has to go a short distance at a low speed. Some places will offer lessons that specifically focus on what kind of technique you need to get your ball in the hole with every put. There are also some places that use technology in order to get a better look at how you are putting and what exactly needs to be changed in order for you to do the close to perfect put. In these lessons, they would also teach you the specific club grip which is used to putt well.
Fairway Woods
If you need to hit a golf ball all the way to the fairway, you are sure to need a club that can help you do that and the instruction to get you going in the right direction. Since you are doing a long shot, normally these lessons focus on getting the right stance, position, and set up to hit the ball into the right place. They also will teach you the best ways to hold and use the fairway woods clubs, which are higher clubs used to hit balls long distances. These are 3 wood, 5 wood, and 7 wood clubs that when you know how to use properly, will bring phenomenal results to your golf game!
Swing Evaluation
A swing evaluation is often times much cheaper than other lessons because they just tell you the advantages and disadvantages of your swing. Normally they do this by creating a video of your swing and critiquing it so that you can improve upon it and become better at swinging. The golf instructor will also help you create goals that will better improve your swing. Generally, this is an introductory lesson that comes before other lessons and allows you to get started at the bottom and work your way up.
Trackman Combine
The TrackMan Combine is actually a test that can be used to help improve lessons. It is a standardized test regardless of skill level that helps you see the strengths and weaknesses of your golf game. It is a series of 60 shots which are all rated on a scale of 0 to 100. Normally it is done so that you can track your performance against your peers and see where you have improved since previous participation in the test.
Driving
“In golf stroke mechanics, a drive, also known as a tee shot, is a long-distance shot played from the tee box, intended to move the ball a great distance down the fairway towards the green.” Source. These shots take lots of accuracies, aim, and power. Lessons for driving will help you to improve each of these things by changing your stance and position and helping you swing the club through. These lessons will also teach you about the driver clubs and how to best use them to achieve the desired result.
Utility Clubs
Utility clubs are another name for hybrid clubs or the mixture of clubs in your golf bag. These may consist of head-shaped woods and shaft-length irons. Each of these is normally used for different golf swings throughout the course of the game. Each is needed in different circumstances and understanding when and how to use it when the time comes is essential and will help you to get better at golf.
Distance Gapping
Distance gapping is determining how much of a length gap is between each of your club’s hitting capacities. Some clubs will send golf balls very far, while others are included to keep them close. The distance a ball will go with each club is very dependent upon the golfer and the way he swings. These lessons will help you to determine the gaps in your club set and what sort of clubs will fill them so that you are able to hit at all lengths throughout the course of the game.
Bunker
Bunkers are places throughout the golf course that are depressions. They are lower than the rest of the course and are normally filled with sand. Once a ball goes into the bunker, it can be incredibly hard to get out with the few chances you will have. Lessons here will teach you some good techniques on how to get your ball out of the sandy bottoms and back up onto the plush greens.
Pitching and Chipping
Pitching and chipping are great strokes in golf and are actually opposite of one another. A chip shot is one that is short but rolls for much longer than it was in the air, while a pitch shot is it opposite. It will fly longer and roll shorter. The difference in getting these shots is the movement at which you hit the golf ball, pitching requires two movements while chipping only requires one. These movements and their importance are learning in lessons that specifically help with them.
Why Learn Golf?
Many people nowadays will learn golf as a way to have a skill that fits well into the business world. Parents are often encouraging children to learn golf for this reason as well. Golf also helps with things like balance, depth perception, accuracy, and other fine motor skills. Yet, it will also help you to tap into a community that is much larger than any you have been in before. It helps you to create great business connections and talk with people who would otherwise not be interested in you.
In the end, signing up for golf lessons will be helpful all around and get you the results you need. Find golf lessons near you that are specific to the areas you need, or just a general class that will get you going. Golf lessons are worth the time and money because of the connections you are able to make and keep up with through this great sport.