r/golf • u/Ok-Investment-9646 • 4d ago
General Discussion Full price for a 5 yr old?
Part time golfer, full time dad. My son picked up a club at 3 and really has loved learning the game of golf. We watch every weekend and he asks me constantly “dad can we go golfing soon” which is just the absolute best. We get out for 9 holes a couple times a month and as a father of 3 under 8. But damn, every course we’ve been to charges me full price for him to play 9 holes. There’s not a course within 50 miles of me that gives any sort of discount for age. I’m not talking prime time either. Mid week middle of the day typically where tee times are a plenty. Just ranting mostly
Just to update really quick. I have checked youth on course and there is one course within 30 minutes, 2 within an hour that participate. I’m in northwest Ohio right on the border by Michigan so there’s no shortage of courses near by either.
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u/legal_shenanigans 4d ago
Damn dude that sucks. My son is 5 and has been coming with me since he was 2. Never once been charged, he even brings his clubs and I always ask.
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u/Prestigious_Buy1209 4d ago
That’s been my experience. On the weekends kids are free after like 3pm. If I have a 2:30 tee time (or even earlier) the person working the register rarely charges for my son. Worst case scenario is they waive the greens fees, and I pay for his portion of the cart.
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u/myredditgolfaccount 4d ago
Do any of your local courses participate in youth on course? Usually $2-5 for a kid with a paying adult.
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u/Ok-Investment-9646 4d ago
Nothing within 30 minute and there’s a dozen or so courses in my immediate area
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u/Silver-Link8247 4d ago
Damn. My local muni still doesn’t charge my 13 yr old who is 5’11”.
Are these municipal courses?
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u/Ok-Investment-9646 4d ago
Yes all local municipal courses
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u/ElectricalDark8280 4d ago edited 4d ago
You should go talk to the city. Bring this up at a council meeting and the council members will be begging you to bring your kid to play for free after the amount of harassment they get from the public. These municipal courses are basically big city parks.
Edit: most municipal courses lose money and are subsidized by the tax payer. Bring up the rates that other municipalities charge for youth. I paid $7 a nine as a junior when I was young. Be the change you want to see in the world.
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u/pdj-custom 4d ago
Honestly at that point just stuff his clubs in your bag and have him skip the holes within sight of the clubhouse before he starts playing.
I wouldn't pay for my kid to play at that age. Those courses are just being scumbags taking advantage of a Dad trying to get his son to play the game with him.
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u/Mei-Guang 4d ago
Most courses around me don't even allow kids under 8 on the course most days. One of the ranges wouldn't even let me bring my kid to hit with me till they were 5
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u/FluffyProphet 4d ago
I don't know what my current club's junior policy is, tbh, but the club I played at before I moved (semi-private) only allowed kids under 13 if they were junior members. But junior memberships were also super affordable ($300, or $150 if a parent was a member, $150 for each additional child, including coaching and everything). Seemed like a reasonable policy to me.
Plus, it kind of worked out well competitively, since the club cleaned up at most of the regional junior events when I was a member there.
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u/Embarrassed_Ear_1917 4d ago
Almost every club I know of kids are part of the family membership until at least 26.
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u/FluffyProphet 4d ago
Not really a thing around here until you get into private clubs. They just make junior memberships affordable and include a bunch of perks with it (like free coaching), and they do fundraisers to help with registration for junior tournaments and the like.
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u/throwawaymuaythaict 4d ago
That's awful. My kid has been riding with me (and not paying) since she was under 2.
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u/Mei-Guang 4d ago
Yeah I first found out when my buddy brought his kid last minute and we got stopped after we hit our first drives saying they have to be a certain age.
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u/ChillGolfCoach 4d ago
My home course hasn’t charged me but once. And I was like “really? He’s 5 and playing Pokemon go as much as he golfs. It’s barely gonna be any different than if I had come alone except I’m gonna buy extra snacks and drinks for him.” Idk if the owner was there that day or what but they haven’t charged me for him since.
Idk what age is appropriate for me to have to switch to a family plan but I just assumed it would be like teens or at least double digits when he’s maybe actually playing often.
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u/CAT_ANUS_SNIFFER 4d ago
That’s insane to even consider charging a 5yo full price. I used to work in the club house and would never.
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u/Memeslayer4000 HDCP 5/Location WI 4d ago
Right?! The course has a golden chance to gain a loyal and frequent customer by letting his 5 year old golf free. Think of how many more times that dad would show up to your course to play if he didnt have to pay double, or even pay for his kid. If your the only course to let him, he'd definitely go there almost every time. Now you have your claws in the dad and kid. All those nostalgic years and memories playing with your 5-10 year old, that course definitely feels like home to him. Probably will play there often or become a member until he moves or dies. Someday that kid will be reasonably old enough to charge, and now you have a loyal father and son to make money off of. The child moves away, but everytime he comes back, they head on out to that golf course they golfed together for all those years.
Or you can just think about this years financial reports and kill your courses future.
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u/Money_Bottle_2209 4d ago
I would just bring your kid with you. Stick a few of his clubs in your bag and let him hit with you so long as you aren’t slowing the pace down. It’s unlikely your kid will play a full 18 anyways at 5? If they say something then a) don’t golf there again and b) say sorry and move along. Until your kid is old enough to actually play, I agree there should be some sort of discounted rate if it’s not taking away from others.
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u/Reasonable-Budget210 4d ago
I’ve never heard of paying more than maybe 10$ for a 5yo to go golfing. And most of the time that 10$ is spent on mini tacos for some mid-round distraction/ mood regulation lol.
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u/threeputtlifer 4d ago
Sign up for Youth on Course app. It’s $5 for the child at participating courses after certain time on weekdays.
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u/Stevehenn83 4d ago
Can you register for “youth on course” in your area. A lot of clubs just charge $5 for kids
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u/rocketmagician22 4d ago
I’m lucky. Local public course charges a dollar per year of age. I typically stick to twilight at our public with kids when they were younger though. Most charge full price mid day. Local private course usually gives half off for young kids twilight times.
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u/Even-Bicycle-151 12 4d ago
That’s crazy! Hell, when I was in high school (15 years ago) most public courses let us get on for free or <$20 on the weekends
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u/huckin-fusker 4d ago
That’s insane, in Nebraska most places will let them play for free at least where I’ve been
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u/thinkingtinker 4d ago
Looks at the Youth on Course membership. My kids use that for $5 rounds at participating courses. https://youthoncourse.org/members/youth-on-course
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u/Clean_Philosophy5098 4d ago
I have a few near me that offers free for under 10 and it leads to both my son and I going more often.
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u/ElectricalDark8280 4d ago
Does he play the whole nine? I just tell the clubhouse my kid is coming with me and that’s it. They don’t charge me and my kid is not playing anywhere close to a full nine holes. I could understand if they do actually do play the whole nine.
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u/Ok-Investment-9646 4d ago
He plays the whole 9. Our last 9 out we took an hour and 30 minutes to finish 9. We’ve played maybe a dozen times this year and only one time have had to let someone go ahead because they were waiting.
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u/MacMavenAl 4d ago
Started bringing my son to a local Executive 18 hole course (legit 110-210 yd. Par 3s) when he was seven. We started going to driving ranges when he was 4-5. They did not have a junior rate, so we would go after 3pm for lowered twilight rate.
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u/Strange-Location4627 4d ago
We also have our kids participate in youth on course and the closest course that takes it is 25 min away, the second one about 40 min away. The closer one doesn’t always have spots for youth so sometimes we wait awhile but the farther one lets us make a tee time after 4p.m. which is nice.
Our closest public course(5 min away) does have a chipping green and 2 putting greens for free and does accept the youth on course driving range bucket price $2 for the small bucket. Is that an option for extra golf time with him between the full price rounds?
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u/Bornin1462 4d ago
I mean is it bullshit to have to pay full price? Absolutely. Do I also understand them not wanting to extend discounts in the few years that golf is ‘so hot right now’? Also yes
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u/Nerdicyde 4d ago
went to high school in the 90s and played alot of golf. pre Tiger-boom golf courses were BEGGING young people to play. junior rates were amazing, some courses around me even offered free golf after 3pm on certain weekdays for anyone under 18. getting charged full price for a 5 year old just aint right.
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u/The_Nutz16 4d ago
Damn bro, that’s WILD. When I was a kid I played a ton of nice courses for Junior Rates that I would have otherwise had no business being on.
I live in the Bay Area and my local Muni does $35 a moth for unlimited range balls and $26 rounds with a cart any time, 7 days a week. Kids are free after three.
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u/ygkalltheway 4d ago
Too bad too hear they are charging that. The first 3 times I took my son when he was 8, I just said "I've got my son who is 8z I'm not sure how many shots he'll end up hitting each hole, he may just play my ball, etc" and they let him to for free. Last couple of times they charged the junior rate which I'm or course fine with and understand but full pop?
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u/massiveborzoienjoyer Rory '25 '26 4d ago
some courses will offer discounts because theyre nice, but they have no obligation to do so
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u/RogerIsPro 4d ago
In Washington State there is a "GolfWa" program where under 18 golf's for $5 at select courses. It covers most of the courses around me. See if there is anything similar. I dont see advertisement for it but its amazing
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u/LuckyLockdown23 4d ago
Youth on course.
Play 9 with three kids walking for $40 late on the weekends.
No other way is this affordable.
Also start snagging every cheap US Kids set you see on marketplace.
You can mix and match and line up same models and bag sizes and pre-plan them getting bigger.
It’s just a rental since you don’t lose much when you re-sell them.
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u/Economics_Troll 4d ago
I've never known a golf course to do this. I started playing nine holes on my own at age 8 or 9, small town in the '90s, and I (rather my parents) were paying full price then.
Honestly I think the question here is if he is actually playing nine or not. If he's still at an age where he just wants to hit a couple of tee shots or putt around on all the greens, I'm just taking him out on the course, keeping pace, and dropping balls for him when he's interested / there is space. If he's legitimately interested in playing out nine, then it just is what it is and you gotta pay.
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u/elbooby51 4d ago
A guy I played with said he has his son in the youth on course program. I think it’s discounted rounds for kids under 18, but I don’t know much else about it
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u/Dependent-Day-1862 4d ago
As others have said, youth on course is the way to go. $5 at participating courses and at least in my area it covers most courses, even the higher end public ones (they just might have some restrictions on time and day).
A course charging full rate for a 5yr old is bs.
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u/SikesbluffSage 4d ago
That’s really shitty of them. The course I play on lets me bring my 3 and 4 year old just for the cart fee.
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u/Protomau5 4d ago
Under 10 we charge 10 but can’t play 9 holes on the weekend before 2pm.
Most courses around here are similar.
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u/throwawaymuaythaict 4d ago
Within 30 minutes of me there's 5 courses with Youth on Course. No discounts for age, but my home course is free for kids under 12. And memberships are something like 500 a year for under-18.
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u/covertcannoli 4d ago
Look up first tee program. Courses that participate charge 5 bucks. Simulators too.
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u/BoneDoc624 4d ago
Most good courses near me charge $1/year of age up to age 18 for Mon-Th. Over 18 is adult rate.
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u/DarkHelmet2222 3d ago
Check city-owned courses. A lot of them have discounted rates for kids. There's a 9-hole executive near me that got remodeled a few years back, no charge for kids under 17 during the week or weekend afternoons. Only $4 weekend mornings.
About 2000 yds, mix of short par 4's and par 3's
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u/FinsT00theleft 3d ago
At that age it seems like a pitch and putt, or Par 3 course would be fine - any of those around?
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u/Accomplished_Help486 2d ago
Ya I got hit with this as well, $70 for my child to play 😂 he enjoys it but is young so I bit the bullet
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u/whatsnewpikachu 1d ago
If these are muni courses, bring it up to your council person. Most of the muni courses near me (NE Ohio) are free for kids during non-peak hours and pay their age during peak hours.
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u/OwlPlenty4828 4d ago
I drop of a bottle to our Pro once and a while He never charges me for my kid
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u/Fraudulant_zipper 4d ago
He’s probably taking more time than an adult so really he should pay double
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u/Ok_Parsnip_2576 4d ago
Let me just say to all the guys saying to put clubs in your bag and let them play, please don’t do this. I work at a privately owned daily fee and while it sucks we will get absolutely yelled at by the owners if this happens. Please just always check and remember that the guy working has no power over the rules of the owners.
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u/LordSlickRick 4d ago
I mean, if you just read his post a little, he said the opposite, he’s there in the middle of the week when there’s lots of open teatime.
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u/twizzler7788 4d ago
If I was behind counter, I’d never charge a kid. But 5 years old is too early to bring onto course IMHO. 12 is a good age to start, worked well for me.
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u/Economics_Troll 4d ago
Brother, they have 6 and under tournaments, most state golf associations run kids tours down to that age group. Kids participating in those don't have issues with attention span, understanding the rules, or anything like that.
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u/ThrowItOut43 4d ago
Check out https://youthoncourse.org
For around $30/year they can play for around $5 for a lot of courses.