Columnist Victoria Sun: Joy of golf doesn’t come cheap

Victoria Sun

Wednesday, April 5, 2000 | 9:58 a.m.

Victoria Sun is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Her golf column appears Wednesday . Reach her at victoria@lasvegassun.com or 259-4078.

I was thumbing through the part of the Sunday paper where the comics, coupons and television guide form a jumbled mess when five words on the cover of the USA Weekend pullout magazine caught my eye.

There it was, "Golf: the perfect family game."

So I flipped to page 20 and read on.

According to the story, "The number of junior golfers, ages 12-17, has jumped 50 percent -- to 2.1 million -- since 1986."

It's no coincidence that the boom happened after Eldrick "Tiger" Woods turned pro the same year and made it cool to play golf.

His arrival has helped golf shed its boring and elitist image, but in reality greens fees and the cost of a set of clubs aren't going down -- they're going up.

That's why I think whoever wrote the teaser (journalism term for line that tells you about the story inside) should have written: "Golf: the perfect rich families' game."

Don't think so?

A set of kids' clubs ranges from $30 for a toddler to $300 for a full set, the story noted. And these are just your basic clubs, nothing fancy.

A one-hour private lesson at a local club will run you an average of $100. And if you want your child to become at least competitive, if not great, he or she will need plenty of lessons. Not to mention plenty of tee times that are also costly.

And people wonder why many parents choose to have their kids play basketball (cost of a ball $20, sneakers $70 and cost to play at a park $0) or other sports instead? An added bonus is you get a lot more aerobic activity playing a full-court game of hoops than you do walking 18 holes.

As several locals have pointed out, the exorbitant prices to play only worsen when you're an adult.

A good example of this is the recent opening of the exclusive Southern Highlands Golf Club. President Clinton played there on Sunday afternoon during his fund-raising trip to Las Vegas.

The price tag for membership to the invitation-only club is about $70,000.

More and more private clubs are sprouting up all over and if you don't have the dough, don't bother to show.

Oh, there are plenty of public courses to play on if you look in the phone book, but they aren't cheap either.

For example, local residents must fork over $85 Monday through Thursday to play at Badlands and $111 Friday through Sunday. Non-residents must pay $135 and $185, respectively.

There is the twilight rate if you play after 2 p.m., which is $56 for residents Monday through Thursday and $68 Friday through Sunday. For non-residents, it's $75 and $90, respectively.

I won't even bother to go into how much a good set of clubs costs, or all of the extras that go with it.

Golf is a nice and challenging game if you can afford it.

If you can't, your best bet is to take up something else, because there are plenty of people who can afford it.

The sad truth is, course owners are under no obligation to lower their prices and chances are they never will.

* BIG SWING: The Nevada Contractors Association will be holding its Big Swing Golf Tournament on May 3 at the Palm Valley Golf Course in Summerlin. Play will begin at 7 a.m. with a shotgun start. The entry fee is $150 and the field is limited to 144 players. For more information call 222-0320.

* TEE IT UP: The Mercury Golf Association based in Las Vegas is always looking for new members. The association is made up of golfers of all different ages with different handicaps. Each month members of the association get together to play in tournaments at different courses. The annual fee to join is $40. The next tournament will be held on April 15 at the Calvada Championship Golf Course in Pahrump. For more information call: 873-7550, ext. 219.