I often wonder why someone would pay 3 figures (..or more) to sit at a sporting event, pay too much for unhealthy food, and let their success depend on the players on the field. I annoy the millennials when I get a round in with them
because I walk where possible. I play golf for the exercise, so a bad day on the golf course far exceeds a good day in the office shackled to a desk. My day on course is never as bad as paying a lot of money to watch the home team lose. I'll enjoy a good event on TV at my convenience. Have to admit, GS vs Cavs was a good game last night, but it took me 45 seconds to my car and 30 seconds to get ouf of the parking lot from the sports bar where I had dinner. Total cost - under $20.

For a comparison, 2 super bowl tickets below nose bleed cost more than a new full bag and a round at Whistling Straits. Or a new bag is still less than a carbon fiber bike from Trek. 5 days of lift tickets at Vail is the price of a new driver and a fairway, and they should last longer than 5 days. My wife should appreciate how little it costs to keep me playing golf. Only cross-country running is less expensive and only if you don't throw in the price of knee replacements.

I compare trips with my girls, PLUS the memories made during!!

I came from a sport that makes the cost of golf look comparable to badminton. Offshore Ocean Yacht Racing. I was an owner and captain for over 25 years of various 40-50 foot racing sailboats. I raced at what was considered a notch or two below the "Grand Prix" circuit, where a million bucks a year was not out of line. 100 grand a year might cover things at my level, depending on your seriousness to win a silver cup and some fame within racing circles. There were no "money" prizes.

I grew up sailing. As a teen and throughout my serious sailing life I played golf casually, and very intermittently. I enjoyed it and its surroundings, but I knew I could never play the game to the level I wanted without putting the type of effort into it that I had done with yacht racing. When I walked away from full-time sailing, I needed to fill a big void, and golf got the nod as the official "new passion." 15 years later, I am still passionate about the game. Actually, even more so. Relatively speaking, it's really affordable. A real bargain. The views are still amazing, and I continue to get beat up everyday, just like at sea in a gale. And, unless I get clocked on the noggin by some other hacker's errant shot or attacked by an extremely poisonous snake while searching for a ball in the weeds, I am pretty much assured that I will be home, safe and warm, sleeping soundly in my nice comfy bed each night. It's a win/win for me.