How much does it cost to play golf?

From Golfing at "Niknar" (Pearl Municipal Golf Course)

Golf has a reputation for being a really expensive game, but this is only partly the case.

Golf can be as expensive as you want to make it (no, really... think bigger). But the base minimum cost to play can be more modest than people often assume.

Cost to step foot on a course and swing a club is usually on a pay-as-you-go basis or on a membership/pass basis. A membership at a very nice local country club in my area is the better part of $2K/year, and the annual pass at a nice municipal course in the area is $1200. But paying to play 18 holes of golf tends to cost closer to $20, and the cost can be reduced by playing only 9 holes, or walking instead of renting a golf cart (all options not available at all courses).

Going to a driving range is less expensive than playing a round of golf. Prices range from a few bucks on up.

Some basic equipment is either required or may as well be.

You really need a glove, which can be in the neighborhood of $10.

Unless you only plan to play on a driving range, you need a putter, which can be as cheap or costly as you like. A beginning golfer could get by just fine with the putter, a wedge, a 7-iron, and either a 7-wood or 5-wood. You can check out garage sales, freecycle, etc. for local free or cheap sets like this.

If you go for new clubs, consider a less-expensive set (available locally and from a number of reputable on-line vendors) instead of a set starting in the several hundred dollar range. If you're looking to spend that much on golf, I'd suggest starting with a few lessons from a golf pro and spending the rest playing the game.

Ideally, you'll also get some golf shoes, which run from around $25 on up. They're not strictly necessary, but I find them indispensable.

You'll need some consumables, such as tees and balls. Buy balls as cheaply as possible, and consider buying lost/found golf balls in bulk if you tend to lose balls or watch them sink in the pond often.

The resourceful would-be golfer should be able to scrape together a small handful of clubs, a few balls and tees, and green fees to play the course. And if the green fees are intimidating, get some practice balls (float, won't break windows...), and step out in the back yard!

a few ways to side-step or flat out ignore the Rules of Golf

From Golfing at "Niknar" (Pearl Municipal Golf Course)

Some of these sort of imply that you are not playing solo.

1. Water Hazards:
a. You may swap out to a more "disposable" ball w/o penalty to get over the water hazard, then go back to your "good" ball.
b. If you lose your ball, that's penalty enough. No additional strokes counted against you for an unrecoverable kerplunk.

2. Dirty Balls: Dirty balls suck. You can clean or replace your dirty ball at any time w/o penalty, as long as you replace it appropriately and wrap up the process w/o slowing up play meaningfully.

3. Alternative Scoring: Stableford and Match Play vs. Bogey provide scoring systems I feel are more well-suited to casual golfers and are well-suited to solo play.

4. Number of Clubs Allowed: Unlimited. Go nuts.

5. Air Shot (Whiff): No additional penalty. Your buds laughing at your ass is suffering enough.

6. Really F***ed-Up Lie:
a. Improve it, but move it no closer to the hole in the process.
b. However, if you're in a playable hazard (sand trap, for instance), make every effort to play from within the hazard.

7. Any rule can be suspended, ignored, etc. by agreement of all affected parties.

8. Lost Ball: That's punishment enough. Pick a spot no closer to the hole than you think it ended up, and hit a new ball. If you subsequently find your lost ball, and you like where it's at, backtrack and play from there ***with a one-stroke penalty***.

some suggestions one can safely ignore

From Golfing at "Niknar" (Pearl Municipal Golf Course)

Unless you're ultimately preparing for tournament play with USGA rules or similar, your solo rounds of golf can be an endless series of "practice rounds" played with very loose interpretations of the Rules of Golf. Just don't file a scorecard for handicap purposes if you didn't follow the rules to the best of your understanding. (If you report artificially lower scores because you didn't impose penalties and deal with the harsher realities of "real" golf, you'll take a beating when you do eventually play with others who expect you to be a stronger player than you are.)

Some penalties don't seem strictly necessary when playing a casual round alone. For instance, the rules of golf require that you take a penalty stroke if your ball contacts the flag stick under some normal circumstances. When playing/practicing alone, penalties like this one don't seem to add any value to the game.

Bring a little cash for the pro shop and grill. They may take plastic, but the credit card processing machine can be down, or you may encounter a tip jar. Better safe than sorry.

Pick up a spare glove. Some times it's hard to keep a glove dry. A second glove can help keep the comfort level up. I even use one glove for each hand under certain circumstances such as cold weather.

If you're not a pretty good golfer, consider using forward tees for practice rounds. I'd rather score a bogey from the senior tee than lose 3 balls in the water from the "real man" tee.

Keep pace. Try not to delay the group behind you. Playing solo, you may find yourself overtaking the group in front of you after several holes. Golf etiquette provides simple ways to make these situations work out.

It's okay to be a terrible golfer. Almost everyone out on the course is also pretty bad. The guys you see on TV golf doing miraculous things are earning a living at this because they really are in a different class of performance, so don't compare yourself against Tiger Woods.

However, if you're going to be an enthusiastic golfer, take some lessons as soon after taking up the game as you can. You'll enjoy the game much more.

Consider practicing "best ball" and similar variants while on the course. Instead of waiting endlessly for the foursome ahead of you to get it together, hit two balls off the tee and either play the best one or go ahead and play both.

Instead of searching the woods for lost balls, you may want to stock up on the cheapest balls you can find and dropping a substitute ball after a reasonable search effort (Environmental considerations may discourage this in some cases.). I personally prefer orange, yellow, pink, or otherwise bright & easily spotted colors.

If, when you make it to the green, you see pitch marks from balls hitting the green, try to repair them on your way.

golfing alone

From Golfing at "Niknar" (Pearl Municipal Golf Course)

I love golf, but usually can't get one of my buds to climb out of bed and go play a round with me. They offer a variety of reasons, but the practical upshot is that I've been playing for years now, but have only been out with others a handful of times.

Golf is great both solo and with friends. When playing solo, it's actually possible to completely break from your off-course stresses for hours. That's a good bit of the appeal for me.

I'm starting off by pasting in a few things I've jotted down in a few initial posts.