x
Skip to main content
Golf Logo
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
Money game: How much does it cost to raise a top junior golfer?
SHARE
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email
Golf Logo
  • News
    • Latest
      • News
      • Features
      • Shows
      • PGA Tour Schedule
    • Series
      • Tour Confidential
      • Monday Finish
      • Hot Mic
      • Rogers Report
    • Shows
      • The Scoop
      • Subpar
      • Seen & Heard
  • Instruction
    • Game Improvement
      • Driving
      • Approach Shots
      • Bunker Shots
      • Short Game
      • Putting
      • Rules
      • Fitness
    • Series
      • Top 100 Teachers
      • Rules Guy
      • The Etiquetteist
      • Emergency 9
    • Shows
      • Warming Up
      • Play Smart
      • Short Game Chef
      • Pros Teaching Joes
  • Gear
    • Clubs
      • Drivers
      • Irons
      • Hybrids
      • Fairway Woods
      • Wedges
      • Putters
    • Other Gear
      • Balls
      • Shoes
      • Apparel
      • Golf Accessories
    • Series
      • ClubTest
      • Winner’s Bag
    • Shows
      • Fully Equipped
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • Travel
      • Course Finder
      • Courses
      • Resorts
    • Lifestyle
      • Accessories
      • Celebrities
      • Food
      • Style
      • Betting Advice
    • Shows
      • Super Secrets
      • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Shop
      • Clubs
      • Shafts
      • Training Aids
      • Balls
      • Bags
      • Technology
      • Apparel
      • Accessories
      • Our Picks
      • Shop All
    • Collections
      • The GOLF Collection
      • The Birdie Juice Collection
      • The Fully Equipped Collection
      • Shop All
  • Newsletters
    • Sign Up for GOLF’s Newsletters
      • Hot Mic
      • Monday Finish
      • Play Smart
      • Our Picks
      • Top Stories
      • Sign Up for All
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Features
    • Shows
    • PGA Tour Schedule
  • Instruction
    • All Instruction
    • Driving
    • Approach Shots
    • Bunker Shots
    • Short Game
    • Putting
    • Rules
    • Fitness
  • Gear
    • All Gear
    • Drivers
    • Irons
    • Hybrids
    • Fairway Woods
    • Wedges
    • Putters
    • Balls
    • Shoes
    • Apparel
    • Golf Accessories
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • All Travel
    • All Lifestyle
    • Course Finder
    • Courses
    • Resorts
    • Accessories
    • Celebrities
    • Food
    • Style
    • Betting Advice
  • Series
    • Tour Confidential
    • Monday Finish
    • Hot Mic
    • Rogers Report
    • Rules Guy
    • The Etiquetteist
    • Emergency 9
    • ClubTest
    • Winner’s Bag
  • Shows
    • The Scoop
    • Subpar
    • Seen & Heard
    • Warming Up
    • Play Smart
    • Short Game Chef
    • Pros Teaching Joes
    • Fully Equipped
    • Super Secrets
    • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Clubs
    • Shafts
    • Training Aids
    • Balls
    • Bags
    • Technology
    • Apparel
    • Accessories
    • The GOLF Collection
    • The Birdie Juice Collection
    • The Fully Equipped Collection
  • Newsletters
    • Hot Mic
    • Monday Finish
    • Play Smart
    • Top Stories
    • Our Picks
    • Sign Up for All
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
InsideGolf

Great for yourself...or your Dad

InsideGOLF
Lifestyle

Money game: How much does it cost to raise a top junior golfer?

By: Josh Sens
  • Follow on Twitter
July 29, 2022
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email
A junior golfer takes a swing.

Traveling on the junior golf circuit is not cheap.

Getty Images

With the U.S. Junior Amateur underway this week at Bandon Dunes, a question arises that often comes to mind when elite young players meet in high-profile competitions: how did these dang kids get so good, so fast?

Talent? Training? Determination? Yep. For sure. No doubt about it. No one gets too far without them. But let’s not forget another factor. Golf is an investment. Raising a top junior golfer usually requires money.

How much, exactly? The answer ranges widely, depending on the types of tournaments you enter (staying local, of course, lowers travel costs) and the intensity of the schedule you keep, among other variables. But in the interest of roughing out a budget, we asked the father of a top junior player (he asked to remain anonymous) to give us a ballpark of the expenses.

Instruction

You can bring them into the world, and you can bring them into golf. But if they’re going to get serious about the game, there’s only so much mom or dad can teach. At some point, an ambitious junior will need an instructor. Most top-level junior teachers charge anywhere from $150 to $800 a lesson. “We usually get instruction twice a month,” the parent told us. “Sometimes more leading up to bigger tournaments.”

Annual estimate: $10,000

Equipment

Irons
junior golfer clubs
Gear Questions You’re Afraid to Ask: What clubs do you buy a junior player?
By: Ryan Noll

Kids improve quickly. They also grow out of their clubs, which can get expensive, fast. Over the past year alone, the father told us, his son has gone through three sets of shafts to keep up with his growth and increased swing speed. The early teen years can be especially expensive for this reason. As the growth spurts slow, the costs go down, the father said. It also helps that a lot of top-level juniors get support from the major equipment makers. But a lot of good young players don’t have that kind of backing. US Kids makes clubs for kids 6-11 that run about $400. “But once they get older, you’ll want to get them fitted for a driver, fairway woods and irons,” the father said.

Cost of a full bag: $3,000, plus another few hundred dollars for custom fitting.

Accessories and Apparel

Balls, gloves, shirts, spikes. Without support from a manufacturer, these costs can get sneaky high. A rough annual breakdown looks like this:

Balls: $500
Gloves: $300-$400
Apparel: $1,000

Total: $1,800-$1,900

Training Aides

The sky’s the limit. But it doesn’t have to be. The father said his son gets by with little more than an Orange Whip to loosen up ($100). “But some kids have their own TrackMan,” he said, which will run you upwards of $20,000. Elaborate in-home simulators can fetch three times that much.

Cost: $100-$60,000

Travel

This depends on where you live and how often your kid competes. Over the past year, the father told us, the junior circuit has taken their family on eight trips outside the New York/New Jersey area, where they live. To minimize costs, they book rooms in extended-stay hotels with kitchenettes, so they can eat breakfast in the room and pack meals for the course. But there’s no such thing as an entirely free lunch. On average, the father said, the trips cost about $3,000.

Annual cost: $20,000, if your junior plays an aggressive schedule.

Tournament Entree Fees

You’ve gotta pay to play. Entry fees for multi-day tournaments range from $200-$500.

Latest In Lifestyle

2 days ago

Unusual ditches at U.S. Open have players seeking rules advice

2 days ago

These 7 Scotch whiskies make great gifts

4 days ago

Oakmont membership fee: What it costs to join U.S. Open host site

5 days ago

'As penal as possible': Why Oakmont's rough is more brutal than ever

Josh Sens

Golf.com Editor

A golf, food and travel writer, Josh Sens has been a GOLF Magazine contributor since 2004 and now contributes across all of GOLF’s platforms. His work has been anthologized in The Best American Sportswriting. He is also the co-author, with Sammy Hagar, of Are We Having Any Fun Yet: the Cooking and Partying Handbook.

  • Author Twitter Account

Related Articles

Lifestyle
Jason and Ryan Moore

This PGA Tour pro may have the coolest side hustle in pro golf

By: Evan Rothman
Lifestyle
scottie scheffler holds up a paycheck

Money game: How much do Tour winners actually keep from each check?

By: Evan Rothman
Lifestyle
superintendent on golf course

How much does it cost to maintain a golf course? Here are the numbers

By: Josh Sens
Lifestyle
money and golf clubs

9 ways to save on your golf expenses without playing less golf

By: Josh Sens
Travel
royal dornoch

What does it cost to maintain a Top 100-caliber links course? This one told us

By: Jack Hirsh
Travel
arrowcreek

Anatomy of a golf-club revival: How this Nevada facility turned around its fortunes

By: Michael Arkush
Lifestyle
Brora

Money Game: Why overseas golf club memberships are a great (and affordable) option

By: Evan Rothman
Lifestyle
oakland hills fire

Money Game: Why golf-course insurance is serious (and essential) business  

By: Michael Arkush
Gear
player on launch monitor

Money Game: How affordable new launch monitors are redefining the range for recreational players

By: Paul Sullivan
Sign up for GOLF's Newsletters
Get the latest news, the hottest instruction tips, new product releases, golf media insider reports and more delivered directly to your inbox. Choose your favorites now.
Sign Up
Categories
  • News
  • Instruction
  • Gear
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
Services
  • Masthead
  • GOLF Media Kit
  • GOLF Magazine Customer Service
  • TERMS OF SERVICE
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • Opt-out of Ads/Sharing
  • Your Privacy Choices
Social
  • facebook
  • x
  • instagram
  • youtube
Membership
InsideGOLF Logo
More than $140 Value for JUST $39.99

INCLUDES 12 SRIXON Z-STAR XV GOLF BALLS, 1 YR OF GOLF MAGAZINE, $20 FAIRWAY JOCKEY CREDIT - AND MUCH MORE!

LEARN MORE

© 2025 EB Golf Media LLC. An 8AM Golf Affiliated Brand. All Rights Reserved. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy a linked product, GOLF.COM may earn a fee. Pricing may vary.

Go to mobile version