I grew up absolutely obsessed with the game of golf. I loved the challenge, the focus, the feeling of a flushed iron, and the weekend and evening hours after school spent out on the fairways. For me, this wasn’t just about the sport—this was precious time I got to spend with my dad and my brother, who are both accomplished golfers.
But right alongside that deep love for the game, I felt something else first-hand: just how brutally expensive this sport is.
As a kid and a young adult trying to get into the game, the financial barrier to entry felt like a massive brick wall. If you want to play golf, the industry hands you a never-ending receipt. Looking at the sheer cost of it all, it is honestly no wonder the game has always been considered by outsiders as a sport reserved strictly for the wealthy in society.
Think about the standard checklist just to get started:
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You need to pay the green fees or hefty club memberships just to step onto the grass.
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You need clubs, bags, balls, and tees.
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You need to pay for lessons if you want to stop slicing the ball into the trees.
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And then, you have the apparel.
When you walk into a traditional pro shop or a big-box sports retailer, you’re greeted by rows of polyester polo shirts priced at $50, $80, or even $100. A single cap costs $25. It felt like a luxury tax just to comply with the course dress code. I remember looking at those price tags back then and thinking: Why on earth does a shirt cost as much as two rounds of golf?
Golf is already expensive enough. The clothing shouldn’t be the thing that breaks the bank.
The Traditional Golf Markup Trap
To understand why golf clothing costs so much, you have to look at how traditional retail works.
When a massive corporate golf brand makes a polo, it doesn’t go straight to you. The shirt is manufactured, sold to a distributor, shipped to a warehouse, sold again to a pro shop or retail store, marked up to cover high brick-and-mortar rent, and marked up again to pay for multi-million dollar sponsorships for Tour pros.
By the time you pull out your credit card, you aren’t paying for the quality of the fabric—you are paying for the massive chain of middlemen and corporate marketing budgets.
I knew there had to be a better way for the everyday, weekend golfer. And that’s exactly why I started GolfThing.
How We Are Changing the Game
Our mission at GolfThing is incredibly simple: We want to lower the cost of entry to the game by completely cutting out the middleman. Thankfully, the old, stuffy barriers are finally starting to be broken down and the game is growing rapidly. Social media is a massive testament to that—with creators, casual vloggers, and everyday players turning what used to be an exclusive club into a mainstream, accessible sport. The culture is changing, and the gear needs to change with it.
Instead of operating expensive retail storefronts or paying for massive warehouses, we utilize a streamlined, direct-to-consumer e-commerce model. We source premium, high-quality, moisture-wicking fabrics engineered for the golf course, and we ship them directly from our suppliers to your front door.
No corporate markups. No country club luxury tax. No paying extra for a famous golfer’s logo on television.
By bypassing the traditional retail trap, we can offer the exact same comfort, stretch, and sweat-wicking performance as the major brands, but at a price point that actually makes sense for the everyday player.
Built for the Everyday Golfer
We believe that golf belongs to everyone—not just the people who can afford a luxury country club membership. We believe your hard-earned money is better spent on booking more tee times, buying a better hybrid club, or enjoying a hard-earned drink with your friends at the 19th hole.
We’ve taken care of the clothing so you can focus entirely on the game.
Thank you for being part of this journey from day one. Let’s make golf uncomplicated, affordable, and fun again.
Explore the Direct-to-Consumer GolfThing Collection Here
Over to You
Did you feel the financial squeeze of golf when you were first starting out? What’s the most ridiculous price tag you’ve ever seen on a piece of golf gear? Let me know in the comments below!