Golf membership cost per round calculator

Is golf membership worth it?

On cost alone, it comes down to one division: your yearly membership cost divided by the visitor green fee. That's how many rounds you need to play at the club for membership to beat paying as you go. A £1,300 year against a £45 green fee breaks even at 29 rounds, about one round a week from April to October.

Below that, you're paying for something other than rounds. Above it, every extra round brings the cost per round down. Use the green fee you'd really pay: weekend, twilight or winter rates change the answer.

What to count

• The annual subscription for your membership category.
• Levies and fees the club adds to the bill, such as a course levy or the affiliation fees it collects for England Golf and your county.
• Locker, bag storage or trolley shed, if you'd go without them as a visitor.
• A joining fee, spread over the years you expect to stay. A £600 joining fee over three years adds £200 a year.

Leave out competition entries, buggy hire and the bar. You'd pay those as a visitor too. Count only rounds at your own club; away rounds have their own green fees.

What the sum leaves out

Membership buys more than tee times. In England, joining a club is the usual way to get an official Handicap Index; the other is England Golf's iGolf subscription. Members can also play the club's competitions and matches and, depending on the club, use the practice ground, book further ahead and bring guests at a lower rate.

New to handicaps? The golf handicap guide explains how the Index works, and the general play guide covers which rounds count.

Track it through the season

Chalk's Costs tab keeps this sum running. Add your membership cost and renewal date, and your cost per round updates after every round at your home club, including the ones you import from England Golf. When the year renews, last year's figure stays with last year's rounds.