Baseball- all you need are balls and a mitt and a bat, not many advances in technology in wood or in gloves and balls.
Basketball- One ball, and a concrete floor and a basket
Soccer- Grass, Ball and if you want shin guards
Tennis- Racket and Balls
GOLF: Driver, Irons, Wedges, Putters, LOTS of balls, Bag, Towel, Greens Fees, Driving Range Balls not to mention once you buy a club they come out with one that in most cases does help your game in the next 6 months and your clubs seem "old"

I love this game with my life but i do wonder how much more money i would have if i loved another sport. Any people share or have a differnt opinion?

You think golf is expensive? I have two words for you: Auto Racing. In fact there's an old saying that goes like this. Want to know how to make a small fortune in auto racing? Start with a big one!

Golf is, depending on how old you are. Really young players to middle aged people can find it expensive, because we like "new". In most cases (from what I've seen), Older, grumpier players don't fool with the "new fangled" technology haha.

A motorcycle enthusiast can be an expensive hobby too. I got out of because golf takes all my time.

cycling is pretty expensive, especially mountain biking (at least for me anyways). you got to get a bike ($1,000 - $5,000 easily) then accesiories (water bottle cages, computers, clipless pedals, color componets, new saddle, shoes, new shoes, helmet, jersey, shorts, new jersey, etc....) then there is the maintenance. then if you are racing thats a whole other cost. back when i was really competing (before i ever discovered golf or took college serious) i would spend about $1,000 a year on races (fees, transportation, etc..) and probably $2,000 upgrading or in my case fixing my bike (crashed a lot and loved riding in the mud). one race cost me $600 between the race fee and fixing my bike from all the damage. maintenance isn't as bad now in north texas. the trails are closed when its wet which cuts back a lot, and i don't ride near as much.

If you think golf's expensive, you should try fishing. Graphite fishing rods can cost double what a tour only Fujikura costs, and that's without the reel.

Fly fishing line runs about $50 a pop and when a Tarpon breaks your line at the backing on a reef, you're SOL. Not to mention the cost of guides, airfare, boats, etc.

While fishing and golf can be expensive, one thing that's always attracted me to them is that you can participate in them alone and it still remains competitive. You can't really throw a baseball or football to yourself, and who wants to play tennis up against a wall?

PAINTBALL IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE SPORT IVE EVER WITNESSED! My friend are all hooked on it and have their own team. Listen to this:
each have a 1k gun
each have an $80 ball loader
Mask: 70+
Balls 50 an outing
clothes 140+
So much more I cant think of now lol.

Sailboat racing, especially if you race keel boats in a competitive circuit like the J-24 or J-22 can get expensive. A used boat will run you approximately $10,000, but to make it competitive it will need a bottom job ($1000), new sails ($3-5000). In addition, you have slip fees, yacht club dues, entry fees. A common saying is that racing sailboats is like standing in a cold shower tearing up $100 bills. Nonetheless, a lot of fun and a lot of great memories.

I also will second the comment about auto racing. I have a buddy that used to race mini-Indy style cars. He had 2 cars, lots of spare tires, his own machine shop and a portable pit with accessories. Marriage and kids put an end to his racing hobby.

Skiing/ Snowboarding is up there too with all of the equipment and lift tickets.

Hmmm... looking at total expenditures, two sports that have to be up there are downhill skiing and hockey. I have a cousin who plays. Between the cost of equipment, out of season leagues, ice time, and fees for his HS team, it's VERY expensive... Skiing, from watching my high school friends who did it, can be just as expensive as golf, between equipment (there's a skiing equipment sickness just like golf club ho'ing, apparently) daily passes, clothing, and the like... but yeah, golf's definately close to the top of the list, if not on the top... just my two cents

Most sports if you really get into it. Even if they don't seem to be.

Just picked up badminton. Bought couple of high end rackets. $300/piece!!! That was my R7425TP gone right there.

Well I'm of the opinion that golf is only as expensive as you make it. If you listen to all the hype the big companies put out , you can spend a couple of thousand or more every 6 months on equipment. I go and try out clubs to see what I can hit. I don't care what the brand is . I'm not one of those golfers that have to carry one certain brand throughout my bag. If I can hit it I will buy it. I've never bought a certain brand because of the name or because one of the pros play it. For example , I play golf with some guys that hit blades because its what their favorite pro hits. This leads to some discouraging rounds of golf and some heavy out of pocket expenses.

i agree with you, however sometimes the latest and greatest does make your game better. no one is going to disagree a 460 cc driver is more forgeving then a 300 cc

polo is probably pretty expensive too.

Golf can get really expensive if you have to go to golfsmith every 6 months/year to get the latest and best. I have bought most of my clubs off ebay/for sale forums and saved a ton. I recently upgraded my bag and spent about half of what I would have paid new. Hopefully my new set will last at least 3 years, but could see myself buying a new putter/driver in that time.

-Jared

Forget eqiupment, it's true some people may make it more expensive than it has to be. However, golf is one of the few sports where even if you don't spend a dime on equipment, you've still got to spend a pretty penny to play.

Even a modest club membership costs $3-7K down plus $250-400 a month. If you're not a member and just want to go hit balls for an hour, that's $7-10. Play a round at a muni on the weekend and it's $20-$40. Throw in a "nice" course and that's $60-80. Play 4 times a month and it starts adding up.

I figured out which sport tops them all... ICE SKATING! Jump coach, spin coach, normal coach, you've got em all. An outfit for one show is in the thousands, and the main goal for ice skaters is to get to the Olympic$.

7-8 k down where is that, im a member of a club in scarsdale, ny suburbs of nyc and memebership is 150k after being approved by the board and then 25k a year. yes its one of the top courses in the country but i dont see most courses 7-8k

Id have to go with Boating .

In reality, you can make ANY sport you play the most expensive (except for some exceptions.)
I mean, with all the new equipment all the time and clothes and accesories...it will get up there.
With every sport you can jack up the price, it just depends how much you like it and want to excel
in it. So in reality it depends on how much you are willing to spend because you can make any
sport expensive.

how can you make basketball expensive? except with shoes

I guess that might fall under the some exceptions part...but I guess you could
get a lot of clothes, the best basketballs, and other various accesories. Also if
you play for a select team it could be expensive, but I dont know...

It can be pretty pricey...

I think you are generally trivializing the other sports when you think about it. There are many accessories that go to the other sports that you aren't taking into consideration. For example: soccer. $150 for the shoes, $50 for shin guards, $100-200 in clothing. $500 or so for the league, travel every weekend and the associated costs. $80 for a bag. You can make the same case for just about every sport played at a decent level (ie travel or varsity). There are a lot of hidden costs that are not often seen by the outsiders.

Racing top fuel dragsters. Apparently, assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, and for once, NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs an estimated $1,000.00 per second.

I don't know any other sport that you have to pay £2k just to get in the club then several hundred more every year!

I hear ya there.

My lifetime golf expenditures probably are close to $6,000.......

Racing? OMFG between the sprint car, the drag car, and the R/C car, if I said my lifetime expenditure topped $100,000 it wouldn't be a lie.

I have over $10,000 in my sled (snowmobile to you fair-weather folks) and about $13,000 in my quads, too.


I need help.

Here's another vote for auto racing (racing boats and flying can also cost a few $$$ though).

How about Hollow Brook and Branton Woods in Westchester, they are in that price range. Also Winged Foot is much much cheaper that the numbers you are throwing out.

I agree with some of the other "sensible" posters. Golf can be as expensive as you make it. All you really need are clubs, balls and tees. You don't need the latest and greatest to play this simple game. Wanting that stuff is a different story. You don't need to join a club that costs $100,000. Playing this game is what's expensive. As far as sailboat racing, auto racing, $10,000 snow-mobiles and $10,000 quads, well, some people have more money than sense. IMO. Simp

i guess you haven't looked at baseball equipment lately. some premium gloves can run up to around 300 bucks and then another 400-500 bucks for aluminum bats and then another 150 for cleats and other accessories. true golf can be expensive but so can any other sport if you have to have the state of the art stuff.

You hit the nail on the head!!!
I used to work in a retail store that sold & serviced all types of bikes...road, mountain, kids, cruisers, etc...and that's one expensive hobby/sport.

I was always amazed when someone brought me a work order ticket for a general tune up (the more you ride the more you need) and it was $40-$60!!! Bikes are full of high-end, precision, expensive, and not always long lasting parts. You have no idea the cost of replacing chains, replacing spokes, replacing/adjusting brakes pads (unless your ride has hydraulic brakes...that's a whole other beast) or even just replacing a tube or tire!!!

Don't get me started on the price of upgrading your ride...like mentioned above, a new seat can cost $200 bucks, bottle cages can cost $20 each, wheel sets can cost you another $2000!!! Cyclist not only have to be concerned with total weight of the bike, but they are worried about the rotational weight as well.

Hockey is getting more expensive too. $200 composite sticks that break, $6-700 skates that ur replacing every year, and so on

I'll concur about racing. I raced snowcross (snowmobiles) for 3 years and OMG! Also help some guys out running dirt late models and yeah, everything a person does to go fast costs a lot of money.

I think the question should be what's the highest price starting out? I mean, you can spend and spend to get the best of everything, but what sport puts you back the most just to get the basics?

Why do you have to spend money every six months on new golf equipment? I got news for you there is no MAGIC in the new equipment. If you concentrate on developing a good golf swing instead of running out to by the next "miracle" club the game gets less expensive. Once I got a halfway decent swing I got a set of clubs I was happy with. I don't have any plans to change these clubs out for the next several years.

As far as, expenses for me it includes hitting the range a couple of times a week to hit $10 to $15 worth of balls, balls, tees and golf glovea(maybe $30 bucks about once every two months), greens fees a couple of times a month for less than $50 a round and maybe a lesson or two here and there. Considering how much a guy can spend these days taking a woman out on a date golf seems fairly inexpensive to me.

Hunting, think about this for a minute or two. cost of land $2,000 an acre (minimum of 40 acres per person), cost of gun, property taxes on property, cost to construct lodge to stay in and furnish lodge, tractor to plant fields, cost of seed and fertilizer, I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. Then there is the odd hunting trip out west or somewhere else.

Like many of you mentioned any sport can be expensive if you let it.

Skiiing is more expensive for me. $60 lift ticket, $20 food, $20 gas equals $100 for one day.

I don't pay $100 each time I play golf.

My house is under 1400sq/ft and my shop is 2400.....

All about priorities. LOL

Racing or sail-boat racing are definitely tops. Also fly-fishing (unfortunately I am addicted) and hunting are really expensive. A quality shotgun is over $1,000, and that is the lower end of quality, then you have shells all the time and safety gear and licenses. Fly-fishing rods are ridiculous, like $500 plus a nice reel is $200 then line is like $50 every time you get it and flies and waders and all that stuff. Golf isn't too bad if your not a junkie.

Lots of good answers but you want to see expensive try the show horse world, six figure purchase prices and far from uncommon. You not only pay to feed them you have to pay to get rid of it after they eat it too lol, not to mention all the tack, horse trailers hauling expenses, trainers and the clothes the women in your life just have to have.

A lot of the show circuit people take their clubs with them for a cheap break from the joys of owning and showing horses

cowboyd

( and you thought this nic wasn't real lol )

Very true, racing them is not cheap either.

Did anybody catch ESPN a few days ago where they covered the colt that sold for $16 million? Highest price ever paid for a thoroughbred colt at public auction..........and he doesn't even have a name.

Marlin fishing:

Actually, many types of competitive sportfishing are easy on the wallet. Most captains are more than willing to have some "mules" onboard just to reel in the fish. Most of the Tuna sportsfishermen will gladly let you climb aboard and reel fish all day just to turn around and sell the Bluefin Tuna on the dock for BIG BUCKS to the Japanese for sushi. He gets the cash and you're sore for the next 4 days!

Here's another. Remote Controlled Gas helicopters.

If you want a turbine you could spend at least 10K if you wanted.

These things are crazy. They have real turbine jet engines in them.

http://runryder.com/helicopter/t141948p1/

gotta agree. polo's the first thing that came to mind for me too. I mean, sure racing's expensive, but the sheer amount of horse prostitution it must have taken to make however many horses it takes to play polo must have been damn expensive.

Any sort of racing would pass up golf. You need the goods to go fast, but you don't need the super high end stuff or pricey country clubs to play good golf.

Bingo. Try into the 100k range for a USED J-109 or anything comparable in performance in size (you need the size for the SF bay), and the 1000's of dollars of constant repairs, the slip, and the race entrance fees. In the end you pay nearly a 1/4 of the boat's value per year if you are anywhere near serious. There is a saying that "your happiest day sailing is the day you sell you boat."

Playing cards can be expensive!

i might have to go with auto racing as well.. tires alone.
golf can be cheap, but personally, spending on all "new" equipments, going to great courses, going to a good pro, and travelling are part of golf. all of those mentioned, and i might be missing some stuff still costs $$$

I play ice hockey and that is an expensive sprt too. A pair of top of the line skates will run $400+. A good helemt is $150+. Gloves are $100+. Shoulder pads are around $100. Elbow pads are around $60. Shin pads are $100+. Hockey pants are over $100. You will need a good visor (half shield) which is $70. A good graphite stick will be $150+. They break all the time too so you have to get a bunch.

Ice rinks are not exactly on every corner unless you are from Canada so you have to drive to get there which means gas money. Ice time gets pretty expensive too.

A few years ago I was into hockey like I am into golf right now which means new equipment all the time. The stuff starts to smell and the wife would not allow sticky equipment into the house.

Yes golf is expensive but hockey is pretty bad too. This is a sport that anyone can play. I don't know too many of my friends that do auto racing which is way more money.