Is Golf Really More Expensive Now? What the Data—and Baby Ben—Reveal
Meet Baby Ben
This is Ben. Technically, Baby Ben. A few years back he came to check out our original club—No. 1—with his dad, one of our earliest members.
The club had only been running a few months when I got a message one night:
“Hey man, I’d like to sign up. Any chance I can check it out tonight?”
Bit unusual. Most people are curious. This guy was ready. I said sure.
What I didn’t know? Ben would be coming too. I guessed few weeks old—strapped into his carrier.
Halfway through the visit, it clicked:
Mom was out to dinner with friends. I suspected maybe for the first time since Ben had shown up. And dad? First thing he wanted to do was swing a golf club again.
That moment stuck with me—not just because of Ben, but because of what it revealed.
Why Does Golf Feel So Expensive?
When I started writing this, the plan was simple:
Break down how expensive golf’s gotten—and how Neighborhood National fixes it.
Because here’s what I hear all the time in every city:
“Golf here sucks.”
“Private clubs are full and fortune to join.”
“Public courses are packed.”
“Anything decent is an hour away.”
I was ready to go full scorched-earth on prices.
Then I actually looked at the numbers.
The Data Doesn’t Say What You Think
Drivers
- 2015 avg: ~$416 (MyGolfSpy)
- 2025 avg: ~$630
→ ~4% annual increase — just above inflation
Balls
- Pro V1s in 2015: $48 (GolfWRX)
- In 2025: $55
→ ~1.4% annual growth — below inflation
→ And cheaper options like Vice/Kirkland exist
Green Fees
- Public-course rates rose 3.3% annually (2018–2023)
- Inflation over same period: 3.7% (NGF)
Sure—averages can be misleading.
Golf isn’t a monolith. Rates vary by market, day, course type.
Especially in bigger cities or places with a red-hot real estate market—invariably they're the cities where I hear 'golf sucks here' the most.
But I don't think that challenge is unique to golf. What’s unique to golf, though, is the passion of those who play it. And while the collective numbers may not confirm it, that passionate feeling about how expensive things seem is certainly real.
And our bet is that this passionate feeling isn’t wrong—it’s just pointing to something deeper.
Maybe a contributing factor.
Maybe even the primary one.
Our Bet? The Problem Isn’t Price. It’s Access.
Golf hasn’t gotten dramatically more expensive.
It’s gotten dramatically harder to access.
- Ranges are closing (the one that used to be closest to our club in Raleigh is now condos—just one example).
- Annual tee times are still consistently 10% above pre-COVID levels (NGF).
- New simulator “clubs” might pitch lower per-hour averages—but most charge $200–$300/month with limits on how and when you can actually play.
The friction isn’t just price—it’s price plus convenience.
Two things golf has never really been.
Whatever convenience might’ve existed is vanishing fast—and while the industry chases profits, the combined effect adds up to even less access.
Here’s the Deeper Reality
Anywhere in the industry where you can actually swing a club is limited by high fixed costs.
Whether it's a 150-acre course or one Trackman bay inside a prime retail unit—the math is the same:
Be cheap, or be close.
Unless you’re losing money, you can’t be both.
Unless you fundamentally operate differently.
Why We Built NN Differently
We’re not trying to be the world’s biggest budget driving range.
We’re building something else:
A private golf club that anyone can belong to.
We share high-end golf simulators that provide the same performance as premium clubs—
But we do it differently:
- We use non-traditional, sometimes unexpected spaces: garages, sheds, gym corners, warehouse nooks
- We cut costs by skipping real estate and front desks
- We keep it self-serve, simple, and local
That’s how we offer unlimited-use memberships—no fine print—for $65–$75/month.
Our Goal?
To become the world’s largest private golf club—
Because we’re minutes away and a fraction of the cost.
If it exists at a traditional club, it exists here too.
- Lessons? ...Yes.
- Fittings? ...Yup.
- Equipment? ...Uh huh.
- Leagues + events? ...Absolutely.
In fact, across our clubs last year, members unlocked over $60,000 in value from lessons, fittings, club sales, and merch—at less than half the traditional cost.
Outside of the leagues, things aren't standard for us everywhere yet.
But through pop-ups, partnerships, and member-led events, we’re learning fast and building smarter—with a key standard in mind:
everyone benefits when access gets more affordable.
And yes—we’re also a damn good range.
Come Take a Look
If you agree that it should be far easier to swing a club even remotely regularly, we’re worth checking out.
We may not be near you today. But we’d love to be soon.
There’s literally no reason why neighborhoods anywhere shouldn’t have a Neighborhood National everywhere.
- 🔵 Become a member at a nearby club
Get Started → - 🟢 Join when a club opens near you
Let Us Know → - 🟡 Start your own club
Reach Out → - ⚪️ Anything else
Contact Us →
❤️🏘️⛳️
