Scuba Cost Vs. Golf et al.

[tinman]

I was going to build a spreadsheet to compare the cost of learning and enjoying the sport of scuba vs. golf, skiing etc.

Has anyone already gone down this road? I wanted to show, training cost, eqm., per dive cost vs. comparible cost of eqm. for other recreational choices. Eg. If you started golf and played 20, 50,100 times in a season, vs Scuba.

My gut feel is that scuba isn't that far out of line with the costs of other sports, particularly when you have access to numerous sites without fee (open water in your respective area) or nominal cost of parking, park access fee, etc.

 

[Paul168341]

This is a fantastic idea, Tinman. :doctor: If you need any help, let me know. I regularly use the skiing, mountain biking examples with newer students to try to dispell the myth that this is an expensive sport. Just because the gear is technical, doesn't mean it costs any more than any other sport.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Really nice set of clubs = set of doubles
Green fees = gas mix
Duffer Lessons = Tech classes
Duffer Duds = Exposure suit (???)
Duffer shoes = Jet Fins
Golf cart = Gavin scooter
Balls ~n~ Tees = Mask
??? = regulators (doubles set)
??? = deco bottles and regs
??? = HID light
??? = ???

golf < tech diving

But if you back off from tech diving to recreational diving the equations could swing to:

golf > rec diving

 

[JimC]

Membership fee at a private golf course > dive boat + tec rig + home filling station.

 

[Rockhound]

I couldn't help but think it that golf would cost me a whole lot more than diving. My wife has put up with my diving for the almost 20yrs. of our marriage, mostly because I told her that I would not stop once we were married.

But, she recently once told me "just one more hobby" and I'm going to leave you.

Golf, it seems, would be pretty darn expensive.

 

[pt40fathoms]

Funny you should bring up the comparison between Golf and Scuba.

In short, the buy in cost for either sport is about the same, but the long term costs are lower for scuba, depending on where and how you dive.

For example:

Golf lessons with a Pro = $380.00 (10 x 1/2 hr. lessons)
OW cert course = $400.00 (all inclusive, bring only your swim suit)

Golf clubs, pull cart, shoes, umbrella, misc items = $650.00 - $1500.00. Depending on "Entry level" equipment chosen.

Reg/octo, Basic guages, Tank, BCD, Mask, Fins, Wetsuit, Misc items = $950.00 - $1600.00. Depending on "Entry Level" equipment chosen.

Green Fees = $14.00 - $65.00 Depending on the "public" course.

Air fills = $5.00

You may have to spend money on other items, such as boat rentals for you diving needs, but for this example, I am assuming that you a diveing from the shore, at a local public lake. Likewise I am assuming you are Golfing at a local public course.

When you do the math over a period of a year or two, the costs work out to be nearly equal. the same would be true for Ice Hockey, Cycling, Backpacking, and so on. The rule of thumb, as I see it, is that any sport you take up as a hobby will cost you about $2000.00 to buy into. Where you take it from their is up to you.

 

[landlocked]

Hate to burst the bubble but...... being actively involved in both, SCUBA is roughly triple the cost of golf. Golf lessons are roughly 10 dollars total in the form of one book and one rented video. No cert is required. Lessons are optional. My season pass runs $350 for the year. My clubs and other equipment cost the same as my regulator and gauges alone and they are now 3 years old. I spend roughly $100 to $150 each year on new equipment. About the same as new neoprene all by itself. Golf balls about $70 per annum. Gas is negligible as I have 2 courses (covered by my pass) within 5 miles of my home and my work. (I play between 80 and 100 times per year, April through October.) I am already into SCUBA to the tune of approximately $1500 this year alone. One SCUBA trip costs me about half my annual total for golf. It looks like my SCUBA adventures will be limited to about 15 opportunities per year. Sorry, but SCUBA costs me about three times as much. It is even more expensive when you consider the cost versus oportunity to play ratio.

 

[large_diver]

I am sure you can find extreme examples where each is more expensive than the other. Factor in E-Bay, borrowed gear, local shore diving, etc.....all of a sudden, scuba looks much better....

Of course, when you live in Idaho....scuba trips also cost a wee bit more....

Playing 80-100 times per year at the same course for $350............also kind of an extreme example (~$4 per round). That is an impressive amount of golf per year in a northern location.

Not trying to be critical....I am kind of anti-golf.

I do miss the ability to throw clubs and curse...hard to do underwater......;-)

 

[tchil01]

I think one of your outcomes in your analysis is that there are a lot of variables for both sports. For Golf, I bought my first set of clubs for around $200 and played with them for a lot of years. They served me well, but several years ago I decided that I wanted new drivers, so I bought three new metal woods for around $200 each. Last year I bought a new sand wedge for $100 at a golf show, then new Irons this year for $500. My old clubs are still good, but I wanted to upgrade… so that took money.

Now when I started diving, I decided to buy my own BC and reg, in addition to my fins, mask and snorkel. I rented the rest and it worked perfectly fine. However, like golf, I decided to upgrade and along came my TP II, my dry suit, my own tanks, my HP regs, etc. My old setup still worked fine, but I wanted more out of the sport.

The one comparison I use is that for me to play a round of golf at a nice course, it usually cost me between $65 and $100. For a boat dive around here I pay $65 to $80 depending on the boat and what we are diving. So I figure I break even between a round of golf and a dive… and they both take around the same time too.

Ty

 

[Uncle Pug]

I have an enormous amount of $$$$ into diving... I mean... a LOT.

I can golf for cheap... everything given to me & cheap green fees...

But the bottom line is.... I hate golf and I love diving.