Not necessarily.
While membership at a private Golf club or "country club" can cost in excess of $10,000 per year, there are many "public" courses available where memberships are not required. Additionally, memberships at smaller, public clubs can be $2,000 down to only a few hundred dollars-but membership at public clubs is not a requirement to play the course.
Some popular courses that host PGA TOUR events are public-such as the TPC at Sawgrass, which hosts The Players Championship (although these courses are fairly expensive to play).
Public courses can range in price from $15 per round to over $200 per round.
Equipment is typically the largest single expense, as a top line set of clubs can cost thousands of dollars. However, starter sets or used sets can cost $100 or less.
Additionally, there are some courses that offer "rental" sets, although these clubs are typically of older design and low quality.
Still, golf can be enjoyable even for people of limited means. You don't have to buy $2,500 Ping clubs and Titleist golf balls at $45 per dozen.
You can find clubs for $100 and a dozen balls for $10.
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