Never ending drain...

The lure of a well stocked pro shop is irresitible

At what point will I ever be able to reign in my golfing expenditure? It's been two years now and I'm still leaking cash like a virgin in a stripclub (nb this is not in anyway a reference to a misspent youth). At first it was expected. In an equipment heavy sport, with regulations on permitted clothing and a necessity for instruction, I expected the expense, but I had hoped it would have died down by now.

I have completed my set of clubs, in fact I have the luxury of 15 to choose from. I have a stand bag, cart bag and a trolley, resplendent with umbrella holder and golf brolly. I have a wardrobe of clothing, a plethora of caps, a couple of belts and a well loved (read battered) pair of golf spikes.

I've had countless lessons, paid for my annual membership up front and tried an array of golf balls. I have a GPS to navigate my way around the course and a library of books and magazines to aid me when I'm off it. I've invested in training aids to help my putting, tempo, alignment and swing plane. I've got a wide array of tees though supplies of the wooden variety are starting to run low. I have specially designed undergarments, hats, gloves and mitts to stave off the winter chill and gore tex waterproofs to keep me dry in a monsoon. I've changed my grips on nearly all my clubs, but at least the new ones look like they'll last a couple of years.

Yet despite all of this I still need (read want) more. My golfing wardrobe is a bit polyester and I'd love to throw some smart wool and cotton in there for those special golfing occasions. I could do with a new set of spikes to finish the smart outfit off. I've invariably made some errors in club purchases and really should have a 3 hybrid and a wedge set with 50, 54 and 58 degree lofts. At some point I'm likely to want to get fitted for a driver and let's face it you can never have too many golf balls (especially if you lose as many as me).

My latest block of lessons is coming to an end and it's only four months till I need to start thinking about renewing my membership. Winter is drawing in, meaning less available time to spend on the course and practice area and more balls being hit on the driving range. None of this takes into consideration that my littl'un is now addicted to the game and will soon become another drain on my pocket...