So last Thursday I was checking my credit card bill, right? Nearly choked on my coffee seeing that $800 charge from Pebble Beach golf resort. My wife kept complaining how golf eats up our vacation budget, and honestly? I started wondering if maybe she’s onto something.
Digging into taxes felt like pulling teeth
I grabbed my club receipts from the last year – Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines, that fancy resort in Scottsdale – and stared at the sales tax lines. Looked kinda random? Like some charged way more than others. My first thought: “Nah, can’t be.” So I pulled up old emails and PDF invoices. Man, organizing this junk took forever. Spreadsheet time.
Dumped every charge into Excel: Green fees, cart fees, even the bucket of balls I bought at the driving range. Then focused hard on the sales tax percentage. Here’s the messy truth I uncovered:
- California places like Torrey Pines: added a fat 7.75% tax right on top of everything. Equipment, fees, the whole deal.
- Florida course we played near Orlando: whacked me with 6.5% just for the green fees. Carts were taxed separately? Confusing.
- Arizona resort: Only hit the range balls and rented clubs. Got taxed at 5.6%, but friends who played the course paid way more tax on their round.
Felt like nobody could give me a straight answer either. Called three clubs pretending I was booking. One dude in Cali swore greens fees never get taxed (my receipts said different, buddy!). Another person mumbled something about “tourist districts” having sneaky extra charges. Total runaround.
My hack? Go where taxes play nice
Gave up on getting a clear rule. Instead, I just focused on total price after taxes for a full round, cart included. Started comparing places I actually wanted to play. Guess what? That Arizona spot actually came out cheaper than Florida once you added all their layers of tax. Oregon popped up too – no sales tax at all! Suddenly that trip to Bandon Dunes started looking brilliant for the budget.
Told my accountant this whole mess. He just smiled and said “Welcome to state tax laws, pal. Think of it like golf – the rules change depending where you stand.”
The simple takeaway nobody tells you
So yeah, forget fancy finance tricks for saving cash on golf. My big “aha” moment? Where you play massively changes your tax bill. Comparing total out-the-door costs revealed states like Arizona and even parts of Nevada (hello, Vegas golf trips!) can be surprisingly gentler than Cali or touristy Florida spots. Ended up booking next year’s guys trip in Scottsdale. Not saying you should skip Pebble forever… just know going in that the tax man is waiting on the 18th green, hand out.
Saved about $300 per person just by factoring this in. Wife’s happier. I get more golf. Maybe should’ve researched sooner.
