TeeMates and Youth on Course: Affordable Ways for Kids to Play Golf in Australia

Two Golf Australia-backed programs that make regular junior golf genuinely affordable.

One of the biggest practical barriers to junior golf isn't interest - it's cost. Golf Australia has addressed this directly with two linked programs worth knowing about.

TeeMates is Golf Australia's affordable membership option for golfers under 18, designed to give kids an official pathway into the sport - including an official Golf Australia handicap - without the cost of full adult club membership.

Youth on Course, a US-founded program that expanded into Australia via a Golf Australia partnership, lets junior members play a round for around $5 at a growing list of participating courses nationally - a model specifically aimed at removing cost as a reason kids stop playing.

Between MyGolf as the entry point, TeeMates as an affordable ongoing membership, and Youth on Course for cheap rounds once a child is playing properly, Golf Australia has built a reasonably complete low-cost pathway from a first clinic through to regular play.