Most golfers have heard the term "green fee," but they may not know exactly what that means or what it covers. Let's explain what a green fee is and what other fees there can be in playing golf.
What is a green fee?
The green fee, as defined, is the how much it costs to play golf itself. It's the price you have to pay to literally be on the green of the golf course. (That means the proper term is "green fee," not "greens fee," because we're talking about the green of the golf course in total, not the putting greens.)
Effectively, this is the base fee to play nine or 18 holes of golf. That's the fee you're going to play to walk the course.
What other fees are there in golf?
There are other fees golfers can volunteer to pay -- or, in some cases, are required to pay -- to play golf at a specific course. They're separate from the green fee.
The most common other fee to play golf is a cart fee. This is the cost of renting a golf cart to ride in for the course of your round. That's typically a separate fee, though there are some courses that require golfers to ride in a cart to play. They can't walk, for whatever reason.
Other possible fees to play golf are rental fees for walking carts, golf clubs or other accessories to making the round more enjoyable.
Of course, golfers can pay separately for food and beverages during a round.
However, the green fee is the core cost to playing golf, and it's what is most often quoted to a player who is looking to book a tee time.
