Kaitlyn Parohinog is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Desert Mountain for AZPreps365.com.

High school athletics naturally have a big price tag. Schools can set up booster clubs or raise money through selling tickets to their sporting events.

One problem with golf: it doesn’t bring in revenue for Desert Mountain. Spectators don’t pay to watch the match and it’s not a sport that students are inclined to watch.

So how does the school afford the bill that comes with having a golf program?

Students who participate in athletics pay a $150 athletic fee, which supports the costs of golf and other sports offered at Desert Mountain, said athletic director Stephen Cervantez.

However, students who use private instructors pay for those costs on their own. They are also responsible for their own clubs and personal equipment that they use throughout the season with the only exception being the golf bags provided by the school.

The cost of golf clubs can be upward of $1,000. Due to the pandemic increasing the interest in golf, prices for equipment have increased. Buying a single driver brand new can be around $600.

Beginners can find cheaper alternatives, such as buying used clubs from less well-known brands. However, high school golfers must determine how much they are willing to spend on their game. If they are looking to play golf competitively later on, it can be an investment to buy nicer clubs to improve their game.

Any revenue that Desert Mountain gets from spectator sports, such as football and basketball, is allocated to all of the programs, Cervantez said.

The girls and boys teams at Desert Mountain received new golf bags this year, with each team receiving 15 bags. The students are not allowed to keep them but use them as a rental throughout the season. If they fail to return the bags when they are due, the students are assessed a fine to their student account.

The team does have to pay for range balls that they use during practice. This money comes from the athletic department.

The teams use an activity bus provided by the Scottsdale Unified School District to travel to their matches and tournaments. The cost of gas for that vehicle is covered by the district.

Desert Mountain also has green fees waived at the golf courses they play at, thanks to a majority of the season being in August and September, when golf is not as popular in Arizona due to extreme temperatures.

Girls golf coach Kim Dever did note that because the season starts in August the team “played in the heat of the day … but they did so good.” Despite the heat, the girls performed well and enjoyed their time out on the course, Dever said

Senior Baylor Vrabel described the opportunity to play some of Arizona’s top golf courses as “every dad’s dream.”

The normal price for a round of golf at Troon North Golf Club, Notre Dame Prep’s home course, is around $200 while a round at Eagle Mountain Golf Club, Desert Mountain’s home course, costs around $100. These costs fluctuate during the seasons as the demand for tee times goes up during the winter and down during the summer.

“It’s insane that I get to play [Troon North] for free on a random Tuesday,” Vrabel said.

Overall, the cost of golf can be very steep. Between buying the proper equipment to play the game and the amount of money it costs to practice each week, the sport can become very expensive for the high school and its players.

However, Cervantez enjoys what the golf programs bring to Desert Mountain and the students.

“It’s worth it because we have two good programs and the kids enjoy themselves,” Cervantez said. “It’s a part of high school athletics … I wish we had more money to spend on them.”