Love to golf? Web sites such as Golfnow.com and Waggle.com offer discounts on many of the area’s public courses.

At Golfnow.com, golfers can reserve tee times at more than 40 local courses and 1,500 nationwide. Discounts, up to 70 percent, depend on the time and day. At Lake Presidential Golf Club in Upper Marlboro—a Golfweek top-ten public course in Maryland—rates recently were discounted by about 30 percent on a Thursday morning and a Friday afternoon. Golfers can keep up with current offers by joining the Web site’s e-mail club, subscribing to the RSS feed, or text-messaging or calling 800-980-1226.

On Waggle.com, the selection of courses with online booking is limited. But the site is useful for its regular deals: For example, Clifton’s Westfields Golf Club, designed by Fred Couples, is offering $20 off a single round Monday through Thursday in July. Golfers can also buy a $40 Waggle pass with more than 160 discounts, including $20 off greens fees after 11 am Monday through Thursday at Musket Ridge Golf Club in Myersville.

Still looking for a deal? Consider twilight specials—discounted tee times that usually start after 2 pm—and loyalty programs at local courses. In Gainesville, Stonewall Golf Club’s Patriot Club gives members discounts—including free play December through February—for an initiation fee of $295.

This article first appeared in the July 2009 issue of The Washingtonian. For more articles from that issue, click here.