New golf promo: Use Choice points to pay for tee times, earn points and more

If you're a duffer, you're probably always on the lookout for ways to maximize points and miles for your golf outings and earn loyalty currency to use on future trips. Choice Privileges may have just what you've been looking for in its Golf by Choice program. You can earn and use points on gear for your game as well as tee times and even earn points for using a golf-training app.

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Here's what you need to know about Golf by Choice.

Book a tee time on points or earn points

Since you're golfing anyway, why not earn points for each tee time? Just log into Golf by Choice using your Choice Privileges credentials and you can book tee times at local courses or just about anywhere in the world.

You can earn up to 10 Choice Privileges points for each booking. When you see a course and tee time option that you like, click to add it to your cart and you'll then see the number of points you'll earn. For example, when I selected an $89 tee time at the Tahquitz Creek Golf Resort in Palm Springs, the shopping cart indicated I'd earn 7 points. I also checked a $29 tee time at the same course and the number of points earned would also be 7.

So, unless you golf all the time, you won't earn a landslide of points but even a handful is better than none and can add up and be useful for future redemptions. Don't forget that Choice Hotels has some attractive all-inclusive resorts starting at 25,000 points per night. You may be able to find one close to your favorite golf courses.

Alternatively, you can use your Choice points to pay for your tee times. At the Tahquitz Creek Golf Resort, the pay with points option ranges from 9,667 to 29,667 points, depending on tee time. In this case, afternoon golfing is cheaper than late-morning bookings.

Earn or use points on golf gear

At the Golf by Choice website, you also have the option of purchasing a variety of items that are essential to up your golf game.

You can buy golf clubs and balls, shoes, bags, clothes and accessories, like a cute golden doodle golf head cover. You can earn thousands of points for things like complete golf club sets (5,000 Choice Privileges points for an 11-piece Callaway Solaire women's set, for example) or earn 120 points for that head cover.

Or, use your Choice points to pay for merchandise. That same head cover costs 9,997 Choice points.

Use an app to improve your golf skills and earn points

Finally, you can earn 1,000 Choice Privileges points when you buy an annual membership to the Tathata Golf Training Courses app. The annual membership costs $200 when billed annually. TPG values Choice Privileges points at 0.6 cents each, so the bonus points are worth $60. It probably only makes sense to invest in the app if you are interested in actually using it to improve your game.

The annual subscription offers 200 hours of coaching from a variety of golf professionals. The training program includes tips for both your mind and body. The app includes unlimited streaming of all video content, the ability to download videos for offline viewing and access to live online training.

Bottom line

Choice is a program that TPG considers undervalued. You can often buy discounted Choice points directly through the hotelier or during special events like the U.S. Travel Association's annual Daily Getaways promotion. Or, you can sign up for the Choice Privileges Visa Card to get a 32,000-point bonus for spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days of account opening. (The information for the Choice Privileges Visa Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.)

If you're planning a golf trip -- especially somewhere with pricey tee times -- it might make sense to stock up on Choice points and then use them to book your games. You will need to crunch the numbers in your specific case to determine if you'll save money going this route.