Any heli with cyclic, collective and rotor with typically require a minimum of 5 channels. Ditch the collective (fixed pitch heli) and you only need 4. Add governers, mixture, gain on gyro, the 5 becomes 8 channels required. It all really depends on which heli and what features. I personally like collective, radio settable gyro gain and governors, so I need 8 channels. Most however can probably get away with a standard 5 channel heli setup. Hope this helps.
As for golf, it all depends. If I travel with my RC stuff to some cool destination, most clubs will let me fly for free or maybe a small $5 donation. Green fess on the other hand at some cool destination may be $500.
