This page provides tips how to get the best deal on the clubs that you want to buy. Buying clubs can get expensive, so you want to make sure you consider all your options before making the final purchase. Use the following links to jump to a particular topic.
Getting The Best Price
Return/Exchange Policies
Buying Discontinued Clubs
Buying Used Clubs
Getting The Best Price
Everyone likes to go to their local golf store to see what's new, swing a few clubs, and try out some putters. Since the golf business is highly competitive, it's always good to see what equipment is going to cost at your local store, especially since many stores offer price matching to keep your business. Another reason for buying a new set of clubs at your local store is that you may want to trade-in your old clubs. Since many stores now offer this service it is one way to save a little money on your next purchase. Before considering that option you should lookup the average trade-in value of your clubs at the PGA Value Guide. In many cases stores use this same guide to determine the value of your clubs. Once you select the club you want to trade-in, the guide provides low, medium, and high trade-in values based upon the condition of the club. Many of the larger stores also ofter a 30-day trial period on clubs. If you're not satisfied with your new club, you can return the club for store credit toward another club or other merchandise.
After scouting out your local golf store for prices, you may want to check prices on some online golf stores. Information about some the best online golf stores can be found here.
Another alternative for the best price, is looking at eBay!
, which hosts many online merchants. Although many people may think that eBay is only used to buy and sell used merchandise, in fact it is also a good source of golf discount stores. Over the years eBay has attracted many types of virtual store merchants that sell products for a fixed, discounted price. This is especially true for golf stores. If you don't have eBay experience, go to eBay Tips section for general eBay information and how to buy clubs.
If you belong to a private golf club, you might find that buying golf clubs through your proshop will provide the best price, since many private clubs are setup with merchandise discount programs. Although the pricing can be attractive, buying through a proshop has some disadvantages too: 1) clubs usually need to be special ordered so it may take several weeks to get your club, and 2) you won't have the option of getting a refund or exchange if you don't like the club. This second issue may not be a problem if you are able to try out a demo club on the course before making your purchase.
Return/Exchange Policies
Since buying golf clubs is very much a trial and error endeavor, it's important to understand the return policy before making your purchase. You might find that a particular store doesn't offer the lowest price but they do offer a 30-day exchange or return policy on clubs which may be worth the extra cost. In many cases, these policies don't apply to all club types, like wedges and putters, so it's important to ask prior to your purchase.
Buying Discontinued Clubs
Another way to get clubs for the best price is to consider buying discontinued or used clubs. Since companies introduce new club designs at least once a year, buying a club that has been just been replaced by a newly designed club can sometimes save you a fair amount of money. New club models are usually introduced in the Spring, so this is a great time to also find specials on recently discontinued clubs that are still to your liking.
Buying Used Clubs
As we all know, after using a new club for a short period, you may discover it just isn't what you expected. Since this is a common problem among golfers, there are a lot of high quality used clubs available from a number of sources. Since many golf stores have exchange and trade-in programs, some of these stores also maintain a good inventory of used clubs at good prices. Another good source of used clubs is Callaway Golf Pre-Owned and Outlet
. And although they primarily promote used and certified Callaway clubs, they also stock a large inventory of clubs from all other major manufacturers.
The best source for used clubs is eBay!. The auctions for used clubs are listed both by individuals and online merchants. These listings are usually quite detailed and include pictures so you can get a good idea of a used club's quality. As long as the seller is of good standing (eBay supports a buyer rating system), your purchase should be safe. Tips on buying clubs on eBay can be found here.
