Buying used clubs: what to check before you pay
Clubs three or four seasons old play like this year's for half the money. The risk is specification, not performance.
Buying second-hand is the most reliable way to play better equipment than your budget suggests. Clubs three or four seasons old perform within a couple of metres of this year’s models at roughly half the money. The risk lies in the specification, not the performance.
Know your specification before you shop
Write down the three numbers that matter: shaft flex, length and lie angle for irons, plus loft for a driver. Buying a stiff-shafted driver because it was cheap means paying for a mismatch you will later blame on your swing.
What wears out and what does not
Iron heads last decades. Grooves wear, and worn grooves cost spin on wedges long before they matter on a 6-iron. Run a fingernail across a wedge face: if it does not catch on the groove edges, expect the ball to run on more than you want. Sand takes a toll here, and on sandbelt courses wedges age faster than they do elsewhere.
Driver faces do fatigue eventually, but it takes thousands of swings. Shafts do not soften with age. Grips genuinely wear out, and in a hot climate they harden and go slick faster; replacing them is the cheapest improvement on any purchase.
The five-minute inspection
- Sight down the shaft for dents or ripples near the hosel.
- Look for a paint line at the hosel that does not match the head, a sign of a reshaft.
- Tap a driver face with a fingernail. A dead or rattling note suggests a crack.
- Read the sole wear. It shows how the previous owner delivered the club.
- Check the serial number on a premium driver head before paying.
Where to buy
Drummond Golf runs a trade-in programme and keeps used racks in most stores, which has the advantage that you can hold the club before paying. House of Golf and The Golf Clearance Outlet carry previous-season stock new, which is often better value than a used current model. Golfbox lists clearance lines online.
Your club professional frequently takes members’ trade-ins and knows exactly how those clubs have been used. Online marketplaces are cheaper again and carry the most counterfeit risk, particularly on current drivers; buy only from sellers who show the serial number and accept returns.
Panxis Golf has no commercial relationship with any of these retailers and takes no commission on what you buy.
What is worth buying used
Irons, hybrids and fairway woods offer the best value: the technology moves slowly and they take punishment. A driver becomes interesting at two or three seasons old, when the price has fallen and the performance has not. Wedges are the category to think twice about, because you are buying grooves. Putters are pure preference, and the used market is where experimenting is affordable.
Before you buy
- Write down your specification and refuse anything that does not match it.
- Budget for new grips on any set.
- Prefer a graded seller with a returns policy over one who is a few dollars cheaper.
A well-chosen used set, fitted for length and lie, will outperform a new set bought off the rack in the wrong specification. Spend the difference on the fitting.
