Equipment
Stop making these mistakes when buying used clubs!
Buying new clubs is always fun, but for many golfers, the real fun is in hunting for used clubs and finding great deals, and if you know where to look, there are lots of deals to be had. But before spending hundreds of dollars on used clubs, there are a few things to pay close attention to, to make sure you are getting the best bang for your buck, and prevent yourself from making a costly purchasing mistake.
Tips for avoiding used club purchasing mistakes
Buy from reputable sellers: This is the most important piece of advice I can offer to those looking for clubs in the used marketplace—especially if this is new to you. Although the volume of counterfeit golf clubs has gone down exponentially over the last couple of years, there are still some people looking to make a fast buck off unsuspecting golfers. Although you can’t always inspect clubs in person, some of the most obvious signs of counterfeit golf clubs are:
- “Touchpoints being off” is the biggest giveaway. If grip smells like cheap rubber or solvent and seems small to size, the headcover (if it comes with one) feels light or flimsy, walk away. Counterfeiters sink most of the cost replicating the clubheads and if the other components seem off, it’s not worth it.
- “Incorrect shafts” or shafts installed with the logo or the shaft bands (logoed stickers on steel shafts) facing up. There isn’t an OEM on the market that builds clubs this way and it’s your first sign that something isn’t right.
- “Badge and brand colors slightly off” is another sign someone is trying to sell you a counterfeit club. Golf club manufacturers spend a lot of time and money picking colors that stand out and are hard to replicate and if something is off, it’s probably too good to be true.
**A great place to start your search is GolfAvenue.ca and as a GolfWRX reader you can save through our affiliate program: Golfwrx X GolfAvenue trade-in and purchasing program**
Make sure to confirm the club specs
When buying online, if the club specs aren’t included, make sure to ask—most sellers should easily be able to provide this information quickly.
If you are buying in person or shopping somewhere that has a large selection of used clubs, there are some things you can do to quickly and easily take some measurements to make sure you and getting clubs that match the right spec you are looking for.
Golf club specs you can check without tools:
- Lengths: If lengths arent stated and you are buying in person, bring a few of your own clubs to compare.
- Grips: A quick check that all of the grips match for size and style can save you money, and make sure they feel good when you go to use them. Don’t forget though, grips are an easy and affordable way to make used clubs feel new again.
- Matching shafts: A quick visual inspection to make sure the shafts match up will make sure you are getting what you pay for. Along that same line, checking to also make sure the ferrules match will show whether any club in the set was repaired at some point.
Shopping for used clubs can feel like a treasure hunt and is a lot of fun—it’s also a great way to save money on equipment. Don’t get caught up in what might seem like a deal too good to be true, because it probably is, and take your time when evaluating what you are buying to maximize enjoyment on the course.
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Whats in the Bag
Pierceson Coody WITB 2024 (April)
Driver: TaylorMade Qi 10 (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 70 TX
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi 10 Tour (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Black 80 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P790 (3), TaylorMade P7MC (4-6), and TaylorMade P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 54-11SB, 58-08LB)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: TaylorMade TP Reserve Juno
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
Check out more in-hand photos of Pierceson Coody’s WITB here.
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Equipment
Why Ben Griffin is making the surprising switch to a Maxfli golf ball
Ben Griffin might be a little too young to remember some of the iconic Maxfli golf balls that won on tour, but that isn’t stopping him from putting the newest Tour X ball from the brand in play. Today, Maxfli and Griffin announced an exclusive partnership that will see the PGA Tour player using the company’s four-piece golf ball.
While Griffin might be the first PGA Tour player to put a new Maxfli golf ball in play, he isn’t the first profesional golfer to do so. Lexi Thompson has been playing the Maxfli Tour golf ball on the LPGA Tour since the beginning of the 2024.
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We caught up with Ben at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Texas this week to ask him about the new ball switch.
“I was able to finally get my hands on some and try it and immediately I saw faster ball speed with the driver, which is always something every golfer wants to see.
“Then I had to test a lot around the greens and test irons, test spins, test everything like that. Basically, I came to the conclusion that I thought this was probably one of the best golf balls for my game.
“And so I decided to make it official and partner with them and very excited to help kind of launch this golf ball and see where it takes us.”
Griffin’s ball of choice is the Maxfli Tour X, a four-piece golf ball that is made for highly skilled players that want consistent distance off the driver and spin around the green. An updated core design helps add the ball speed that Griffin mentioned and two ionomer mantle layers separate low spin driver shots from higher spin iron and wedge shots. Maxfli uses Center Of center-of-gravity balancing to ensure each ball has consistent flight in the air and roll on the green. Like all golf balls on tour, the Tour X features a cast urethane cover for maximum performance, and it has a tetrahedron dimple pattern to enhance aerodynamics.
It is exciting to see a golf ball at a lower price point — $39.99 at Golf Galaxy — being used by a top 100 ranked player in the world like Ben Griffin, and equipment junkies will be keenly watching his performance with the new ball.
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Whats in the Bag
WITB Time Machine: Billy Horschel’s winning WITB, 2017 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
The tournament bearing the name of one of golf’s all-time greats is now known as the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Back in 2017, it was still the AT&T Byron Nelson and Billy Horschel was still a full-bag PXG staffer. The Florida Gator leveraged those wares to a playoff victory over Jason Day securing his fourth PGA Tour win in the process.
Check out the clubs Horschel had in play seven years ago in Texas.
Driver: PXG 0811X (9 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Atmos Tour Spec Black 6 X
3-wood: PXG 0341X (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Black 75 6.5
5-wood: PXG 0341 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Black 75 6.5
Irons: PXG 0311T (3, 5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: PXG 0311T Milled (52-10, 56-10, 60-07)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: PXG Bat Attack
Grip: SuperStroke Flatso 1.0
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Check out more in-hand photos of Billy Horschel’s gear from 2017 here.
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Cody Reeder
Dec 23, 2020 at 1:34 pm
Good article. I think this is one of your best!
Mike Wiggins
Dec 23, 2020 at 9:52 am
Don’t buy that Vokey wedge that looks like a great deal for the price but has grooves so worn out you’d be better off buying an off brand $29.95 wedge from the chain sporting goods store.
Fred Kantrowitz
Dec 22, 2020 at 4:35 pm
Ibeen buyng used and new golf clubs via ebay for years.My best advise is if you like what you see try them out, myself with iron sets putters ,drivers I follow the 5 rounds to get use to them and to figure out if they work ifor I made a mistake.