Equipment
Best tips for shopping for used golf clubs
We’re in the middle of the golf season, and there is still lots of time left to lower your handicap, post a personal best score, and have some more fun along the way—but it might require some news clubs to get there. The best part is today, new doesn’t have to mean brand new—it can just be “new” to you.
Before spending any money shopping for used golf clubs, it’s important to pay close attention to a number of small details to save you time—and prevent you from having to spend more money down the road to correct for purchasing mistakes.
Here is our how-to guide to shop for used clubs
Shop the big sellers: Unless you are buying locally and have the opportunity to inspect clubs and know their source, the safest and easiest way to shop is from the big online sellers that inspect and verify the clubs they sell are legit.
Although thanks to a very concerted effort by OEMs to mostly eliminate counterfeit gear, it can still find its way into the marketplace and big sellers help stop the spread and prevent you from wasting your money. Also, most of the big sellers use photos of the actual clubs you are buying – not representative photos so you know exactly what you are getting.
**(We also have a great Buy/Sell/Trade board here on GolfWRX too)**
The telltale signs of counterfeit clubs are
- Badge and brand colors slightly off
- Poorly installed shaft bands (the stickers on steel shafts)
- Awful smelling grips – they can feel thin and smell like very cheap rubber or solvents
- Club weight seems very off – for irons and wedges they might feel extremely light and for drivers and woods they can feel a lot heavier because of the extremely poor quality graphite shafts being used.
Confirm specs: You don’t need to have a shop worth of tools to quickly and easily take some simple measurements to make sure you and getting clubs that match the right spec you are looking for, although a very specific tool is needed to check lies and lofts.
Specs you can check without tools – irons and wedges
- Lengths: If lengths arent stated and you are buying in person, just simply 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 potentially 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. Just be sure to not get caught up in what might seem like a deal too good to be true and take your time when evaluating what you are buying.
Happy (used golf club) shopping!
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Whats in the Bag
Team McIlowry (Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry) winning WITBs: 2024 Zurich Classic
Rory McIlroy WITB
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X (45 inches)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 X
Irons: TaylorMade Proto (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9) Buy here.
Shaft: Project X 7.0 (4-9)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB) Buy here, Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (58-K @59) Buy here.
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X3 Buy here.
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol Tour
Ball: 2024 TaylorMade TP5x Buy here.
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s WITB in the forums.
View this post on Instagram
Shane Lowry WITB
- Shane Lowry what’s in the bag accurate as of the Cognizant Classic.
Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II (8.5 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 70 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus Buy here.
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 X
Irons: Srixon ZX Utility (3, 20 degrees) Buy here, Srixon ZX5 Mk II (4, 5) Buy here, Srixon ZX7 Mk II (6-PW) Buy here.
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X (3), KBS Tour 130 X (4-PW)
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Tour Rack (50-10 MID, 54-10 MID) Buy here, Cleveland RTX Full Face (58-8) Buy here.
Shafts: KBS Tour Wedge X Black
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour Z Buy here.
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV Buy here.
The winning WITB is presented by 2nd Swing Golf. 2nd Swing has more than 100,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
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Whats in the Bag
Steve Stricker WITB 2024 (April)
- Steve Stricker WITB accurate as of the Zurich Classic. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees, C4 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 7.2 X
3-wood: Titleist 915F (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist 816 H1 (17 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 9.2 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (3, 4), Titleist T100 (5-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (46-10F @55), Titleist Vokey SM10 (54-10S @53), Titleist Vokey SM4 (60 @59)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 w/Sensicore
Putter: Odyssey White Hot No. 2
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Grip Rite
Check out more in-hand photos of Steve Stricker’s clubs here.
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Whats in the Bag
Alex Fitzpatrick WITB 2024 (April)
- Alex Fitzpatrick what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 7 X
Hybrid: Ping G430 (19 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 TX
Irons: Ping iCrossover (2), Titleist T100 (4-PW)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 9 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 X (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-12F, 56-12D, 60-08M)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 X
Putter: Bettinardi SS16 Dass
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Alex Fitzpatrick’s clubs here.
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Bob Pegram
Aug 17, 2020 at 3:41 pm
For those looking for used Callaway clubs, the Callaway Pre-owned site has has clubs ranked by condition so you can get very good condition clubs if you play only a little extra. That is what I did and I am very satisfied with the clubs I got from them. They have improved my game. You will also know they are not counterfeits.