Equipment prices are insane this year!

[MountainGoat]

The general marketing strategy is to try to get more money out of the remaining few people who have it, not to find new buyers.

[Bad9]

In addition to inflation we also need to keep in mind income increases. I make way more money than I did 20yrs ago. Its way easier for me to buy a $700 driver(if I wanted to, which I don't) today than it was for me to buy a GBB for $500 in 1995.

[Bad9]

The general marketing strategy is to try to get more money out of the remaining few people who have it, not to find new buyers.

 

That's probably the most accurate statement in this thread.

[Colonel_Steelhead]

Im by no means the smartest person but I know how to combat high prices.................. dont pay em.

[justwellsy]

Of all the new irons I've tested, not one is worthy to knock my MP-64s out of the bag. I don't think players irons have improved enough over the last 10 years to justify spending over $1,000 on a new set. However, I feel the game improvement irons have gotten SO LONG that it's ridiculous. There's not a cold day in hell where I'd play p790s because they simply go too far and have too little feel. Take my favorite club for example, the 8-iron. With my current 8-iron I fly the ball 175-180 in "normal" conditions (I live at sea level and I'm talking about 75 degrees F or so). With a P790 8-iron of the same length with the same shaft I was flying the ball 190 to 195 yards. I don't think anyone "needs" to hit an 8-iron that far and there was definitely a sacrifice in feel and workability.

 

In short, I think you can wait even longer to upgrade your irons.. unless you are looking for stupid distance. For Woods, the last release cycle seems to be fairly similar to the newest for most models so save your money. I think most of club fitting is about finding what's comfortable and gives you confidence in your game. Do you need an extra 5 yards off the tee? I don't think most people do.

[11forgedblades]

The general marketing strategy is to try to get more money out of the remaining few people who have it, not to find new buyers.

[ChronicSlicer]

It’s not the cost of irons and drivers that shock me, it’s the cost of the damn putters that is outrageous. Considering that there has been very little R&D change to putters, and that it does not require a premium shaft, there is no reason that non-custom putters should be > $200. I get that it is the most used club in the bag, but they just keep rebranding the same designs over and over each year ... change black to red and jack up the price based on the “new visual and alignment help” or tweak the firmness of an insert and charge more for a “pro” model of the same damn clubhead.

It’s not the cost of irons and drivers that shock me, it’s the cost of the damn putters that is outrageous. Considering that there has been very little R&D change to putters, and that it does not require a premium shaft, there is no reason that non-custom putters should be > $200. I get that it is the most used club in the bag, but they just keep rebranding the same designs over and over each year ... change black to red and jack up the price based on the “new visual and alignment help” or tweak the firmness of an insert and charge more for a “pro” model of the same damn clubhead.

 

Problem is people keep buying into the gimmick, OEM`s are not stupid.

[ChronicSlicer]

Of all the new irons I've tested, not one is worthy to knock my MP-64s out of the bag. I don't think players irons have improved enough over the last 10 years to justify spending over $1,000 on a new set. However, I feel the game improvement irons have gotten SO LONG that it's ridiculous. There's not a cold day in hell where I'd play p790s because they simply go too far and have too little feel. Take my favorite club for example, the 8-iron. With my current 8-iron I fly the ball 175-180 in "normal" conditions (I live at sea level and I'm talking about 75 degrees F or so). With a P790 8-iron of the same length with the same shaft I was flying the ball 190 to 195 yards. I don't think anyone "needs" to hit an 8-iron that far and there was definitely a sacrifice in feel and workability.

 

In short, I think you can wait even longer to upgrade your irons.. unless you are looking for stupid distance. For Woods, the last release cycle seems to be fairly similar to the newest for most models so save your money. I think most of club fitting is about finding what's comfortable and gives you confidence in your game. Do you need an extra 5 yards off the tee? I don't think most people do.

 

While you may not like the GI irons, they do offer a specific group of people the opportunity to also try to enjoy this bastxxx of a game. Which is a good thing IMHO.

[11forgedblades]

I don't think I have ever paid "full price" since the day I started. The depreciation of golf clubs is very high when compared to other sports/hobbies I have. That $500 driver can be had brand new for half price in less than a season. That typically doesn't happen with cycling or ice climbing or anything else I'm into.

[rgk5]

$700 for new drivers here in Canada, plus 13% taxes=$791!?!? Apex/Pros coming in at $1,800?! Going to be an interesting yr. for sales!? :to_become_senile:

 

Yeah, but you have free health care.

 

Hardly. Our income taxes, sales taxes, gas and food prices are much higher than yours. I've worked in both countries. Taxes pay for the health care here.

[Oldplayer]

R&D ain't cheap...be patient as actual selling prices will likely be lower, or go with last year's model, which can be found discounted fairly deeply.

 

One of main reasons I quit HOing clubs, going on two years now as reformed.

Is it R&D costs or something else?

My understanding is R&D budgets are nothing like the marketing and promotional budgets spent by the OEM's.

The big guys have to cover what they spend in paying the pro's to play their stuff. Those contracts aren't cheap!

[bullie76]

The general marketing strategy is to try to get more money out of the remaining few people who have it, not to find new buyers.

 

I'm on the back end of my golfing life so not sure if I will ever buy another new set. My latest set includes woods bought used and new irons purchased almost 2 years after they first hit the market. Perfectly happy buying that way.

[Bad9]

R&D ain't cheap...be patient as actual selling prices will likely be lower, or go with last year's model, which can be found discounted fairly deeply.

 

One of main reasons I quit HOing clubs, going on two years now as reformed.

Is it R&D costs or something else?

My understanding is R&D budgets are nothing like the marketing and promotional budgets spent by the OEM's.

The big guys have to cover what they spend in paying the pro's to play their stuff. Those contracts aren't cheap!

 

I don't recall the specifics but Titleist sale a couple of years ago showed their marketing expenditures was many times greater than R&D

[dunn]

Dont buy new stuff, pretty simple

 

It's still your choice and by now should know there isnt anything but pride (I have the newest) separating decision......

 

Dont buy it and not an issue

[Stonewalled]

I remember as a junior in 2000 or so saving money for a new Ping TiSi Tec driver and back then it was around $600 CAD.

I can remember paying $400 for a used one, ouch. This is after both the wife and I won our respected long drive contest at local fun tournament with that exact club. Still have it, need to pull it out again.

[asw7576]

I rather use the money for more playing nowadays.

[CaseyDan]

And don’t get me started on the cost of tees.......

[wfrogge1]

Economy is doing well compared to years past. Also I am sure the tariffs on products coming from Asia don't help any either.

[@_the_crook]

had a call today from a good friend, after a long layoff of play, asking where should he go for equipment.

this fellow is tall so he may need length and upright adjustments.

 

I recommended he begin at the fitters. pay the fee.

get measured and find the right type for his swing.

tell the fitter he will be looking for budget equipment so point him to brands we know are available as second hand.

[Quasimoto]

all new 2019 club purchases include a bottle of lube.

 

Dammit, I got ripped off!

[LeoLeo99]

Yes, new clubs are expensive. I have sticker shock.

[ago33]

Money really only becomes an issue if you are buying and selling the clubs after a couple rounds. If you buy them and use them for a few years the extra $100 is nothing.

 

Or look at ways to buy slightly used then you just pay payment fees+shipping

 

or use one of the 90 day trial programs

 

or sell your kids to slave labor

 

There are a ton of options today to make it possible

 

edit: My solution, studying my butt off so i can make more cash and not have to worry about it

[gyro25]

As much as I like new and shiny I but the previous years models.. still new to me at about the cost

[theboyslater]

Key is to get fit during the year and then use something like callawaypreowned.com Black Friday sale. Cost me $60 to upgrade from epic to rogue!

[Wriggles]

I know we always complain about prices, but everything is really humping up this year. Irons in the $1300-1400 range. Drivers finally cracked $500.

Drivers have been $500+ previously. In 2003 the R510TP was priced at retail at $599.99 and higher. Inflation adjusted over $800 in current day money.

 

Perhaps a history lesson from 1996 needs revisiting.

 

https://www.si.com/v...surely-costlier

 

This barrier, however, was broken quietly, indoors and without warning, when

Ram Golf president Jim Hansberger--wearing a coat and tie instead

of the traditional fireproof jumpsuit--introduced the Ram FX

Ti-Forged oversize titanium driver. Suggested retail price: $1,000.

 

Or it doesn't, depending on whom you talk to. For more than a

year Titleist and MacGregor have been selling oversize titanium

drivers for less than $300--or trying to, anyway. "They haven't

sold any," says Callaway Golf CEO Ely Callaway, smiling broadly.

"Ask any retailer." (We did. He's right.) Callaway, on the other

hand, has shipped 300,000 of its Great Big Bertha titanium

drivers, which retail for a robust $500. Industry giant Cobra,

seeking to establish itself in metal woods, has trumped Callaway

by pricing its King Cobra Ti (pronounced tee-eye) driver at a

mere $367, causing industry experts to conclude that Callaway

either will lower its price (it'll have to, if everybody follows

Cobra's lead) or thumb its nose at the competition (Callaway is

arrogant enough to keep the price up, no matter what others

charge). At Founders Club, whose Judge titanium driver sells for

$475, metal woods pioneer and company founder Gary Adams

concedes, "Those people who drive a Mercedes will want to own a

titanium driver."

 

Reminds me of the Tommy Armour Ti100 iron. It was one of the first irons that its clubhead was 100% Titanium. It came out in '96 and retailed for $1200 for steel and $1500 for graphite (which roughly is $1900 & $2400 in today's dollars).

 

Too bad that iron was a flop and pretty much killed the original iteration of that company and its management.

 

I was one of the dummies that bought a graphite set of Ti's at full retail, minus a $100 rebate. I recall, a couple years after release, Big Lots had Ti's for $199. I played those clubs until I bought a new set of 09 x forged, deeply discounted ($400) in 2010. Still playing the x forged, best clubs I ever bought.

 

Traded the Ti's in 2010 for a Diablo driver. The Ti's still looked like new, $110 trade. Lucky to get that much.

 

Learned a valuable lesson, buy either deeply discounted new, or gently used. Buying the latest and greatest is just throwing money away.

[cgasucks]

It’s not the cost of irons and drivers that shock me, it’s the cost of the damn putters that is outrageous. Considering that there has been very little R&D change to putters, and that it does not require a premium shaft, there is no reason that non-custom putters should be > $200. I get that it is the most used club in the bag, but they just keep rebranding the same designs over and over each year ... change black to red and jack up the price based on the “new visual and alignment help” or tweak the firmness of an insert and charge more for a “pro” model of the same damn clubhead.

 

I hear ya. What really irks me for a long time is how much even PUTTER COVERS are so overpriced. I still have no clue why Scotty Cameron Covers are in the hundreds of dollars.

 

For God's sake, it's just a piece of leather lined with fleece!

[cgasucks]

$700 for new drivers here in Canada, plus 13% taxes=$791!?!? Apex/Pros coming in at $1,800?! Going to be an interesting yr. for sales!? :to_become_senile:

 

Yeah, but you have free health care.

 

Hardly. Our income taxes, sales taxes, gas and food prices are much higher than yours. I've worked in both countries. Taxes pay for the health care here.

 

I'm from Vancouver, BC myself and we're the only province that still pays for healthcare (although heavily subsidized) through monthly premiums based on your income. By 2020, we'll pay health care by way of our income taxes just like the rest of the country.

 

Gas here is the highest in North America. It is quite common for us to cross the border to Washington state to gas up where gas is approximately 30% cheaper because of lower Gov't taxes, even after you account for the foreign exchange.

[LaymanM]

Because of all the high costs, I am hoping to keep my bag the same for next few years. I have pretty much all new clubs and multiple sets of wedges with 2 having little to no wear.

 

Frankly, despite making a lot of money. Incant afford to keep the buying pace I've had over the last several years. That and I really like my equipment for once.

[zxcv4]

I would agree that you have to combo buying maybe a year old set, and strike at the right time. I got a brand new set of of Cobra Oversize 4-P for about 290 around Black Friday. They had reduced the price on their website, and as such, Amazon reduced their price to match it. Amazon also happened to be running a promo where if you used AMEX points you got an additional 20% off. It worked out well for me, but I had been waiting over a year to get those clubs under that 300 dollar price point.

[hackalot]

Yes. Prices are out of control but seems people still forking over the money. Always amazed when I see people talk about all the new clubs they had over season. I use to buy new and latest, but now buy previous release or close out items. Can get for 1/3 price and not really missing out on performance