Equipment costs

[soregongolfer]

This past decade or so, top of the line drivers were going for $299 and iron sets for $699. Wedges, including Vokeys were $99. Club prices have gone through the roof over the past 5-6 years.

[soregongolfer]

"The Big Bertha Titanium is also 360 cc and sells for $250 at the same site."

[grm24]

The titanium Big Bertha in the mid 90's were regularly selling for $500 or more. I know what that picture states but the BB drivers were selling for much more than what that picture states. The article below is from 1996. TITANIUM DRIVERS MADE OF THIS SPACE-AGE METAL MAY BE MORE ACCURATE AND LONGER. THEY'RE SURELY COSTLIEROr 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. 

 

[zerotiger]

my wallet has definitely gotten lighter the past decade

[soregongolfer]

They probably were selling at a higher price at one point, but the text of that picture says it went for less sometime in that time frame.. I started playing golf in 1999, and I have never paid $500 for a driver. In the first ten years of my golf "career" prices were pretty consistent at $299 for top of the line drivers, and I bought something new every year or two including the Callaway Hawk Eye, Titleist 975, 975J, 983E and Callaway FT-3. My M-3 didn't cost $500 though I think it was close. Top of the line drivers have not cost $500 since the mid 90's. That's simply not correct.

[soregongolfer]

No doubt. I remember when the top of the line wedges went from $99 to $119. There was a brief stop at $109. Very brief. That was within the past decade. I looked at wedges a few months ago and saw them for $169. I couldn't believe my eyes.

I just went through an envelope where I keep my old receipts. My MP-69's were $749 in 2011. My MP 32's were $599 in 2005. What are the MP-20's going for? $1299.99? Ouch. My R-9 SuperTri was $299 in 2009. My M3 was $449 almost 2 years ago. All brand new at the time. I'm not a used club kind of guy.

[Sean2]

Just saw the Honma TW 737-455 driver on sale for $99. When it came out in I believe 2017 it was $500.

[Ger21]

Bridgestone Tour B XD drivers were $700 in 2017-2018, and go for as low as $125-$175, brand new.

[GSDriver]

Why I stopped HOing and always recommend buying last year's model when new ones are released. $1200 for a set of irons off the rack is just silly money, I guess adjusted for inflation, sort of close to say prices from 20 or more years back, but a lot of cheese for marginal incremental improvements.

[tannyhoban]

Deals abound out there. You have to be patient if you've targeted a specific item. Or be an accidental deal finder and try anything that's a deal. Or just suck it up, quit complaining and play what you got.

It's no use whining, there certainly isn't a shortage of quality affordable clubs these days.

 

 

[OldCuss]

Enjoy golfing with others and especially alone. Many reasons for the latter, one being fantasy. Associated with that fantasy, whether golfing with others or alone, is equipment - I like it to be similiar to the pros, especially woods and wedges. Fitted for me, of course, even if my game cannot utilize what these clubs are capable of providing. Nonetheless. And such does cost, even if one model behind. Can't complain; I pay the costs, thus it might be said I am part of a supposed problem; but as I understand it, mark-up is not as much as one might think, especially if we desire the level of customization presently available. But . . .

Clothing. That seems to me to be an area where we might say to manufacturers focusing on the golfer, "hey, really?" Performance clothing absent a golf descriptor, $, with a golf descriptor, $$$. While acknowledging differences in quality justifying price differentiation, it seems comparable quality varies greatly in price depending on the target market. Sometimes - not really - I wish I enjoyed horseshoes more. Certainly better at it than golf - really.

Old Cuss