How I Save Money on Golf Gear
I have always known golf equipment is expensive. However, it hit me how expensive it has gotten when helping a friend of mine find a new driver. For example, if you want the latest premium driver from any of the major manufacturers (i.e. Titleist, TaylorMade, Callaway, etc.) get ready to dish out a minimum of $529 plus tax. This doesn't even begin to factor in fitting fees or additional shafts and grip upgrades. This seemed pretty insane to me, so I figured now would be a good time to put together my top tips for getting golf gear at a discount!
Tip 1: The best deals come to those that are patient - One of the overarching themes to getting a good deal on golf equipment is patience. Unfortunately, given the recent surge in demand these deals do not run year round, but if you keep an eye out around major holidays (i.e. Black Friday, Christmas, Mothers/Fathers Day, etc.) a bargain may be in your future!
Tip 2: Always Use Rakuten - Rakuten gets paid by stores to direct traffic their way and when you make a purchase you receive a share of the commission! I have gotten anywhere from 1% to 15% cashback on equipment at stores (i.e. Dicks Sporting Goods, TGW, Golf Galaxy). Additionally, if you are a new registrant and you use my referral code (Link) you will get an additional ~$30 dollars in cash back after you make your first purchase! I had a friend during this holiday season get $100 dollars in cash back when he purchased a new TaylorMade Sim Driver (referral bonus + 15% cash back). Most of us are planning to buy clubs anyways, might as well get some free money back for it!
Tip 3: Credit Card Points + Sign Up Bonuses - My personal philosophy when buying pretty much anything, but especially golf equipment, is always take advantage of credit card points and offers. Most credit cards today will give at least 2% in points or cash back for buying things you are already going to buy. On a $500 dollar driver this could be an extra $10 back. Now this doesn’t sound like much but these strategies do add up.
In addition, keep an eye out for credit card offers. Many offer cash back and points bonuses when you hit a certain spend amount. For example, if you sign up for a Chase card you get a $200 dollar bonus when you spend your first $500 dollars on the card (Referral Link). If you couple the credit card bonus with cashback and Rakuten (if timed right) you can receive a $500 driver for about $175. Pretty good deal to me! If you are looking for a more premium card you may also consider the Amex Platinum card (Referral Link).
Please note I am not a financial advisor so take this advice with that in mind.
Tip 4: End Of Season Sales - Most local golf stores/pro shops will put demo clubs, prior generations, or semi used clubs on big discounts at the end of the year. I have found some of my best deals looking through these racks over the years. This tip definitely requires some hunting, and if you are in the market for something specific, might not be the way to go.
Tip 5: Golf Fittings - Many of you are probably saying to yourself, these tips are great but I need to get fit first and you are totally right! I personally am a big advocate of getting your clubs fit correctly, but also recognize many of these fitting centers charge some crazy fees! My tip here is to plan ahead. If you know you will be in the market for a new club or set, identify the local fitting centers in your area, sign up for their mailing lists, and wait until a deal comes along. When I got fit at Club Champion they were offering a promotion where they waived the fitting fee if I purchased $500 worth of equipment. I knew no matter what I was getting new hybrids so this was a no brainer and resulted in me getting a free full bag fitting. The two other ways to circumvent fitting fees is to look at club manufacturers' public fitting schedules and, of course, talk to your local PGA pro to see if they can help get you set up.
Tip 6: Used Gear - I will be honest, I am usually not a fan of “used” anything, but when it comes to golf equipment there are certain circumstances where it makes sense to take a look (e.g. golfers new to the game, putters, and push carts). My favorite place to buy and sell used gear is Facebook marketplace. I used Facebook marketplace to buy my pretty much brand new BagBoy push cart for ~35% below retail. I have also found this to be a great way to liquidate old golf gear to make room for new equipment and avoid further depreciation. There is a lot I can write about this so I will save it for a future post, but let it be known that used golf gear is a great way to get a deal on some new equipment.
Stacking Base Case Discounts Example!
Club Purchase: Callaway Epic Max - $529
Rakuten: 4.5% cash back (as of 1/7 on Callaway.com) - $24
Credit Card Points: 1.5% - $8
Credit Card Sign Up: Chase Sign Up - $200
Fitting: Free (Fitting Deal or Demo Day)
Old Driver Sale on FB Marketplace: $100
Final Price: $197 (63% Discount)
Other Golf Related Deals
Tip 7: Golf Ball Sales - We all need golf balls and if you are like me and like to play a premium name brand golf ball (I play the Titleist AVX) you know the pain of dropping ~$50 for a dozen. My solution? Stock up when they go on sale. Often major ball manufacturers at the beginning of the season put premium balls on sale (typically buy 3 get 1 free, ~25% off) so keep an eye out for these deals! Additionally, these deals can often be combined with free personalization (always a fun touch) and Rakuten cash back!
Tip 8: Golf Gloves - Personally I hate paying a lot for expensive golf gloves knowing it will end up in the garbage soon enough. But, I also believe high quality gloves are key to playing comfortably. My first tip here is to look at some boutique glove manufacturers. Instagram is full of new and up and coming brands and I have gotten some great deals this way. For instance, Mariner Golf Company sells premium Cabretta gloves for $15 / glove or as low as $10 / glove when on sale. If name brand is no issue, Kirkland Signature Golf Gloves could also be the way to go (My Golf Spy ranked these to be the best value glove of 2021), especially at the price point of $6.75 / glove.
Tip 9: Golf Lessons - Golf lessons are probably the best thing you can invest in to improve your game, it was for me at least! The downside is they are pretty expensive. My tip here is to find an instructor you like and talk to them about pricing options. I was able to build a 10 week program over the summer with my local PGA pro which came out to be ~25% cheaper than if I paid week to week. From my experience, PGA pros want to help you improve your game and by simply having a conversation with them you might be able to strike a more favorable deal.
Tip 10: Golf Apparel - Golf apparel is the one thing you might actually be able to get a deal on year round. If you are in need of new pants, shorts, shirts, jackets, etc. make sure you look online and you can likely get at least 20% off compared to big box stores and local shops. When I am on the hunt, I will usually keep an eye out at Macy’s, Nike.com, TGW, and Kohl’s which all sell name brands and usually have sales, coupons, and always offer some Rakuten cashback deals.
Happy Shopping!
The Golf Guy
Disclosure - I only recommend products/services I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. Please note some of the links shared above are affiliate links meaning I do earn a small commission for sales at no expense to you.
