Used clubs

The first decision is do you think the stock combination will work for you.  Not many Titleist clubs come up for sale/auction that were custom fit.  That's a clue, there aren't many trades of Titleist clubs once they were properly fit.  At some point after enough investment in lessons and practice, you can best help yourself with new clubs fit for you.  A good instructor can even recommend which part of the bag you should consider first to replace.

The hard part is knowing what to buy used.  Should you get AP1 or AP2?  Graphite shafts?  Steel?  What flex?  What degree loft driver - fairway - hybrid?  The wrong match in any brand won't help your game.

Most of the large internet retailers guarantee their merchandise.  3Balls, Global Golf, and 2nd Swing guarantee authenticity.  Buying off of an auction site you'll need to be careful about the reliability of the seller.  Shop multiple sites to get an idea of the price.  If it is too good to be true, it probably is not true.  For new clubs that offer a discount of more than 5% off of MSRP - and if they ship from overseas - the assumption is they will be forgeries. 

You may find some on the used club racks locally, although as a LH golfer, that is a hopeless exercise for me.  For wedges, your best bet may be to try to find a local retailer discounting SM4s with the SM5s coming out and get a 52 and 56 to get started. 

Hi Matthew,

I have bought many clubs used and online on ebay. What I usually do is look for the sellers ratings, I know this does not mean he is not selling knock offs but it gives you an idea about what others think. I then check if there is any returns allowed and if there is I become a little more trusting because I can feel them out and see if I like them or if they feel right (try comparing what it feels like if you have a friend with Titleist clubs he bought from a store). Also ebay has PGA certified trade in sellers which I hace found out in my experience are the most reliable. One last thing I do is check the price because if the price is an OK deal that I deciede is it worth it If I do find out it is fake and if is then is it a big loss. All of the used clubs I have bought have worked great for me and there is really no difference than the new clubs besides the scratches which all clubs will get eventually.

I really hope this helps

Thanks,

Peter Hansen