Is There Gold In Your Garage?

"With product life cycles shorter, it makes sense to make the connection between trade-ins and a faster purchase cycle," Krzynowek says. "In the 1990s studies revealed that avid golfers bought a new set of irons every five years and a new driver every three years. Now it's every three years for a set of irons and about 12 to 18 months for a driver. Trade-ins are not the only reason for that, but I think [they have] had an impact. The guy looking at a $400 driver likely has something to trade in. In fact, he probably has a lot to trade in."

Still, awareness is an issue. In a recent survey conducted by PGA.com Value Guide, 61 percent of visitors to the guide said they had never traded in a golf club. Twenty-eight percent of those respondents added that they didn't realize they could trade in used clubs, despite the fact that 60 percent said they had a driver they could trade in and 51 percent had a set of irons. Only 12 percent responded they had no clubs to trade in.

Progress, however, is being made. Consider these numbers. In the past 12 months the PGA.com Value Guide has had 1.8 million unique visitors (out of a total of 2.4 million visitors) with nearly 17 million club searches. Part of the reason for the rise is that 6,200 retail locations (employing more than 10,000 PGA professionals) now take part in the network's program.

So, if you go to trade in your clubs, do you have to buy something to effect the trade? The answer is usually yes, but it's as individual as the retailer who accepts the clubs. Some facilities only take in a trade when you're purchasing new equipment, while others will allow you to purchase pretty much anything in the store or shop. Still others may offer a gift certificate. "More and more retailers are realizing that it doesn't matter if you trade in a driver but buy a putter, wedge or shirt," says 3balls.com founder Leigh Bader. "And in the future I can envision that expanding to food and beverage, and perhaps cart fees or lessons, too."

Although the ways you can apply your credit are expanding, very few places will pay you cash for your clubs. However, the convenience factor often trumps the lack of a cash payout because trade-ins eliminate the headaches associated with trying to sell clubs on your own. "[Trading] is a much cleaner transaction for the consumer," says Haggin Oaks' Morton. "But a lot of people are disappointed with the trade-in price. They place more value on the clubs than they have."

So what clubs hold their value best? Typically sets of irons do well because there is a greater market for used irons and the purchase cycle for new irons is longer than most categories. Drivers, on the other hand, are somewhat hit or miss. "A driver may only be two years old, but it could be five generations old," says Morton. "The technology in that category is moving fast, and the drop-off in value is just as quick."

Worst value, however, is wedges. They get beaten up more than any other club in the bag. Even after just a few rounds, their value is greatly diminished. Take Cleveland's new CG 14 wedge: Although it is the latest product in the company's wedge line, the trade-in value is just $38 for a club in pretty good condition (and just $40 for the same stick in very good condition). But for all the variables, one thing remains constant: Branded equipment will bring more in trade than non-branded almost every time.

Indeed, identifying the peak time to unload your old clubs is hardly a science. Unlike the auto business where there is a marked decline in trade-in value when a car reaches 60,000 miles, there's no clear-cut demarcation line for golf clubs. But just like Branch Rickey's (the old Brooklyn Dodgers general manager) philosophy of trading ballplayers a year too soon rather than a year too late, don't wait to trade in your clubs. The falloff in value can, at times, be swift -- especially if a new technology is introduced in the category. A good rule of thumb is 12 to 24 months with the sweet spot being around 18 months -- the time where a product starts to get closed out and a newer version readied for introduction.

"Too many people wait too long," says Bader, who is also co-owner of Joe & Leigh's Discount Golf Pro Shop at Pine Oaks GC in South Easton, Mass., a frequent winner in Golf World's 100 Best Golf Shops competition. "They don't receive under value on their trade, but they are past peak market. A club doesn't have an odometer. There is just age and sometimes age gets tough to figure out. But consumers can look on resources like the Value Guide to monitor what they can get for their clubs."