A new driver costs $20 more than it did last week. Why? It's probably the tariffs

Typically, when it gets a little late in the annual equipment buying season like it is now, you start to see prices being discounted. Not this September. In fact, there’s been slight increases across the board from several manufacturers. The culprit appears to be the effect of tariffs, but the good news is it’s nowhere near as bad as it could be.

Unless, of course, you were expecting that big fall discount you’ve been used to seeing.

A quick review shows a $15 to $20 per club bump in the prices of current clubs from several manufacturers, including Callaway, Mizuno, Ping and Srixon. Those increases have occurred across the board over the last few weeks. But those are small adjustments, maybe 3 percent on a driver or 7 percent on a set of irons. That’s especially true when you consider that the countries of origin for most golf equipment are China, Taiwan and Vietnam. Tariffs installed by the Trump administration tack on at least a 20-percent fee to importing products from those countries.

While the in-season boost in selling prices is somewhat unprecedented, it seems explained easily enough by the tariff schedule announced and subsequently negotiated by trade deals over the last several months. First, it’s not the case that all the clubs for a year are ordered and built and delivered to retail at the beginning of the year.

Rather, what often happens is that after the initial run is readied for the start of the year, a new re-order and shipment occurs in the spring, based on early season sales and just the basics of inventory management. It may happen several times. Because a second or third shipment was on the way, those same clubs that were introduced in January and February weren’t subject to the tariffs, which were announced in early April, but the future re-orders and shipments were. (Note: Balls seem not to be showing any upcharges, largely because many premium golf balls already are manufactured in the U.S.)

Second, the majority of golf clubs and golf club components like shafts and grips are produced in Asia, specifically China, Taiwan and, increasingly, Vietnam. While the across-the-board 10-percent tariffs might have been easy enough for golf manufacturers to overcome through other cost-cutting means, it’s been the additional tariffs that have gone into effect from golf-production-rich countries who face the additional 20 percent.

Golf equipment, like other consumer goods, and especially because of its multi-component nature (separate grips, shafts, clubheads), is seeing that impact retail prices in selective and relatively controlled ways. According to The Budget Lab at Yale, a non-partisan policy research center dedicated to providing in-depth analysis of federal policy proposals for the American economy, “There is suggestive evidence that tariffs are raising goods prices. Core goods prices were 1.9 percent above pre-2025 trend as of June.”

But the research shows a wide range of effects, with metal products in general showing a long-run price change of between 5.5 and 12 percent, reflecting the difference between the cost of a finished club and the cost of the raw steel used to mill a putter, for example.

Golf has been relatively stable in the wake of the tariffs’ effect. Said one large retailer, “While some of the costs were absorbed by the manufacturers, they did not significantly pass the burden on to retailers. Ultimately, a portion of the increase was passed on to customers, but in most cases, the manufacturers absorbed the greatest impact. Overall, the outcome for both retailers and consumers was far less severe than I initially expected.”

Callaway CEO Chip Brewer, on a second-quarter earnings call in early August, noted that the company had increased the projected impact of tariffs on Callaway's EDITDA by some 60 percent, from $25 million to $40 million

“The rate of tariff went up from what was assumed to be in a 10-percent rate to roughly 20,” he told investors on a Goldman Sachs call, noting that the company had gradually moved much of its manufacturing out of China during the first Trump administration. He also said the company was mitigating the effect of tariffs by “improving the efficiency of our supply chain” and “how we design product.”

“We're looking at our overall cost structure in the adage of ‘You never waste a good crisis,’” he said. “We're recognizing that this is a significant point in time, and we're reevaluating all aspects of our cost base and cost structure and making adjustments for that.”

Lauren Hobart, president, CEO and director at Dick's Sporting Goods, noted in the company's Q2 earnings call in late August that the impact has not led to reduced interest in purchases. "We are navigating very well through an uncertain tariff environment," she said. "We've seen some sporadic price increases, but they are surgical and not across the board, and we're seeing our consumer respond really well. … We do not see signs that the consumer is slowing."

Still, in practical terms, many golf equipment consumers have been trained by the cycle of new product introductions to expect price reductions starting in the fall as the current year’s product is closed out to make room for the coming year’s latest and greatest. In the latest research by Golf Datatech, a third of avid golfers say they wait until the price has been discounted to buy a new driver. While there are still some discounting and close-out pricing deals out there, tariffs have put a new spin on the fall buying season.

This year, at least for now, that expected $100 discount has become a $20 markup.