When we’re looking to buy new golf equipment, it makes sense to trade in old clubs to part fund an upgrade. Given that many of us are currently feeling a bit of a squeeze on our disposable income, selling or trading in equipment can help make some tidy savings.
Maybe it’s time to have a clear out - to give your garage a spring clean and get rid of all those putters (and many other clubs) that you’ve been hoarding away for years, even the old favourites. Do you really need six putters?
If you do make the decision to say goodbye to a well-loved blade or iconic mallet putter, you’ll want to get the very best price. The question is, how do you find out how much your putter is worth?
Condition
This is a good place to start. Just as a car’s paintwork and interior affect its second-hand value, the price of a putter will vary according to what sort of state the grip, shaft, head and face are in.
Grips can be replaced and minor paintwork chips and scratches refurbished. More serious damage or signs of wear and tear, even if it's unlikely to affect the performance of the club, is going to impact the price more significantly. If you have the original headcover, that can help boost the price, too.
Manuafacturer
Some models, despite being 10, 15, 20 years old, have retained their value over the years. Brands such as Scotty Cameron, Odyssey, Ping and TaylorMade - which are regarded as the ‘big four’ putter brands played on tour - have a long history of manufacturing the best putters, so it wouldn’t be unusual for certain models to fetch up to 75 percent of their original recommended retail price many years after being launched for the first time.
Scotty Cameron, for example, has been crafting fine milled putters for over 30 years, and many of the best players in the world play with Scotty Cameron designs. Having this Tour validity further boosts the price and this particular brand tends to maintain its value the most.
Certain models also command a higher price, and some tried-and-tested favourites, such as the Scotty Cameron Newport 2 and Ping Anser, will normally fetch a good price second-hand because of their iconic status in the game, often in the hands of players that have achieved notable major wins.
Age and trends
This is not to say that your classic Ping Anser putter - a model that was first designed in 1966 and has won over 500 tour events - is going to be worth the same, or more, as a current version.
Technology has moved on, so generally speaking, the newer the model, the more the putter is worth, because it’s new technology that gives designers and manufacturers the power to push performance boundaries.
What may help you to sell your putter for a higher price is whether the model is in particularly high demand. Trends will sometimes see some models increase in price, which may be because a well-known tour player reverts to using a certain design.
Over the last two years, zero torque putters have become very popular. As more tour players have started using this type of model, the demand has increased across the game.
Rarity
Who knows, you might have a real collector’s item on your hands. Scotty Cameron once sold a limited edition putter that was identical to the one that Tiger Woods used on his way to winning the 1997 Masters for a staggering $20,000.
Limited-edition releases have grown in popularity over the last few years. With more manufacturers making a limited amount of certain models, it means there are plenty of different putters out there that are worth a lot more money. Might yours be one of them? Golfclubs4cash list numerous high-value putters on it's website at any one time, some of which are in the thousands of pounds.
Materials and technology
The putters towards the upper end of the price scale (we’re not far off the £500-mark at the very top for all but the rarest putters) are crafted using premium materials, such as carbon steel, stainless steel and tungsten.
Combined with research and development costs, precision engineering, and the use of the very latest technology, it means premium putters, such as those made by the ‘big 4’ and several other brands, including L.A.B. Golf, Evnroll and Bettinardi, command slightly higher prices. These models are designed to offer players superior performance and the very best levels of feel and feedback.
The value of your putter
The best way to find out how much your putter is worth is to have a browse of the most reputable online retailers, such as golfclubs4cash, Europe’s largest retailer of used golf equipment.
With approximately 30,000 listings online at any one time, you stand a very good chance of finding the same or a similar model as yours, which will give you a very good idea of how much it’s worth. You can fill in a form on the golfclubs4cash website or take it into store and receive a quote while you wait for a quick payment via bank transfer or Paypal.
There’s no exact science to finding out how much your putter is worth, but this is the quickest and simplest way to get an accurate value.
