What do you do with your old clubs after you get new ones?

[RetiredBoomer]

You really don't get very much for used clubs, 
as far as I can see,
so if you have nobody to whom to give them,
I think collecting them is best.

I certainly have old favorites that find their way back into the bag now and again.
When something on which you just spent a small fortune lets you down,
you may want to give it a time out.

 

[Brooky03]

If I was replacing clubs every few years with brand new clubs, I'd likely sell them or trade them in.  The value at that point should be decent.  I generally play the same clubs for a long time, though, and stick to used clubs when I upgrade.  So, I lean toward handing them down to friends or family.  Any club I replace will be old enough that there's practically no chance I'd put it back in play.

[BIG STU]

With me I hold onto everything. I tend to play older equipment (as in antique) and most are players not collectibles. Back in February I had to clean out my storage across the road due to a highway project taking that building. I did do a bulk sale deal. I did donate some older CB sets to a Pro friend of mine who runs a kids program. A lot of that stuff had been in the building since we closed the golf shop in 08. I also picked up a lot of stuff when I drove a truck for a metal recycling company. I have over the years given stuff to other classic minded nuts like myself. To put it into perspective the newest set of irons I own is a set of 2014 TM TP CBs. In fact they are the one and only set of CBs and graphite shafts I own. I have a couple of putters I have owned since my pre High School days. I also own and play Hickory shafted clubs too. My iron sets date from 1940 to 1980. Most are Macgregor with the one set being Hogan Precisions. In my vintage play I rotate stuff along with persimmon woods and classic putters on a weekly basis

[civic]

I still have my Hogan Apex Edge forged irons 2-SW that are still in excellent condition. I'm not getting rid of them for 2 reasons. First is I still like them and could go back to them in a heartbeat and secondly I wouldn't get hardly anything for them. Plus I'm not sure the new irons are more forgiving then my hogans. The new irons are just stronger lofted but I don't think my Wilson D9's are any more forgiving. 

[stephenmatt]

Sell them, keep them, or give them to a friend or family member. Really depends on what the club is.

[bricksandbirdies]

I’ve always been in the mindset to not keep old clubs accessible as my tinkering brain would automatically default to pulling them out of the garage after a bad round and switching multiple times throughout the year.

As I’m sure a lot of you are as well, I’m apart of GCT on Facebook and will usually sell/trade older clubs no longer in the bag.

[Rob Person]

I probably will never get rid of my Foremost 551 clubs. They are tied to a very personal and sentimental part of me.

Do I play them well?  Not really, they are HEAVY! I just can't bring myself to change the shafts out either to make them more playable. (For me)

As for my goodwill finds, I use them for tinkering. If I like the finished results,  i keep them around for awhile, use them at the range, or maybe play a round with them occasionally. 

Ive given a number of single clubs away to friends. Clean em up, put a new grip on them, etc. Again, learning curve tinkering. 

I still have about 9 single clubs between woods/hybrids/irons sitting in a thrift store bag, as well as a few obsolete putters.

The "but what ifs" sits in the back of my mind though when it comes to passing things on I don't really use (not just with clubs!)  I'm not a hoarder, just cautiously selective when it comes to parting ways with things.   

 

[Firebird]

I usually give them to the club to be used the with beginners program.

[Off Map Oscar]

90% of the time one of my buddies will hit them and decide to keep them. Lost 3 different sets of irons that way

[Alf. S]

I have 2 adult sons who are not regular golfers but "their" clubs are in my garage, when I buy a new club/clubs they usually get the old clubs and then their older clubs are traded in. 

But what really happens is I have 3 sets of clubs in the garage that they occasional take a loan of!! 

[Alf. S]

Just one other thought, my garage gets called Alf's Golf Shop apart from clubs there are spare bags, 12 pairs of shoes, couple of golf trolleys, tool box for grips, boxes of hats, towels, head covers, outdoor golf clothes rack,.... I thought about mounting display cases on the wall that has a history of my putters and drivers. The only problem is I would have to go back and buy back clubs to fill the cases. I have photos of most of the clubs of the last 20 years. Thoughts?

[Random Country]

When I get new golf clubs, I usually look for ways to repurpose or donate the old ones. One fun idea I’ve thought about is using the Random Country Generator to select a country and explore golf courses or clubs there. I could then reach out to local organizations or sports foundations in that country to donate my old clubs. It’s a unique way to give back to a place I wouldn’t have considered otherwise, and it adds an element of global connection to the process.

[Random Country]

When I get new golf clubs, I usually look for ways to repurpose or donate the old ones. One fun idea I’ve thought about is using the Random Country Generator to select a country and explore golf courses or clubs there. I could then reach out to local organizations or sports foundations in that country to donate my old clubs. It’s a unique way to give back to a place I wouldn’t have considered otherwise, and it adds an element of global connection to the process.

[Siamese Moose]

Some years ago (20, maybe) I had a golf acquaintance who worked as a travel agent specializing in Jamaica. He used to collect old clubs and take them with him. I don't remember how they got distributed, but a set of ladies' Ping irons from my wife went there. A year or so later those same clubs came back to Cincinnati, when the girl who got them got a golf scholarship here at Xavier University. Of course, almost immediately she was fitted for a whole new bag, and I never learned what happened to the Pings afterwards.

[GolfSpy_APH]

I have a really hard to getting rid of clubs and usually end up just keeping them for that day when I feel I wish or want to try them again down the line. 

[Josh Parker]

I try to trade in or sell as much as possible. I do have a handful of wedges and random clubs that the value just isn't worth selling. 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

I trade and sell when appropriate. Similar to @Josh Parker if there’s little to no value, I just keep them or donate them to the local First Tee program. 

[Shrek74]

I sell pretty much everything I don't use, except putters. eBay, FB oem-specific sale groups, MGSF classifieds or possibly a trade-in if there's enough value to make it worth doing. Nothing I have now has any real sentimentality attached to them. My oldest putter, which is the first one I ever bought is as close as I get. It has no real value left, so it'll hang around.

[TJ Hall]

I typically trade in most of what I don’t use anymore, except putters…for some reason I just don’t part ways with them!

[RetiredBoomer]

In retrospect, I really should have contributed them to some youth program or other
rather than turn my basement into a vintage club museum.

I don't know if we have anything like that locally.
I'm not familiar with one.

But donating clubs that will actually be used by somebody
rather than decorate my mancave
would have definitely been a good thing.

 

 

 

 

 

[shakirkhaan]

Sir I paid 900 played them for 4 years and sold them for 500. That's a great deal. check this post here 

 

 

[shakirkhaan]

And Sir When something on which you just spent a small fortune lets you down. thanks again

[ClevelandGirl]

I just upgraded from my first ever set, which were the amazing Callaway Solaires. I decided to keep it, though a couple of clubs were stolen by my niece so it’s not quite a full set, but there are enough to be considered a full bag. I thought it would be handy for dragging out for teaching a curious friend, or if someone flies in, I have a set they can use.

It’s been less than a year and already been used a few times. I’ll gladly give them if someone gets the bug!