How To Improve The Resale Value Of Your Golf Clubs

Every little helps when it comes to selling your old clubs. Here are our top tips...

Golf wedges in a golf bag
(Image credit: Future)

As many people continue to feel the squeeze of the cost of living crisis, turning to your old golf clubs could be an avenue worth exploring to ease the financial burden. Therefore, it quite literally pays to keep past equipment in good condition. 

With that in mind, here are our top tips on how to improve the resale value of your golf clubs…

Clean your clubs

Most of the methods on this list are fairly obvious and this is no exception. However, that being said, many golfers fail to take care of their clubs when in use and that will come back to haunt them down the road when it comes to selling or trading in.

A golfer cleaning a golf club after hitting a shot

Cleaning your clubs regularly is really important when it comes to retaining value

(Image credit: Future)

Taking five minutes at the end of a round to clean your golf clubs and grips is a guaranteed route to more money in your pocket, especially when you’ve been playing in wet conditions. For example, it’s very easy for rust to form on damp and uncleaned clubheads, some of which will be nigh-on impossible to lift if left for too long.

So, even if they are misbehaving, don't forget to show your clubs some love. After all, it's not their fault...

Keep original headcovers

Again, it should come as no surprise that selling a club with the matching headcover makes it more valuable. And like the clubs themselves, keeping this headcover in good condition is equally important. Of course, this is sometimes easier said than done when it comes to trusty companions that have held pride of place in the bag for years, but doing what you can is worth it.

Check for shaft wear

Golf bags are actually integral to maintaining the condition of your clubs. An inherent risk to equipment is that a wear mark on graphite shafts will often appear from where it sits in your bag. It's something almost all golfers will have experienced at some point in their life, and it's a little harder to guard against. But there are a couple of things that will help.

First is to keep an eye on it. If you notice the protective fabric in your bag is looking tired and is starting to erode the shaft of your club, it might be time to upgrade. Either that or you can make some running repairs to limit the damage. 

A golfer putting a headcover on his golf club after hitting a shot

Using a sock headcover is one way to limit shaft wear that can devalue clubs

(Image credit: Future)

Alternatively, getting a new headcover might buy you some time. Modern headcovers tend to leave the shaft exposed, so switching back into the longer and more traditional sock style could be a prudent move.

Remove all sentiment

This one might be easier or harder than the others depending on which way you are inclined. However, no matter how attached you are to a club, it isn’t going to become more valuable the longer you hang onto it. And that goes for those that date back decades as there are far less collectables than golfers think.

Therefore, as soon as you are thinking of selling any old clubs, sell them. If you wait, all that is likely to happen is that they will become devalued either by age or, should you continue to use them, by condition. So, even if it's the club you used to make your first hole-in-one, remove all emotion and monetise it as soon as the thought enters your mind.

Added extras

On top of all this, there are some additional things you can do to maximise value. One of them is putting a fresh grip on, or at least ensuring the current grip is clean and still has some life left in it.

A golf pro regripping a golf club

A new grip will increase the value of your old clubs

(Image credit: Future)

Furthermore, given all the best drivers and fairway woods are adjustable, selling with the original torque wrench included will separate your item from the majority of sellers and enable you to recoup some extra cash.

Andrew Wright
Staff Writer

A lifelong golf fan, Andy graduated in 2019 with a degree in Sports Journalism and got his first role in the industry as the Instruction Editor for National Club Golfer. From there, he went on to enjoy a spell freelancing for Stats Perform producing football reports, and then for RacingNews365 covering Formula 1. However, he couldn't turn down the opportunity to get back into the sport he grew up watching and playing and now covers a mixture of equipment, instruction and news for Golf Monthly's website and print title.


Andy took up the game at the age of seven and even harboured ambitions of a career in the professional ranks for a spell. That didn’t pan out, but he still enjoys his weekend golf at Royal Troon and holds a scratch handicap. As a side note, he's made five holes-in-one and could quite possibly be Retief Goosen’s biggest fan.


As well as the above, some of Andy's work has featured on websites such as goal.com, dailyrecord.co.uk, and theopen.com.


What's in Andy's bag?

Driver: Callaway Mavrik Sub-Zero (9°)

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (15°)

Driving iron: Titleist U500 (17°)

Irons: Callaway Apex Pro '19 (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM9 (50°, 54° and 58°)

Putter: TaylorMade Spider X

Ball: TaylorMade TP5x