Equipment
Online golf equipment shopping is up 50 percent year-over-year, says Golf Datatech
Golf Datatech’s Serious Golfer Shopping & Purchasing Habits Study, published roughly every two years, is one of the industry’s most significant indicators of what’s going on at the heart of golf retail.
“Like most consumer shopping preferences in the United States, serious golfers’ choices about shopping for golf equipment or apparel have changed significantly over the past few years,” says John Krzynowek, a Partner in Golf Datatech LLC.
“The retail environment is rapidly evolving across all consumer products in the USA, and the purchasing of golf products is no exception. In fact, shopping for, and buying golf products is frequently a multi-step process. Gone are the days when golfers would buy without shopping for product features, as well as comparing prices. Today’s golfer is savvier about product life cycles and price/value relationships.”
Golf Datatech tapped over 2,500 golfers from its database, surveying multiple demographics, including: golf handicap, gender, facility played, geographic region, alpha consumers (those that buy products most frequently) and price points, along with a special investigation of online shopping habits.
The survey found online shopping for golf equipment is up more than 50 percent year-over-year. Just last year, a GPAU study found participants were most likely to make their next equipment purchase online just 13 percent of the time.
Interestingly, buying more equipment online hasn’t made consumers more impulsive: The average respondent said it takes him/her three months to pull the trigger on a new piece of equipment.
Also worth remembering in evaluating the increase in online sales: More than 100 brick and mortar golf shops have closed in the U.S. in the past year.
Krzynowek also says, “Purchase cycles in clubs have shortened slightly over the past few years, but still remain elongated from an historical point of view.”
Another tidbit: Here’s what Golf Datatech found with respect to average equipment purchase cycles.
- Drivers: 4 years
- Irons: 5 years
- Wedges: 4 years
- Putters: 6 years
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
View this post on Instagram
‘Why would anybody want to change that swing?’ – Brandel Chamblee says PGA Tour star was wrong to change his swing
‘The stupidest freaking thing I’ve ever heard’ – Billy Horschel slams Open idea suggested by Padraig Harrington
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Golfer proudly posts photo of ball mark on iron, receives immediate roasting
WITB Time Machine: Matthew Wolff’s winning WITB, 2019 3M Open
Oakmont Country Club bans Wyndham Clark over locker incident; Reveals specific conditions to earn reinstatement
Adam Scott puts Callaway blades in the bag at Wyndham Championship
Report: LIV star fires caddie and coach in shock shake up
Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’
The championship formula: How 3 key stats separate winners from the field
Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
SEO
Nov 3, 2017 at 10:06 am
I blog quite often and I truly thank you for your content.
The article has truly peaked my interest. I will book mark your site
and keep checking for new details about once
a week. I opted in for your RSS feed as well.
Mad-Mex
Oct 29, 2017 at 10:14 pm
Yet on another article online shopping and K-Sigs get bashed,,,,
Tamanna khan
Oct 11, 2017 at 1:09 am
Thanks a lot for this best idea about golf. this is a very effective post
Maxtest Xtreme
Oct 6, 2017 at 7:09 am
Quality articles is the main to attrqct the viewers to visit the web site, that’s what this ssite is providing.
moses
Sep 22, 2017 at 12:03 pm
Buying last year’s model or buying used = big’money savings.
I got a used 917D2 from Globalgolf for $230. No way in heck I’m paying $450 for a new club that’s worth $250 after I play a few rounds.
Justin
Sep 20, 2017 at 6:12 pm
M2 driver AND 3 wood, new in plastic, globalgolf.com for $299… what would that retail for? $649!!! you tell me who’s the asinine one
JCC
Sep 20, 2017 at 7:40 pm
Um no – not the 2017 model you moron. It’s $650 at global. My local shop sells that for $600. If you’re talking about the 2016 model then you’re trying to deceive people.
Justin
Sep 20, 2017 at 8:19 pm
I’m deceiving people or the manufacturers are deceiving people?????
JCC
Sep 20, 2017 at 11:01 pm
Show us where globalgolf is selling the 2017 M2 driver and fairway for $299. Prove it.
Justin
Sep 21, 2017 at 5:07 pm
ok i’m sorry i combined two arguments and you didn’t comprehend, 1. shop online 2. buy previous year models 3. SAVE MONEY
birdie
Sep 21, 2017 at 3:04 pm
lol blaming the manufacturer for you stupidity it seems
Mark
Sep 20, 2017 at 12:09 pm
Ok, with a sampling of 2500 from a population of 26,000,000 what is the confidece level and margin of error in the statistics?
Johnnythunders
Sep 19, 2017 at 8:50 pm
For all of you uniformed people saying all golf equipment sold on EBay is fake, get real. You have no idea the current state of how a very large portion of golf clubs are sold in the United States. And by the very manufacturers that also sell to brick and mortar. Callaway has a great preowned site, best trade-in prices, authentic certificates and there “like new clubs” are in a large number of cases, new. They have the number one selling driver now on there, Epic. And the prices are good but get really great when they have sales like ever other week. And guest were Callaway also sells clubs, right now they have 66,667 clubs listed on EBAY.. Mizuno is different they don’t have a preowned site but they sell clubs to lots of small internet dealers or brick and morter who sell on eBay, you place your order, it’s built by Mizuno and shipp d by them to you at a lower cost.
Now if you play Pings or Titelest they are still trying to control pricing especially Ping. So you have to pay way more to get your shiny new clubs.
And that’s the key lower cost, authentic clubs, faster. Retail stores are dead. The golf store is dead.
Internet has enabled a new retail model. Get on board.
SoloGolfer
Sep 20, 2017 at 6:08 pm
Only idjits buy a set of clubs online and just to brag about WITB. That’s why golf is the game for goofballs and gearheads.
JCC
Sep 20, 2017 at 7:46 pm
how do you know what lie angle you need? what shaft you need? what loft you need on drivers? keep acting in ways that will result in not being able to test clubs out. “the internet” isn’t selling clubs at 1/2 the price of a brick and mortar. that’s just not logical. most brick and mortars will price match if you give them the chance.
birdie
Sep 21, 2017 at 3:07 pm
anyone can go to a reputable fitter, get fit, and then buy the clubs online new or used.
no, we don’t need to go beat balls with random clubs at the closet golf galaxy to figure out what to buy. this is actually probably more detrimental as their launch monitors aren’t all that accurate to begin with.
Bert
Sep 19, 2017 at 7:39 pm
Why is it when eBay is mentioned I immediately think counterfeit? Maybe it’s because when the price of a set of irons is $1300 and you can get a new set on eBay for $600, something doesn’t seem correct. Some mfr’s are listing their authorized eBay Sellers. That’s a good thing for the buyer.
birdie
Sep 20, 2017 at 9:09 am
can’t help but laugh at those who think everything on ebay is fake. the joke is on you for paying retail prices when same clubs can be bought at a steep discount. your example is an exaggeration of course.
Boobsy McKiss
Sep 19, 2017 at 6:50 pm
Seems some people here are still in denial about the future of brick and mortar stores. Do we really need stats to tell us this? Amazon and other online retailers are growing quickly and so are the number of people buying from them. Sure it’s nice to support local from buying local, but it’s dumb to believe this is somehow going to stem the tide permanently. And a lot of people seem to believe they can stop the train.
Like it or not, the future is a lot of empty retail stores (not just in golf) and almost everything you buy will be from online retailers. Toys R Us just became the next victim of Amazon. Who is next? Best Buy is on the brink. And it will take some time (10-15yrs) but eventually the sporting goods stores will go too and that will be that for the in-store golf buying experience. Send all thank you cards to Amazon and Walmart.
Justin
Sep 19, 2017 at 4:25 pm
If you don’t buy online, you probably enjoy wasting money
JCC
Sep 19, 2017 at 7:26 pm
asinine comment
birdie
Sep 20, 2017 at 9:11 am
sorry, but he’s right. if you walk into a store and pay retail you are over paying. its that simple
surewin73
Sep 19, 2017 at 3:59 pm
If I know my specs I would be comfortable purchasing equipment at one of the larger sites (TGW, PGA Superstore, etc.). But I rather purchase from a local shop.
Thomas A
Sep 19, 2017 at 2:50 pm
I bought a set of brand new Wilson Staff v4 irons 4-GW on ebay for $330. Brand new, in the Wilson box with all the plastic head wrap and everything. Why the heck would I pay $900 in a store? Or even $650 when they get marked down after a product cycle?
JCC
Sep 19, 2017 at 8:09 pm
because they are probably fake or stolen. how do you logic out that you can buy clubs for 1/3 or even 1/2 the price online? do you honestly think there is that much margin in golf clubs? if you do then you’re a moron.
birdie
Sep 20, 2017 at 9:13 am
you couldn’t be more wrong. hope you enjoy wasting your money. yes, for a set of clubs that are one to two years old, the margin between online discounts and retail prices is huge. sometimes more than half.
I can walk into a retail store today, see the 716 ap2 irons still near their original price. online, i’d pay hundreds less for the same set.
continue assuming anything online is fake. its your money your wasting
birdie
Sep 20, 2017 at 9:15 am
lol you couldn’t be more wrong. enjoy wasting your money
JCC
Sep 20, 2017 at 7:48 pm
enjoy double posting like an idiot
BIG STU
Sep 21, 2017 at 3:23 am
SERIOUSLY??? Just had to say that and who in the hell would want to counterfit Wilson clubs to begin with?
RonMcD
Sep 19, 2017 at 2:25 pm
I suspect a majority of the online purchases is for balls and other such golf accessories. Buying club equipment online is moronic.
LaBraeGolfer
Sep 19, 2017 at 7:12 pm
This could very well be possible. I have made over 100 online purchases in the last 3 years buying used clubs, through various sites. I have been a club fitter so I know what my specs are and it is fun to try new equipment just to have something new in the bag. It doesn’t effect my scoring at all and I still go to lessons like any serious golfer.
Mark
Sep 19, 2017 at 2:21 pm
This is based off a sampling of 2,500 golfers from over 26 million golfers in the US. Real convincing.
JDR
Sep 19, 2017 at 2:30 pm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(statistics)
Boobsy McKiss
Sep 19, 2017 at 6:41 pm
+1 for your reply to Mr. Mark. LMAO
birdie
Sep 20, 2017 at 9:14 am
apparently you have no idea how poll sampling works.