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Choosing Your Driver - Does Price Come Into Play?

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JB

JB

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Let me preface this by saying you are buying your new driver and it is going to be from the current line. I know many do not and wait 6 months to a year before buying and save money and I understand that part, but this question is for those that buy new upon release or close to release.

It seems most drivers are in the $299 or $399 camp and have been for a long time. Do you consider that when doing your research before purchase or do you decide on the driver and deal with the price afterward?
 
If I'm shopping for a driver, no. I have a driver less than a season old, yes it does.
 
Yes. Absolutely. I'll find a cheaper current model that works for my game or go thru drivers a year or 2 old.
 
I weigh price, but I factor in the stock shaft as well to it and go from there. If the shaft fits me vs having to go something aftermarket, that matters a ton as well.
 
Yes it does I bought the 910 over the 913 because of price but if I couldn't have found the 910 with same shaft I would have bought the 913. For me it came down to fitting and getting what fit me and I don't plan on replacing if for a few yrs.
 
I'm not sure that I'm answering the right question, but here goes.

Typically, I am one if those who wait 6-12 months (or more) after a driver release before buying. It's just hard for me to justify spending $300-400 on a single club.

With that said, if I'm buying new, I'm not going to let $100 stop me from buying the right club. Price will still be a factor, but it won't be the determining factor.
 
Yes and no. It all depends on the approach I take. Some clubs just work for me and I'll pay to have them. I've yet to run into this with a driver. But I'm not saying it couldn't happen
 
Price does, more often than not, come in to play. $399 for a driver is a tough one, but $299 seems a bit more reasonable.
 
Price comes into play to a degree, but it won't deter me either.

For example, price will not prevent me from testing a driver with the idea that if I like it a lot, I'll buy it, regardless of cost. But, if it's at the $399 mark (e.g.) and I only see marginal improvement/like it only a little better, I might pass or at least wait. If I like two equally well, and one is $299 the other is $399, I'll pick the cheaper one.
 
Last spring I purchased the driver I wanted!

My next purchase will have a few factors influencing said purchase.
1. How well I hit said driver (will look at previous release models)
2. Price
3. Look, feel, sound.
 
I did once and never will again. I really wanted the R11 when it came out. But I was 22 not making a lot of money recently married and a baby coming so the $100 difference was a big deal. So I settled for the Burner Superfast 2.0. I hated it and most of the reason I didn't like it was it wasn't what I wanted. So, the next year I jumped on the R11s as soon as it was available.
 
Price did not factor in for me when I was shopping for a new driver at the beginning of the year. For some reason though, if drivers started climbing to $500, I probably wouldn't bother getting a new one; I'd just wait until they came down in price.
 
Yes price plays a big role in my buying decisions. Earlier this year I was looking to replace my '09 Burner and went in looking at the SuperFast 2.0 on sale. Ended up demoing the RBZ2 and the R1. I was hitting the R1 with quite a bit more consistency over the R1 and it felt really good, but I couldn't justify the extra $100 over the RBZ2, so that's the one I went with. Still hit it pretty well, but I don't think it was quite optimal like the R1 seemed to be.
 
Price has always been a major consideration for me, but I am now far more inclined to get fit and buy what is best for me, even if if it is the $499 newer model with a shaft upgrade.

An extra $100, or even $200 is, for me, worth the extra satisfaction of hitting better drives, and knowing that my driver is giving the best chance possible.
 
Yes price does matter. I have a lot of friends that will buy $299 or $399 and they talk like its the best thing ever, but then on the course there just hitting expensive slices and hooks. No reason to spend that much when you can get one much cheaper and give you positive results. Plus that money I would spend on a brand spanking new expensive driver I can use it on lessons.
 
$199 is really my max price right now, luckily, when I got my Amp Cell it was $199 and I had a $35 coupon from Dicks.
 
I won't lie, price always matters. I buy my golf clothes from Wal-Mart or Target, I hit "previously loved" golf balls, and I prowl ebay like jackal.

I've come to discover that "new" and "suitable for your game" are not necessarily the same thing, even in an era of near-infinite adjustability.

When I bout my most recent driver, I happened to end up with two similarly priced clubs that I hit better than most, though I admit that this was in the store and without a lot of "fitting" between the Stage 2 and the Amp Cell. In that case, two (then) identically priced drivers, both less than a year old, both with good reviews from here, so I was fortunate to get away with simply saying, "I hit this one better" rather than "I hit this one better, but $100 better?"

I think putters, with their much larger variety of prices, styles, and putting strokes, falls into a much bigger chasm of "I hit this one better, but $X better?"
 
Yes, in a big way. I have not and will not pay full retail for a driver, especially when I know full well that I am going to most likely discard the shaft and install one of my favorites. It's kind of like buying a domestic truck; you can buy it new for a huge chunk of money or wait 6 months and get a used one for 1/2 the price.

I don't really know what the difference is but I am willing to buy a putter new and I am willing to buy wedges/irons new but not a driver, fw, or hybrid.
 
If I'm buying new and not waiting, no I'm more concerned about getting what works for me than price. All of them are within a close enough range that performance is my biggest concern. Now if I can find something cheaper I can do a shaft upgrade to get up to what works best I'd be all over that, but I'd still not be looking at the price till I found what I felt was ideal.
 
I think you have to buy what works. If I hit both drivers similar then I'd buy the one for $299, but if I like the $399 one then I'd buy it. I try to keep a driver about 2 years so over that timeframe the difference between $100 is not much.
 
I stopped worrying about price and started focus soley on performance. I would rather drop 300.00 or 400.00 if it is fit then try and find deals until I find one I love.
 
If I'm just out to replace something, price is a major factor in that I'll try everything available, and most of the time I'll find little or no difference b/w the newest model and the one from 1, 2, or more years ago. In that case, I'll go cheapest. However, this past year (winter or early spring 2013) I was bound and determined to get a 2013 model year driver. As such, I waited until they were all out and went and tried them out. Then I just chose the one that fit me best. Price wasn't an issue in that case b/c for once I wanted the newest thing. But that was the first time ever I've bought something golf related and insisted on the newest available, usually I'll try everything available and price IS a major factor.
 
Price makes a big difference.

No way I'm paying $400 for a club that will be marked down significantly in 6 months.
 
Price is definitely a consideration for me. Just got through putting 2 kids through college and am saving for the third. I generally take the approach of going to Golfsmith and/or PGATour SS and demo drivers until I find exactly what I want. From there, it is searching for it in excellent used condition on Ebay or Global Golf. When I get the 3rd through college, I hope to be in the position that price will not be an object and I can get properly fit and purchase the latest and greatest brand new.
 
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