Off-Season Buying Guide - Drivers
Get ready for off-season buying!!
The off-season can be a great time to buy golf equipment. People are winding down for the year and when they pick up again in the spring, there will be a whole new lineup of drivers for 2024. Some might be minor tweaks, others a major re-conception, but golfers know that new equipment is coming and many will want to sell their existing equipment and use the money to justify the new purchase. Plus, buying in the offseason gets you more time to practice with your new club at the range before breaking it out on the course.
We’ll start this offseason series with Drivers, partly because I’ve got my eye on some options. Besides, why not start with the biggest club in the bag. We’ll take a look at some of the major driver brands’ top offerings and see what their pricing is starting to look like (keep in mind that prices are as of date of this blog post).
Callaway Paradym
The Callaway line is always a top seller and fortunately there are a number of Callaway Paradym drivers that can be had in the $430-$460 range (for “like new” with stock shafts) through Callaway Pre-Owned (a nice discount off the $599 retail price), with that spread dictated by loft (10.5 degrees running about $25-30 over 9). These prices are consistent with the more forgiving Paradym X, and the Paradym Triple Diamond.
If price is more important to you, and you’re patient, all 3 of these drivers can be gotten for about $300 on eBay.
Cobra Aerojet
I personally have been eyeing the Cobra Aerojet line for some time. Maybe it’s due to my fascination with long driving as a way to build up my own swing speed. Maybe it’s due to the reviews that get me excited. Either way, I have been pricing these very closely.
Cobra retails for slightly less then the Callaway, costing $549 new. Despite the lower cost, it’s hard to find one at a lower price than the Paradigm. Global Golf offers some used Aerojets but they even those sell for $539 (just $10 off), regardless of whether want the Aerojet, the Aerojet LS or the Aerojet MAX.
But the best place for Cobra Aerojet deals continues to be eBay, where all models can be had in the $275 to $300 range used.
TaylorMade Stealth 2
Maybe because it’s such a common driver in the market, but there are a lot of TaylorMade Stealth 2 drivers in the market in a wide variety of configurations. At Global Golf you can find a wide range of options for this $599 line of drivers, starting at $389 for the base model depending on condition in a wide variety of shafts and lofts, with the Plus starting at a hefty $509 and the forgiving MAX at $414.
Starting a familiar refrain, eBay continues to be the place to buy, with prices ranging from $275 for the general model, $300 for the MAX and $325 for the pro-oriented Plus.
Titleist TSR
The Titleist line has long been a favorite of mine. I currently play a TS2. With the current R line, there are 4 options to cover all range of abilities.
On Global Golf, that upgraded version, the TSr2 can be had starting at $389 and going up close to retail depending on shaft and loft. TSr1 is hard to find, starting at $579 and the pro-styled TSr3 starts at $489, as does the high loft TSr4.
eBay is the place to go as usual, with most models going for between $350 and $450.