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26 September 2026 · 7 min read

Used clubs and lake balls: where saving makes sense

With balls, buying used is almost always right; with clubs it hangs on one detail. Prices from a Swiss shop, side by side.

Used clubs and lake balls: where saving makes sense — post image

Golf has two items where buying used saves real money, and one where it locks in a mistake for years. Balls are the first item, clubs the second, and the difference between them explains itself in two tables.

The price ladder for balls

Four points on the same scale, read on 26 September 2026 at a Swiss online shop for new balls (Golfers Paradise) and one for lake balls (topball.ch):

BallConditionPackPer ball
Mixed lake ballsused50 for CHF 50.00CHF 1.00
Two-piece ball DUO Softnew12 for CHF 29.90CHF 2.49
Pro V1used12 for CHF 38.85CHF 3.24
Pro V1 (2025)new12 for CHF 64.90CHF 5.41

Between the cheapest and the dearest ball there is a factor of five. The used premium ball costs less than the new two-piece ball plus a third, and the mixed pack costs one franc. Anyone losing balls in their first two years has their biggest room to save right here.

What a lake ball really is

A ball fished out of a water hazard, cleaned and graded by appearance. The grade says nothing about time spent in the water, and that is the only real question: a ball that lay in water for months takes water into its core and loses ball speed.

So the rule is simple. For the range, for bays and for rounds where you lose balls, lake balls are right. For the round where your distances have to hold, take new balls of one model and stay with it. What the layers do is in Which golf ball suits you.

New club prices in Switzerland

Same day, same shop: a new driver costs between CHF 262.90 and CHF 3,359.90, a complete set of irons between CHF 699.90 and CHF 8,399.90 (drivers, iron sets). The large majority of drivers sit between CHF 340 and 700.

There is a third option beside new and used: the model change. The same shop's club sale lists 111 items at twenty per cent off, that is last season's models at a reduced price (sale). Last year's driver is not technically worse and comes with a warranty.

What a used club brings with it

The previous owner's loft, shaft and lie. With a ball that is irrelevant; with a club it is the whole point. A 9-degree driver with an X-stiff shaft is the wrong club for somebody at 85 mph, no matter how cheap it was.

So one hard rule applies when buying used: buy an adjustable head. Current drivers and hybrids adjust by plus or minus 1.5 degrees (PING), which makes at least the loft correctable. The shaft remains the risk.

The four things you check

First the grooves on irons and wedges: if they are rounded and shiny rather than sharp-edged, the ball takes less spin and will not hold the green. Second the sole: deep scratches are normal, dents are a sign of hard mats or stones. Third the grip, which gets replaced anyway. Fourth the shaft for nicks, especially near the head.

A set with blunt grooves is the most common bad buy, because it does not show when you look and does not show immediately when you play. Buying the short irons and wedges new and taking the long ones used is exactly right.

Where saving costs strokes

On the putter and the wedges. The putter is the club with the most strokes per round, and feel is the only thing that counts on it; it has to fit you rather than be cheap. Wedges live on sharp grooves, and grooves are the part that wears.

Conversely the long end is the right place for used gear. You hit a fairway wood and a hybrid ten or twelve times a round, and a model from three years ago hardly differs from the current one.

The beginner case

Anyone starting needs six clubs, not fourteen. A used half set plus lake balls is the cheapest combination there is, and it costs less than one new driver. What belongs in a half set is in The beginner's set.

The mistake at this stage is not the used club but the used complete set of fourteen, eight of which you cannot hit. Fewer clubs means more repetitions per club.

Where to buy used in Switzerland

Four routes, in this order. The clubhouse noticeboard, because the people selling there have played the club and stay reachable. The pro shop, which carries trade-ins or demo clubs and hands them over checked. The Swiss online marketplaces. And last, last season's models in a sale, which are new and carry a warranty.

The third route is the cheapest and the only one without advice. Anyone buying there asks for photographs of the faces and the loft, flex and length, and walks away without them. A club without those three figures is a bet.

The test to run before buying

Take the used club and your own into the same bay hour, ten balls each, alternating. Note ball speed, carry and lateral dispersion, and drop the best and worst shot of each series. Afterwards you know whether you would have bought an improvement or just a different club.

With a private sale that is not always possible; at a pro shop it almost always is. An hour in a bay costs CHF 39 to 79 and is therefore cheaper than the most common bad buy, and 80 of the 110 indoor venues in the directory publish an hourly price (directory).

What you can sell yourself

Single clubs sell well, complete beginner sets badly. That is the same logic as buying: somebody is looking for a hybrid or a wedge specifically, while hardly anybody is looking for a whole set, because it means inheriting a stranger's loft, flex and length.

The easiest to sell are adjustable drivers and hybrids from the last three years, the hardest irons with blunt grooves and putters with worn grips. A new grip for CHF 12 often lifts the selling price by a multiple of that.

More on this: Golf bag and trolley, Golf ball numbers, compression and AAAA.

When to buy new

When your swing has settled and you know your numbers. Then a fitting pays off, and then a new club with your loft, your shaft and your lie is an investment that lasts years. Before that it is a club for a swing you do not have yet.

What a fitting costs and what gets measured is in Golf fitting in Switzerland. Beforehand you can measure the same numbers yourself in a bay for CHF 39 to 79; a venue is on the map.

Frequently asked questions

Are lake balls worse than new balls?

Visually barely, physically depending on time in the water. A ball that lay in water for months takes water into its core and loses ball speed. For the range, a bay and rounds where you lose balls, they are right.

What do lake balls cost in Switzerland?

A mixed pack of 50 balls costs around CHF 50, that is one franc a ball. A used premium ball such as the Pro V1 costs CHF 38.85 a dozen against CHF 64.90 new. The cheapest new two-piece ball is CHF 29.90 a dozen.

What do I check on a used golf club?

An adjustable head, so the loft can be corrected. Then the grooves on irons and wedges, dents in the sole and nicks in the shaft. The grip gets replaced anyway. The risk that remains is the previous owner's shaft.

Which clubs should be bought new?

Putter and wedges. The putter takes the most strokes per round and has to fit you; wedges live on sharp grooves, and grooves wear. A fairway wood, a hybrid and the long irons are the right candidates for used.

What does a driver cost in Switzerland?

New between CHF 262.90 and CHF 3,359.90, with the large majority between CHF 340 and 700. A set of irons starts at CHF 699.90. Last season's models appear in sales at twenty per cent off and with a warranty.

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