Even dusty clubs can grow the game

In golf, there are the haves and the have-nots and it doesn’t always revolve around money.

It seems like every golfer who has played awhile — at any level — comes to a point where they realize they have way too many golf clubs. The old and excess can overwhelm whatever storage space is available.

In vivid contrast, beginning golfers are faced with the reality that equipment is a major investment.

It only makes sense that there should be a happy medium.

Donating used clubs is easy and now, with the Internet, selling them is easier than ever. With few exceptions though, don’t expect to get much.

With improved technology and availability, golf clubs have become like cars. As soon as you hit a new one, its value is pretty much cut in half. And, what was popular last month might already be outdated.

A simple search online (think Amazon, eBay or PGA Value Guide) will give you an idea of what clubs are worth.

It is more difficult to put a value on what your dusty clubs might mean to someone just starting in the game.

Hawaii pro David Havens donated 12,000 used clubs to beginners in the first six years of his nonprofit Spare for Change program. Now he is building a storage space for the 11,000-something he currently has.

The figure is always fluid. It depends on how many clubs Havens gives out, to beginners and other pros who share his mission of preserving the game. It also depends on how many clubs come in, from donations and lost-and-found collections to any other way used and abandoned clubs find their way to a new home.

Havens fits, fixes and re-grips them, because without clubs, learning the game is impossible.

First Tee, planning to bring back its Hawaii Chapter this month, also accepts all donations of clubs and other equipment to grow the game.

The national organization was started 20 years ago by the LPGA, PGA of America, PGA Tour, USGA and the Masters to answer the question, “Why don’t more kids play golf?” Its mission is to offer affordable junior programs that blend “the rules of the game with life and leadership skills.”

Kellan Anderson, prominent in the Hawaii Youth Golf Association’s fundraising to finance the new First Tee of Hawaii, will be the executive director. He can be reached at hawaiiyouthgolfassociation@gmail.com or 202-6456.

First Tee also collaborates with 2ndSwing.com in a donation program that sends the value of used clubs and equipment to First Tee as a cash donation. You can designate a chapter.

First Tee doesn’t accept everything. Few do, from websites to local courses and golf shops that take trade-ins. Even Havens, who works on Maui and has a tent at the Sony Open in Hawaii, has limits.

“Zinc clubs from China,” he rejects. “They are usually sold in full sets and tarnish after a week and snap at the hosel when hit wrong. I also don’t take rusted shafted clubs unless they are persimmon or vintage irons. I love those. I make them into bottle openers for my fundraiser.”

He “always needs drivers and putters” and his selection of left-handed clubs is currently low. To him, the most valuable used clubs are drivers 400cc and bigger, especially women’s drivers, along with putters and full sets.

If you want to send clubs to him, the address is 470 Lipoa Parkway in Kihei (96753). If you are looking to sell, he suggests eBay, or he can offer a “fair value tax receipt” as a non-profit.

On the market, the most valuable clubs are usually putters and wedges, but even that is limited. Scotty Cameron and Ping putters might be worth something. So might collectibles, such as putters Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus made famous. Nicklaus’ George Low Wizard 600 even inspired a pretty good counterfeit model back in the day.

Old and unique wedges are also tricky because rules changes involving grooves might have rendered them illegal.

If in doubt, there is always Goodwill and Salvation Army. Or whatever storage space you might have left.