Sub 70 Golf Clubs
Buying Sub 70 Used: A Thin but Useful Market
Fewer clubs in circulation, lower prices, and specific things to check.
Why the market is thin
Sub 70 sells in modest volumes and buyers tend to keep the clubs, so second-hand supply is limited. You will wait for a specific model rather than choosing from a shelf.
The compensation is price. Brand recognition drives used values, and a lesser-known badge means a club in the same condition sells for less than an equivalent from a major name.
The specification problem
This is the crucial difference from buying a used rack club. Every Sub 70 was built to somebody’s specification, and that person was not you.
Ask for length, lie angle, shaft model and grip size before anything else. A set built for a golfer five inches taller is not a bargain, because correcting the lie through a whole set costs real money.
What to check on irons
Groove wear on the short irons. The 9-iron and pitching wedge wear first. A fingernail should catch on each groove.
Bending history. Forged heads adjust easily, which is a benefit when fitting and a risk when buying. Ask whether the set has been bent and to what.
Set consistency. Every club should carry the same shaft and grip. Mixed sets get assembled from parts more often than sellers admit.
What to check on wedges
Grooves, and then grooves again. A wedge is a consumable and a worn one is worth very little. Since new 287 Forged wedges are inexpensive, a worn used one is rarely worth buying at all.
Generations worth targeting
939X fairway woods and hybrids, the previous generation before the 949X. Technology moves slowly in this category and the saving is meaningful.
849 drivers, the generation before the 859. Fine clubs, clearly labelled as previous generation, and priced accordingly.
The honest calculation
Because new prices are already low, the used discount is smaller in absolute terms than it would be for a premium brand. Sometimes buying new to your own specification is the better deal.
Buying tip: Compare the used price against a new build to your own specification. On a brand this cheap, the second-hand saving often is not worth taking somebody else’s lie angle.
Model names current as of September 2026.