Becoming a successful golf club collector is not as easy as it sounds. There is a lot to know about golf clubs, golf history, and star golfers before you start buying clubs. So, before you start bidding for clubs on eBay, or spending thousands of dollars on so called “collectible golf clubs” at sports memorabilia stores you need to know what you should look for.
The first step that you need to take when starting a golf club collection is to pick up some reference books. These books should include a pricing guide, a history book of golf, and a book designed for golf club collectors. One book that you may find particularly useful is Antique Golf Collectibles, A Price and Reference Guide by Chuck Furjanic. This book covers golf club valuation, golf club identification, and other topics that collectors need to know about.
The second step that you need to take when starting a golf club collection is to review your reference materials and become familiar with collectible clubs. This will not only help you to identify golf memorabilia and clubs that are worth collecting, but it will also help you to spot deals and rip offs. Also your bargaining position will strengthen the more knowledgeable you are about golf memorabilia and the game of golf in general.
Next you will want to decide on what category of golf clubs you want to focus your collection on. There are wooden shafted, steel shafted, and antique golf clubs. Each of these golf club categories has its own set of valuation criteria. By selecting a single category to focus your collection on you will be reducing how much research you will have to conduct, and you will be reducing how much information you will have to remember.
Finally start shopping. Browsing through the stock of golf memorabilia at local sports memorabilia stores is a good thing to do on a regular basis. This way if something good comes in you will be one of the first people to know about it. You should also develop a working relationship with the store owner. Usually if you have a good relationship with a memorabilia store owner you will be offered a better deal on the items that you want because of that long-term relationship. Other shopping options that you may want to try out include: estate sales, government and police auctions, and to garage sales. All of these activities can lead you to finding hard to find items.