The Golfalot Price Index in the UK defied the credit crunch and increased this month by 1.66%. The big movers this month were Fairway Woods, which rose by a colossal 9.9% and Trolleys by 7.3%.
Fairway Woods went up as a few of the cheaper brands dropped out and the Insight clubs came in from Adams Golf. Trolleys rose thanks to two new products from Greenhill.
The big fallers this month were Shoes (-7.3%) and Drivers (-2.8%). Shoes fell as some more expensive pairs dropped out, along with just a general decrease across the entire section. Drivers were helped on their way down by price decreases in several Callaway drivers. Balls (-0.9%) and Bags (-0.1%) also fell.
Across in the USA, the Golfalot Price Index may have only had a +0.4% increase, but big movements in a couple of the categories cancelled each other out. Similar to the UK, Fairway Woods increased (5.7%) and Drivers fell (-5.2%). Fairway Woods went up as a few less expensive clubs fell out and Utility Clubs (+1.5%) rose thanks to a couple of dearer clubs from Adams and Tour Edge coming into the market.
The fall in the Drivers section was also due to a drop in prices of the Callaway FT-5 and FT-i drivers. Shoes (-2%) and Wedges (-1.4%) were the last of the big fallers due to small price decreases across the entire category.
It seems that the inflationary pressures in the economy are starting to force prices up, at a time when we would be expecting them to fall, so demand in certain categories is still good. However with the credit crunch and new ranges due out later this year from all the big manufacturers, then we could expect to see large price falls in the coming months if demand decreases.
For more detailed information view the Golfalot Price Index graphs for the UK & USA online at http://www.golfalot.com/News/PriceIndex.aspx