UK Prices V USA Prices

Would really like to get the opinion of people like Kwini or any other US based ex pats, or anyone who has experience of this.

Looking at the price differentials between UK & US for golf clubs and equipment is staggering. In an earlier post I mentioned that the original equipment specialist KZG had increased the UK pricing by over 30%, so I had a look at what the yanks were charging and discovered that a saving of hundreds of pounds could now be had by going on holiday to the states.

I also checked out many of the high-end boutique outfits like Muira, Epon, Alpha, Scratch, Bettinardi & Vega and found that Muira (One particular set) as an example charge $1,600 against a UK price of £1,700 a differential of £800. I got similar results for TM, Calloway, Nike and all the leading mass market producers.

In the case of KZG which is the club I use, my particular irons cost £700 a couple of years ago, and have since increased in price to £1,100 for the same irons. Yet in the States the same irons can be bought for $750, which is £463. So KZG have marked up my clubs by £637 which is crazy. I have no doubt that there are some great savings to be made by going to the States on holiday and the higher the price range, the more the savings.

Nothing wrong with trying some expensive equipment over here, and then contacting a reputable builder in the States and telling him to order them. Arrange to meet him on day 1 of your holiday and let him fit you for them and help you choose shafts, lofts and grips etc. He can have them built in a couple of days for you to use on your holiday. Just pack your golf equipment travel bag with an empty golf bag and clothes etc, and then fill it with clubs for coming home (Tax avoidance) Seems like a no brainer to me, or am I missing something

Anyone thinking of spending say £500 on new irons will get a cracking top set of clubs for c$1,000 over the pond, which would cost £1,000 over here ....

Doc - I'm going in 10 days and will let you know!! Looking forward to 4 whole weeks in Arizona - just as the weather improves here! Planning!

puligny wrote:Doc - I'm going in 10 days and will let you know!! Looking forward to 4 whole weeks in Arizona - just as the weather improves here! Planning!

Envy, envy. I suppose you'll be getting a few rounds in? and if you play at pheonix let me know what the stadium par 3 16th is like as i would love to have a go at that.

Will be playing lots of golf - have played the Stadium and IMHO overrated. Never played 16 with stands in place, and obviously the crowds, but I have birdied it!! Never struck me as anything special, though it is a big deal for the Phoenix Open.
There are many many better courses in the area than Stadium, which is also expensive unless you are staying at the hotel.
Looking forward to 2 courses at We-Ko-Pa which I haven't played and Eagle Mountain which is an old favourite - and many more!!

Oh and the Faldo at Wildfire..............

It ain't tax avoidance Doc.....that would be legal...it's tax evasion ....which is not. Personally I don't give a flying fig about who dodges tax but in this day and age one might have to consider the morality of it. After all there are a few cruise missiles needed for firing at Libya and more seriously nurses and police officers are getting paid off.

Moral issue or not, look out when you get back to the UK. The customs people are wise to clubs being 'smuggled' back in. They ruthlessly pursued a guy I know, even though he managed to produce some receipt for clubs to make it look like they were bought in the UK.

You have to pay duty and VAT if you declare them.

I once walked back into the UK coming from the US with a new 3 wood in hand and straight through the nothing to declare section. No one noticed and I did not even consider that I would have to declare it.

You are allowed to bring back goods up to a value from holiday...not sure about exact sum but £125 rings a bell somewhere...so that would cover you up to around $200...that would probably cover the 3 wood Mac. The Border Agency for tis them who do collection of tax at ports now are a wee bit lenient if you declare it to them. They are like the rest of us...they can't always be a*sed

The weird thing was it was part of my hand luggage.

Go to the US. Buy a new set of clubs. Use them at least once. After that you can freely take them back home to Europe.

No you can't...you still owe tax on them on arrival back here if they are over the dyty free limit as above.

Don't forget to purchase carbon offsets for your club orders coming from the states.

It is important to be ecologically sound after all.

On an 1600 dollar set of irons, considering the distance travelled, about 700 quid should cover the offsets.

The Chancellor announced yesterday that the government is going to recover £1 billion from tax avoidance and tax evasion. Airport customs will be one of the key planks of this...

With the exception of Pings, are any other brands stamped with serial numbers? If you buy a set out there and them use them for a few rounds so they get a few grass stains on them, how can Customs and Excise prove where you bought them? Especially if you pay cash for them rather than use plastic. I've bought various things in the past like wedges and putters, never ever been stopped and checked.

I think Titliest have a serial number on the hosel of the club... at least on the woods. Not sure about the irons.

Do you not think that HMRC can ask the retailer where you claim to have purchased them from if they sold them to you? They will also impond them while they make enquiries if they so wish.....they have wide ranging powers...don't even need a search warrant to search any premises....(obviously they might not wish to go to these lengths....they sometimes let things go just like anyone else)

And looking at the Nike irons there is a laser engraved serial number on the hosel.

George1507 wrote:The Chancellor announced yesterday that the government is going to recover £1 billion from tax avoidance and tax evasion. Airport customs will be one of the key planks of this...

George I think you're being a bit too optimistic and my experience with HMRC tells me something else is about to happen. After watching the budget with a senior HMRC manager who was exasperated to say the least. A couple of quotes for you: 'Its ok him saying this but where are the staff coming from after we lay loads of them off in the cuts'. 'Our illegal immigration targets are hampered because of money and cuts, so still far too many coming in, being lost in the system etc etc'. 'I see he's hinted that alcohol duty hasn't gone up, when in fact it has significantly because he has it on an escalator and as of Sunday night the duty has gone up by a whacking 7.2%. This means all booze has to go up for the 5th time in 18-months, and he's just done the same with cigs and especially tobacco where the duty has gone up by 17.5%. All this does is encourage the booze cruisers again who then sell it in car parks and dodgy off-licenses, making things much worse in revenues recieved by the exchequer as they fall significantly. The staff required to deal with this smuggling, or 'grey market' has fallen when in fact it needs increasing'.

So there you have it from the horses mouth. Government cuts will see staff cuts, low morale, and a massive lack of cash and rescource to counter the budget rammifications. Please leave my golf clubs out of this as the staff are too overworked

Just had a chat with the brother-in-law who has got himself sorted over here with Lee Porter http://www.leeporter.eu/ It seems he's going for the Muira option which I agree with as they are stunning to look at.

Poor bloke. I would have thought he could get a gig at something a little better than Hylands!

LondonJonnyO wrote:Poor bloke. I would have thought he could get a gig at something a little better than Hylands!

I've never heard of the bloke LJ, have you any insight into him and his operation?

I know of him by reputation only. Meant to be very very good at what he does. But I've not met or dealt with him directly. Although I do know a few guys who obtained their Miura and Vega stuff through his fittings and they say good things.

I am a little shocked that he's based at Hylands though when looking through his professional client list.

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Edit:

Also. I might well start using this guy over the one at the Grove if he can turn around regrips/reshafts in the same sort of timescale.

"I might well start using this guy over the one at the Grove if he can turn around regrips/reshafts in the same sort of timescale".. (LJ)

The thing I like about these blokes, and thats why I use my bloke for everything, its the personal touch as they become good freinds. They have a way of explaining things in a simple easy to understand way, and are interesting to speak to because of the experience they have. It's like they can make a club do anything they want by tweaking a loft, shaft, lie angle etc.

My pro has recommended this guy to me. Not a massive surprise, seeing as they're both in the Chelmsford area, but he was full of praise and has sent a lot of customers to him. Sadly I'm not in a position to try him out at the moment!

Doc. I don't do a lot of tweaking as a rule... but I am going to want some slightly thinner grips as a result of my grip change... and considering the launch angle I'm getting on my short irons I'm also thinking of getting something with a much higher kickpoint and possibly slightly firmer in my irons.

The first will happen quickly... the second once some of the changes have settled down.

But in order to get me going there the grip changes will need to be done and ready to use within 5 minutes for each club and a shaft change ready within 20 minutes. Thats the timescale the guy at the grove works to.

LJ

why do you need it done so quickly ? do you intend to try out different grips and thicknesses etc. its always exciting at the start of the season with swing changes to work on or new equipement to use. the club fitter i use is excellent and weve just custom fitted my new putter and always enjoy chat at his place. good clubfitters are worth their weight in gold.......oh and it only cost me £10 for the custom fit