The $400,000 golf club

US golfer Scottie Scheffler won the Masters for a second time at Augusta National in Georgia on Sunday. But the equipment top golfers use can grab almost as much attention as the players themselves – none more so than the humble putter. A putter can stay with the golfer for a lifetime and its record of successes and failures over the years on the putting green “becomes part of its weight”, says Chris Almeida on Bloomberg.

For that reason, putters are regarded by collectors as deeply personal items. And those designed by the brand Scotty Cameron and sold by Titleist are particularly sought after, selling for at least $400 new. Professional golfers Tiger Woods (pictured), Brooks Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama all use custom-made Camerons.

The “true prize” for collectors, however, is the putter used on tours, better known as the Circle T for the distinctive branding-ironinspired logo that adorns the clubhead. Far fewer of these are made. Just four or five, priced between $2,000 and $8,000, will be offered to the public in any given week, through a lottery system.

That might sound a lot, but buying a club from this lottery is “one of the safest investments you can make”, says Almeida. They often double in price. The rise of social media has boosted values. Just as collectors of trainers (see left), who used to camp outside shops before they opened, can now queue online, the limited release of golf equipment and accessories generates huge excitement on online forums, such as the Cameron Collector. Moderators make an effort to sift out the speculators from the true fans. But when a putter can sell for $400,000, as one of Woods’ putters did in 2021, with specialist auctioneers Golden Age Auctions, who can blame the speculators for trying?