The Golfalot Price Index in the UK increased by 0.44%, with all categories having a slight increase and only Shoes (2.35%) and Trolleys (1.61%) falling in price.

The big movers on the increase were Balls (+1.9%), Bags (+2%) and Irons (+1.5%). Most of this rise can be put down to a general rise in prices as there were very few new products this month.

Irons increased thanks to a price rises for the Nike CCi Forged and Pro Combo OS irons. Shoes fell due to decreases in some of the Nike and Bite shoe lines. The USA Golfalot Price Index increase by 2.41% overall.

This was mainly due to an increase in the Trolleys by 10% due to the increase in price by over £400 on the Bag Boy Explorer. The other categories that had in an increase in prices were Fairway woods (+2%), Irons (+1.9%) and Utility Clubs (+1.4%).

All the other categories hardly moved and if you take the Bag Boy Trolley out of the equation then there was only a 3.5% increase in Trolleys and a 1.46% increase in the total US index.

Looking back over 2007, the USA Index has outperformed the UK index by 1% over the last 12 months. The USA Index is up just over 0.4% over the year, whereas the UK Index fell by only 0.8%. Therefore whilst the market is tight, retailers have been able to maintain, or even increase the average price of clubs in 2007. 

The Golfalot Price Index in the UK increased slightly by 0.34%, but this did hide quite a few significant moves from certain categories.

Balls (-3.1%) and Fairway Woods (-3.6%) fell, whilst Wedges (+4.7%), Irons (+1.3%) and Shoes (+1.3%) all rose.

Golf Ball prices were down across the board and the fall in Fairway Woods was due to a couple of the more expensive clubs going out of stock.

The increase in Wedges was due to the introduction of the new CG12 and CG14 models from Cleveland and the 2008 T-Series from Mizuno.

The increase in Irons and Shoes was again across all manufacturers, as new models hit the shops before the Christmas rush.

The USA Golfalot Price Index hardly changed this month with a 0.04% fall overall. Again Trolleys were the big movers with a fall in price of 4.5%.

This was mainly due to the introduction of two new lower price trolleys from Bag Boy, the SC-250 and the Compact 600. The only other faller was the Wedges category, which was down 0.6%.

All the other categories increase in price by under 1%, except for Fairway Woods, which increase by 2.9% thanks to the introduction of the new TaylorMade r7 CGB Max woods.

With Christmas just around the corner we would probably expect some price reductions from the bigger retailers as they try to get increase year end sales, but so far prices are holding firm as we get closer to the new 2008 season.

The Golfalot Price Index allows the golf industry to compare price trends both within the UK and USA and between both countries. The Indices operate in the same way by tracking the prices of the latest models from each manufacturer are chosen as they reach the market.

Therefore the models tracked always reflect pricing on what the serious golfer wants - the latest technology. Prices are taken from Golfalot.com's market leading golf equipment price comparison service in the UK and USA.

Despite the fact that several manufacturers have launched new ranges for 2008, the UK Golfalot Price Index stayed level in September.

Putters gained 2%, Iron 1.6% and Bags 1%, but these were offset in the main by Trolleys (-1.9%), Balls (-1.8%) and Drivers (-1.1%). The new Ping G10 range hit the shops this month and new products from Srixon, Mizuno and TaylorMade are due to follow soon, so watch this space.

Over the pond, the USA Golfalot Price Index fell by nearly 1.7% as Drivers (-7.9%), Wedges (-5.6%), Putters (-4.7%), Shoes (-4.49%) and Utility Clubs (-2.2%) all suffered big falls.

The only positive categories were Trolleys ( 1.9%) and Fairways ( 1.1%) but that was not enough to stem the biggest monthly fall since January 2007. Is this a symptom of the general economic outlook in the USA? Let’s hope not as the season comes to an end and new products hit the stores for next year.

The Golfalot Price Index in the UK saw prices fall by 1.24% in the month to 20 August as the summer sales saw prices reduced. Poor weather and discounting ahead of new ranges due in the Autumn are likely to be the two main factors for this.

The average price of a driver and a wedge fell to the lowest since the UK GPI started in October 2004. The average price of a driver now costs £130 and the average wedge price is now below £50 for the first time. The main fallers in the last month were Putters (-2.6%), Drivers (-3.2%) and Utility Clubs (-4.3%), with Irons the best performing category with a very marginal drop of 0.2%.

However it is not all doom and gloom as the UK GPI is only down 0.4% in the last 12 months!

Across the pond the USA Golfalot Price Index has similar trends with irons the best performing category in the last month, posting a 2.4% gain. However all this gain was wiped out by falls in all the other categories, with Balls (-3.2%), Shoes (-2.7%), Utilities (-2.4%) and Drivers (-1.1%) the main culprits.

UK prices in the month to 15 July rose fell by just under 2% compared to a fall of just over 1% in the USA, according to the latest figures from the Golfalot Price Index (GPI).

The very wet weather in the last month has taken its toll on most things in the UK and the golf industry is no exception. Drivers fell by nearly 6% with big falls also for Shoes (-4.5%), Irons (-3.9%) and wedges (-2.9%). Most other categories fell with the balance being redressed by Trolleys ( 2%) and Fairway Woods ( 1.5%), where the average price broke back through the £100 barrier for the first time in 5 months.

Across the pond the USA Golfalot Price Index fell 1.08%, although this was slightly distorted by a couple of premium priced trolleys that were withdrawn by retailers in the index. Factoring these in and the USA GPI was only marginally down, but the trend is still the same. Shoes and Balls were both down 1.4% and were balanced out by Bags and Wedges rising 1.4% and 1.5% respectively. Most other categories maintained the gains from last month.

Clearly in the smaller market of the UK the local weather has been a major factor, whereas in the USA it seems that it is business as usual. However after a fantastic finish to the Open Championship broadcast on network television, hopefully everyone will be inspired to get back out on the links in August.

After the fluctuations of recent months, golf markets in the UK and USA settled into a calmer upward phase in June.

UK prices in the month to 15 June rose fell by 1.02% overall, according to the latest figures from the Golfalot Price Index (GPI). Most of this gain was down to trolleys again with this sector up 4.78% as Motocaddy and Sun Mountain models arrived in stores. Fairway woods also posted a strong gain of 1.88% as prices held up as the golf season got underway. The main fallers were drivers down 1.78% and shoes down 1.02% with all the other categories down by under 0.5%.

In the USA the Golfalot Price Index rose 0.93% and unlike last month the picture was a little more balanced. Trolleys posted their second successive big gain with a 1.84% rise, but the biggest rises were utility clubs up 4.76%, wedges up 2.92% and putters up 2.1%. Clearly everyone is working on scrambling! All the other categories were up on the month except for irons which feel by 0.85%.

Overall it’s been a positive month for golf retailers on both sides of the pond, which is encouraging for the wider golf industry as we head into the Open Championship at Carnoustie in July.

After out performing the UK in April it looks like the USA has continued this trend in May, but everything is not as it seems. Lies, damned lies and statistics!

UK prices in the month to 15 May rose fell by 3.4% overall, according to the latest figures from the Golfalot Price Index (GPI). Every category except trolleys was up with drivers leading the way at just under 10% as new models from TaylorMade and Cobra arrived in stores. Shoes and irons rose 5.4% and 4.6% respectively for similar reasons with wedges, putter and bags all rising 2-3%.

In the USA the Golfalot Price Index also rose 3.4% but the headline figure masks a gloomier picture. Trolleys posted a massive gain over the period due to two Bag Boy electric trolleys retailing for over $1000. Taking these two products out and trolleys still rose by over 9%, but the USA index actually falls by 0.9% as all categories apart from putters ( 3%) and shoes ( 1.4%) posted negative gains. Hardest hit were utilities (-6.2%), irons (-5.3%) and wedges (-4.7%). Although these two trolleys had a big influence on the US Index, it could be the sign of a new growth area in US golf equipment as these types of trolleys, which are common in the UK, start to gain market share in the USA. We shall have to wait and see how this develops over the coming months.