Once upon a time the product life cycle of a persimmon wood model might be as long as four or five years. No more. Now a driver or fairway wood model’s life is measured in months.
The downside is that it’s expensive to keep playing the latest and greatest. The upside is that you can quickly realize some terrific bargains on top-of-the-line equipment even as early in the season as June.
Callaway and TaylorMade both recently announced similar promotions that may be a real bargain if you’re in the market for a driver and fairway metal or hybrid. Here’s the scoop.
TaylorMade “Free Distance” Promotion
If you buy a TaylorMade r7 425 or an r7 460 for $399 or more, you can pick up an r7 Steel fairway wood or Rescue Dual hybrid for free. This deal also works if you spend $399 or more on multiple TaylorMade metalwoods.
All these club’s feature TaylorMade’s Movable Weight Technology. An extensive review of the r7 425 and r7 460 drivers can be found here.
A full explanation of the promotion, along with all the fine print, can be found here in the TaylorMade website. It expires July 23, 2006.
Callaway “Better Summer” Promotion
Callaway’s promotion is very similar, although there’s no minimum dollar value established. Buy a Fusion FT-3 driver and you get a free Fusion fairway wood. Buy an X460 driver and you’ll get a free Big Bertha Heavenwood hybrid.
This offer expires July 31 and is good only at authorized Callaway retailers and online merchants. The full blow-by-blow rules of the promotion can be found here and an initial reaction to the X460 driver at the PGA Merchandise Show can be found here.
Whatever the strategy behind these promotions, they can only be good news for golfers looking to upgrade their arsenal of woods in time for the heat of the season.