Status seekers who want to give fellow golfers a flash of their monetary might can have a set of golf clubs worthy of a James Bond villain who also loved the grand old game.
Japanese club maker Honma has a set called the Five Star that Auric Goldfinger would have coveted — a set plated in 24 carat gold.
Available at the Richmond location of Golf Town on Bridgeport Road, the clubs carry a price tag of $33,600. While that may make many a golfer take a pass — most average sets of clubs range from $2,000 to $4,000 — not so with the sticks from Honma.
According to the staff at Golf Town, the gold-plated clubs have been available to customers for about the past six years and they have proven to be much more than a mere curiosity or a product designed to cast a halo effect on less pricey clubs of the same brand.
No, golfers, especially Asian golfers, like to buy the shimmering sets that feature special graphite shafts with gold plating. Other inset areas on the club face also feature gold.
Staff at Golf Town said the application of the gold does not affect the clubs in terms of balance or weight.
According to the manufacturer, more than 100 craftsmen are involved in the production of each club.
The set at Golf Town is not the priciest Honma offers. Open your wallet a little wider – say to spill out around $76,000 — and you can get a set that not only has gold plating, but platinum, as well.
They are considered a luxury item, plain and simple. And you can hit a golf ball with them.
How far?
Well, if you have $36,300 to $76,000 to drop on them you may have also paid for some lessons to help give you some distance off the tee.
But what about the rest of your round?
More expensive clubs that are specially engineered to give you an edge may help. But it is unlikely a flash of gold would help the average, or even seriously below par, hacker trim away a few strokes.
What they may accomplish is the odd, wistful look from fellow golfers. Plus, owners of the glittering Honma set can count themselves to be in the same exclusive community of celebrities such as Danny DeVito, Jack Nicholson and Donald Trump, who are said to have clubs of their own.
