You have had a launch monitor in an open tab since September. Or a rangefinder. Or a new driver you swear you will get fitted for. Now every retailer is shouting “Black Friday” three weeks early, and the real question is simple: buy now, wait for the 27th, or hold out for January?

Here is the straight answer. Most of it can be bought now, a few things are worth waiting for, and one thing should wait until after Christmas.

What last year’s sale actually knocked off

Every deals page will tell you prices are “slashed”. Fewer tell you by how much. So here is what the 2025 sale really took off a handful of common buys, worked out from the was and now prices the deal trackers published at the time.

Item (2025 sale)	Type	Discount	Where it was seen
Garmin Approach R10	Launch monitor	About 33%	Golf News Net’s Amazon tracker
Bushnell V5 Shift	Rangefinder (outgoing)	About 30%	National Club Golfer
Vice Pro Drip	Balls	20%	Golf News Net
Callaway Elyte driver	Driver	About 19%	GolfRaw
Bushnell Tour V6 Shift	Rangefinder (then current)	About 18%	Golf News Net
Titleist Pro V1 two-pack	Balls	10%	Golf News Net’s ball roundup

The pattern jumps out. The deepest cuts went to tech that had a successor coming, or already had one. The Pro V1, the ball everyone wants, moved the least.

The rule: the size of the discount follows the age of the product, not the date on the calendar.

Launch monitors are the headline buy

If there is one category where Black Friday earns its reputation, it is home tech. A third off the Garmin R10 took it from the $600 tier to under $400 last year, and that is the difference between “maybe next year” and putting a net in the garage this winter.

The bigger units moved too. Sports Illustrated’s 2025 list had the Full Swing KIT down by about a fifth and FlightScope bundling its Mevo Gen2 Pro Package at a steep cut, plus Rapsodo holiday bundles on the MLM2PRO.

Early signs for 2026 point the same way. The R10 was already listed under $400 in the first wave of Golf Monthly’s 2026 roundup.

The R10 makes the shortlist because it is the one that keeps turning up at a real discount, year after year, and it is portable enough to take from the garage to the range. Buy it if you want numbers on your carry distances this winter. Skip it if you have no room to hit into a net, because a launch monitor in a drawer is the most expensive training aid there is.

The rule: if a launch monitor is on your list, November is the month, and there is little to gain by waiting for Cyber Monday.

Rangefinders: buy the one that just got replaced

Lasers are where reading the model year pays off. Bushnell’s Tour V7 Shift arrived in 2026, which makes the Tour V6 Shift the outgoing model. GolfRaw flags it as the one to watch, noting it shares the same list price as the V7 before discounts.

Last year’s version of this exact play was the V5 Shift, about 30% off once the V6 was out. The V6 itself, still current at the time, only managed about 18%.

The catch is real. GolfRaw points out the V7’s new display and yardage recall, so the V6 is only the better deal if the discount covers what you give up. For a mid-handicapper who wants a flag at 150 yards and a slope number on a casual Saturday, it does.

The rule: buy last generation’s rangefinder at 25 to 30% off over this generation’s at 10 to 15% off.

Drivers are the trap

The driver deals look the biggest on paper and cause the most regret.

The sensible play is the same as with rangefinders. GolfRaw calls the Callaway Elyte the textbook Black Friday club: an older model that is still current enough to be worth having. Last year it was knocked down about 19%. PING cut its G440 MAX, LST and SFT drivers to the $450 tier, and Titleist took up to a couple of hundred off GT drivers.

A cheap driver and a legal driver aren’t always the same thing.

GolfRaw’s Black Friday guide

That line is aimed at the unfamiliar brands promising extra yards. Check any of them against the USGA’s List of Conforming Driver Heads before you buy, which GolfRaw notes is updated every Monday.

And fitting. GolfRaw’s advice is to skip a driver bought without a fitting if you swing under about 90 mph. A low-spin head at a bargain price is no bargain if it sends your drives low and right.

Then there is January. Golfers Authority’s release calendar puts the big launch wave around the PGA Merchandise Show, with previous-generation clubs typically marked down 10% to 30% almost immediately after the new release is announced.

The rule: buy a driver on Black Friday only if it is last year’s model and you already know your specs. Otherwise wait for January.

Balls, bags and shoes: buy any week

These do not go stale. No 2027 bag makes your 2026 bag obsolete, so the timing pressure is gone, and GolfRaw found no reliable evidence that November beats spring promotions for them.

Ball deals tend to come as multi-buys rather than straight cuts. Last year’s list from Golf News Net:

• Titleist Pro V1, Pro V1x and Pro V1 Left Dash: 10% off a two-pack.
• TaylorMade TP5 and TP5x: a few dollars off a dozen, under $15 at most.
• Wilson Staff Model, PXG Tour and Mizuno Pro: buy two dozen, get one free.
• Bridgestone Tour B: a four-dozen deal working out under $40 a dozen.

A third dozen free is the best of that bunch if you lose a sleeve a round. If you just want urethane for less without waiting for a sale, our Member’s Mark golf ball review covers the Sam’s Club option that is cheap all year.

The Pro V1 two-pack is here for one reason: if you play it anyway, Black Friday is one of the few times it is cheaper at all. Do not expect more than 10%.

Bags and shoes were steeper in 2025. Sports Illustrated listed up to 70% off TRUE Linkswear shoes, up to 33% off Sunday Golf bags and 20% off Vessel with a code.

The rule: stock up on consumables when the multi-buy appears, and do not hold out for Cyber Monday to save a few dollars a dozen.

Black Friday or Cyber Monday?

For golf gear sales, the two have blurred into one long event. The early start is deliberate.

In 2025, Black Friday deals have been made available early

Golf News Net

Golf News Net put that down to retailers expecting a weak holiday season and sitting on a glut of stock. Many of the deals that land before Thanksgiving carry right through to the Monday, and some brands, Shot Scope last year, run them all month.

Cyber Monday golf deals are mostly the same deals with a new banner. The one exception is stock. A popular rangefinder or the R10 at its low price can sell out, and a sold-out bargain saves you nothing.

The rule: when the price you were waiting for appears, buy it. The best golf deals in November rarely get better after the weekend.

Who should buy what

• If you play twice a month and want to practise over winter, buy the launch monitor now. It is the biggest saving of the season.
• If you are guessing yardages and play casual rounds, buy last year’s rangefinder at 25% off or better, and make sure it has a slope switch if you play club competitions.
• If you play weekly and know your fitted specs, the Elyte or a G440 at the November price is a sound buy.
• If you have never been fitted and swing under 90 mph, keep your money until January and spend some of it on a fitting.
• If you lose a sleeve a round, buy the three-for-two dozens and forget about the date.

Questions buyers actually ask

When is Black Friday 2026?

Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving. Cyber Monday falls on November 30. Golf retailers started their sales in early November.

Are early Black Friday golf deals real?

Some are, some are a normal price with a red sticker. Check the price history or the old list price before you buy. If the discount is under 10% on something launched this year, it is not a deal worth hurrying for.

Is January cheaper than Black Friday for clubs?

For clubs being replaced in January, often yes. Golfers Authority puts the typical cut at 10% to 30% once a successor is announced. For launch monitors and rangefinders, November has been the better month.

Should I buy a 2026 driver on Black Friday?

No. GolfRaw lists the 2026 launches, the G440 K, Titleist GTS line and Callaway Quantum, among the things to skip, because early discounts on new models are small.

Is a Pro V1 deal worth stocking up for?

Only if you would buy them anyway. The usual offer is 10% off a two-pack, so it is a small saving on a lot of balls.

The verdict

Black Friday is the best week of the year for a launch monitor and last generation’s rangefinder, a good week for a driver you have already been fitted for, and a so-so week for balls. Buy the outgoing model, buy it when the price appears, and leave this year’s launches alone.

If what you want is a club that has not been replaced yet, our golf equipment deals calendar shows month by month when each kind of gear is cheapest, and January is the one to circle.

By The Golfing Lad