Most individual sports such as tennis or bowling, where adults make up a greater percentage of participants, are not seeing the same kind of sales rush for more expensive goods as is being seen in baseball or hockey, according to Matt Powell, analyst with SportsOneSource, which tracks sales at sporting goods stores.

But one exception is in golf, where the traditional spending war on drivers has spread to less glamorous clubs, such as wedges or putters.

Overall putter sales have risen only 3 percent this year, but putters costing $150, like this I-Trax from Callaway (suggested retail $290), or more are up 46 percent, according to Powell's statistics. Sales of wedges are down 3 percent, while wedges over $150 are up 31 percent.