As one who has watched the golf equipment market for some time, I can tell you that many are willing to spend money for incremental improvement rather than spend time to get better through practice.
There's also the psychological aspect of training harder because you just bought new expensive equipment. You feel guilty over wasting the purchase, letting it sit idle or not investing more time to get your money worth.
perceived incremental improvement. in golf especially, it's way easier to blame the equipment than yourself. doesn't matter the actual result. it just feels like you're making a move towards progression when you change your tools.
Hell, it's often a step backwards. A lot of mid-handicappers prematurely upgrade to equipment that's only actually beneficial in the hands of an excellent player.