Holy Cow..it's counterfit!!!! :mad:

I just got a call from my golf pro, they got my TM Burner '07 back to them after it was sent back to glue the head back on...He told me that my driver is counterfit!!!! Can you believe that??? I'm angry, but not too much. I bought used (about 6 months) for $50, but it still pisses me off!!!!

So no I wonder....If I'm hitting my fake burner 260 or so, with a long of 285, will a real burner make a difference???

What a bummer!!!!

I would imagine it would have to help some. I mean if there is a reason people usually pay hundreds of dollars for them.

The quality of counterfeit clubs can vary a lot. Some can give you more distance, some less, some the same. Some might survive for years like any authentic club, some might break, like your did after a few hits.

Don't think too much about the distance you got with it compared to what you'll get with a new club.

I ordered a Callaway FTi when i started golf, and when i got it, it was fake, so they actually refunded me the £100 i spent on it ('they', being the scum who sold it to me on ebay). I never sent it back to them, and they never asked for it, so my friend (knowingly) tried out my fake club. He bought it off me, and together, they are unbelievable. The head rattles which usually turns a few heads on the first tee!

Have you hit with it since you found out it was counterfeit?

If so, what were your distances? Might be an interesting mental experiment.

The problem is it may not be USGA legal.

Not yet....i'm picking it up today from golf galaxy. Certainly...but a bit of reflection...before I knew about this, my confidence level on the club was very high, and my drives averaged 250 - 260, with a long drive of 285 so in that regard, I am not too worried about it. The one thing that has made me think more of a new club... is that I do slice like mad with the driver....so I'm left to wonder if it's shaft that is not correct, or if it's the head poorly balanced, or if it's really me sucking!!!!

At this point of my infact career, i really could care less.... The way i figure, i still have a few years before I try my skill (uhum, luck) in a tourney to be concerned with USGA rules. My thought process here is that how many cheap clubs out there that may barely conform with USGA??? What about those Chineese made clubs that you know they are not speced out....

How do you define counterfeit, though? Is it possible it's actually "real" but was smuggled/stolen from the factory, discarded as not being completely within spec or marginally defective, etc?

I've done a little research into this, and it all depends where the club is made, etc. Some counterfeits are identical and seem to be exact in every way, where others have the head fall off the first swing. I actually ended up with a fake driver, and I swear there is nothing different and I've not had a problem.

From my findings, some companies have their clubs made in countries like China, where its perfectly legit to sell them out of the factory as the name brand, etc, because they in fact, are.

I am thinking the same thing, it could really be the original head, smuggled out of the factory then assembled somewhere else. I have a friend who was given "knock-offs" of another brand from china but he found out (how i don't know) that the head was original, it was smuggled out and painted and shafted outside of the factory. Of course the shaft lasted only 4 games.

Dumb question, pretty sure I know the answer, but what are the chances of buying a counterfeit from a legit golf shop? I assume most are bought second hand.

Left coast there are never dumb questions....

Golf shops, will buy tipically direct from vendor, and not through e-Bay. After doing a little digging, I found out that my club, was in fact purchased through e-Bay. I went to pick it up from Golf Galaxy (which lost my cover ), the guy there looked at it and said.."yeah there are some differences, but man these guys are good!" So I took it to the stand with all the '07 Burners, and holy cow what a difference!!!!!!! These are the things that I noticed: - The shaft was 1" short...there goest that premise of longer drive though longer shafts. - I also noticed that the head on mine is slightly smaller that the original, not only smaller but slightly off-shapped! - The face is smaller, and has a Burner logo on it, while the original did not. - The two peices that make the head are different size that the original. For instance, the original head, there is a very small edge of the top peice that is seem if you look at the head, while on mine, there is about an 1/8" lip. - The paint job is damn good, you really have to look and compare, but in a few seconds, I spoted difrences in color, and on line thickness and pattern. I had it regripped, so I couldn't test it last night, but I am going back on Saturday to get fitted for a driver, and I am going to try to hit the original and the fake and see if there are any differences to my shots. I'm thinnking now that if I was driving 260 with this abomination of a club, how will I do with an original...I mena jus the length of the club should be good for a few yards...no?

Is there anything we can do to protect ourselves from counterfeits?

I'm in the process of buying a scotty cameron from a private seller and want to protect myself, but have no idea how. Any tips? I buy off ebay a lot, but I can research reputation and feedback as opposed to this private sell.

Some of these "counterfeits" are the real deal. Callaway assembles their clubs in China, and workers there will smuggle some clubs out and then sell them on the street. These may not have been stamped with serials etc. So in a sense they are REAL clubs, but not sold the LEGIT way.

Ok where did you buy this driver from? Ebay?

If so what do you expect? Thinking you were getting a good deal? Dont feel good does it? Hopefully you will learn ebay is useless its all full of scammers trying to make a quick buck!

If it was from a proper golf shop i would sue there ass!

There are ALOT of trusted sellers on ebay that carry the legit merchandise for alot less than the golf shops.

Even if you do get a fake on ebay you file a claim and paypal will take care of it. I have bought all my clubs off ebay and had them checked out and they are all good to go. I guess you just got to know what you are buying

I'm sorry, but this is ignorant FUD. eBay does have scammers, but it's not "full" of them. I myself have several hundred transactions on eBay and have never scammed or been scammed there. It's actually really difficult to get scammed if you keep your eyes open.

In terms of golf clubs, I have found ebay to be replete with people who have counterfeit material. I don't want to call them scammers because some of them are unaware to some degree or another. Though, if they were truly honest, they would probably make an effort to find out. I read some report by the USGA somewhere that said roughly 40% of golf clubs sold online are counterfeit. Not sure if that is true or just a lie to support a case. But regardless, it seems to be on the decline due to some serious crackdowns.

This is all based on my personal experience. I purchased a set of "Cleveland CG10s" wedges through ebay for a "steal": $200 for 3 wedges. When I got them, having already owned one of them, I thought, "this can't be right". Something about the way it looked was off. It was much shinier than the actual CG10, and the stamping was in a slightly different location. When I chipped some balls with it, I noticed a very distinct ringing in my hands. This should never be the case with the CG10s because the embedded carbon dampens vibration considerably. But that takes a manufacturing process that is expensive, hence not present in the counterfeit. I contacted the seller and told him I would not report him if he refunded my money immediately and stopped selling that product. He was extremely apologetic and agreed to the refund.

Now, having said that, I also purchased a custom fit set of mizuno MP-67 clubs from a seller called "Waveland Golf", who owns a real shop, but is getting into online selling. These were direct from the Mizuno factory with the serial numbers to prove it. A quick email verified with a mizuno rep confirmed that they were exact.

So it's true that not everyone on ebay is a scammer, and there are deals to be found (The MP-67s went for $650, vs $899 retail), but extra caution is needed. My recommendations for buying golf equipment on ebay are the following:

1. Confirm that the seller is reputable. This can be difficult, but a good way is if they own a real store somewhere and you can call them or check their website.

2. Check the location and advertisement for anything suspicious like improper english, etc.

3. Read all of the negative reviews carefully. Make sure that they have a LOT of reviews. That makes it difficult for them to generate a bunch of fake ones.

4. Buy equipment that is hard to counterfeit. Almost everything is made in China these days, so what counterfeit really means is unclear. It is usually a rival factory building unlicensed equipment, though it can occasionally be the same factory trying to sell some extra goods on the side. With Mizuno irons, for example, the serial number is laser etched, and tougher to reproduce. They also keep all of the serial numbers on hand at Mizuno, so you can email them to confirm. Titleist has engraved serial numbers that are a little easier to rip off. Since Titleist clubs are much more popular, this makes them a bigger target. Keep these things in mind.

5. Get ebay involved. Counterfeiters are trying to make a buck and will refund your money if it will shut you up and let them keep their thing going. This can protect you in the event you are ripped off.

For me, all the extra hassle and worry is worth the little bit of extra money to just head to Edwin Watts or Golf Galaxy and try the club out before I buy it. These guys usually don't have counterfeits, though there could be some in the pre-owned sections. Good luck.