Knockoffs/Clones?

[teal]

Little brother got his clones last night. Went and did a fast 18 with them. Beat his personal best by 8 strokes. FIRST time.

Went from a set of Accuity clubs to Fusion clones. He loves them and for 200 bucks I can see why.

[jasongst]

Clones are not the way to go. The companies who make them don't need a good reputation for quality; they just piggyback off the reputation of the brands they copy. I'm sure clones do an adequate job of letting you play golf, but you're much better off paying the same low price for used clubs, or for build-to-order clubs that don't have expensive tour sponsorships.

If you don't care about golf clubs, then fine, go with clones. But if you care enough to clone an expensive brand, why are you buying clones in the first place? There are plenty of non-clone clubs to be found for the same price.

If you're wondering if they perform as well as the brands they are cloning I would say certainly not. I would guess no-name brands would perform much better than the clone brands. No-name brands at least try to focus on function. Clone brands only need to get the look right.

[xamilo]

I don't mind clones, but I'm the type of person which would feel bad having something which violated any law at all in my bag. Call me stupid but I can't do it otherwise. I think you can find some really nice clubs for the price you pay for clones. $200 is the tag price of a set of Ping Eye-2 for example, and no one can say it’s a bad set of irons. I think, maybe, if I was younger and I couldn't afford a set of $700-$900 Nike clubs I would probably go for some clones. When you are young image does make a huge difference, and knowing your clubs look “cool” you might even hit them better or just with more confidence…

[teal]

Clones are not the way to go.

So what scientific evidence do you have to prove your theories? Clones do have to have a quality to them, any idiot can sell 2 sets, if you want to stay in business you have to make a quality set.The fusion clones my brother bought aren't exactly the same as a Callaway. Not the same metal etc. BUT they do have very similar head shape and graphite shafts. Full set of Irons 4-9 with AW, SW, LW for 200 bucks. Find me something similar.

I don't mind clones, but I'm the type of person which would feel bad having something which violated any law at all in my bag. Call me stupid but I can't do it otherwise. I think you can find some really nice clubs for the price you pay for clones. $200 is the tag price of a set of Ping Eye-2 for example, and no one can say it’s a bad set of irons. I think, maybe, if I was younger and I couldn't afford a set of $700-$900 Nike clubs I would probably go for some clones. When you are young image does make a huge difference, and knowing your clubs look “cool” you might even hit them better or just with more confidence…

Clones from a reputable place such as Pine Meadow or Pacific Golf Center could hardly be illegal - they are very large and well known businesses here in the US with a large internet following - granted the US Justice system isn't the best but I am sure if they were illegal they can be easily found and shut down by the DOJ.

[Big_M]

I agree that not all clones are bad, however did you pick up the clone because it looked like Nike? I mean you use the logo in your sig, so I assume that your first impression was because it looked like nike...

I had hit the Nike and hit it pretty well with the V2, but not the diamana... and a local clubmaker had the head made up with a V2 and I liked it, so I took a chance and threw it on my old shaft and it turned out to work well. Right now if I were to buy a new driver I would likely lean towards a driver that is on sale because it is not brand new or a component (not a knockoff), something like Snakeyes, Maltby, Wishon, or KZG. I'm sure people are generally drawn toward clones and knockoffs because they originally liked the name brand... thing is sometimes they are similar and sometimes not... but if they work well for that person, you can't really argue with results.

[Lange]

I was looking at clones for some reason. I saw Ping G5 clones on sale for only $100. It was a 3-PW, plus a free sand wedge. Now, here's the question. Is there a major difference between clones and the real thing?

It can all be sumed up in one sentence.. "There's a good reason why there so cheap" Preformance won't be what you would expect with the real deal, but if your not exactly what you would call a golfer who golfs often then it wouldn't matter to much at all.

[xamilo]

Clones from a reputable place such as Pine Meadow or Pacific Golf Center could hardly be illegal - they are very large and well known businesses here in the US with a large internet following - granted the US Justice system isn't the best but I am sure if they were illegal they can be easily found and shut down by the DOJ.

Sorry, you are right, I was referring to knockoffs...

[rjfan91]

Clones are not the way to go. The companies who make them don't need a good reputation for quality; they just piggyback off the reputation of the brands they copy. I'm sure clones do an adequate job of letting you play golf, but you're much better off paying the same low price for used clubs, or for build-to-order clubs that don't have expensive tour sponsorships.

I had the same thoughts you outlined above. As a result, I ended up getting the KZGs fitted for me and love them compared to the TMs (OS2) I had before.