question about using counterfeit irons in a tournament

[Clambake]

First, sorry you got ripped off with fake clubs when you thought you were buying the genuine article. From what I've seen in China, I suspect this happens a lot more people expect. I've done a lot of business in China and traveled there frequently, and I am absolutely blown away by the sheer volume of counterfeit clubs available there. They are everywhere! Callaway are by far the most prevalent brand, but I've seen a lot of TM, Nike, Mizuno, and Titleist as well. The appearance of many of these fakes are scary good - you have to really know your clubs to know they aren't real.

Although I'm sure there are some eBay retailers that are fully legit, I am very hesitant to purchase clubs given what I've seen. And just because someone has great rankings as an eBay seller doesn't mean they aren't selling fakes. If the fakes are good enough, the buyer will simply think they got a great deal. And some resellers may actually believe they are selling bonafide product, not knowing that their Tier 3 distributor is giving them a "great deal" by passing off counterfeit clubs. Several times I've spoken with the sellers of counterfeit clubs at markets in Shanghai or Shenzhen, and I've been told that while they sell a fair amount in the markets, most of their volume is shipped out to the US via distributors. I'm sure companies like Golfsmith, Golf Galaxy, TGW, Edwin Watts, etc. have taken steps to ensure they are selling genuine product, but I would be highly suspicious of small to mid-size internet-only resellers. One method to check would be to contact the club manufacturer and confirm if they are an authorized reseller. Don't take the sellers word for it - check the manufacturer.

A funny side note to point out how prevalent counterfeit products are. A few years ago I served on a conference panel on Intellectual Property protection for companies doing business in China. One of my co-panelists was the CEO of WD-40, and he related the tale that when they were visiting one of their production factories in China, they found out that about 1/2 of the WD-40 they were using in their own factory was counterfeit!

[Leftygolfer]

Those look perfect.

[microcrayfish]

I think you'd be okay using them in a tournament. As long as they conform to the specifications of clubs allowed for use, the fact you've had them re-shafted with genuine shafts probably means they're more likely to conform. I thought it was only balls that each tournament is supposed to have a list of what's okay and what's not okay for use?

[jojoampt]

Again... could you please tell me what the sellers name was? You can instant message me if youd like.

[breezy]

i thought that i already posted the name?

[jojoampt]

Sorry man. I dont know how I completely missed that post. Thanks!

i thought that i already posted the name?

[Leftygolfer]

I was really curious about my set after reading this thread and seeing those clubs. I bought my set off ebay. I verified that all my clubs were authenitic mizuno.

[Razz11]

One of my friends actually bought a TaylorMade Tour Burner driver knock-off from ebay really just to prove a point and because he was curious. It was from China and looked rediculously good. Really the only thing that we could find wrong was that the shaft was WAY softer than the real thing. The weight at the rear of the club was sunk in a little more, and the corners of the flame on the bottom of the club were a little more rounded. It even had a TaylorMade "warranty" booklet with it and a number on the shaft. We called TaylorMade and the number on the shaft was a legit number, it had just already been registered! We took it to 3 pro-shops around town to see what they thought and only one place noticed that it was not a real club, because he had one sitting there to compare it to. Anyways, he filed a claim with Ebay and Paypal and got his money back and the seller got shut down. It really is insane what can happen in a country that has no regulations!

[kfowler]

I also heard stories of real clubs being sold out the back door of the factories in China. So the clubs may be real but they're sold on the back market and are techincally stolen.

[TheWarHound]

I always buy my clubs from Ebay sellers with lots of feedback. Registered my irons with Ping, they were legit.

I guess if I got burned on Ebay, that would be it . . . no more Ebay.