Clones broke!!

[nuck81]

Nuck, I think you are missing the point. It's not the sharing of ideas/technology... obviously the irons above are all cavity backs with multi material inserts and extreme perimeter weighting. Tt's the

There is no more or less similarity/distinctness in the GigaGolf clubs than displayed in the OEM's. Except the GigaGolf clubs have GigaGolf plastered all over them to let you know they are GigaGolf.

So why is it IMITATION when GigaGolf does it, but it just so happens that the OEM clubs happen to share the same design, material, look, and style? I think you guys are missing the point. ALL the OEMS imitate each other. As soon as one OEM makes a breakthrough or new design the other OEM's scramble to make their equivlant. It's called getting your piece of the pie. And I don't think GigaGolf has ever marketed themselves as anything but GigaGolf. A club manufacterer that offers high quality component clubs at wholesale price. GigaGolf does nothing but cut out the middle man. And honestly I think the GigaGolf GX922 looks more like the Burner than the Callaway... [IMG] Or at the least a mixture of the two....

[sean_miller]

And honestly I think the GigaGolf GX922 looks more like the Burner than the Callaway...

In your picture maybe - in the one where you can see the blue and grey X and the model name with X and 22 in it, though . . .

I went to their site once and it was pretty obvious what they're going for with each product.

[delav]

Nuck81

Look at the blue/black color scheme, with the big X behind Giga Golf.

It's a direct imitation of a Callaway iron. In fact, the text used on the sole for the club designation is the exact font Callaway uses in ALL of their irons, yet the Giga Golf fonts vary based on what they are replicating .

Giga Golf has no consistent text, logos or branding. Their product is purposefully designed to replicate competitors, it's painfully obvious. Give it a rest dude, nobody is buying it.

[nuck81]

Actually GigaGolf is displayed and labeled in the same place on every GigaGolf Iron, but whatever.

I started golfing in March, practice my ass off and my last Nine hole round was +11 (46) But I guess if I had a CALLAWAY club I wouldn't have had to do all that practicing and still have shot a 45 since my clubs are so inferior.....

[golfro]

Actually GigaGolf is displayed and labeled in the same place on every GigaGolf Iron, but whatever.

stop acting like a child. nobody said shit about performance. I can take a broom stick with a pan on it and play golf. Thats not the point.

Clones are just that. clones. nothing more. There is no ingenuity, no product design...nothing. They take what is made and make replicas for a cheaper price with inferior materials. The argument is that for that cost, you can still find great OEM clubs instead of walking around with look-alike club copies.

[delav]

But I guess if I had a CALLAWAY club I wouldn't have had to do all that practicing and still have shot a 45 since my clubs are so inferior.....

Totally got it!

[nuck81]

Totally got it!

[Kingfisher]

I go to bed for the night and miss all the banter!

I think one or two are finally starting to see the light, but we still have a handful of hardcore pro-clones. Where a company has its own unique / different name emblazoned on the club, I think it somehow makes this whole thing a little more acceptable.

The gigagolf thing up the post is a good example - the clubs look freakishly like the callways, but gigagolf don't try to insinuate that their clubs are callys - there is a distinction. Similarly, although several OEMs adopt similar clubhead styles and weighting (in this day and age how different can it possibly be?), they are all very distinctly unique due to the branding. The P10G rip-off irons and driver however are a blatent and shameless attempt to piggy back on somebody else's good work.

One poster above suggested that the rip-offs (sorry I prefer this term to clones) could be taken to a club fitter to be measured for length,loft, lie, sw etc - maybe the clubs don't even conform for CoR or CoC?? Something else that could be done is to put the clubs head to head on a launch monitor and see what happens and I'm sure it'd be like night and day.

The bottom line is, as several haters have mentioned, is that for the same or less outlay than the rip-offs, a golfer can acquire a much better / proven / higher quality set of sticks. The lovers still don't agree with this?

[MasterP]

Something else that could be done is to put the clubs head to head on a launch monitor and see what happens and I'm sure it'd be like night and day.

I'd be interested to see that, I bet clones or component clubs are pretty close to the real thing when tested. Irons especially since the tech hasn't changed much lately.

You have to realize that the only reason clones are around (not counterfeit) is because it's plain as day that the OEM's jack the prices up on new equipment. It doesn't take a genius to realize that when you see a set of irons released at $700 and the next year they are discounted down to $400, and the year after that $300, that OEMs are taking a huge profit. Why? Because they can, and good for them. But then if they can sell a set of irons for $300, you know the materials/labor couldn't have cost more than $150, or thereabouts. So clone makers come in after a set is released and realize that "Hey, these only cost $150 to make, let's make some sets and sell them for $200!" And golfers who don't much care for the name, but want some sticks are served. Slap in a brand name shaft and you probably end up with a club that might even be better than the uniflex shafts you might get off the shelf at the local golf store (if you are of the ilk that shafts are more important). Honestly I'm only interested in this thread because I need a gap wedge for my TM R7 iron set, and the Gigagolf clone of the R7's is starting to look mighty tasty at $23 compared to the $50-$70 dollar offerings on ebay. I've come to realize in the past year that for most of golf it's the indian and not the arrow. Clubs don't make people better or worse, lessons do. I used to think that my R7's were junk because they were the cheapest set I could afford at the time (didn't know of clones back then), and I didn't hit them any better than my old Spalding set. I got some lessons, dropped my scores into the 80's consistently and now hit the R7's much better, and hit the old Spaldings better too. Imagine that....

[delav]

I've come to realize in the past year that for most of golf it's the indian and not the arrow.

I'm out the be the best Indian I can be... Having decent arrows helps.

[Fourputt]

All of you who are so upset about clones, or knockoffs, or whatever... look at all of the Ping Anser putter clones out there.... made by major brand manufacturers too, like Odyssey, TaylorMade, Scotty Cameron. I've heard it said time and again that SC just improved on the Anser.... but he still copied what Ping originated , then charged a lot more for it.

So are all of you going to toss your SC Ansers because they are just knockoffs? I doubt it.

[delav]

All of you who are so upset about clones, or knockoffs, or whatever... look at all of the Ping Anser putter clones out there.... made by major brand manufacturers too, like Odyssey, TaylorMade, Scotty Cameron. I've heard it said time and again that SC just improved on the Anser....

Have you ever seen how a SC is made? If not, find a youtube video of a CNC mill turning a lump of steel into the finished product. That product, above all else, is deserving of it's price. As far as I am concerned, no other piece of equipment is manufactured to such exact standards and manufacturing details.

[KD Epic]

Have you ever seen how a SC is made? If not, find a youtube video of a CNC mill turning a lump of steel into the finished product. That product, above all else, is deserving of it's price. As far as I am concerned, no other piece of equipment is manufactured to such exact standards and manufacturing details.

... Just about any other CNC milled club probably is... Seeing as the exactness is what the machine works on...

It's still a copied design, regardless. Clones just charge less so everyone gets all in a hissy about them. Fact of the matter is, the OP, being a 25 handicap, probably couldn't tell the difference at this point. It's a moot point - I don't know why people care what other people play. It's like why do people in Philadelphia care if I go to Geno's or... what's the other really good sandwich stand? It's freakin' stupid play the game and stfu.

[Shanks A Million]

Have you ever seen how a SC is made? If not, find a youtube video of a CNC mill turning a lump of steel into the finished product. That product, above all else, is deserving of it's price. As far as I am concerned, no other piece of equipment is manufactured to such exact standards and manufacturing details.

That's one of the most fallacious arguments ever made. A Scotty Cameron is no better than my milled putter on the market. People are actually stupid enough to think they use some voodoo magic to make their putters better, but my Dynacraft I paid $3 for is milled from the same material, but there is one difference. And what about these super high end Titleist forged irons? No different than my Integra forged irons, made from the same steel, same process, and...

No wait, there is a difference... My Integras were made in the U.S., not China.

[Kingfisher]

That's one of the most fallacious arguments ever made. A Scotty Cameron is no better than my milled putter on the market. People are actually stupid enough to think they use some voodoo magic to make their putters better, but my Dynacraft I paid $3 for is milled from the same material, but there is one difference. And what about these super high end Titleist forged irons? No different than my Integra forged irons, made from the same steel, same process, and...

Shanks baby, considering you were crying for this thread to be closed, I'm surprised to see you still lurking?

...depends how you define 'better'. As we agreed in an earlier post, most professionals use the best tools of the trade - I'll bet there's more Scotty Camerons on tour than there are Dynacraft putters. On second thoughts, I would also think that Scotty Cameron sells more putters than Dynacraft do period. I'm not knocking Dynacraft, but you reckon Dynacraft are using the same materials as SC putters, really? A Timex tells the time just like a rolex does, but that doesn't mean they're made of the same materials....

[Kingfisher]

It's freakin' stupid play the game and stfu.

Is this the only way you know how to debate, good sir?

[Shanks A Million]

Shanks baby, considering you were crying for this thread to be closed, I'm surprised to see you still lurking?

Do you think certain companies use a magical steel alloy from the lands of Mordor? Um... no. Not quite. 303 is 303 is 303 is 303 is 303. 17-4 is 17-4 is 17-4 is 17-4 is 17-4. Here's a secret. Dynacraft uses the same steel, and the same process, but they don't pay the same money for

marketing . But by your logic, Scratch and Miura are inferior because they're not in use all over the tour. That's the most illogical, stupid, ill conceived, asinine sentiment I've ever heard. Seriously, I just can't find a nice way to tell you you're an idiot. This is the cold, hard truth. A golf club is a golf club. They all hit the ball. The reason we play the clubs we play has more to do with fit, feel, and preference. This whole argument is a great study in prejudice, or favor toward the familiar. By the same token, whites thought they were superior to Africans because they were more attractive. Of course, it was just a matter of familiarity. When I took psychology, we were presented with several pictures and asked to choose one. They gave us an image like this, and said, "which of these women is the most attractive." Of course, Americans chose the middle one. Africans chose the right one. Burmese chose the left. Etc. The point is, what is familiar is seen as superior. In tribal Africa, the middle picture would be considered ugly. Thus, by the same logic, OEMs seem to be high quality products to you, because you don't know any better. GigaGolf, Maltby, Wishon, Dynacraft, and many other component companies, however, make a much better product, with very strict quality control. Maltby, for example, lists every single factor about each clubhead, COG location, tolerances, type of metal, lie angle, bounce, effective bounce, etc. But because you don't know these brands, you assume they're inferior. But Dynacraft makes their clubs the same way, with the same metals, with the same quality control, but in smaller numbers.

[Kingfisher]

Do you think certain companies use a magical steel alloy from the lands of Mordor? Um... no. Not quite. 303 is 303 is 303 is 303 is 303. 17-4 is 17-4 is 17-4 is 17-4 is 17-4. Here's a secret. Dynacraft uses the same steel, and the same process, but they don't pay the same money for

Wow, Shanks, you've been busy huh? Clearly a touch worked-up about this thread.

I'm a big boy and being called an idiot on an internet forum isn't going to ruin my day. Anyway, if you feel the urge to vent, feel free to PM me and you can say anything you need to say without fear of other users being offended. The offer is there. You appear to be one of these people who seems to have an 'expert' opinon on everything and if somebody challenges what you're preaching you get all pissy. It's a forum, we're humans and there will be differences of opinon. Deep down I know you agree with some of what the clone-haters are saying, but you've sided with the lovers and seem to be acting as their attorney on this case. I didn't say OEMs were superior quality to all component clubs, in fact the thread has been about rip-offs all the way until you brought up your $3 Dynacraft vs Scotty Cameron. I did say the rip-off pings are a sack of S**t and that Scotty Cameron putters are a superior product to anything that comes out of Dynacraft's womb. I am familiar with Maltby products, have never owned one and probably never will, but I am well aware of their rep for quality. Are you now trying to shoe-horn the rip-off pings into the component club category - the P10G Irons are manufactured to the same exacting standards as Maltbies? Incidentally, if component clubs are so great, how come your bag isn't filled with them?