Hit or miss with fake clubs?

[Blacksheep]

Back when i was building clubs there was a ton of look alike iron heads out there. I had a connection in china who said he could reproduce anything. I think that 90% of all clones are most likely made by the same little chinese dude. Clones IMO are no different than knock offs.

[tristanhilton85]

Originally Posted by Blacksheep

Back when i was building clubs there was a ton of look alike iron heads out there. I had a connection in china who said he could reproduce anything. I think that 90% of all clones are most likely made by the same little chinese dude. Clones IMO are no different than knock offs.

Big difference between clones and counterfeits. If you go to GigaGolf for instance, many of their clubs look similar to clubs produced by TaylorMade, Callaway, PING, etc. For example, their TRX irons look like Burners... but they don't say Burner on them and they are not trying to make people believe that they are getting the real deal when they are not. You know exactly what you are getting, with a counterfeit this is not so. On top of that, many clones are actually pretty good quality but are cheaper because they don't spend the money on marketing and they let the big companies do the R&D; with counterfeits, the whole idea is to fool the customer and make as much money as possible so they use the cheapest materials they can find... poor quality materials equals poor performance.

[Tuflehundon]

Originally Posted by tristanhilton85

Big difference between clones and counterfeits. If you go to GigaGolf for instance, many of their clubs look similar to clubs produced by TaylorMade, Callaway, PING, etc. For example, their TRX irons look like Burners... but they don't say Burner on them and they are not trying to make people believe that they are getting the real deal when they are not. You know exactly what you are getting, with a counterfeit this is not so. On top of that, many clones are actually pretty good quality but are cheaper because they don't spend the money on marketing and they let the big companies do the R&D; with counterfeits, the whole idea is to fool the customer and make as much money as possible so they use the cheapest materials they can find... poor quality materials equals poor performance.

I agree with this. I have used clones for several years. They are pretty close in quality to the brand name clubs. But you still have to be careful what ones you get. There are a few reputable clone builders online, and there are some shady ones to. I always found a local builder near me and got fitted for the clubs. I just recently bought brand name clubs (2 weeks ago), I can say that the clones hit really well compared to what I have now. My new clubs are a few years newer than the clones so the tech is different, but the quality is similar.

If you do get clones though, I would spend a little extra and get some decent shafts in them. That's one big difference with the brand name stuff, is you get quality shafts. I always used True Temper Dynamic Gold shafts in mine.

I would have bought the clones again, but I can finally afford the Callaways I liked so I splurged.

[LBlack14]

Just 2 sets I own. GigaGolf [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/image/id/284258/width/450/height/600][IMG]http://thesandtrap.com/image/id/284258/width/450/height/600[/IMG][/URL] Diamond Tour [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/image/id/284259/width/640/height/480][IMG]http://thesandtrap.com/image/id/284259/width/640/height/480[/IMG][/URL] Both are of high quality and performance.

[WUTiger]

Originally Posted by Mr3Wiggle

Why on earth would someone want to buy a fake club????  Why not just buy a real used club, or a less expensive brand of a real club?

First of all, clones and counterfeits are not the same thing. A clone uses a similar design to a name-brand club - often as the name brand model is going out of style. From 1994 to 2008 I played a set of Ping Eye2 clone irons - the Pro Tour Blacks. It never said Pong or anything like that - it just had a very similar outline to the Eye2 head. The PTBs came out after the Eye2 was no longer a production model.

Counterfeits are made to be slipped into the mix as a real Ping or Callaway club, but it isn't.

Marketing research on sporting goods say people who buy clones of a given product very often upgrade to the name brand once their income level improves.

[Tuflehundon]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

First of all, clones and counterfeits are not the same thing. A clone uses a similar design to a name-brand club - often as the name brand model is going out of style. From 1994 to 2008 I played a set of Ping Eye2 clone irons - the Pro Tour Blacks. It never said Pong or anything like that - it just had a very similar outline to the Eye2 head. The PTBs came out after the Eye2 was no longer a production model.

Counterfeits are made to be slipped into the mix as a real Ping or Callaway club, but it isn't.

Marketing research on sporting goods say people who buy clones of a given product very often upgrade to the name brand once their income level improves.

This is exactly what I did. When I started out, I didn't want to spend a couple grand on clubs till I knew I was gonna stock with it, and really couldn't afford the name brand clubs at the time. Luckily for me, I can now. I had been using Callaway clones, just bough a new set of clubs, from driver to putter. Driver and irons are all Callaway, woods are TaylorMade (good sale), and the wedges are Cleveland. I have always used Cleveland wedges, but my first set were given to me second hand. My putter is Odyssey, I used a Golden Bear putter for years.

[Mr3Wiggle]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

First of all, clones and counterfeits are not the same thing. A clone uses a similar design to a name-brand club - often as the name brand model is going out of style. From 1994 to 2008 I played a set of Ping Eye2 clone irons - the Pro Tour Blacks. It never said Pong or anything like that - it just had a very similar outline to the Eye2 head. The PTBs came out after the Eye2 was no longer a production model.

Counterfeits are made to be slipped into the mix as a real Ping or Callaway club, but it isn't.

Marketing research on sporting goods say people who buy clones of a given product very often upgrade to the name brand once their income level improves.

Oh I'm fine with clones.  Isn't the OP talking about counterfeit clubs?

[vo-man]

Originally Posted by Motley01

I know first hand how fake clubs perform. They will break, they are made with poor workmanship, and materials. That's why they are so cheap to buy.

I bought a fake 910 driver on ebay, didn't know it was fake, until the face cracked all over, after 3 rounds.

Not defending counterfeit clubs in the least, but that can happen to the genuine article. I've seen it many times.

Years ago when it was the newest, greatest driver, I demo'd a Yonex graphite-titanium-kryptonite-dynomite-or-whatever-the-heck-it-was driver from the pro shop at our club.  On the 12th hole, which had recently completed a redesign including a 20 foot deep water hole right in front of the tee box (we'd watched them dig the hole one day...approx 30 feet wide x 20 feet across and at least 20 feet deep) I hit the Yonex driver off the tee and the head came off the shaft and proceeded to go straight into the water hole in front of the tee box.

So, when I finished my round I returned the shaft to the pro shop and told the guy "next time the diver comes out to fish balls tell him

the head to this driver is in the tee box water hole on number 12.  By the way, I think I'll pass on buying it."

[LBlack14]

[QUOTE name="Motley01" url="http://thesandtrap.com/t/59701/hit-or-miss-with-fake-clubs#post_731265"] I know first hand how fake clubs perform. They will break, they are made with poor workmanship, and materials. That's why they are so cheap to buy. I bought a fake 910 driver on ebay, didn't know it was fake, until the face cracked all over, after 3 rounds.[/QUOTE] Not defending counterfeit clubs in the least, but that can happen to the genuine article. I've seen it many times.

All's I'm saying is just because it cracked does not make it a "fake", they all will break. I know a guy who busted 2 R9 and 2 R11 driver heads plus 1 R11 3w head. All straight from Taylormade, it happens.

[ZigZag]

looking for a set for a friend and came across these

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SENIOR-flex-MENS-CHAMPIONS-Golf-Clubs-GRAPHITE-Iron-Hybrid-Set-TAYLOR-FIT-4-SW-/390443620433?pt=Golf_Clubs&hash;=item5ae840d851

The Store gets alot of good reviews.