Anyone play clone clubs?? thoughts on clones?

[Osnola]

Check out Hireko golf....

[Aflighter]

If you can get a nice set of clones custom fit for you then its better than getting a bame brand on ebay or so that more than likely isnt fit for you and still cost more than the clones plus they are used.Nothing better than having a nice shiny new set.

[Pendragon]

Clones are made out of inferior metals with aluminum slag and low grad stainless steel in other words they really suck.

I'm with you, Mike. Clones/knockoffs are made with the cheapest materials and shafts available. And when a problem comes up (e.g., a shaft breaks), who are you going to call? Warranties are non-existent on this type of garbage. I can't believe how many people get sucked in by these lowlifes.

[Pendragon]

Check out Hireko golf....

Wow! I go to the Hireko website, and the first thing I see is that they're pushing some driver called Juggernaut that even they acknowledge is illegal. Next to the picture of the driver is a link that says "As seen on Golf Digest". Of course, you click on it and another page on the Hireko website pops up...and, you guessed it, no mention of Golf Digest.

I was also intrigued by their placement on every webpage of major brand logos, such as Titleist and TaylorMade. However, when you click on the Titleist logo, a page comes up which says "Shop Titleist Golf Balls", but clicking on that brings up another page which shows that they have no Titleist golf balls to sell. Clicking the TaylorMade link at least gets you to a page with 2 different TM golf balls, the Penta TP3 and Penta TP5, but the problem is that these are balls TM came out with in 2012. Hireko is selling them for the new 2012 price, but you can find them on assorted closeout sites, such as Amazon, for quite a bit less.

To me, the Hireko golf website looks like one you'd probably want to avoid.

[RayG]

I'm with you, Mike. Clones/knockoffs are made with the cheapest materials and shafts available. And when a problem comes up (e.g., a shaft breaks), who are you going to call? Warranties are non-existent on this type of garbage. I can't believe how many people get sucked in by these lowlifes.

There ARE differences. You have "clones", "knockoffs" and blatant imitations. If for example, you see an ad for the latest Pings, Titleists, or whatever for some ridiculous price on a website, chances are, they are blatant fakes looking to swindle people. Any problems with them and you go to Ping for service and you find you've been taken. The other categories are more of a gray area- Companies like GigaGolf and Pine Meadow are generally willing to work with you and have an actual guarantee/warranty where you can get a refund or exchange. They're using the same BRAND and type of shafts (if you pay for them) as the 'big boys', but the standard shaft may be the lower end of the brand. Lots of thread on the virtues and pitfalls of both. And there will be many more. But personally, I had no issues with Giga, as have many others. And I'm sure there are a few who HAVE had issues. That will not change anytime soon.

[Pendragon]

There ARE differences. You have "clones", "knockoffs" and blatant imitations. If for example, you see an ad for the latest Pings, Titleists, or whatever for some ridiculous price on a website, chances are, they are blatant fakes looking to swindle people. Any problems with them and you go to Ping for service and you find you've been taken. The other categories are more of a gray area- Companies like GigaGolf and Pine Meadow are generally willing to work with you and have an actual guarantee/warranty where you can get a refund or exchange. They're using the same BRAND and type of shafts (if you pay for them) as the 'big boys', but the standard shaft may be the lower end of the brand. Lots of thread on the virtues and pitfalls of both. And there will be many more. But personally, I had no issues with Giga, as have many others. And I'm sure there are a few who HAVE had issues. That will not change anytime soon.

You're right, of course. I just looked at the Giga site, and at least they offer a playing guarantee. Personally,I'd definitely prefer to deal face-to-face with a reputable brick-and-mortar retailer who can actually fit me, and know that they're not going anywhere if I have any issues. But to each his own, I guess. Thanks for the input. 

[Redhill]

I had a custom club maker as a client for about 10 years and enjoyed going by that shop on my way home from work and watching and learning as the owners would assemble clubs.  This particular shop was very prominent in the area and would buy steel iron shafts in bulk and then weight sort them into bundles of 8-9 shafts which I thought was ahead of True Temper.  They sold both knock off heads and component heads and I would put them into those two groups.  The knock off crap was just short all the way around with QC,  This shop would loft and lie adjust each iron club before it was sold and would find huge discrepancies in the measurements as they came from the foundries.  At the end of the day the component heads from this shop for their irons were well assembled but still a wee bit short of the QC seen on OEM parts.  The wood heads were even farther off the boat and had many returns if sold to better players due to caved in faces.  This was with the component heads, iron and wood, from known component companies with the wood heads even worse.  Still beyond this were the knock off heads as far as quality.

This shop would sell excellent after market graphite shafts similar to or better than the OEM woods.  With shafts either steel or graphite and fittings this shop was superior

Biggest problem was them working with bad QC on the heads that they had to use in their clubs.  Simple.

I bought/traded for about 3 sets of irons and while they served me well when my handicap was higher around a 12-14, when I started to lower it due to lessons, practice and playing I found my clubs lacking.  This shop also would aid you in your swing development with what was then a flight simulator and aid you in making better swings to get better results.

After my first set of OEM clubs which I think were Hogan somethings, I found a tremendous difference in the QC and the "feel" of the clubs and the handicap continued to decline more and more down to a 4.  Finally I went whole hog OEM with Titleist stuff and found that the shop was a good source of changing out graphite shafts,and no more.  

 This shop was unusual in the quality of their service and assembly but could not serve the lower handicapped players so they depended on the beginning golfer and did well for a while and then saw the slide coming and closed the doors.

While the value of any golf club drops quickly the OEM stuff especially the upper end of the line will hold some small value after a year and maybe two.  Any component club/set will most likely not be accepted for a trade in.

 

[Osnola]

I ordered a set of irons from Hiroki Golf and have been very satisfied with them.  I am not sure they would be classified as a clone, but who cares.  They play well, look good, and fit me.  I paid to be fitted for irons, looked at a few sets then ordered using my specks from Hiroki.  Give them a look....

[vangator]

I play the Pinhawk clubs from Value Golf.  These are a knockoff of a knockoff, but have been re-engineered to single length (same lie angle and weight).  I've built two sets.  The last batch of heads that I received were all within 1 gram of each other.  That's amazingly good.  Didn't check loft or lie.  I can't wait until they get more in stock.  I need to experiment.  Can't recommend these irons enough.

[awmgolfer]

Our local pro who is a certified in fitting and building uses clones and non OEM designs all the time. The true clones I have found, personal preference, the irons play great but when you get into the hybrids and woods I noticed a difference. After some time and tweaking what I like I play on Maltby irons from GolfWorks and love them. Not clones but in a similar price range. Our local pro has been working a lot more with the Acer brand from Hireko and they have been great even down to the driver. A lot of our members have been switching over to them and rave.

[Baog]

I've been playing Dynacraft PC3 irons (Ping i3 blade knockoffs) for about 14 years. I originally got them because they were cheap and came in a 3* flat version. I built them with (at the time) premium shafts and grips. I've been happy with them ever since.

One advantage to cheap clubheads has been that when I decided that I'd really like irons with less bounce, I simply ground down the bounce and added some lead tape without feeling like I was ruining their resale value or aesthetics. I could change my irons for the cost of one hour and 15 grams of lead tape.