Help identifying my clubs (Z Model II Irons)

[WatchOutLeft]

So all of my clubs are hand me downs that I have gotten from various places. My wedges say Z Model II on the back of them. I also have a 7 wood that says "Select Edition Titanium Matrix".

I have searched the interwebs for any info on them but I can't find much. I have read that the wedges are apparently knockoffs of Ping Zing 2s, and they look almost exactly the same. So is there a brand that made my irons? Is it just some random thing where somebody decided to knock off a brand design?

I'm not overly worried about it. I'm not good enough right now to care what I am using. It just seems odd that there is little info. I also have a substitute 7i in the set from when it was given to me. I don't know if its psychological or what but I never hit a decent shot with it when I first got the clubs and I pretty much just don't use it now. I usually try to overhit my 8, with varying results.

I also have what looks like a Merrill Lynch putter?

Anyway, if anyone has any info on any of these or by some coincidence has used any of them, I would appreciate the feedback.

Z Model II Irons

7 wood

Putter

[JeepXJ98]

Yup, those appear to be a knock-off of the Ping Zing 2's. I had a friend in high school who played with a set he bought somewhere in the early 90's. I couldn't tell you the name of the manufacturer. Golfsmith had a similar clubmaker's model they put out....maybe the tour model 3?....it was very similar to the Zing 2's.

I couldn't find anything on the google about that putter. The 7 wood looks like some standard no-name brand metal wood, nothing much else I could find on it either.

[Jared]

  JeepXJ98 said:

Yup, those appear to be a knock-off of the Ping Zing 2's. I had a friend in high school who played with a set he bought somewhere in the early 90's. I couldn't tell you the name of the manufacturer. Golfsmith had a similar clubmaker's model they put out....maybe the tour model 3?....it was very similar to the Zing 2's.

I couldn't find anything on the google about that putter. The 7 wood looks like some standard no-name brand metal wood, nothing much else I could find on it either.

Tour Model 2.  The Ping Eye 2 knockoff.  Also my first ever full set of clubs.  Dynamic Gold shafts, regular flex and green victory grips.  I assembled them in my basement.

[Golfingdad]

  Jared said:

Tour Model 2.  The Ping Eye 2 knockoff.  Also my first ever full set of clubs.

Me too!!!  First clubs I bought for myself (second hand).  After a small junior set, I used moms hand me downs, then dads hand me downs, then bought the TM2's from a buddy in high school.  Loved those clubs!!

[Buck Nutz]

I know this risks being a little off topic of identifying your clubs but your said in your OP you aren't good enough to worry about your equipment. IMHO, that couldn't be further from the truth. The upgrades in technology, material, weighting etc over the last 20 years (about how old those clubs are) would greatly assist you in hitting better shots. I'm not saying you need to run out and buy a $600 set of game improvement irons, but plenty of manufacturers make reasonable priced GI clubs. A guy at work wanted to start golfing and bought a complete set including bag of Strata clubs (made by Calloway) for under $300. He saw immediate improvements over the old Ben Hogan clubs he was using. He said the biggest difference comes from making the misfits more manageable and not as penalizing. Just a thought. There are even places to get used sets of GI irons at pretty cheap prices.

[fr0sty]

  Buck Nutz said:

I'm not saying you need to run out and buy a $600 set of game improvement irons, but plenty of manufacturers make reasonable priced GI clubs.

I'll put in a brief commercial for here. My brother bought his set from them a few years ago and is very happy. Prices seem pretty good too.

[WatchOutLeft]

  fr0sty said:

I'll put in a brief commercial for  here. My brother bought his set from them a few years ago and is very happy. Prices seem pretty good too.

I checked out that site and it seems too good to be true. Does anyone else have experience with them? I mean like every single review for every single product is either 4 or 5 stars. I'd be rich if I had a dollar for every review that started "I've played with $600 sets of Callaway, Mizuno, and Nike irons and these are just as good". Why is everyone on that site buying new clubs all the time and switching brands? And if the clubs are THAT good, why are they like $130 for PW through 5i?

I want to believe it but it just seems like something is wrong. I left my sand wedge on the 18th hole a few days ago while visiting family out of state. I think I am going to order the GX922 SW and see what I think of it. Maybe not the best club to evaluate getting a whole new set but at least if I completely hate it I can avoid wasting any more money. And if I love it maybe I'll pull the trigger on a whole set.

Also thanks to everyone who replied and tried to give me information. I guess I'll just have to accept my somewhat mysterious clubs for what they are.

[WatchOutLeft]

By the way @fr0sty , I hope I didn't come across as an a-hole there. I'm not calling you a liar. I'm just a skeptical person, and that just seems to good to be true. I do appreciate the suggestion I would just like to hear if anyone else has had a good experience with them.

PS - Can someone tell me how to edit posts or is that not allowed on this forum?

[RayG]

As far as I'm concerned, GigaGolf is fine. I went with a set after a theft of my Hogans and a was a bit short on cash. Their models are "patterned" after the well known brands, just maybe not with all the R&D; money to pay off, so prices can be reasonable. On another thread, it was mentioned that you certainly can go nuts with custom shafts and grips and wind up paying $800 which is more like the price for the name brand. But for a beginner looking for a matched set with decent technology, you can certainly get by for less than $200 for a 'semi-custom' fit set of clubs. Numerous threads on the subject of GigaGolf, Pine Meadow(is that it?) and other such suppliers. And just as many opinions- this one was mine. Good luck with the wedge test.

[FrankWilly]

I bought a set of z model ping zing clones in 1993.I still use them.Mine are called Pro Pride.