I'm going to add my $.02 to this thread as not many posts have stood up for "Clones". I play "Clones". I have a set of woods, irons and putter that are all "Clones" and I play to a "5" handicap with them. I've built all of them from scratch. All of the shafts have been "PURE"d (a major factor in hitting shots on line).
Now, the big items that all golfers need to find out are:
1. What flex shaft should I play (Reg/Stiff/Senior etc...)
2. What length of shaft should I be playing (standard - 1/2 longer etc..)
3. Should I play standard lie or flat or upright clubs?
All of these can be accomplished with a fitting session from one of the major retailers (GolfSmith or Golf Galaxy do a great job). You'll have the results from the fitting and then you can make an informed choice when purchasing a new, used or "Clone" set of clubs. You'll hit the ball better and score lower.
Here's my set. All graphite shafts except for the putter. It's steel shafted.
Nike Clone - SV2 - Driver (9.5), 3,5,7,9 woods (I haven't met a hybrid that performs consistently for me. These woods do.)
Irons - GolfSmith Forged - 3 through Gap Wedge (3 and 4 irons aren't normally in the bag except for very windy days then the 7 and 9 woods are pulled and replace with the 3 and 4 irons)
Putter - Snake Eyes.
Ball - Callawy - HX Hot (Oh! I also got a ball fitting at Golf Galaxy and found out the Pro V1 wasn't the right ball for me)
I've recently built a new set of irons. They're "Clones" also. The heads are Callaway copies of the X-22 irons with Graphite shafts. I'm testing them to see if they'll replace my GolfSmith irons in the near future.
Regards,
RJH