Re: Clones and knock offs

If it's golf-club shaped, you can play with it.


Read the above.


There are 4 levels that most folks generally lump into 2. These are:

OEM
Component
Clone
Counterfeit

Most folks group the 3 C's and pit them against the OEM.

The fact of the matter is, OEM and Component designs are pretty much equal. The major difference between the two is that component designers don't have the deep pockets to advertise that the OEMs do. But the R&D is often equal to (or in some cases better) than what the OEM's put out. Component brands aren't hampered by having to impress a board of directors or investors every quarter, thus they can focus more on true innovation (Tom Wishon, I'm looking at you). This isn't to say that OEM's haven't brought anything to the techology table, but that in recent history they've had to 'scale it back' as club releases went from new models every other year, to every year, to what seems like every 3 quarters now.

Clone clubs are the 'grey area'. Pinemeadow Golf is a fine example of clones. "Compare to Taylormade Burner". "Compare to Callaway X22". These are clubs designed to look like a popular brand at a glance, but obviously aren't up close. Their QC tolerances are a little wider than OEM or Component, but their gear is eminently playable and the target demographic is the player that wants the look without spending the cash - case in point my own mother who loved the look of Pings but didn't want to spend the money. The solution was for her to get a set of p5g's - the shot peen finish of Pings, visually look very close to G5 irons, and she's happy as a clam to play them.

Counterfeits are downright illegal. Illegal to buy, to sell. Now, you're not going to jail for buying them for personal use, but like purchasing any stolen property, you may end up losing it with no restitution. These are also the most insidious clubs on the market - they are usually the product of out-of-spec OEM casting blocks; but out of spec for OEM doesn't mean unusable for making golf clubs. These are the 'cheap' OEM's, the "incredible deals" that can be found all over the net (and sold straight out the foundry backdoor). These are the clubs where the paint job isn't quite perfect (OEM QC would never let it out the door) or the shade is wrong, or (one of my favourites) the second "i" isn't dotted in "Titleist", or something of that sort.

However, the truth of the matter goes back to the top of my post - if it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

Now, the issue with clones and counterfeits is that they use different metals in their alloys - most time making it less malleable, meaning less able to bend without breaking, meaning that if your clubheads are out of spec you may not be able to get them in spec.

As for getting gear into Oz, eBay works if you can find an international seller, or if you can find a benefactor in the US that is willing to work with you, they can often buy on your behalf and ship it direct (with you covering all costs).

Re: Clones and knock offs

I hear what you are saying - to a certain extent you get what you pay for and the big brands do spend alot of money on technology and of course marketing their brand, but the markups are insane sometimes.

I'm not a pro golfer and therefore figure I don't need the best of the best, although sometimes I get the red mist when i go in to a golf shop and buy way beyond what I can realistically get the most out off.

I agree with the post above - anything will work if its the right shape. My experience of clone type products from well known companies has been pretty positive and for probably 1/2 the price of the similar brand name product

Sure others here will have experiences as well they can share