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How to spot knock off clubs


wrongfairwayagain

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I am in the market for a new 3 wood, and I just read something about stores like dicks sporting goods, and other stores selling clubs that are not up to the same standards as the ones you buy directly from the manufacturers. This also makes me wonder about buying used clubs as well. How do you know if they are the real thing?

 

Has anyone else ever heard of this?

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Usually, the serial number is the golf club's birth certificate.

Manufacturer should be able to authenticate it. OEM like Ping even have the complete history of a set of clubs, when it was made, the original spec, where it was shipped to ( no previous owner's info for obvious reason but they'll tell you the City it was sent to ).

The counterfeits have lower quality and performance, usually it's lighter and not balanced as well as the OEM products.

You can tell by the finishing, the performance.......

There is a large quantity of "USED" counterfeits on the markets now. A few decades ago, I know a few local golf clubs took overseas golf trip, they went without golf clubs and came back with name brand staff baggs, a whole set of OEM branded golf clubs, golf outfit.............All were counterfeits.

Many of these had gone into the resale market. A couple of the guys in the group told me that the counterfeit golf clubs were not "as good" as what they could buy here locally.

If you ever have doubts of whether the golf clubs you're interested in purchasing be the authentic OEM products, confirm on the return policy. Take your chances if you can not return the purchase.

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If you have to come here and ask, you probably aren't ready to be buying used golf equipment online responsibly. Proceed at your own risk at all times buying used online. I don't say that to offend you, I say that to mean that counterfeiters are good these days. Very good. Not much of the second post will really help you - counterfeiters aren't dummies, the halfway decent ones have serials stolen from actual clubs. So frequently, that most manufacturers have stopped using serial numbers to verify authenticity. Some won't even take the time to check for you, and will pretty much tell you that a serial number is useless for defending against counterfeiters, and that they don't track serial numbers anymore for that reason. It does give their customers an excuse to go to their website and "register" their clubs so they can email you all of their latest releases and news, though.

 

Take the time to educate yourself on what you're shopping for. There's countless threads here, and elsewhere on the internet, that will have very specific details about very specific clubs. Don't go all willy nilly bidding on every good looking deal that's auction is close to ending. Do some research on the item, ask the seller questions, ask for better photos when they aren't present. Don't bother with stock photos, and don't bother with someone who can't provide a decent photo when you ask them. Everyone has a smart phone with a decent camera and the eBay (or whatever outlet) app that an idiot could upload photos to in seconds. Some sellers will just "borrow" someone else's pictures from their listing to populate their own, and won't be able to just grab the same club and go outside in better light and get a detailed photo of that putter's topline. Find some detailed photos of known authentic clubs for comparison, and beware of manufacturer's stock images for comparison - they're not always super accurate and will never show flaws or tooling/ machine marks.

 

And, just remember - there are no guarantees buying used items from private sellers online. If you want that, pay full retail from a store and sleep easy at night. Protect yourself when paying for your online purchases through PayPal, credit card, etc. buyer protection, and all you'll ever be out is time if something shows up rotten. I'd suggest starting by buying from authorized and known retail outlets if you're not confident just jumping in to the deep end. And please, don't ask about KSouth9. No one wants that lynch mob to saddle up.

 

Best of luck to you, knowledge is your friend when sifting through the mounds of stuff online.

**Driver:** TaylorMade SIM Max 9° **|** Ventus Black 7 Velocore **3wd:** Titleist TS2 15° (C1) **|** Diamana D+ LTD 70 **Hybrid:** Callaway Apex 18° **|** AD-DI 95 **Irons:** Mizuno MP 18 Fli Hi 4 iron **|** AD-DI 95**/** JPX 919 Forged 5-PW **|** Recoil 95 **Wedges:** Vokey SM8 raw 50°F (Handground S), 54°S, 58°M (Handground A) **|** DG Black Onyx **Putters:** Byron Morgan DH 89 WITB: https://forums.golfwrx.com/discussion/1505670/goirish17s-witb-updated-end-of-page-2#latest

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Good info here. No way I’m buying online. What I’ve heard is that there are different levels of clubs sold to certain retailers. Which is to say you could buy some Taylor mades at a retail store, but they aren’t the same level of quality that you would get directly from Taylor made.

 

I’m also skeptical of used stores because who knows how much time they spend inspecting the clubs... I once went in with some used clubs to trade in and the guy working hardly even glanced at them before making me an offer.

 

> @GoIrish17 said:

> If you have to come here and ask, you probably aren't ready to be buying used golf equipment online responsibly. Proceed at your own risk at all times buying used online. I don't say that to offend you, I say that to mean that counterfeiters are good these days. Very good. Not much of the second post will really help you - counterfeiters aren't dummies, the halfway decent ones have serials stolen from actual clubs. So frequently, that most manufacturers have stopped using serial numbers to verify authenticity. Some won't even take the time to check for you, and will pretty much tell you that a serial number is useless for defending against counterfeiters, and that they don't track serial numbers anymore for that reason. It does give their customers an excuse to go to their website and "register" their clubs so they can email you all of their latest releases and news, though.

>

> Take the time to educate yourself on what you're shopping for. There's countless threads here, and elsewhere on the internet, that will have very specific details about very specific clubs. Don't go all willy nilly bidding on every good looking deal that's auction is close to ending. Do some research on the item, ask the seller questions, ask for better photos when they aren't present. Don't bother with stock photos, and don't bother with someone who can't provide a decent photo when you ask them. Everyone has a smart phone with a decent camera and the eBay (or whatever outlet) app that an idiot could upload photos to in seconds. Some sellers will just "borrow" someone else's pictures from their listing to populate their own, and won't be able to just grab the same club and go outside in better light and get a detailed photo of that putter's topline. Find some detailed photos of known authentic clubs for comparison, and beware of manufacturer's stock images for comparison - they're not always super accurate and will never show flaws or tooling/ machine marks.

>

> And, just remember - there are no guarantees buying used items from private sellers online. If you want that, pay full retail from a store and sleep easy at night. Protect yourself when paying for your online purchases through PayPal, credit card, etc. buyer protection, and all you'll ever be out is time if something shows up rotten. I'd suggest starting by buying from authorized and known retail outlets if you're not confident just jumping in to the deep end. And please, don't ask about KSouth9. No one wants that lynch mob to saddle up.

>

> Best of luck to you, knowledge is your friend when sifting through the mounds of stuff online.

 

 

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Regarding discounted name brand clubs at Dick’s and other big box stores they are not knock offs or bad quality like a starter set such as TopFlite. Callaway, Taylor, Cobra etc will make clubs specifically for them. Those clubs are using tech that is a couple of generations old. They get no marketing from the manufacturer, no pros on tv playing them, no custom options besides stiff or regular flex and older components. The RBZ black driver from Taylor would be a good example. Just a titanium head with a Matrix White Tie and adjustable loft. Great driver 5-6 years ago. Now it is a good price point for the golfer who wants new clubs but doesn’t want to drop $500 on a driver.

 

Dick’s will also buy all the old inventory from a manufacturer when a club goes out of cycle. They get a good deal on them and make just as much if not more when the club was current. The 2017 M2 from Taylor will be getting a push this holiday season.

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This thread is going to prompt a SLDR-[redacted] reference, and wake up the bobcat.

**Driver:** TaylorMade SIM Max 9° **|** Ventus Black 7 Velocore **3wd:** Titleist TS2 15° (C1) **|** Diamana D+ LTD 70 **Hybrid:** Callaway Apex 18° **|** AD-DI 95 **Irons:** Mizuno MP 18 Fli Hi 4 iron **|** AD-DI 95**/** JPX 919 Forged 5-PW **|** Recoil 95 **Wedges:** Vokey SM8 raw 50°F (Handground S), 54°S, 58°M (Handground A) **|** DG Black Onyx **Putters:** Byron Morgan DH 89 WITB: https://forums.golfwrx.com/discussion/1505670/goirish17s-witb-updated-end-of-page-2#latest

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Why do you refuse to buy online? 99% is legit if you just go to the reputable sites or buy off ebay or BST ads (with a sharp eye). If you have questions about any clubs in particular you find online just ask us. Do you have an idea which 3 wood model/brand you're looking for? There are plenty of (reasonable) deals to be had everywhere online. Are you looking for something brand new only?

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Ahhh, I see....

 

Thanks for clearing that up.

 

> @red5standingby said:

> Regarding discounted name brand clubs at Dick’s and other big box stores they are not knock offs or bad quality like a starter set such as TopFlite. Callaway, Taylor, Cobra etc will make clubs specifically for them. Those clubs are using tech that is a couple of generations old. They get no marketing from the manufacturer, no pros on tv playing them, no custom options besides stiff or regular flex and older components. The RBZ black driver from Taylor would be a good example. Just a titanium head with a Matrix White Tie and adjustable loft. Great driver 5-6 years ago. Now it is a good price point for the golfer who wants new clubs but doesn’t want to drop $500 on a driver.

>

> Dick’s will also buy all the old inventory from a manufacturer when a club goes out of cycle. They get a good deal on them and make just as much if not more when the club was current. The 2017 M2 from Taylor will be getting a push this holiday season.

 

 

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To be honest, I've been out of the game for years, and I'm just now getting back into it. The best reference point I have for a 3 wood that agrees with me is that ping serene I mentioned. I just figured that there are so many clubs out there these days, I may find one that I hit even better. I'm not really partial to any one brand, and I'm open to new or used.

 

> @thevaporz said:

> Why do you refuse to buy online? 99% is legit if you just go to the reputable sites or buy off ebay or BST ads (with a sharp eye). If you have questions about any clubs in particular you find online just ask us. Do you have an idea which 3 wood model/brand you're looking for? There are plenty of (reasonable) deals to be had everywhere online. Are you looking for something brand new only?

 

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Just buy from a legit online golf retailer or ebay seller with a lot of feedback and a high rating. Or, a reputable person on the BST.

 

Personally I find the best value buying clubs that are 1-3 years old but still in great condition. Or there are websites like http://golfdealsandsteals.com that have good deals.

 

If you stick to good sellers like this you will not be getting any fake or bad equipment. You can always take high quality photos and ask for opinions on this board if needed.

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