Fake clubs ali express

Carrickstown

Has anybody ever seen or used these clubs? quite funny to look at vokeys without any titleist brand name on them (to stop customs intercepting them I believe) obviously duds but would be ineresting to give them a hit was reading a bit online and lads were saying they can't tell the difference hard to believe if you ask me 3 vokeys or jokeys rather for 90 euro..

Atlantic Dawn

They probably can't tell the difference in the same way some people can't tell the difference between a Ferrari and a Yaris.

d2ww

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

They probably can't tell the difference in the same way some people can't tell the difference between a Ferrari and a Yaris.

With respect, but that is a ridiculous comparison. I have a €30 Wilson and there is no difference between it and a €100 plus Vokey/Cleveland/etc. The only difference is hype and advertising.

blue note

d2ww wrote: »

With respect, but that is a ridiculous comparison. I have a €30 Wilson and there is no difference between it and a €100 plus Vokey/Cleveland/etc. The only difference is hype and advertising.

I think for at least 90% of amateurs that's true. I remember reading that a lot of people are playing with fake clubs but have no idea. In which case, how much does it really matter?

CMOTDibbler

blue note wrote: »

I think for at least 90% of amateurs that's true. I remember reading that a lot of people are playing with fake clubs but have no idea. In which case, how much does it really matter?

A lot of the fake clubs are coming out of the same factories that make the genuine ones and the only difference is that they won't have been sold by the 'manufacturer'.

Domo1982

d2ww wrote: »

With respect, but that is a ridiculous comparison. I have a €30 Wilson and there is no difference between it and a €100 plus Vokey/Cleveland/etc. The only difference is hype and advertising.

This is 100% incorrect

Domo1982

CMOTDibbler wrote: »

A lot of the fake clubs are coming out of the same factories that make the genuine ones and the only difference is that they won't have been sold by the 'manufacturer'.

Again this is incorrect. Have a read on the AliExpress/Online Jersey thread over on the Soccer boards and you'll see that jerseys are arriving in the wrong colour,the wrong material being used and some with the badges in the wrong places.

These are hardly coming off the same production line as the high quality shirts that arrive in Club shops,Lifestyle or Champion etc

These items(shirts) are fake and the clubs are also fake/copies whatever you want to call them. People should just stay well clear

Ronney

CMOTDibbler wrote: »

A lot of the fake clubs are coming out of the same factories that make the genuine ones and the only difference is that they won't have been sold by the 'manufacturer'.

This might be true with products that our out sourced for manufacture. I find it hard to believe it for any of the big name brands.

mike12

I'd be pretty sure they are not tested by the r&a so would be illegal to use in a comp.

d2ww

Domo1982 wrote: »

This is 100% incorrect

Just to clarify, I'm comparing 1st and 2nd tier brand name clubs. You could well be correct about Ali Express.

Domo1982

d2ww wrote: »

Just to clarify, I'm comparing 1st and 2nd tier brand name clubs. You could well be correct about Ali Express.

You're still wrong unfortunately. There is a big difference in quality,feel and performance between a budget wedge and higher end ones.

Back to the quasi funny Yaris and Ferrari comparison from earlier

Both will get you from point A to point B I suppose if that's the point you're trying to make:)

Senna

Carrickstown wrote: »

quite funny to look at vokeys without any titleist brand name on them (to stop customs intercepting

That's just for the online advertising purposes, the clubs they send actually have the full branding and correct names, but probably with dodgy paint fills and uneven lettering.
Seen a picture of a COTTY MERON putter, they just stuck tape over the S and CA to get around Chinese Trademark laws (not that the laws seem to mater much in China)

delboykelly

Purchased a "COTTY MERON" putter. I'll let you know how I get on.

Senna

delboykelly wrote: »

Purchased a "COTTY MERON" putter. I'll let you know how I get on.

Do let us know. I'd have no problem buying a putter of them, putters are all about feel and suiting your eye anyway.

delboykelly

Senna wrote: »

Do let us know. I'd have no problem buying a putter of them, putters are all about feel and suiting your eye anyway.

Another lad I know is after buying an R15 3 wood. Hoping it plays and feels 100%. The reviews on the clubs seem decent. We'll see. I'll post a review after we get them. I know what your saying about the putter. It's a feel thing. If it feels grand it'll do. But a wood/driver could potentially feel awful. We'll see anyway.

CMOTDibbler

delboykelly wrote: »

Purchased a "COTTY MERON" putter. I'll let you know how I get on.

There's a remarkable resonance between your username and this post.

delboykelly

CMOTDibbler wrote: »

There's a remarkable resonance between your username and this post.

I do like a deal!!! mange tout...mange tout...

Golf365

Don't buy counterfeit goods. Not only would you be funding illegal activity but you are purchasing a product that has not been quality controlled.
You may think you are getting a bargain but you are not, who is your money going to?who are they paying?will your credit card be secure?will your product arrive?what will you get?
If you knowingly purchased a counterfeit golf club and the head comes off and injures someone , who's liable ?
If you can't afford the genuine product either purchase a brand that you can afford, wait for the sales or maybe purchase last years model.

CMOTDibbler

Golf365 wrote: »

Don't buy counterfeit goods. Not only would you be funding illegal activity but you are purchasing a product that has not been quality controlled.
You may think you are getting a bargain but you are not, who is your money going to?who are they paying?will your credit card be secure?will your product arrive?what will you get?
If you knowingly purchased a counterfeit golf club and the head comes off and injures someone , who's liable ?
If you can't afford the genuine product either purchase a brand that you can afford, wait for the sales or maybe purchase last years model.

It's an interesting moral conundrum. Yes you don't know who you're buying from, but all reports on the issue point to staff at the original factories smuggling out moulds and designs and selling them to counterfeit manufacturers to bolster their income.

So the question arises; are we supporting sweatshop labour by buying the 'real' thing?

delboykelly

Golf365 wrote: »

Don't buy counterfeit goods. Not only would you be funding illegal activity but you are purchasing a product that has not been quality controlled.
You may think you are getting a bargain but you are not, who is your money going to?who are they paying?will your credit card be secure?will your product arrive?what will you get?
If you knowingly purchased a counterfeit golf club and the head comes off and injures someone , who's liable ?
If you can't afford the genuine product either purchase a brand that you can afford, wait for the sales or maybe purchase last years model.

I'll buy what I want thank you. I fund illegal activity every single day. Paying taxes to corrupt governments, buying tickets to see crap soccer matches run by corrupt organisation, buying my golf clothes made in sweet shops in Asia, the list goes on.
I may or may not be getting a bargain, that remains to be seen, ill see what the club is like when it gets to me. I will be the judge of the quality of the club. I don't care where my money is going to. My credit card is secure. I trust the website. My product had been dispatched and I have a tracking number already. I'm getting a putter.
I am knowingly purchasing this cheap putter and I doubt the head will come off, but if it does it might just fall on the ground, I doubt it will injure someone falling off when I take a putt. In any case if I do take a fit of anger at my new putter and wrap it around someone's head then maybe my golf insurance will cover me. But again I don't care. It's a putter not an AK47.
I can well afford the real thing thank you. My last putter cost over 200 and I just purchased a lovely set of Mizunos for over 1000.

It's like this. Each to their own. You buy what you want and I'll buy what I want. Im trying the putter to see what it's like. Do I care is counterfeit, no. It's only to see if it's any good. I have a putter and I like it. Do I care where the money goes, nope. I'm still going to post a review of it here. To inform people about my purchase, be it a positive or negate one. I don't think k you have the right to tell people what to buy and not buy. That's up to the individual. Make your own decision. Your moral compass is obviously more delicate than mine.

Slán

Domo1982

delboykelly wrote: »

I'll buy what I want thank you. I fund illegal activity every single day. Paying taxes to corrupt governments, buying tickets to see crap soccer matches run by corrupt organisation, buying my golf clothes made in sweet shops in Asia, the list goes on.
I may or may not be getting a bargain, that remains to be seen, ill see what the club is like when it gets to me. I will be the judge of the quality of the club. I don't care where my money is going to. My credit card is secure. I trust the website. My product had been dispatched and I have a tracking number already. I'm getting a putter.
I am knowingly purchasing this cheap putter and I doubt the head will come off, but if it does it might just fall on the ground, I doubt it will injure someone falling off when I take a putt. In any case if I do take a fit of anger at my new putter and wrap it around someone's head then maybe my golf insurance will cover me. But again I don't care. It's a putter not an AK47.
I can well afford the real thing thank you. My last putter cost over 200 and I just purchased a lovely set of Mizunos for over 1000.

It's like this. Each to their own. You buy what you want and I'll buy what I want. Im trying the putter to see what it's like. Do I care is counterfeit, no. It's only to see if it's any good. I have a putter and I like it. Do I care where the money goes, nope. I'm still going to post a review of it here. To inform people about my purchase, be it a positive or negate one. I don't think k you have the right to tell people what to buy and not buy. That's up to the individual. Make your own decision. Your moral compass is obviously more delicate than mine.

Slán

Just when you think you've seen it all....So you're going to review a counterfeit putter on a golf forum? Why?

Would you not be better off spending time practicing your short game or something? or recalibrating this moral compass that you talk about;)

Senna

Well I hope you do report back on what its like, I'd he interested to hear.
I wouldn't buy one, but only because I really need to feel a putter in my hands first before buying it, that fact that its fake wouldn't bother me in the slightest.
If it was a driver, then I'd say your mad, but putters and especially a SC one, which let's face it are just massed produced clubs (like all others) but have a price point of hand made, are definitely fair game.

ShivasIrons

The fake clubs I've seen are poorly made, poorly balanced, break easily, feel terrible and have sub standard performance.

Why would you buy a fake? The second hand market offers great value, clubs that don't have too much wear, going for similar prices to the fakes.

mike12

I know there are some clones that are signed off by the r&a, but it sounds like these are illegal so to use it in a comps would be a dq.

First Up

mike12 wrote:

I know there are some clones that are signed off by the r&a, but it sounds like these are illegal so to use it in a comps would be a dq.

Surely what matters is if the club is conforming or not'? A knock off that is identical to the original might be "illegal" as in breach of copyright or IP but that would not make it illegal for use.
That said, I would never trust a knock off, or where it came from.

PARlance

ShivasIrons wrote: »

The fake clubs I've seen are poorly made, poorly balanced, break easily, feel terrible and have sub standard performance.

Why would you buy a fake? The second hand market offers great value, clubs that don't have too much wear, going for similar prices to the fakes.

Can't see the point in it myself... the fakes aren't exactly cheap imo.

RE the second hand market, it's great at present, that may not be the chase if we start to get people offloading fakes into it. Hope that doesn't happen but I'm guessing a lot of people who fancy "saving" a quick buck on a fake might fancy making a quick buck on reselling it.

AhHaor

So I have bought multiple products of AliExpress, firstly the images are blurred to protect copyright, the clubs do arrive with "correct branding". I purchased a scotty on it, 40 quid and it was total junk. The material is terrible and the paintfill was chipped.

HOWEVER, I do buy headcovers and other products that you change a lot and don't require good quality, tees, spikes, ball markers etc.

These products are total rip offs but are good quality for the price, a scotty headcover is 70 vs 7 on aliexpress.

padzer

Might as well put it out there that i knowingly bought a set of fake irons many moons ago, to be honest I didnt know at the time that there was even such a thing as a second hand market, doubt I even had the internet back then, but there was a friend of a friend who was selling them. They were "V5's", a rip off of Ping G5's. I was only learning to play and they did the job.

Eventually I picked up a 2nd hand set of actualy Ping G5's, felt and looked fairly similar. Sold them to a mate last year, and made the mistake of getting a set of blades i couldn't get the hang of.

After a season of absolute garbage, +0.1's all year, just about to go up to 14 from 12 handicap, I dusted the cobwebs off the V5's and went out and shot 41 points and got cut back to 12.

The fact that adverts is there to pick up whatever you need at a bargain price its probably unnecessary to go for fakes nowadays.

Senna

padzer wrote: »

Might as well put it out there that i knowingly bought a set of fake irons many moons ago, to be honest I didnt know at the time that there was even such a thing as a second hand market, doubt I even had the internet back then, but there was a friend of a friend who was selling them. They were "V5's", a rip off of Ping G5's. I was only learning to play and they did the job.

Eventually I picked up a 2nd hand set of actualy Ping G5's, felt and looked fairly similar. Sold them to a mate last year, and made the mistake of getting a set of blades i couldn't get the hang of.

After a season of absolute garbage, +0.1's all year, just about to go up to 14 from 12 handicap, I dusted the cobwebs off the V5's and went out and shot 41 points and got cut back to 12.

The fact that adverts is there to pick up whatever you need at a bargain price its probably unnecessary to go for fakes nowadays.

They weren't fake, they were just clones of the G5, clones are were a company will make irons very similar and give them a similar name, nothing wrong or illegal about that at all. Most people will play with clones at some stage, the posts above are about clubs that are made to look exactly like the genuine club, with the same markings, basically attempting to fool people into thinking they are genuine.

padzer

Senna wrote: »

They weren't fake, they were just clones of the G5, clones are were a company will make irons very similar and give them a similar name, nothing wrong or illegal about that at all. Most people will play with clones at some stage, the posts above are about clubs that are made to look exactly like the genuine club, with the same markings, basically attempting to fool people into thinking they are genuine.

Fair enough, I stand corrected so.

mike12

First Up wrote: »

Surely what matters is if the club is conforming or not'? A knock off that is identical to the original might be "illegal" as in breach of copyright or IP but that would not make it illegal for use.
That said, I would never trust a knock off, or where it came from.

If it has not been tested as conforming then it can't be used in competition, not sure any of these companies are sending off their clubs for testing.