Clone Drivers

What does fellow members think about clone drivers, after the problems I had with my R7 Draw driver regarding distance I have ordered the Acer power play system Q square driver its a clone of the R7 quad with delivery to Spain from the UK it was only 106 euros. so I will keep you guys updated on the progress I make with this club ( or not ).

Problem if you want to play tournaments, since you have very little guarantee that the driver conforms to regulations.

Yes and No. I understand why instinctively you might you might feel safer with a big name OEM but if the Q Series driver is new - and being square its likely to be - then there's not a lot of commercial benefit to it being non-conforming so you should be safe.

In any case both the USGA and RANDA publish lists of non-conforming clubs; the PowerPlay is made by Hireko, so you can easily go and check.

As for quality I know it can be variable with clones but a good mate have mine has an old Power Play 3000 (based on an earlier Taylormade) which he loves and it smacks the ball a mile - luckily for me not always in the right direction.

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I firmly believe that we should try to experience all that life affords, except, perhaps, bestiality and of course Morris Dancing.

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

You may not be able to get it to fit to you, but you can certainly smack balls around with it.

I'll repair them, but I won't build them.

To be fair though Ben, you stand as much chance of getting clubs that fit from Pinemeadow or Acer as you do with a big name bought off the rack from Mega Golf Discount or Ebay.

Only two arguments against clones that I can see:

One the possible ipr violations implicit in the process but given the big boys prices my heart doesn't really bleed for them - remember we are talking "honest imititation" here not counterfeiting

Two the quality issues and here I think there is a point; not so much with manufacturing tolerances (I don't the big boys are that hot) but with the alloys etc used by some cloners. Again the better cloners are pretty reputable businesses who probably use the same Chinese foundries anyway.

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I firmly believe that we should try to experience all that life affords, except, perhaps, bestiality and of course Morris Dancing.

At least with the big names, you can bend them and work with them a little without a gigantic fear of breaking them.

As you say, the clone clubs do not have near the quality control that OEM and OED's do - from the alloy mix to the castings to the painting.

The big boys and OEDs (Wishon, SMT, etc) have the same quality controls and tolerances in place. The big difference is that with OEMs, you pay big money to buy them off the rack, then pay your clubmaker to bend them into spec (because they most assuredly are NOT in spec off the rack). With OEDs, they're built to you and delivered in spec right from the get go - at 1/2 to 3/4 the cost of the OEMs.

It's a simple equation to me.

And as far as foundries go, there are only 5 foundries in China producing ALL clubheads (save the few Pings made in the USA). By all, I mean OEM, OED and clone heads.

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True Length Technology Fitter - www.truelengthtechnology.com
It's live! - www.ShipShapeClubs.com
PCS Class 'A' Clubfitter

A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

Mox the company I bought this club from say its legal for 2008 www.golfcraft.co.uk there website gives some interesting reading.

No matter what - it is not on the R&A conforming driver heads list.

According to R&A:
However, there is a Power Play System Q² driver from Hireko Golf that looks very much like the driver in question, so there probably is no problems with this one.

It IS something that should be taken into consideration when you buy clone drivers. You might end up playing somebody that could protest you, and end up in a right mess if you're not CERTAIN of your driver's compliance.

Yours:


Hireko Golf Power Play System Q²

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//Mox
2008 bag:
Mizuno MX-500 460cc 10.5* Fujikura Tour Platform 26.3 stiff. (about to be replaced by MP-600 10,5* UST Proforce V2 stiff)
Mizuno F-50 3w 15* Fujikura Tour Platform 26.3 stiff.
Wilson Deep Red 5w 18* Graphalloy Fatshaft stiff
Cleveland HALO 3i hybrid 22* graphite regular
Mizuno MP-60e forged 5i-PW True Temper Dynamic gold R300 steel
Mizuno MP Black OX raw haze 50/6 GW, 54/9 SW, 58/10 LW
Heavy Putter B3-M
Titleist NXT Extreme

Wow - something for everybody, but they make SnakeEyes sound like clone junk.

Interesting how they list the Integra iDrive as a Titleist 907 clone... it was out before the Titleist!!

DOH!

You had already answered. LOL

Re: your friend. Notice that there are also Non-Conforming Power Play driver heads!

Here is a photo of my club.

Attached Images

IMG012.JPG (42.0 KB, 9 views)

I suspect his driver IS Non-Conforming but since we don't enter comps and any distance advantage he gets is mainly in the direction of the trees I'm not too bothered.

Seriously though I pretty much agree with Ben on the benefits of getting fitted with decent components by someone who knows what they are doing, BUT if that's not a valid option then a reputable clone is not the end of the world.

Come to think about it my mates PowerPlay 3000 was custom built by a UK club fitter using clone components - ironically though not for my friend who got given it by the original owner who it didn't suit

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I firmly believe that we should try to experience all that life affords, except, perhaps, bestiality and of course Morris Dancing.

I can't imagine a better way to get a club that fits you perfectly.

Some years back I purchased my first titanium driver when I was working in the USA, it was an ACER XL made by Pinemeadow and was a great club, good materials well made with nice performance. I gave it to a mate who played it successfully until recently when it became illegal due to it's high COR rating.

Had the Acer driver for over a week now but was not happy with the shaft and grip, just hitting the ball the same distance as my R7 Draw driver so had a word with Ed my local club maker and asked him to put my old shaft from my plus ten driver ( illegal head ) to see if this will help me. getting it back today so will keep you in the picture on how things pan out. Maybe I need a senior shaft cheers all.