OEM vs Knock off

Thank you Teaching Pro

I live in Miami, Florida, USA.
Sonia

Hi Sonia.

I love Miami ... it is my favourite place on earth!! I miss my apartment on South Beach very much. I lived just off Collins for 6 months while I coached and played on the mini-tours in Florida. I am so enveous of you. I would do anything to live there again. I miss Miami so much.

Well, in Miami there is absolutely no doubt in my mind you have to go to these guys. They're by far the best in town. Great guys and VERY knowledgeable and they're trained in OEM equipment and will have all have all the technical details of your clubs to work with.

Give them a call:

__________________
Golf is easy ... once you know how.
Graham Arnott, teaching professional
Kelrosa Golf Studios
www.kelrosagolf.com
Class 'A' PGA Member
Full Member: World Golf Teachers Federation (GB&I)

You'd have to pry my Snake Eyes Elasteel 3 Wood from my cold dead clammy hands. I even ordered a second head when they were discontinued just in case I lost my original one.

So do most feel that with a good shaft the knock off's arn't much difference?

I'm looking for a new set of iron's and have my eye on these:

http://www.allforgolf.com/details.asp?PID=155&CATID=6

I want to test these to the real thing but have to wait for the 14 inches of snow to be gone first

I only play 2-3 times a week between April - Sept with a 8 handi. Will spending the big $'s make that much of a difference to my game?

If not going with OEM, then I would first go to component heads. The reason is the cost is similar to knock offs, but component head manufacturers will be around for a while, where as knock off manufacturers seem to disappear. My suggestions would be either Snake Eyes (golfsmith.com) or Dynacraft (dynacraft.com). The service and warranty will make you glad you didn't get knock offs.

Please educate me:

I know what OEMS are.

What are the differences between knock offs or clones, and components?

A clone or knock off is just that - an immitation. It's quite possible that the same mold is used but most likely that a different blend of metals were used.

Component heads are an original design by the manufacturer. They are OEM essentially, but without the high advertising costs.

Some example of the better known component brand names for irons are Snake Eyes and Dynacraft. For woods, some of the bigger names in addition to the two above are SMT (who I believe just added irons and hybrids to their product line), Alpha and Ashton just to name a few.

The biggest bonus of components is that they usually have a lifetime warranty.

I just got an Ashton X1 3 wood about a month ago. Obviously I can't go golfing in the snow, but I tested it on an analyzer where i got my club fitted and it was amazing! When I went to get fitted I used a shop 3W (Adams, I believe) and I was testing at about 260 yards. When I hit the Ashton after I was fitted, I was getting 280 (off the mat). This is an extremely hot head and for the $70 Canadian (49 US) it was well worth the money! Their driver head just won the 2004 ReMax long drive championship.

__________________
Gord

Quote of the month:
"It's easy to see golf not as a game at all but as some whey-faced, nineteenth-century Presbyterian minister's fever dream of exorcism achieved through ritual and self-mortification." ~Bruce McCall

OK, so, just so I can verify:

Ashton, Dynacraft, SMT, Bang, Maltby, Jackaroo, Snakeeyes, etc

are all component companies.

Then generally if it kinda looks like an OEM club (like a 'special white' 2 ball putter, a 'Medic' Red hybrid) are clones.

And generally speaking, components outperform clones?

Not necessarily for irons, but with woods I'd ssay yes almost every time.

So if you would get new clubs, how would you set it up?

Component woods, OEM irons?

What about hybrids, wedges, and putters?

The regripping went so well, I'm considering building the rest of the clubs.

I would go with component or OEM woods and irons - do not go with knock offs. I am highly against clones, only for the fact that they never put any research dollars into the clubs, so supporting them will never improve product.

As for putters, that is all up to feel and personal preference. Find a putter that feels right and go with it - you are not hitting at a high velocity (hopefully!) so the construction isn't quite as important as the rest of your clubs, as long as it doesn't fall apart!

As for building yourself, get your woods built by a professional club maker. After he has put you through an analysing session to determine what shaft best suits your needs, ask for what shafts best suit you for irons. That way you can build your own irons (much easier to assemble than woods) and you know you have matched shafts to your swing.

__________________
Gord

Quote of the month:
"It's easy to see golf not as a game at all but as some whey-faced, nineteenth-century Presbyterian minister's fever dream of exorcism achieved through ritual and self-mortification." ~Bruce McCall

I don't really want to add anything new to my earlier comments but instead of buying clones, why not look at a second hand set of OEM's off e-bay, edwin watts, golfbidder.co.uk or even callaway's used clubs ?

You get the best of both worlds - reduced prices and quality equipment.

I use knockoff 3 wood 5 wood 3 - sw and putt and putter, but use oem lob wedge and driver. The drivers and lob wedge clones were not as good as the oem.

About the shafts when purchasing my driver In the wilson range I hit quite a few from 7.5 degree to 12 degree, They all had the same heads but different shafts, and I couldn't believe the difference the shafts made. From ball flight to distance. In the end I grabbed a 7.5 degree with a fatshaft, With this shaft I found the ball flew the same as one of the 10 degree with a steel shaft, but when a good 20 metres longer.