OEM vs Knock off

I'm just wondering if there is any proof that an OEM club is better than a knockoff model.

I've played some OEM clubs, and played some clones, and I can't tell the difference (beyond price).

Does anyone know where there's been research done, or a study, or even a personal comparison by someone trained in the art of judging clubs, that could indicate whether or not paying for OEM is justified?

I'm looking to get a new set of clubs - time to step up to stiff shafts, based on a couple of online club-fitting questionnaires, and a club-fitting at a retail outlet, and I'm wondering if I should be looking for OEMs, or if I should buy clones through a custom club builder? Or should I simply buy a bunch of Graffaloy Blue 65's and have my set reshafted?

My three reasons to buy OEMs over knockoffs (in no particular order).

First, knockoffs do not use the same materials that OEMs do. This does not mean they can not perform the same as the higher price models, just unlikely.
Second, the OEMs will also typically last longer as well because of better construction.
The third portion is warranty and customer service. You can bet if you have a problem with your brand new clubs that Titleist or Taylor Made (for example) are going to make sure you are satisfied where as the knock off company probably won't care.

__________________
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

LowPost,

I'll throw in the 3rd category, components. I think we discussed this before. Some knockoffs perform better than the original as somecompanies make the improvements the original probably should have had. Since there is only about 3 foundries in China that make all the clubheads odds are the knockoffs are clones of the same molds. I agree they may be using a lower grade titanium but at swingspeeds under 100 you are probably paying for the name.

I prefer components, most have a lifetime warrenty. Some like SMT are no questions asked. I find the shaft to be the most important peice of the club. Get a shaft that fits your swing and any head will perform.

Case in point, I had a guy a few weeks ago bring me a Warrior Golf Driver with a broken shaft. He said he got good distance with it. At 45" it was a 4X shaft. Felt like a telephone pole. I pulled the stub and let him hit a few diffferent shafts, he liked the SK Fiber best. I figured he had been trying to lag a telephone pole so I put in a stiff shaft. He found me today and said that shaft added 25 yards to his driver shot. He told me I can feel the head and feel the release. The mark of a good shaft and fitting. I never heard of Warrior golf, couldn't care less but the shaft works well, and it fits his swing.

Pretty paint jobs and fancy named clubheads are nice but give me a good shaft anyday and I'll out drive the 500.00 giants.

GolfBald

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The guy in the white hat!

Another reason is that the purchase of OEM clubs feeds the R&D that go into producing the new generation for next year and improves the general standard of things. The profits out of your one purchase is probably not all that much and I don't expect that Callaway are going to go bankrupt soon but if everyone thinks that way then we'll be stuck with todays clubs tomorrow.

Having said that, I'm still playing with a 100$ set from Donnay which are probably based on some better model (although you won't know it to see me hacking at the ball).

I would require some confirmation from someone like Golfbald about this but I have it from a fairly knowledgable source that as long as the shaft is good the club will be good. I would be more than happy to try a lesser known make if it had a true temper shaft or a graffaloy shaft.

I have a friend plays off plus one says he gets a pro he knows to make him up clubs using any old head but his favourite shaft and he says they perform every bit as well as the costlier item.

Ernie Els said it himself when he moved from Taylor Made to Titleist, he doesnt care about the heads just as long as his shafts are the ones he likes.

D.

sorry if this is a stupid question but what does OEM stand for?

Not a stupid question at all

OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer

If I am a beginner... a very green one... that have taken three classes and only have practiced on a drive range... which would like to purchase a complete set (ladies)
Do you think a clone would do the trick? What type of shaft would you sugest?
sonia

As noted before, there is usually nothing wrong with clones. What you will miss out on is warranty and customer service. Regardless of what type of clubs you buy, your best bet is to visit a golf specialty store to get custom fitted. There they will let you know what shaft works best for you based on your swing speed.

This is my opinion, divided into 3 sections:

IRONS, PUTTERS, WEDGES:
Some clones are made from the very same materials as the OEM, in the same foundries and seom very similar moulds. Provided the clones are manufactured high grade stainless steel, have well presented grovves and have consistent lofts and lies - there is no disadvantage to them.

Before you buy and / or test clones - take a good look at the finish. Look at the grooves. Put them down and look at how square the club lies on the ground ... just do some "feel" testing.

I played with a number of set of clone blades until very recently when I signed an equipment deal. If I can win 11 events (7 am and 4 pro) without seeing a disadvantage ...

WOODS:
Here I am afraid the clones see their ass! The OEM manufacturer's like Taylor, Titleist, Callaway all have their own patented balance, centre of gravity and COR designs. It is very expensive and exeptionally difficult to recreate this without spending huge amount of tooling on recreating it, and sometimes it is illegal.

I'm not saying clone woods are no good, some of them are as good - but they can never recreate the same advantages given by the OEM clubs.

Again, look at the finish, put it down and check the loft, check the weight, etc. - as you would if you picked up a Taylor ... you'd check it out first.

COMPONENTS:
This is the way to go I think. Iron components are freely available from a number of places, as are shafts, grips, etc.

1 Proviso: get a qualified club maker to do the assembly. The irons need to weighted in line with industry standards, the swing weights need to be consistent, the shaft flexes have to be matched, etc.


My advice when I do club fitting session is: decide on what you can afford and work from there. If there is nothing in the OEM market for woods, then go clone. With irons, start off in the clone market and if there's nothing that takes your fancy then look at OEM market.

__________________
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)

I went the component route a few years ago, purchasing a 2 through PW set with Tru Temper shafts. I was happy with the money I saved over purchasing a brand name, had fun putting them together, and these knock offs seemed to perform ok. I wanted to purchase a 52 degree gap wedge last year, reading that the gap between the average 48 degree PW and 56 degree SW was too large. It was suggested that I measure the loft on my existing irons to . The results: PW 52 degrees, 9i 47 degrees, 8i 40 degrees.

Needless to say, I was confused and dumbfounded. My PW was already a GW, and I had a sizeable gap between my weak 9i and my somewhat normal 8i.

Buyer beware.

I guess you might be happy to know that I got my new set of clubs! They even arrived for Xmas...
Thanks for your posts, they were helpful... Specially yours, Ian... Thank you.
I bought a TaylorMade Miscela 10 pcs set. I bought them in eBay. Thus, are not fitted... I hope I made the right choice...
I emailed TaylorMade asking about fitting them. They said it that cannot be done because the set is pre-assembled.
I am confused... If I would have bought an used set, couldn't that be fitted either?

MERRY XMAS to all!!!
Sonia

Sonia,

You've bought a great set of clubs there. They will do very nicely for you.

Taylor Made won't be able to custom fit them for you but a decent club fitter will be able to customise them. Ask around the golf shops and courses or look in the phone book for a GCA (Golf Clubmakers Association) qualified clubmaker with a computerised fitting system and he'll be able to customise them for you.

If you can't find one on your own, tell me where you live and I will look in the membership register and give you a few to speak to.

Don't worry - they can be fitted for you!!

__________________
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)

Just a note about getting your clubs altered - beware the club fitter that wants to cut the shafts more than 1/4" (if they need to be shortened ). This will stiffen the flex of the shaft. But any decent clubmaker should be able to work your clubs over - just be ready to reshaft them if necessary!

I fitted a set of Miscela for a young lady, great clubs to work with. Swing weights, lofts, lengths, etc. were dead-on perfect and consistent.

It's not very likely that the TaylorMade Miscela 10 pcs set will have to be entirely reshafted. In fact, I'd be very suprised. The shafts are flexed matched for ladies' swing speeds and like many of the Callaway shafts are multi flex to some extent.

The adaption is likely to be length and lie rather than shaft fit. Even if a clubfitter took off an inch or a bit more, it will stiffen the shaft to some extent but not greatly because the shafts are multi-flex and are designed to cover a wide range of swing speeds of about 45-70mph with a 5-iron.

Believe me, if you change shaft length, EVERYTHING changes: the swingweight, the optimal lie/loft, the gross weight, the grip thickness ... shaft flex is only part of the problem.

But do not to fear, a good CGA-approved club fitter knows what to do and has access to the TM specs to make sure you get the correct results. We can get specs from the TM factory members of the public can't.

Sonia, if you go to an approved CGA fitter you'll be fine. If you don't know what to look for, tell me where you live and I will be able to give names and contact numbers.

__________________
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)