callaway copys

Hi,
Does anybody here know how you can tell wether callaway irons are genuine or not, i know they have a serial no the 8 iron x 18 but how can i find out if the serial no is genuine and not replicated,any feedback would be appreciated.
as i keep on hearing on ebay that there are a lot of copys around
ps are the copys exact replicas or are they clones that resemble the x18

1) Call Callaway with the serial number, they can verify it for you.

2) The copies are only physical lookalikes. From a technology standpoint, they're not built as well as their original designs, and the specification tolerance will be wider.

Hi Killer mate,

I was once in the same situation as you found that X18s on ebay about half the price compared to golf shops in the uk. So i was very tempted to buy some until I found out about loads of copies or fake ones being sold. In the end I was lucky enough to get a great ebay seller who gave me loads of info about the clubs and he would also refund if I wasnt happy with them.
I ended up getting them checked out by my pro who compared them to ones he had got direct from callaway and also a phone call to their customer service dept to check if they where valid. In the end I got the big ok you have yourself a bargin back of the pro.

My advice if you are thinking of ebay is

1) Make sure the seller is a genuine guy and will give you all info you want. If they dont then stay clear of them
2) See if the seller will give you a refund if you buy them.
3) Once recieved your goods take them to a shop or ask your pro to check them against ones from a shop
4) Phone up callaway customer services but please note that they can only validate the number you give them against the clubs description. As the fake callaways often use a legitimate numbers but then is copied to vast amounts of clubs.
but just be very carefull as there can be lots of money robbers on there.

Cheers
Mark

I have been dealing in golf clubs sales for over a decade and I have never seen a copy that bears the actual brand name label (although it is not impossible). Aftermarket golf clubs, aka copies, clones, look-a-likes, and knock-offs are actually high quality equipment made from the same materials as the brand names utilizing the same technology. Many times I have found that the brand name manufacturers actually manufacture their own knock-offs, in order to take part in the huge market that exists with copy golf clubs. The major brand names do all of the research and development, then pay guys like Tiger Woods to market them, thereby increasing their overhead tremendously. The fact is...the actual cost to build a major brand name club costs exactly no more to manufacture the much less expensive copy. This is the reason that you can get a high quality copy golf club at usually less than half the price - custom fitted at no extra charge. There are copyright laws though. In order to avoid copyright infringements, the manufacturers of clone golf clubs must be sure that there remains at minimum a 20% difference from their major brand name counter part. These differences usually are very very subtle in the design, and obviously the labeling. Sometimes the loft in each iron is 1 degree different. The overall design, technology, and playability are virtually indifferent.
When you have a moment, compare the clubs that are pictured in the catalog at www.TheAceofClubs.com to some of their brand name counter part. In most cases, if you remove the labels, it would be difficult to find the difference. Better yet, try one or two on your favorite course!!

Now I'm worried also. I purchased a set of used X-14 on Ebay a year or so ago and they do not have a serial number on the 8i, but the fit and finish is beautiful right down to the back plate which even has the very very small copywrite logo on it. I've seen the X-14's in the store and I can't tell if these are copies because they look exactly the same.

Would the copies be so good that you can't tell even when the clubs are viewed side by side?

__________________
Life's a game, golf is serious!

I suppose anything is possible Mulligan Al. Every now and then a copy head will be put on the market which so closely resembles the brand name that you really can't tell the difference (aside from the label). Twice I have received letters from the attorney's at Acushnet (Titeleist) with a request to remove some items from my catalog as they felt the remseblence was too much and they infringed on their copyright. Of coarse we at www.TheAceofClubs.com preferring to keep a clean reputation, andwith the law suit threat they were removed. Nobody was buying them anyway. However, I still have never seen a copy club that contains the major brand label.
The near exact copies do exist at times in the United States, but usually do not last long. The atorney's for the big guys seem to police and protect their products pretty well. Although I do not always hear about them, I am unaware of any lawsuits being filed recently, but for several years in a row it seems like I was frequently hearing from my component supplies/manufacturers that "that head has been discontinued because XXX filed a law suit" Once again though, they all had their own distinct label and identity.
As a bit of humor, one of those (and my very favorite) was a copy of the Adams "Tight Lie" club. The knock-off was known/labeld as the "Loose Truth" - isn't that cute?
As far as your clubs - who knows for sure? Ebay is a great place to sell and shop, however there is huge opportunity for abuse. I met a guy in line at an electroics store while Christmas shopping this year. He had six MP3 players that were on an 4 hour sale for (i think) $39.00. The store clerk told him there was a purchase limit of two. At first I felt bad for the guy because some of his kids may not get their Xmas present. (they were selling fast in a very busy store). I almost offered to buy a couple for this stranger then he could re-pay me - that is until he told me that he planned to re-sell them on Ebay for $130.00.
Regardless of the origin of your clubs, I hope that they at least play well

I suppose anything is possible Mulligan Al. Every now and then a copy head will be put on the market which so closely resembles the brand name that you really can't tell the difference (aside from the label). Twice I have received letters from the attorney's at Acushnet (Titeleist) with a request to remove some items from my catalog as they felt the remseblence was too much and they infringed on their copyright. Of coarse we at www.TheAceofClubs.com preferring to keep a clean reputation, andwith the law suit threat they were removed. Nobody was buying them anyway. However, I still have never seen a copy club that contains the major brand label.
The near exact copies do exist at times in the United States, but usually do not last long. The atorney's for the big guys seem to police and protect their products pretty well. Although I do not always hear about them, I am unaware of any lawsuits being filed recently, but for several years in a row it seems like I was frequently hearing from my component supplies/manufacturers that "that head has been discontinued because XXX filed a law suit" Once again though, they all had their own distinct label and identity.
As a bit of humor, one of those (and my very favorite) was a copy of the Adams "Tight Lie" club. The knock-off was known/labeld as the "Loose Truth" - isn't that cute?
As far as your clubs - who knows for sure? Ebay is a great place to sell and shop, however there is huge opportunity for abuse. I met a guy in line at an electroics store while Christmas shopping this year. He had six MP3 players that were on an 4 hour sale for (i think) $39.00. The store clerk told him there was a purchase limit of two. At first I felt bad for the guy because some of his kids may not get their Xmas present. (they were selling fast in a very busy store). I almost offered to buy a couple for this stranger then he could re-pay me - that is until he told me that he planned to re-sell them on Ebay for $130.00.
Regardless of the origin of your clubs, I hope that they at least play well

Please note, fellas, there is a difference between clones and copies.

Clones are lookalikes, often with different names. For example, Acer makes clones - you can see them at www.pinemeadowgolf.com.

However, there are clubs on the market that will say Titleist (with a dot missing over an 'i'), or Calloway (tough to spot, and I've seen it misspelled on forum innumerable times), or PiNG, but the space between the dot in the i and the rest of it is tough to see (looks like a mis-stich, or the ink went dry for a second).

And there will be small graphical differences in the clubs - where the loft is printed, or a screening will be a touch askew, or a graphic won't be where it's supposed to be.

The rule of thumb on eBay is that if it's coming out of Asia, and is 'a helluva deal', run away. The other thing to worry about with eBay userID hijacking, is that accounts will get hijacked, and then the clubs will get sold through the hijacked account. So the other thing to do (if you can) is to check and see (through the feedback part) what the seller has bought/sold lately. If it's a bunch of toy cars and lingerie, you can pretty much bet that the new Calloways he's selling aren't legit.

But the best thing to do if you suspect that you've bought counterfiet clubs is to call the company. You may have to mail them a club, but the cost of shipping just happens to be equal to the cost of your peace of mind.

__________________
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.

Hey guys, if you want to see excellent, near perfect copies of any branded clubs, go and look on ebay.com.cn - they are SCARY!!!!

A mate of mine bought a copy set of X18s, 454 driver and BB fairway woods with a callaway staff bag. We compared them to my genuine ones and they're scary close in terms of looks and performance.

I hit both on my Launch monitor and the driver was 2 yards shorter than the genuine one and the 6-iron was 6 yards longer than the genuine one.

I rekon the only way to tell these days is to contact Callaway and check the serial number.

__________________
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)

Graham, did you check the lofts between your clubs?

Yes, I did and the copy's were almost exact throught the set. The build quality and components were excellent!

They actually suprised me. He paid $170 for the whole kit. Scary!!!

I have the same problem -- I think -- with a Mizuno driver I bought on eBay last summer. I've sent Mizuno some photos. I'll let you know what happens. You could always send Callaway some pictures. I think the serial no is on the 8 iron. But of course anyone could simply copy a real serial number. Callaway will probably know which serial no is fake. When all the people with the fake serial no's start registering their irons!

Ok, here's an interesting finding. I e-mailed about 10 eBay people selling X14 clubs and asked for the serial numbers and none could provide it; one guy (that had a lot of golf related sales) said that Callaway started adding serial numbers after the x14 irons came out. I also e-mailed a few that were selling Callaway x16 and x18 irons and almost all of them responded with a serial number.

I'm thinking that Callaway started adding serial numbers to their clubs either after the x14 period or somewhere during the x14 production run.

Can anyone offer any additional information on this?

__________________
Life's a game, golf is serious!

One way to reduce the use of fake serial numbers is to have the retailer register the clubs for the customer after the sale.