Counterfeit Guide »

Counterfeit Ping K15 Driver

It’s amazing how quickly the counterfeiters can make fakes of new ranges. This Ping K15 here came in to the Golfbidder office a matter of weeks after the genuine ones. In this example the fake is on the left. One of the obvious flaws in this counterfeit is the scruffy paint work on the dark red stripe on the sole. You can see how the one on the left is not as sharp as the one that came from Ping. Another give away is the loft numbers. Note that they are in white on the counterfeit and silver on the real one.

Counterfeit TaylorMade Burner SuperFast Driver

From this example of the TaylorMade Burner SuperFast driver you can see how good the counterfeiters are getting. In this example the fake is on the right. There are two ways we can tell this. The first, the TaylorMade logo is bigger on the fake and is angled away more from the undulations on the sole. The second is the text on the side of the club. The red paint is a lot brighter on the fake club and the squares the red makes are cut shorter than on the real one. The yellow SuperFast is also stretched and difficult to read.

Counterfeit Callaway Big Bertha 2004 Irons

This example of the Callaway Big Bertha 2004 irons shows that we constantly need to be vigilant of fake golf clubs. The fake in this example is on the bottom or left. This is a good example as it shows how far the counterfeiters have come. This club was released in 2008 and it is quite easy to tell the fake. The letters on the words Big Bertha are too bulky on the fake and the word golf in the red circle is white and not silver. You can also see a difference in the shape of the cavity.

Counterfeit Golf Clubs | Project X Shafts

These Project X shafts came in on a set of Callaway X-22 Tour irons. Counterfeiters will be picking up stepless steel shafts for a fraction of the cost of the genuine ones and slapping a sticker on it to fool the average golfer. However when they are next to each other we can see that there are subtle differences between the fake (bottom) and genuine (top). This first of which is the colour of the sticker. The blue background is not quite the same. Also the font of ‘PROJECT’ is a little slimmer on the fake. The smaller text to the right is also different. Much clearer to read on the genuine shaft (top).

Counterfeit Golf Clubs | Titleist 905T Driver

Here we have our first example of counterfeit Titleist woods. You can automatically tell that this is a rare thing as this first example is an older model. This first difference, as in most of these counterfeits is with the logo. The word Titleist is a lot thinner on the counterfeit than on the genuine club. Another difference is the black lien in the corners. These are a lot thinker and more rounded on the fake (right). However this is another great example of how easy it is to get caught out. These differences only become apparent when sat next to a genuine Titleist 905T driver.

Counterfeit Golf Clubs | TaylorMade R9 Fairway Wood

Here we have the TaylorMade R9 fairway wood. This is one where the counterfeiters have got it almost spot on. Thankfully there are a few tell tale signs that give the fake (left) away. The first one (as on a number of clubs in this gallery) is the red paint on the ‘R’. This is a lot darker on the counterfeit than the real club. Counterfeiters seem to struggle with the colour red. On closer inspection you’ll also notice that the lettering on the TaylorMade logo is not as sharp in the fake as it is on the genuine. This is real giveaway as this is the one thing that the manufactures would ensure is 100% to their liking.

Counterfeit Golf Clubs | TaylorMade Torque Wrench

Bit of an obscure one here but we do like to offer the full service to our customers. Yes that’s right the counterfeiters have even started counterfeiting TaylorMade wrenches. The first thing you’ll notice is the shoddy stitching pattern on the TaylorMade logo on the pouch. This logo is also in the wrong position; it is centred on the real article. This is also the only marking on the bag. there is not FCT logo. The wrench is probably the most important thing to look at as there are not really any differences. This one thing to bear in mind is that this will not secure your weights or shaft in position correctly as it will not tighten to the correct torque. This is both dangerous and could prove expensive if your head flies off into the bottom of the pond!

Counterfeit Golf Clubs | Ping G15 Fairway Wood

In this example we have the Ping G15 fairway wood, and in particular the crown. There is not a lot to choose between these 2 apart from one massive error on the part of the counterfeiters. You Ping G5 fans will recognise the crown on the fake (left) immediately. The very feint half moon alignment aid is straight off the G5 whereas the genuine club (right) has a horn effect in the maroon associated with the G15. But this is a great example of something you’ll only notice if you were comparing the two clubs.

Moving onto the sole of the Ping G15 fairway wood they again look very similar. You might be able to tell that the fake club is on the left. There is just something about it that causes it to look fake. Let’s have a look in more detail. If you look at the middle line across the sole this is much thicker on the fake. The rounded edges do not make it look as sharp as the real thing. This is also the case on the ‘Ping’, ‘3 15.5’, @17-4 SS’ and ‘G15’.

Counterfeit Golf Clubs | Callaway X-22 Tour Irons

This is an example of a fake and genuine Callaway X-22 Tour irons. The fake club is on the right / top. At first glance they appear to be very similar; however there are a few subtle differences that will make all the difference in performance. the edges on the genuine club are much sharper and allow the perimeter weighting that is in this club to stay on the perimeter. On the fake the slightly rounded edges will force vital weight into the centre of the club that will affect performance. Another difference, a cosmetic one this time, is the ‘X’ that is printed inside the cavity. On the real one (bottom) it is a lot darker and the ‘X22’ contrasts and stands out. On the fake it is difficult to see the ‘X22’ as it is the same colour as the ‘X’

Counterfeit Golf Clubs | Miushubishi Fubuki Shaft

Here we have our first example of a counterfeit shaft. You would think that it would be easier to replicate shafts as it is only really cosmetic graphics that differentiate one from another. There is no visible technology that the manufactures can get wrong. Any shaft can be made to look the same as any other. But despite this the counterfeiters have still made a few errors. In this example the fake is on the bottom. You can see straight away that the red on the genuine shaft is much bolder as a all other graphics. The grey section to the left is more graduated on the real shaft whereas it is a solid fill on the fake. No matter how good they think it is, fakes will always stick out like a sore thumb against 10 or even more genuine articles!