Upcoming post for this year:

SkyCaddie SG5 – The wife gets my old SG3. Is this color version worth the cost?

My new FT Fairway Woods – Moving from my Big Bertha 2004 woods may be more of an adjustment than I thought

Suunto G6 Golf Watch – I love tech and this one is a keeper

Callaway’s Tour Blue Putter – The TT1 is a dream. Hey Callaway, why stop making these?

Training Tools for the Noob – Leadbetter’s Swing Setter, Medicus hinged clubs, Momentus weighted clubs, Training Videos and more. . .hint they all work

For a great golf vacation, get to Cabo San Lucas. . .Now!

Off to Florida in July for another golf holiday – “golf holiday” redundant terms?

Keep visiting and thanks again for your readership!

Ace

This just announced: Tiger will have another surgery on the knee that he just repaired. This one (ACL repair) will end his 2008 season. Moreover, Tiger reveals that he won the 2008 US Open with an additional ailment – two stress fractures to his tibia! Technically, the man won on a broken leg and a bum knee! Amazing!

Ace

Last week Golf Ace reached 10,000 page views! Thanks to all of the readers. I have just settle on the topic list for new blog entries for this summer. Visit later this week to see the list of new content.

Also, you may have noticed that Golf Ace is getting some corporate love. Several companies have allowed me to become an affiliate. Now you can find some of the products that I’ve reviewed  and make your purchase right away.

Thanks again for your readership.

Ace

. . . but didn’t keep my score.  I met some of my buddies for “pre-work” 9 holes this morning.  No real weaknesses in the game today.  I did manage to make a mess of 2 holes.  A duck hook off of the 7th and a topper off the 9th were the only real blemishes.

Thanks to a great tip from my dad (rotating my right hand to form the v between my thumb and pointer finger over the top of the grip) and another slight adjustment (moving my thumb on my left hand from the top of the grip to the right side of the grip), I have tamed my fade and hit it very straight.  Try this tip during your next practice round. . . and keep the score!

Dear Readers,

Golf Ace has reached an average readership of 1200+ readers a month. We’ve had steady growth in readership in the last couple of months and the blog has done much better than I had ever dreamed.

I have been taking some time away from writing primarily because the golf season really hasn’t started here in the Mid-Atlantic region of the country. Of course I steal as many golf days from Ole’ Man Winter as humanly possible, but it is a far cry from the daily play I got last year beginning in February last year (Indian Summers are great!). So rest assured that I’ll be posting on a regular basis (and hopefully playing daily as well).

I have a couple of new gadgets to review and lots to say about Tiger and friends so thank you very much for you continued readership and check back in a week or two. I will be taking a vacation to Los Cabos Country Club in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on the 20th of April so I am sure I’ll be writing about that trip as well.

Oh! And to the person who swiped my Callaway Forged+ sand wedge on the 18th at Bear Creek in Houston, Texas: I don’t like your Callaway Forged Tour sand wedge that you turned in instead of mine –> though I do appreciate you turning in my club stand in with it. Your Tour wedge is way too dead for my taste. I have to swing it a lot harder than my Forged + to get the same distance so contact me if you care to clear your conscience.

Wishing all the readers a very Merry Christmas! I’ll be writing a review of the Sunnto G6 watch that I purchased last week. I’ve heard really great things about it and am anxious to try it out. The Sunnto G6 measures several aspects of your swing including Swing Speed, Backswing Length, Rhythm an Tempo. It also gauges your consistency with the swing measurements. It’s always about consistency!

Merry Christmas from Ace!

Fighting for their Livelihood is not too strong a statement for these guys. They are playing for a relatively large purse and a large jump in potential lifetime earnings. I am not sure if there is a parallel in any other sport. 6 rounds of golf where every stroke counts. The top 25 finishers and ties will earn 2008 U.S. PGA Tour cards. The others are looking at much smaller purses on the Nationwide Tour. I am not sure how they handle that pressure.

My favorite story among the field is Tommy “two gloves” Gainey! Nicknamed “two gloves” because he wears a black glove on both of his hands during play. Some of you might remember him as the very likable contestant on the Golf Channel’s reality TV show Big Break IV. Tommy Gainey was eliminated in the seventh episode. He is presently 4th at the Crooked Cat Course in Winter Garden, Florida. Good luck Tommy! <– Not that he’ll need it. He is scary talented.

Another “notable” is Notah Begay III (hehe). You may know him as a real up and comer and best pals with Tiger Woods. Well he’s not doing so well right now as he is presently 88th — way outside the number. I hope he finds him game on the Nationwide Tour next year. I am predicting that he’ll try to play on one of the other smaller tours (European, Asian) outside of the US instead as the purses are higher.

If you can’t relate to this golf story and you are a fan, take time to read Tales from Q School: Inside Golf’s Fifth Major by John Feinstein. It is one of the best golf books out there. The stories of the players will suck you in and stick with you long after you’ve put the book down. Read my review of the book in previous posts under Ace’s Reviews – Books and Audiobooks.

Feel free to contact me via email at golface.wordpress@gmail.com or leave a comment.

Ace

Now you have The Facts in Part 1 and The Traps in Part 2. In this post I will cover how to protect yourself when you make that online club purchase.

What you should do to protect yourself from these counterfeiters. Make your purchases from someone with an extremely high feedback store (1000 or higher) and preferably from a seller with their own eBay golf store. Many legit sellers offer money back guarantees if the club is returned within a week or two. This allows you the chance to have a golf professional or shop owner take a closer look at the club for authenticity. Make sure the seller provides close up pictures of the club at various angles (face, crown, head), and provides a detailed description of the condition of the club, shaft type, grip type, etc. Finally don’t be afraid to ask the seller any questions you might have. If anything about the item makes you feel suspicious just pass. The great thing about eBay is that there are usually plenty of people selling the same club. Most importantly, have some form of buyer protection like PayPal or another pay service in the case you get a counterfeit item. Don’t pay with a check or money order. Moreover, paying for anything with cash or check these days is sheer stupidity. Now, what should you do if you feel like you’ve been scammed? Follow these steps to try and get your money back and maybe discourage the scoundrel from doing it again:

1. If you have received fake clubs file negative feedback before the listing is removed by eBay
2. If you have used PayPal as your payment service, file a complaint at PayPal as a Fake Tangible Item
3. If you’re waiting for your clubs, still file your Complaint & Claim as the sellers of fake clubs will ship the clubs after the allowed amount of time by PayPal to file has expired
4. After you file a complaint – Click on the complaint transaction at PayPal and escalate it to a “claim”. This will freeze the seller account until PayPal or eBay can sort out the facts
5. Check the sellers’ feedback rating. Read the feedbacks. If they have even one negative for selling a fake,…move on
6. Ask them for serial numbers that you can verify. If they are not willing to provide one,…move on
7. Never, ever buy clubs that are coming from China. (Or anything else, for that matter.) It’s just not worth the inherent risks involved.

The happy ending. I recently purchased the Callaway Fusion Big Bertha Irons 4-PW for $497 with shipping! This set goes for $1,199.00 in stores and averages $750 used. I bought them from a Powerseller Global Golf Exchange who has an 99 rating and has over 24,000 transactions. I am happy to report that the clubs checked out authentic . . . right down to the magnet test! Not familiar with the magnet test? Read on. . . Here are a couple of things that you can do to test the Big Bertha Fusions for authenticity:

1. The serial number (located on the 8 iron) has 10 digits. Fakes frequently have nine or 11 digits.
2. Check the serial number with Callaway (you can call or check through their website).
3. The real fusions have a visible seam near the perimeter of the club face where the titanium face is plasma welded to the body — the fakes do not.
4. The real fusions do not have numbering on the club face. Some fakes do.
5. Compare the numbering font on the sole of the club sole to a club in your local golf store. No match = fake.
6. The shaft logos on fake often read “RCH System 75″ instead of “RCH System 75i”.
7. The shaft logo should be charcoal grey in color — not green or olive or red, etc.
8. Magnets will stick to clubface of the fake clubs because of they are steel or other lesser grade materials. The real Callaway Fusions are made of tungsten/titanium and magnets will not stick to the clubface.

Well. I hope that you’ve learned something. This series took quite a bit of research and writing but I hope that it will help someone avoid a rip off. If this helps leave feedback or shoot an email to golface.wordpress@gmail.com.

Ace

How do the sellers get buyers to buy these clubs? Here are just a few lures that the unscrupulous sellers use to reel in the big fish.

The Perfect Feedback Score (AKA Trust Me!): A ratings of 100% positive feedback is not uncommon for these rip off artists. However, if you analyze the feedback you’ll find that the score will usually show less than a couple hundred persons leaving feedback. The feedback is mostly from sellers, not buyers. And my favorite wrinkle in the inflated feedback ploy is that the positive feedback is primarily from buyers and is usually from transactions made more than 6 months ago. Feedback after six months ensures that you are not able to see what they’ve bought or sold as the postings have been archived by the site.

The Pressure Sale: Most of the time the item will be sold with a “Buy Now” item option with a very reasonable price and an short auction deadline, enticing the buyer to buy it before someone else finds the unbelievable deal. The seller will often be selling a large number of clubs in auctions set to expire around the same time so that they can dump their inventory before any bad feedback is given. Be patient, a good deal can be hadof you apply my tips.

New Clubs are Better than Used, Right?: Usually the counterfeiter will list the club as new and show the same stock picture for all their clubs. Callaway and other club companies strictly control who can resell their clubs. If you can get new clubs for hundreds less from some schmuck online, why would Dick’s Sporting Goods put them on the shelves at twice the price? If the picture is not an actual picture taken of the club, ask for a picture of the actual item. Often, the picture won’t match the description, for example the a picture of a left handed club is displayed for a club with a description of a right handed club. Generic descriptions are common as well.

My Loss is Your Gain: Does the seller explain his willingness to part with the clubs at a bargain-basement price by claiming that he “won the clubs” in a tournament or raffle, or that they were “a gift” that he doesn’t need? I see this VERY OFTEN on Craigslist! Sellers of counterfeit golf clubs on the Internet often use these and other reasons to justify the suspiciously low price. I’ve even seen the “my husband was injured” or “my Dad just past away and the family needs the money” ploys used.

So you have The Facts in Part 1 and The Traps in Part 2. Look for my 3rd and last post in this series where I will cover how to protect yourself when you make that online club purchase. Please comment if you find these posts helpful.

Thanks in advance,

Ace

My apologies to all who have been waiting on this post. It took a bit more research and writting than I originally thought. Once I typed up the post it was several pages long so I have decided to break the guide into multiple posts. I’ll post one or two parts a week so please come back to visit the site!

The Facts:

• On an average day, Callaway will receive 4-5 reports of suspected fake Callaway golf clubs being offered on eBay
• With the exception of Ping, there are NO club manufacturers that are currently manufacturing in the United States
• 15 to 20 percent of all goods in China are counterfeit
• Clubs that retail for $70 to $90 each cost $3 to $5 to make in China

Very sobering facts that should give the golfer looking for a deal considerable pause. I can only imagine the pain and anger someone might feel when they discover that they have purchase counterfeit clubs. I did my homework to mitigate the risk of buying my latest set of clubs online. Now, I am passing on what I know to you.

How can I tell if I have Counterfeit?

Serial Numbers: Around 2002, Callaway started adding serial numbers to their clubs. On woods the numbers are printed very faintly on the back of the heel of the club head. The serial numbers on their irons are under the grip so they are harder to check. The number also appears on the 8 iron as an industrial strength sticker just above the hosel. The absence of this sticker alone is not always a tip off as it can be removed with a little elbow grease and Goo Off. I have been guilty of removing it from my Big Bertha 2004 8 Iron purely for aesthetics. Mizuno and many other brands have their serial numbers on the hosel (part of the head that connects to the shaft) of each wood and iron. This is not true for Callaway and if you have irons with serial numbers on the hosel you have a fake.

Some counterfeiters are putting realistic serial numbers on clubs. If you have any hesitation, contact your authorized retailer or Callaway Golf Customer Service. They will be extremely helpful in determining if you have been duped. Remember, because a club has a serial number does not mean that it is authentic, you need to check it! Another possibility is that you have authentic Callaway clubs but they have been reported as stolen.

“But it’s a tour edition!” I have heard this as an excuse for selling non serialized clubs, The fact that is true only provides a counterfeiter the ability to sell a club that doesn’t have one. Unless you buy it from a pro shop or other reputable retailer, don’t by tour versions of Callaway clubs.

Logo, Lettering and Color: The second tip is pretty simple. Pay attention to the logo’s, lettering, and coloring. Many of the fakes use lettering or numbering that differs from that of genuine clubs. The fonts (character styles) are selected not only to represent the image of the company but to make counterfeiting difficult. Go to a local pro shop also so you can compare the item(s) you might plan to buy or have purchased to the pictures on the selling site. If you can, take a digital photo of a club at your local golf shop for direct comparison. The color of the club is often a tip off as well. Callaway uses specific unique colors on their clubs. If the shading is not a direct match, it may be a fake. Some clubs may even have misspellings. I once came across a TaylorMade T5. <– TaylorMade makes an R5 but not a T5. Would you buy a TailorMade?

Check the Shaft: One of the things buyers tend to overlook is the shaft. Adding a fake shaft to a real head not only significantly reduces the overall value of the club but can change the weighting, etc which will ultimately make a good club head play like a cheap knock off . Take a look is the ferrule (the piece that connects the shaft to the head). If the ferrule is not the standard part or has been replaced, the shaft has likely also been replaced at some point in time and may be an indication that it is a counterfeit club. I personally don’t buy clubs without the original factory shaft offered at retail.

The Magnet Test: If the clubs include models that are supposed to be titanium, does a magnet cling to them? If it does, the clubs are counterfeit. A magnet will not cling to titanium or tungsten clubs. This test of course doesn’t work for Steel clubs like my old Big Bertha 2004 Irons but it does work for the pricier Fusions that I am carrying now.

Read my next post on how these counterfeiters find decent folks (all golfers go to heaven) to make a very costly mistake!

Ace