Equipment
Golf club counterfeiting: Its scope and dangers
In the past 10 years, the U.S. Golf Manufacturers Anti-Counterfeiting Working Group (the Golf Group) has exceeded more than 1 million fake products seized in cooperation with governmental officials.
The Group, which consists of five of the most well-known golf companies in the world and their subsidiaries — Acushnet Company; Callaway-Odyssey; Srixon, Cleveland Golf; Ping; and TaylorMade-adidas Golf — facilitated the confiscation of more than 150,000 golf items in China last year alone.
[quote_box_center]“Our progress in 2014, particularly the fines and prison time handed out, sends a strong message that there are significant and lasting consequences for those who try to dupe golfers with fake products,” said Stephen Gingrich, vice president of global legal enforcement for Srixon/Cleveland Golf.[/quote_box_center]
Jason Rocker, spokesperson for the group, told me that he group has two goals: enforcement (in coordination with Chinese officials) and education about the size and scope of the counterfeiting of golf equipment and its dangers.
Regarding performance issues with counterfeit clubs, Rocker said they run the gantlet from disappointing to dangerous.
“There are some where it’s just a loss of distance…but there are ones where there are safety issues…heads flying off…shafts shattering.”
He also added that as 99 percent of counterfeit clubs are sold via the internet, when you use a credit card to buy said goods, you’re giving your credit card and personal information to criminals.
Rocker warned that counterfeiters are getting more and more sophisticated. The phony clubmakers used to price their goods at 50 percent off retail, however, people got wise that such too-good-to-be-true prices were an indication that the product was a counterfeit good. Counterfeiters now price just low enough that it’s enticing, but doesn’t raise red flags.
And if you think you can tell whether a club is real or fake from a picture on a website, remember this: Counterfeiters use pictures of authentic clubs online in many cases. Thus, the buyer never sees the purchased product until it’s delivered. Further, there is absolutely no consistency of product or quality control in any counterfeit operation.
If you’re wondering how this all goes down, Rocker explained it to me. A counterfeiter will set up a manufacturing operation, oftentimes out of a garage. They turn out as many items as they can as quickly as they can. They set up a website, do some basic SEO and make as much money as they can then shut it down.
Rocker offered this piece of takeaway advice:
“Our message is continually: Make sure you’re buying from authorized retailers to ensure you’re getting an authentic product.”
More information about the dangers of counterfeit golf clubs and products, and how to avoid them, can be found at www.keepgolfreal.com.
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
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Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
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Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
jgolf
Mar 2, 2015 at 6:29 pm
There are counterfeit clubs being sold on the internet?? Say it ain’t so! I understand your point, but do you even realize how many “authentic” clubs end up on the internet from the members/readers of this site alone LoL???
devilsadvocate
Feb 28, 2015 at 9:52 pm
Honestly it appears this article was concocted and distributed for publication by this “group” jmho
graymulligan
Feb 28, 2015 at 11:29 am
So…there are counterfeit clubs…and there is a scope to this issue. Not much of an article.
Birdeez
Feb 27, 2015 at 11:02 pm
Lame article. Short and sweet.counterfeit exists…. Is that all? That wasn’t an article, the should’ve been a bullet point. Counterfeit is used to get golfers to buy new and buy retail. Used and from authorized dealers online is only way to buy. Stop paying these inflated prices
Joe
Feb 27, 2015 at 7:27 pm
This seems awfully similar to a Jimmy Roberts story from last year….
RadioActive
Feb 27, 2015 at 4:44 pm
Anyone who purchases a lot of clubs online has been had whether they know it or will admit it is another story
Al
Mar 1, 2015 at 9:49 am
Unless they’re reselling them at a tidy profit on Craigslist.
Jay
Feb 27, 2015 at 2:22 pm
“The Group, which consists of five of the most well-known golf companies in the world and their subsidiaries — Acushnet Company (1); Callaway-Odyssey(2); Srixon(3), Cleveland Golf(4); Ping(5); and TaylorMade-adidas Golf(6)— wonder which of the 6 they are saying is not well known??
Brian
Feb 27, 2015 at 2:51 pm
Cleveland/Srixon is one company
Jay
Feb 27, 2015 at 4:43 pm
Ahh – separated by a comma – not a semicolon – pesky punctuation
Jafar
Feb 27, 2015 at 2:19 pm
The golf group should include some Shaft Makers also.
Shafts seem a lil easier to fake and are just as costly as some clubs.