# Fake SLDR- A narrow eascape



## Maninblack4612 (Mar 28, 2014)

I've been looking for a used SLDR for a while. Heard, via a friend of a friend of a friend, of someone who was selling one he had used twice but couldn't hit because of a big hook. We agreed a price & off I went, happy. Next day I was at the range when the pro came over to look at my new toy. He immediately said it didn't " look right". On comparing it with one from American Golf, next door to the range, we could see that the grooves on mine were slightly deeper and it was a slightly different shade of grey. More important, and something I really should have noticed, there was no serial number on the hosel or arrow to line up the shaft.

I contacted the seller who, bless him, immediately offered me a refund, which I've now got. He is adamant that he bought it from a reputable internet seller, one I've heard of. (Won't mention the name, could be construed as libel).

I played the club and used it at the range and it went really well, as long, probably longer, than my usual driver. 

When I discovered it was likely to be a fake I contacted Taylormade. I asked them a few things including what would happen if I sent them the head to examine. They said that if it was a fake they would destroy it!

What puzzles me is that if someone is going to produce a really authentic fake, why spoil it by omitting the serial number. Could it be that this club has come out of a Taylormade factory by the back door and that the only tool they didn't have access to was the one that stamps the serial numbers on. Perhaps the numbering is subject to strict security.

I should say that, in my judgement, the seller is an honest & respectable bloke (a mackem so he's bound to be!) and was very embarrassed about what has happened.

Anyway, the seller has agreed to keep me informed as to the outcome. Watch this space!


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## Ethan (Mar 28, 2014)

Where did the seller get it in the first place? He may or may not be a basically honest person, but if he bought it from a dodgy source he may also be a gullible fool. I don't think a simple statement of where he got it is libel, although saying that seller knowingly peddled fakes may be, but only if untrue! 

On serial numbers, not all clubs have them these days, and the fakers could easily identify the format, stick one on, perhaps the same one on all the fakes, and you would be none the wiser.


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## Maninblack4612 (Mar 28, 2014)

Ethan said:



			Where did the seller get it in the first place?
		
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I really don't want to say, having not been shown any evidence. But, if the seller is telling the truth, and I think he is, it is a really well known, high turnover company, who Taylormade told me are 100% legitimate. As far as they know, I suppose.


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## DAVEYBOY (Mar 28, 2014)

Maninblack4612 said:



			I really don't want to say, having not been shown any evidence. But, if the seller is telling the truth, and I think he is, it is a really well known, high turnover company, who Taylormade told me are 100% legitimate. As far as they know, I suppose.
		
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So give the name, it's not yet proven if its a fake club so no harm done to the company.


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## Sid Rixon IV (Mar 28, 2014)

Maninblack4612 said:



			I really don't want to say, having not been shown any evidence. But, if the seller is telling the truth, and I think he is, it is a really well known, high turnover company, who Taylormade told me are 100% legitimate. As far as they know, I suppose.
		
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Any idea what price he paid, Â£299 or a "bargain" price?


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## Maninblack4612 (Mar 28, 2014)

DAVEYBOY said:



			So give the name, it's not yet proven if its a fake club so no harm done to the company.
		
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I'll give the name if I see some feedback from the seller.


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## pbrown7582 (Mar 28, 2014)

Maybe it was a tour van or hot club I believe these don't have serial numbers marked on but if there were definite other cosmetic differences I would make you very wary.


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## Maninblack4612 (Mar 28, 2014)

Sid Rixon IV said:



			Any idea what price he paid, Â£299 or a "bargain" price?
		
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No. But if he got it where he said it would be around Â£280. The price we agreed certainly wasn't a bargain, it was fair for him & me, based on what they were going for on EBay.


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## anthony (Mar 28, 2014)

I bough a callaway x hot from a reputable company and that too had no serial number or barcode. Wonder if it is the same company


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## Rumpokid (Mar 28, 2014)

Maninblack4612 said:



			I've been looking for a used SLDR for a while. Heard, via a friend of a friend of a friend, of someone who was selling one he had used twice but couldn't hit because of a big hook. We agreed a price & off I went, happy. Next day I was at the range when the pro came over to look at my new toy. He immediately said it didn't " look right". On comparing it with one from American Golf, next door to the range, we could see that the grooves on mine were slightly deeper and it was a slightly different shade of grey. More important, and something I really should have noticed, there was no serial number on the hosel or arrow to line up the shaft.


I contacted the seller who, bless him, immediately offered me a refund, which I've now got. He is adamant that he bought it from a reputable internet seller, one I've heard of. (Won't mention the name, could be construed as libel).

I played the club and used it at the range and it went really well, as long, probably longer, than my usual driver. 

When I discovered it was likely to be a fake I contacted Taylormade. I asked them a few things including what would happen if I sent them the head to examine. They said that if it was a fake they would destroy it!

What puzzles me is that if someone is going to produce a really authentic fake, why spoil it by omitting the serial number. Could it be that this club has come out of a Taylormade factory by the back door and that the only tool they didn't have access to was the one that stamps the serial numbers on. Perhaps the numbering is subject to strict security.

I should say that, in my judgement, the seller is an honest & respectable bloke (a mackem so he's bound to be!) and was very embarrassed about what has happened.

Anyway, the seller has agreed to keep me informed as to the outcome. Watch this space!
		
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If you were hitting it so well,why all the fuss whether it is a fake or not..Just stick it in the bag and crack on..As for fake,probably made in same country by same factory under different conditions..Who knows eh?


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## Maninblack4612 (Mar 28, 2014)

Rumpokid said:



			If you were hitting it so well,why all the fuss whether it is a fake or not..Just stick it in the bag and crack on..As for fake,probably made in same country by same factory under different conditions..Who knows eh?
		
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Because it may be non conforming. We have the English Seniors Open up here in June. If I were to enter that & got caught using a bogus driver they wouldn't be amused. And what if I want to sell it. "Fake SLDR" on EBay wouldn't attract a lot of bids, would it?


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## Liverpoolphil (Mar 28, 2014)

Is it confirmed as fake ?


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## USER1999 (Mar 28, 2014)

I looked at a fake RBZ in china, and it did look a good copy, for Â£20. I could get vokeys for a tenner. 

Fakes are fakes, and are to be avoided.


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## Rumpokid (Mar 28, 2014)

Maninblack4612 said:



			Because it may be non conforming. We have the English Seniors Open up here in June. If I were to enter that & got caught using a bogus driver they wouldn't be amused. And what if I want to sell it. "Fake SLDR" on EBay wouldn't attract a lot of bids, would it?
		
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Moral of the story..Instead of going to friends of friends,you would have been better sourcing from reputable dealer or shop pro (if an option,,,As for Fleebay,,,enough said


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## Maninblack4612 (Mar 28, 2014)

Liverpoolphil said:



			Is it confirmed as fake ?
		
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Not yet.


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## Oddsocks (Mar 29, 2014)

The issue with fakes is normally quality, I have seen a few rbz fakes with split faces.

Regarding not buying from eBay, every purchase I've made re golf equipment have been check with oem to ensure its legit. I always get the history from the seller.  

A prime example was a cobra amp 4h, this had a different format serial number to my 2h, 3w and driver.  It come with an upgrade shaft and as such was ordered as a custom fit.  When I spoke to cobra, they confirmed this even down the retailer it was supplied by.  The same with my cb irons.  If you can be bothered to do a little leg work you can snap up some bargains


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## Junior (Jun 15, 2014)

Ive just been stung with fake sldr fairways (5w and 3w. ) from a well known auction site. The seller on the auction site had 100% feedback and was western european based.  The clubs arrived and tbh they look awesome. Headcovers look mint, serial numbers on the shaft, stickers with barcodes down the bottom of the shaft (you know those ones that are a pain to remove lol) and i just wanted to run down the range and give them a hit. BUT, at the bottom of the box was a crumpled invoice from China that the seller must have missed. 

Annoyingly, there was a lot of bids and the price whilst cheaper that buying brand new, was not dirt cheap so it never crossed my mind that these would be fake. Ive now examined the clubs against genuine ones are there are very very subtle differences. I'll put some pics up later. Ive opened a dispute on the auction site so i'll have to see how that pans out. 

Ive bought (and sold) many clubs on that well known auction site but this is the last nail in the coffin for me.


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## stevelev (Jun 15, 2014)

Junior said:



			Ive just been stung with fake sldr fairways (5w and 3w. ) from a well known auction site. The seller on the auction site had 100% feedback and was western european based.  The clubs arrived and tbh they look awesome. Headcovers look mint, serial numbers on the shaft, stickers with barcodes down the bottom of the shaft (you know those ones that are a pain to remove lol) and i just wanted to run down the range and give them a hit. BUT, at the bottom of the box was a crumpled invoice from China that the seller must have missed. 

Annoyingly, there was a lot of bids and the price whilst cheaper that buying brand new, was not dirt cheap so it never crossed my mind that these would be fake. Ive now examined the clubs against genuine ones are there are very very subtle differences. I'll put some pics up later. Ive opened a dispute on the auction site so i'll have to see how that pans out. 

Ive bought (and sold) many clubs on that well known auction site but this is the last nail in the coffin for me.
		
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I hope you forwarded a copy of the invoice and the sellers details to both trading standards and the manufacturers of the genuine products?


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## Dave B (Jun 15, 2014)

I know from experience that Callaway clubs can be supplied without serial numbers, especially if the head is supplied to a tour van. In my case I bought a 3 and 5 wood from one of the major retailers and questioned them on the lack of serial. They gave me a number to ring at Callaway which I also validated and Callaway confirmed that the clubs were genuine and that in some instances these clubs are supplied to retailers without serial numbers to meet supply and demand.


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## Imurg (Jun 15, 2014)

Callaway are not putting serial numbers on anything except drivers in the 2014 range.
And that's from Callaway Customer Service......


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## Junior (Jun 15, 2014)

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## Junior (Jun 15, 2014)

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## Liverpoolphil (Jun 15, 2014)

I'm guessing the head covers and shafts are different on the driver in terms of look ? The tuned distance on the head cover and the white bit at the bottom of the shaft ? Are they on the real clubs as well ?


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## duncan mackie (Jun 15, 2014)

Junior said:


















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I'm confused

you have shown pics of your clubs, but what is it that suggests they are 'fake'?

forget the Chinese invoice,  that only suggests a far eastern source and has nothing to do with whether they are fake in itself. i suspect they are made in China anyway!

previously glaring evidence of a fake can be established from - whether the the hosel and weight adjustments work; most fakes simply don't manufacture either of these as functional.


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## Junior (Jun 15, 2014)

Liverpoolphil said:



			I'm guessing the head covers and shafts are different on the driver in terms of look ? The tuned distance on the head cover and the white bit at the bottom of the shaft ? Are they on the real clubs as well ?
		
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The white at the bottom of the shaft is the sticker phil.


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## Liverpoolphil (Jun 15, 2014)

Junior said:



			The white at the bottom of the shaft is the sticker phil.
		
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Cool :thup:

How do you know they are fake ?


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## Junior (Jun 15, 2014)

duncan mackie said:



			I'm confused

you have shown pics of your clubs, but what is it that suggests they are 'fake'?

forget the Chinese invoice,  that only suggests a far eastern source and has nothing to do with whether they are fake in itself. i suspect they are made in China anyway!

previously glaring evidence of a fake can be established from - whether the the hosel and weight adjustments work; most fakes simply don't manufacture either of these as functional.
		
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When you compare the clubs to new its easier to tell that the ones i got are not genuine.

The adjustablity works fine but the 'Std' markings do not line up with the line on the hosel. Also, the heads are bigger on mine and the grooves are deeper.  There is an alignment line on the back of the heads on mine (thats on the driver) but on the fairways i checked in a pro shop there are no alignment lines.


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## Junior (Jun 15, 2014)

Liverpoolphil said:



			Cool :thup:

How do you know they are fake ?
		
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The stickers and labels look legit. But there are a number of differences to genuine models that ive just posted in reply to Duncan.  

Shame really, the clubs really do look good enough to hit!!


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## Liverpoolphil (Jun 15, 2014)

Junior said:



			The stickers and labels look legit. But there are a number of differences to genuine models that ive just posted in reply to Duncan.  

Shame really, the clubs really do look good enough to hit!!
		
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Hope you get them sorted :thup:

Is the reason why I never buy clubs from Flea bay - in fact don't think I have ever bought a club online


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## duncan mackie (Jun 15, 2014)

Junior said:



			When you compare the clubs to new its easier to tell that the ones i got are not genuine.

The adjustablity works fine but the 'Std' markings do not line up with the line on the hosel. Also, the heads are bigger on mine and the grooves are deeper.  There is an alignment line on the back of the heads on mine (thats on the driver) but on the fairways i checked in a pro shop there are no alignment lines.
		
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thanks - as said it's very rare for fakes to be manufactured with working adjustability or weighting; there's simply no margin in it for them.

fwiw there are 10 versions of the SLDR and 7 versions of the SLDR mini drivers registered on the USGA/R&A conforming drivers list!

anyhow, it's an academic argument; you will establish the full story of your clubs in due course.


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## Junior (Jun 15, 2014)

Liverpoolphil said:



			Hope you get them sorted :thup:

Is the reason why I never buy clubs from Flea bay - in fact don't think I have ever bought a club online
		
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Cheers mate. Yip, i'll never buy online again after this.


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