With the Christmas shopping season around the corner, you might be tempted to save a few bucks on a gift for the golfer in your life. There are a number of online retail websites, auction sites and classified sites that list new golf equipment at a substantial savings, but are you really getting a good deal if they are fakes? The U.S. Golf Manufacturers Anti-Counterfeiting Working Group has developed a website with tips to help you avoid buying a fake.
Formed back in 2004 by Callaway-Odyssey, Top-Flite and Ben Hogan; TaylorMade-adidas Golf and Ashworth; PING; Cleveland Golf, Srixon and Never Compromise; and Acushnet Company (Titleist, FootJoy and Scotty Cameron), the U.S. Golf Manufacturers Anti-Counterfeiting Working Group was created with the sole purpose of combating counterfeits in the golf industry. This problem has plagued many other industries, all potentially damaging to the brand image of the original companies; but it certain instances, these fakes can cause bodily harm. For instance if a club is manufactured to sub-standard levels, the head is more likely to separate from the shaft or the shaft is more likely to break resulting in injuries that will probably cost substantially more than the money saved by buying a fake.
The group estimates that 2 million fake clubs are produced each year. That number, added to the countless number of counterfeit balls, bags, apparel and accessories, has cost the industry millions of dollars of lost revenue. Only a small percentage of fakes are seized each year. In fact, only 25,000 counterfeit golf products were seized by the group in 2010, with an estimated value exceeding $1 million. That leaves millions of fakes on the market.
The U.S. Golf Manufacturers Anti-Counterfeiting Working Group believes that the way to combat counterfeits is to use a two prong approach – education and enforcement. The enforcement will continue to happen at all levels, from manufacturing through final sale. It is the education portion that they view as more important. In reality, counterfeits will always be made as long as there is a market of people willing to lay down their hard earned cash for a product that’s looks as good as the original, but risk that it will not function as well as the original. The KeepGolfReal website is education tool that the U.S. Golf Manufacturers Anti-Counterfeiting Working Group has put together to help you determine if that set of clubs that you found online are the real deal or real fake. To some people, buying a fake is ok. If you are of the belief that you want to buy an authentic product, but verify that it is real, swing on by the KeepGolfReal website to check out their tips.
U.S. Golf Manufacturers Anti-Counterfeiting Working Group Website