Questions & Answers Responses from PGA/LPGA Teachers on FINDaLESSON.com                                                                                  << BACK From Randy, golfer: Hello, I would like to know what are the differences between brand name and after market clubs. In other words, if Callaway and a Callaway copy head come off the same line, are there hundreds of dollars worth of differences? PGA/LPGA TEACHING PROFESSIONAL RESPONSES: Florida "Look-alikes are exactly what they say.  They look alike, but who knows what you are getting.  Companies like Callaway check the quality of each component before they put there name on it. Next time you have a chance, look in a good player's bag. See any copies?"  - Mike Dopslaff, Teaching Professional Florida "Randy: not much buddy, especially if you get fitted for them."  - Sean Gorgone, Teaching Professional Florida "Sometimes, if the club maker is very good, the clone club can actually be better than the original.  This is because the quality control tolerances can be very loose at the major manufacturers and better with the small club maker." - David Balbi, Teaching Professional Minnesota "Randy: if you go to Callaway they would see a big difference but in my opinion there is not. I have sold both kind of clubs and the only difference I see is the design and especially the shafts they put in the clubs. The shafts are the most important part of the club. head design is what looks good to you and if you like the feel and the way the ball travels and flies off the club is the right head for you." - Mark Fitzenberger, Teaching Professional New Mexico "The difference between a premium club like Titleist or Callaway and a copy is comparable to the difference between "two works of art," the Mona Lisa and your attempt to copy the Mona Lisa. The top companies spend literally millions of dollars on Research and Development. The copiers put together the cheapest components they can find and try to make their clubs look as much as possible like the real thing. I'll guarantee you it won't play like the real thing. How many shots will the top clubs actually save you? Maybe not many. It depends upon your ability level. If you are serious about improving your game, you need to get fitted by a professional and invest in the real thing so as to eliminate the club as a variable in your improvement process. If you play a couple of times a year and are not seeking continuous improvement, save yourself some money and buy whatever looks good to you." - Warren Lehr, Teaching Professional Ohio "There definitely is a difference between and Callaway and a Callaway copy or knock off.  Callaway and any name brand of clubs are made to exact specifications, whereas copies of known brands are not.  Most of these are made in Asia, and the quality of the head is unknown.  Knock offs are illegal in this country.  So if you see a club that looks a lot like a Callaway or Taylor Made, but has a slightly different name, run, don't walk to your nearest legitimate golf shop." - Patty Reno, Teaching Professional South Carolina "There is a big difference in club heads that are name brand, versus those that are “after market.” After market club heads are normally not made under very tight quality controls. The name brand clubs spend a great deal of money insuring that their clubs are produced with tighter quality tolerances. Fully made sets of “aftermarket” clubs also can carry the stigma of being made by people who have not invested in the proper tools and education to make a quality set of golf clubs.  I have seen sets of “knock-offs” being sold in discount stores that were made by someone locally who does know how to glue things together, but might not know how to properly insure that each club is being made as a set, and not as an individual iron.  This will create a situation where the 5 iron feels great, and the rest of the set feels like it belongs to someone else." - John Hughes, Teaching Professional South Carolina "Randy: Super question and the answer is that you never know. The difference is in quality control and some manufacturers are better at that than others. The same is true of no-name clubs. Heads are mostly cosmetic in manufactured sticks. The most important question in these or others is does the head's lie angle fit me? Tiger could not survive playing with a lie angle that did not fit him. The heart is the shaft. Here quality control is most important as are the specs that must fit you. Stiffness of shaft is by no means the only consideration. Kick point is equal and the spec most disregarded by most buyers. It all, I could expound on 13 specs. See a qualified PGA fitter and pay him the 50 or 100 it takes to find your personal specs. An off course operation could supply the same service, hopefully under a PGA pros hand. Experience is a great teacher, it is also a great friend. Jo Yackovich glueing clubs together in his garage because he is addicted to golf is another story. Good Luck!" - Michael Lucas, Teaching Professional Utah "If you can get clubs that come off the same assembly line as Callaway they should be the same. I doubt this is possible as Callaway keeps very tight track of any of their club heads. Copy clubs are cheaper steel and usually have air pockets in the cast heads. If someone is telling you that they have the same heads, I would question it very much! I went to the Ping fitting seminar in Phoenix and asked if I could take one of the heads that Ping was throwing away because of flaws, and they said no way these clubs do not leave the property. Ping had security to prevent someone stealing them. The extra money that your spending on this level of clubs is for the R&D that the company does and tighter club specifications. Warranty is also very important too! Most all major club manufacturers warranty their clubs for life. Have any questions? Let me know." - Brent Wootton, Teaching Professional