We recently had a customer bring us some Golf Pride MCC Plus 4's to install on his clubs that he had purchased online. When preparing to install grips the first thing we do is remove the packaging from all the grips. Golf Pride grips come with a perforated wrapper on the butt of the grip which can be removed by tapping the end on a work bench. When we used that process and the wrappers would not come off we took a closer look at the grip and saw there was no perforations on this packing. That sent us down the rabbit hole of comparing these grips to those purchased from our authorized wholesalers and here's what we found.
We noticed the lettering on packaging was different than the grips we purchase from our authorized wholesalers. We reached out to Golf Pride and they confirmed these grips were indeed bogus.
So the question is: is it safe to buy golf grips on Ebay, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and overseas websites offering low prices? The answer is "it depends". This will be a two part article; this first part will focus on counterfeit golf grips, and the second article will focus on the latest trend of selling used grips as new.
First of all why would someone want to counterfeit golf grips they are not that expensive?
The answer is the cost of golf club grips, like every other consumer product, has increased dramatically since Covid, and when you are purchasing them in sets of 13, it starts to add up. So profiteers have started making knock-offs and selling them online as the real deal at lower prices. It seems that the most expensive grips are the ones most likely to be copied by counterfeiters. For example, the grips brought to us, the Golf Pride MCC Plus 4's, are one of the most copied grips on the market. NO1, a luxury Japanese grip, that commands a premium price is also facing issues dealing with sites selling fake versions of their grips. With SuperStroke now charging a $30 flat rate for all their grips, the overseas websites are flooded with cheaper knockoffs.
What are the consequences of buying fake grips?
In a word, Durability! The fake grips are made with cheaper materials with no quality control. This leads to variable wall thickness, inconsistent feel, grips splitting when being installed or during play, rapid and excessive wear and increased grip pressure.
IMAGE CREDIT: Budget Golf Reviews
How to avoid buying fake grips?
If the seller on any of these sites is a recognized golf retailer, i.e., Carl's Golf Land or Edwin Watts, etc., it's a pretty safe bet the grips they are selling are legit. No reputable golf company is going to jeopardize their relationships with OEMs by selling legit grips in their brick & mortar stores and then peddling fakes online. However, if the grips are shipping from an unrecognized entity, shipping from a foreign country or selling at a lower price than you would expect, you should be wary. Does that mean every "individual" person selling sets of grips on these sites is selling fakes? Absolutely not, but you should always recognize that a deal to good to be true most likely is. In the example below there is no way this price could be construed as authentic regardless of claims made by the seller.
Check out the sellers rating
If the purchase site offers ratings for their sellers investigate how past buyers rated the seller. It is also best to look at their refund policy. If people have complained about not being able to return missing or damaged goods it could be a red flag.
Avoid buying from questionable sites that use stock photos
Make sure the items pictured in the listing are the actual grips being sold and not a stock photo pulled from the internet.
Compare the grips to the images on the OEM website
If you are buying name brand grips go the their website and compare and contrast the grips being sold to the real deal. Pay particular attention to the packaging, color, paint fill, fonts used on the grip as compared to OEM grip, see our cover photo.
Check for original packaging
Golf pride places a plastic wrapper at the butt of all their grips, while Winn and SuperStroke wrap their grips in cellophane. The challenge here is that some wholesalers buy them by the case and break open the cases to sell to smaller retailers like Golf Gear Box and some grips, like those from Lamkin, just come rubber banded together. Additionally, some of the counterfeiters have started mimicking the OEMs packaging so this is not a fool proof method for avoiding fakes.
In summary, to totally avoid counterfeit grips you should always buy from an Authorized Retailer. Golf Gear Box is an Authorized Retailer for most of the major OEMs. If you are going to buy online at one of the sites listed above, do your diligence and remember good grips aren't cheap and cheap grips aren't good!