Seller trying to pass retail heads as tour issue

[RookieBlue7]

Seller purports this is a Masters edition SLDR Tour Issue. It's not, it's a retail head at best. Has the green Chinese weight cover and retail serial.

There's also a 9.5 degree. No COR testing stamping or anything. Just making everyone aware

 

http://m.ebay.com/itm/141335182316?nav=SEARCH

[GolfSpy WD]

How can you tell a Tour Issue SLDR head?

[BK in TEXAS]

How can you tell a Tour Issue SLDR head?

I was wondering the same thing. 

[mnfats95]

Seller purports this is a Masters edition SLDR Tour Issue. It's not, it's a retail head at best. Has the green Chinese weight cover and retail serial.

There's also a 9.5 degree. No COR testing stamping or anything. Just making everyone aware

 

http://m.ebay.com/itm/141335182316?nav=SEARCH

 

It's already sold! That is just down I-70 from me too.

[RookieBlue7]

How can I tell?  No COR testing stamp, no T-serial, nothing.  Someone likely bought it and didn't pay from a spoof account so he'd get hit with the fees.  Not that anyone would do that.  Not to mention the weight cover(the green piece) is from china because TM didn't make a green one.

[Jondagcl]

With the "T" serial number, how does that work exactly?  Just for the heck of it I went on ebay and looked at a ton of other "tour" models and I didn't find any with a "T".  Are these bogus too?

[RookieBlue7]

I've yet to see a TM head that come off the van without a T serial or no serial and they've always got a COR testing + on the neck somewhere for anything in the last 3-4 years. There are a few legit sellers out there I know of that have legit gear always.

 

Will Peoples (thepeoplesclubs.com and eBay the_tour_van in Cullowhe NC).

 

Niblick99 (his are usually older stock)

 

And a few others.

 

But these have no t serial, no COR testing and the green china weight. And being new they should have spec stickers, be wrapped in plastic with a hole dead center of the face where the COR test was done

[RookieBlue7]

An example:

 

Notice a difference in the balls on the left vs the ones on the right? The untrained eye doesn't, but look at the lethal logo. The 2 dots signify a particular tour prototype.

 

 

Another example, the Superfast 2.0 v2 LCG I referenced earlier:

 

 

T serial denotes tour issue. L at the end of the T serial denotes LCG model and the second smaller serial denotes version 2.

 

I can snap more pics of different stuff if you'd like.

[jpcgolf]

Man, I would have never noticed that.  Thanks for the info.

[Mr_Theoo]

Will a tour model head always have a serial number that starts with T?

[RookieBlue7]

Will a tour model head always have a serial number that starts with T?

Every TM head I've seen directly off their tour van has had either a T serial or no serial and I've owned a bunch.

 

Cleveland uses the T serial as well.

 

Titleist, at least since the 910 puts the T in the middle of the serial, I believe the 3rd letter/number if memory serves. They also have Protos that never get released like the 970 fairways, 907d3, f6.04 fairways, 503.i, etc.

 

Callaway has TA on theirs.

 

Adams are no serials until the TMag acquisition. Now it's either no serial or a T serial. Or prototypes of course.

 

Ping is one of the few that are the same as their retail lines and are the same equipment with the exception of putters. There is the JW serial for Jim Wells putters and a few others. If you have one, never send it in for work because they keep it and confiscate it.

 

Scotty Cameron, of course, has the circle T.

 

Just a few examples but to answer the question, no, all manufacturers don't use T-serials.

[GolfSpy WD]

Thanks. I was told they only put a screw in the weight port for tour issue SLDRs. I looked up the T serial number a while back, but didn't see any SLDR heads with it.

[revkev]

An example:

Notice a difference in the balls on the left vs the ones on the right? The untrained eye doesn't, but look at the lethal logo. The 2 dots signify a particular tour prototype.

Another example, the Superfast 2.0 v2 LCG I referenced earlier:

T serial denotes tour issue. L at the end of the T serial denotes LCG model and the second smaller serial denotes version 2.

I can snap more pics of different stuff if you'd like.

Out of curiosity do you know what kind of tour prototype those lethals are?

[Jondagcl]

Thanks rookie for the pictures and the info. I would have never known this - and to be honest I kinda thought the green weight was the thing that MADE it the tour issue. Not the obvious indicator that it wasn't a tour issue driver.

 

And a tour issue driver from TM would have a pin sized hole in the face as well?

[RookieBlue7]

Thanks. I was told they only put a screw in the weight port for tour issue SLDRs. I looked up the T serial number a while back, but didn't see any SLDR heads with it.

You can buy the toe plate and screw from Will Peoples.

 

Or you can take the stock toe plate and drill a hole in it where the mark will be on the double sided tape that holds it in place and install it yourself with a $3 screw ( you get 20 of them at that price) from Fastener Express. They're simply knurled socket head star drive cap screw (or security drive). I bought the 10mm. They're m4x7 metric thread.

 

Here's the one I drilled and a screw as well as a Baggie of the screws:

 

 

Here's one I bought from Will before I found the screws to mod other SLDR's with:

 

I actually bought non-security torx screws because it's easier for those that don't have security bits. You can buy either(I have both, well had, I gave all the security screws, save 1, away and it's spoken for for my cousin's SLDR I have to mod.

 

If you need or want the screw and drilled toe plate, send me yours and I'll swap you for this one that's drilled or I'll drill yours and send the screw. All SLDR's have the hole under the toe plate. It's actually for hot melt but they added the toe screw after Rose's DQ and now secure the hot melt port.

[RookieBlue7]

Out of curiosity do you know what kind of tour prototype those lethals are?

They're slightly more firm mantles that DJ and Darren Clarke were testing for sure as well as a few others (a few have their numbers on them, I got 5 of them in the woot deal I posted a few days ago that's now dead. I should've ordered 12 dozen and another 12 dozen in my wife's name but I only ordered 4). I believe DJ ended up settling on the asterisk model.

[BIG STU]

 Rookie one question Why would Ping conficaste those certain putters? Is it because they were not supposed to be sold anyhow? I would think that may constitute a legal battle or would it be considered stolen?? Just curious inquiring minds want to know

[RookieBlue7]

Rookie one question Why would Ping conficaste those certain putters? Is it because they were not supposed to be sold anyhow? I would think that may constitute a legal battle or would it be considered stolen?? Just curious inquiring minds want to know

The putters Jim Wells did for tour players (JW indicates Jim Wells) are serialized very specifically. The second 2 numbers indicate the year it's made, the next 2 the tour it's from and the end denotes the player. Those putters are considered and classified as loaners and still Ping's property. You send it in, they're keeping it. Call about it and they're going to give you zero information about it and will try to get it back according to some I know that have them and have called about them. They're not happy when they leave the hands of the person they're made for.

[mnfats95]

The putters Jim Wells did for tour players (JW indicates Jim Wells) are serialized very specifically. The second 2 numbers indicate the year it's made, the next 2 the tour it's from and the end denotes the player. Those putters are considered and classified as loaners and still Ping's property. You send it in, they're keeping it. Call about it and they're going to give you zero information about it and will try to get it back according to some I know that have them and have called about them. They're not happy when they leave the hands of the person they're made for.

 

Were those putters made as gifts or were they requested with certain specifications?

[RookieBlue7]

Were those putters made as gifts or were they requested with certain specifications?

My understanding is they're for any Ping sponsored player (a friend's son that plays for OSU now has been sponsored by Ping in the clubs since he was like 13 and he has several).  They fit them for them either at a venue or at HQ (like they did his son) and the putter is set to the exact specifications, weight, etc.  I've had my hands on one or two around here and they're awesome putters.  I know some get returned and redistributed, but they were tracking all of them at one time.  Course now I don't know if they even know how many are out there any longer as I don't know if any new ones have been made in a while, if Jim Wells is still alive, etc.  I just know you can't get info from Ping if it's from the secondary market and if you send it in for any work, they'll keep it.

[BIG STU]

The putters Jim Wells did for tour players (JW indicates Jim Wells) are serialized very specifically. The second 2 numbers indicate the year it's made, the next 2 the tour it's from and the end denotes the player. Those putters are considered and classified as loaners and still Ping's property. You send it in, they're keeping it. Call about it and they're going to give you zero information about it and will try to get it back according to some I know that have them and have called about them. They're not happy when they leave the hands of the person they're made for.

Ok thanks in legal terms then if someone was in posession that was not supposed to be it would be theft. I never knew anything of them untill your post very interesting