Component shootout

[toomanymatts]

hey there guys

 

Re-read your clone vs name brand piece recently, which got me thinking....I'd love to see you review some of the component manufacturers in the same way that you do the big brands.

 

I guess - basically by definition - that is quite challenging (there's no stock anything to use as a baseline), but still, where there's a will there's a way I guess. 

 

Love to see Maltby, Hireko, Wishon, KZG, Alpha, Snake Eyes et al get put to the test and see how they stand up against the bigger names (and often bigger price tags) of the name brands.

 

As a side note, would love to see a follow-up to the Clone piece focusing on irons etc.  Probably prefer to see a higher-end clone than the one you did in the driver shoot-out (Giga and Pinemeadow seem to be the most respected in that field) this time around though.  If nothing else, it gives you a great chance to channel Star Wars and call the piece The Clone Wars

 

Anyhow - I guess that all makes me a stingy-value-golf person, but would really like to see both pieces nonetheless.

 

Thanks for all your great work

 

Matt

[MattF]

I would love to see this as well, but as you said, there's no stock anything, so I HIGHLY doubt it will ever get done.

[wbealsd]

Well, I'm bagging a Wishon wood and Alpha irons with KZG shafts, so it's obviously a "niche" I'm interested in

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

hey there guys

 

Re-read your clone vs name brand piece recently, which got me thinking....I'd love to see you review some of the component manufacturers in the same way that you do the big brands.

 

I guess - basically by definition - that is quite challenging (there's no stock anything to use as a baseline), but still, where there's a will there's a way I guess. 

 

Love to see Maltby, Hireko, Wishon, KZG, Alpha, Snake Eyes et al get put to the test and see how they stand up against the bigger names (and often bigger price tags) of the name brands.

 

As a side note, would love to see a follow-up to the Clone piece focusing on irons etc.  Probably prefer to see a higher-end clone than the one you did in the driver shoot-out (Giga and Pinemeadow seem to be the most respected in that field) this time around though.  If nothing else, it gives you a great chance to channel Star Wars and call the piece The Clone Wars

 

Anyhow - I guess that all makes me a stingy-value-golf person, but would really like to see both pieces nonetheless.

 

Thanks for all your great work

 

Matt

 

From what I understand, KZG and Alpha aren't budget brands -- they can be quite pricey - in the same ballpark as many OEM's.  

 

Absolutely LOVE this idea! 

[wbealsd]

From what I understand, KZG and Alpha aren't budget brands -- they can be quite pricey - in the same ballpark as many OEM's.  

 

Absolutely LOVE this idea! 

Well, I'd certainly add Wishon & Maltby in the mix as what I call "Builder Brands."  They're not knock-offs, they're basically custom brands available through Club Fitters, but since they're not well publicized the "average golfer" isn't aware of them and they get lumped into the "Clone" category.

 

Edel, is another brand that most people won't recognize, but those that are aware of it, realize it's a quality brand.

[PlaidJacket]

Count me in on a review like described above. Wishon's aren't budget clubs either per se'. I'd place them right along side of Alpha or KZG. Full disclosure.... I play a full bag of Wishon currently except Driver and putter.

(I'm working with my fitter regarding my Wishon driver so technically it's not in play at the moment)

[Kenny B]

When I started playing golf about 24 years now, I started tinkering by building a set of irons from Maltby.  Quality products, but it was more of something to do, and I had no idea what I was doing.  With my swing then, it really didn't matter anyway!     I think that the niche club providers can give golfers another option besides the big OEM guys.  Since people don't see them in stores, they don't even know they exist.  

 

I like the idea of a test.  Here's my suggestion, FWIW:  Pick a dollar amount, say $300, for a driver.  What can you have built for that amount and how well does it work compared to an off-the-shelf driver?  I'm thinking you can do quite well.

[toomanymatts]

Seems like this idea went over well.

Should clarify a couple things: I don't lump components with clones, I'd actually like to see both pieces...clones vs originals (as done earlier), and components vs OEMs. And yes, I know there are a huge range of pricepoints in component land. For the record I have Maltby wedges and Wishon fairway in my bag, while the wife bags Maltby woods/hybrids, Wishon irons and Acer wedges...so, ya, span all the price points between us

Re suggestion above about setting a ceiling price...I dunno, that would kind of benefit the cheaper heads, as a $25 head would then be entitled to a 275 shaft (ignoring grips and ferrules etc for the time being). A 300 head from one of the more costly component dudes then gets relegated to whatever freebie is laying around. You could also maybe argue that the dude in the market for the $25 head is the dude most likely to buy the $20 shaft, while the $300 head guy isn't likely to cheap out on the 'engine room' since he takes his equipment so seriously.

I honestly don't know. I guess its complicated because the essential ethos behind all of them (irrespective of price point) is custom fitting and creation, it's very hard to find a mechanism to test apples against apples.

Best I can come up with: I guess drivers make the most sense, as then can make comparisons to the Most Wanted data - so the reference points are there.

Maybe we could take 1 head from each selected component co, then have a very wide variety of shafts on hand, a fitting session for testers, then comparison of professionally fit component clubs versus their daily drivers from the major brands for personal results, and a pooled collection vs the Most Wanted drivers.

So then it could be (and just using distance for illustration):

Jack drives 270 with his regular SLDR, 260 with the custom fit Acer, 270 with the custom fit Alpha, 280 with the custom fit Maltby and so on; Steve drives 240 with his regular Bertha......total that all up and can say "on average custom fitting saw our testers increase/decrease X yards vs the clubs they normally bag".

Then on average custom fit Maltbys came in at 275, which would have placed them in X position on our Most Wanted...something like that. Custom fit Wishons....... which would have placed them....and so on again.

I dunno, maybe that's too much work (and potentially a lot of wasted shafts assuming they all cut to fit each tester) ...still, seems a lot of us would be interested to be able to compare tailor made to Taylormade...