Real Tiger Woods Putter on eBay?

A little over a year ago, I visited a local golf store and came across an authentic backup to Tiger Woods' Scotty Cameron putter. I really wanted this putter, but I wasn't ready to give my life's savings for it!

As with any high-priced items, there are scumbags out there that make cheap knock-offs to scam unsuspecting consumers. One such scoundrel had the nerve to link his fake Tiger Woods' putter eBay listing to this site as some sort of mark of legitimacy! I tried to foil his plot by telling people who visited that link to have any rare Cameron authenticated prior to purchase. Unfortunately, some poor bastard still shelled out over $300 for this POS. Oh well, buyer beware.

Recently a reader emailed me about another eBay auction for a Tiger Woods' Scotty Cameron putter. With such auctions, it is better to assume guilty (fake) until proven innocent rather than vice versa. But upon closer inspection, it appears that this auction may indeed be legit. First, there is a photo of the putter in front of a Certificate of Authenticity. Second, I ran the registry number from the certificate at the Scotty Cameron Registry and it shows up as registered. The only thing that looks suspicious is the "Letter of Authenticity" signed by Scotty Cameron. You would expect such a letter to be written on more official looking company letterhead and written in the first-person. However, the signature looks like Scotty's.

I decided to do a little more research. I emailed the Scotty Cameron Shop and they replied, "If the putter has a COA then its authentic. As for being made for Tiger that is not stated on the COA nor the number made. Thanks." I checked the forums at the Cameron Collector and found a thread dedicated to this auction. The experts there seemed to think that the auction was legit.

Regardless, bidders of this auction clearly think that it's legit. There's still 4 days remaining in this auction and the bid price has already exceeded $30K. That's a lot of moolah for a single golf club. For the winning bidder's sake, I hope that the putter is real...

Fake Tiger Woods Putter?

Anytime someone takes the time and effort to link to this site, I'm extremely appreciative. Well, at least that's what I used to think.

Recently, I came across an eBay listing that linked to the Tiger Woods Scotty Cameron Putter post. To my astonishment, it appears that Grouchy Golf is being used to help sell a fake Tiger Woods Scotty Cameron Putter!

See it for yourself, if it's still available. It's an eBay auction entitled "Scotty Cameron Tiger Woods Red Circle Newport 2 Pro T."

From what I can tell, it's just a dinged-up Scotty Cameron Newport Two Pro Platinum not worth more than a C-note that's been doctored up to look like Tiger's Newport 2 303 GSS. The putter face and the bottom of the putter are the dead giveaways. While this technically may not be a counterfeit Scotty Cameron, it is grossly misleading at best with the seller claiming that "This club is the same club that Tiger Woods used on tour." To those in the know, it is obviously not the Cameron putter model that is in the hands of the world's #1.

It is such a blatant fake that it is laugh-out-loud, rolling-on-the-floor hilarious. It kinda reminds me of those cheesecocks who modified their Pontiac Fieros with cheap-looking fiberglass body panels to make them look like Ferrari Testarossas. Who are these people kidding?! If you're going to copy a Ferrari, at least get the color right. To my knowledge, Ferrari has never produced a car in Puke beige. Can you imagine if this guy tried to pawn this POS off as a bona fide Testarossa? I hope that no one would be fooled into buying it, just like I hope that no one would be fooled into buying that fake Tiger Woods putter.

Xmas Present

Like most years, Santa doesn't really give me what I want. But at least I always have enough coal to last me through the winter.

This year, I decided to buy myself a new driver for Xmas. So I cruise over to one of my favorite online retailers, 3balls Golf to have a look. This place specializes in golf closeouts, both new and slightly used (demo clubs). As a result, their inventory is constantly changing. So if you don't see anything interesting, check back in a couple of weeks. I've already bought several items from them and have been extremely pleased with the prices, accuracy of the item descriptions, and customer service.

Recently, they bought a ton of demo TaylorMade R580 XD and R540 XD drivers. Their selling price ranges from $109.50 to $149.50 depending on the model, condition, and shaft. If you recall, just a year ago these drivers were going for over $300 with the stock shaft.

But you can get an even better deal from 3balls.com. If you don't mind purchasing on eBay, you can find the majority of 3balls.com inventory there. So I went on eBay and won a 9.5° 540XD Driver with a Graphite Design YS-6 stiff shaft from 3balls.com for $100! Shipping was an additional $10. It was described as "fine" but it's virtually new.

Unfortunately, I haven't noticed a damn difference between this driver and my "obsolete" Ping TiSi. I don't think that I've gained a single yard nor am I hitting more fairways. Funny, I always thought it had to be the club and not me. Well, at least I'll have another club to blame the next time I play bad. Oh yeah, Happy Friggin' New Year!

Golf and eBay

According to Golf World, golf is one of the hottest categories on eBay.

Indeed, eBay has changed my life.

Where else can you bid to play a round with Tiger Woods?

Over the last year or so, I've been buying virtually all of my golf equipment on eBay. Of course, you have to be careful of fake golf clubs, but the convenience and savings are truly amazing.

It all started about 3 years ago when I eBayed a new Ping driver with a custom UST Proforce shaft. What would have cost me at least $300 at retail, cost me $200 delivered to my door.

4 months ago, I eBayed a set of brand new Nike Forged Blade Irons with Rifle shafts for $450 delivered. That set would have cost at least $550 at retail before tax and shipping.

Most recently I eBayed a used 34" Scotty Cameron Mil-Spec Putter for $150 delivered. It was in "almost new" condition that sold new for $250 at retail.

Of course, not everything is a bargain. I routinely see special edition Scotty Cameron Putter headcovers exchange hands for $400 and more. Yes, that's correct, headcovers worth more than the putters that they house. If you're going to spend that much money on a headcover, shouldn't you protect it with a putter headcover cover? I guess you could, but I bet those would go for at least $800. Hey, I think I just discovered my next great business idea!

Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to buy a good golf swing on eBay...