HiBore: are these fake? what do you think.

[otakueric]

so i purchased a set of hibore irons off the bay, and received them today. the back part of the clubheads, which protrude out to give the feel of a hybrid, are black. but to my surprise, the ones i received were grey.
i spoke with a cleveland rep and he agreed that they may not be genuine, that they have no reports of discoloration due to sun exposure or anything of the like, and that only 1 line of hibores were sold, there are no 2007 or 2008 models. i also asked the seller if he used any acetone or bleach to clean it, he said no -- only regular club cleaner.
the two pictures attached are stock photos of what they should look like, the rest are a sample of one of my irons -- they all look the same.

 

[otakueric]

more pictures

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

Do they have serial #'s, you can usually ask the rep to confirm if they are real that way. Or if they don't have serial #'s, ask the rep if they should. This is usually the easiest way to tell

 

[dave.]

The rep might not have a clue, they could easily have been done in that colour in the factory, WRX is a great place to ask, lots of anal people in there.

 

[PINGELI]

I know for a long time Cleveland irons did not have serial numbers. The fact that the clubs are used a one good sign (counterfeit clubs are generally garbage an never last long enough to see a second user). Here is an interesting tidbit regarding counterfeit clevelands
Cleveland Golf Fights Counterfeiting With New Authenticity Label » The Wire

 

[Topflite_D2]

What kind of criminal would counterfit Cleveland Hi-bore irons? But I agree the weird paint makes a red flag go up.

 

[King Par]

They counterfeit almost EVERYTHING in Japan/China. The exceptions would be less popular products.

Right down to ProV1's.

 

[Topflite_D2]

Well I know that but I was making a joke because I remember someone asking if a Hi-Bore driver was counterfit then someone replying that people wouldn't waste their time counterfiting Clevelands.

 

[gunning4u]

They are the hibore tours.

 

[tn-golfnut-from-nj]

They are the hibore tours.

ROTFLMAO....:biglol:

 

[5iron]

Hey otakueric, im sorry if there counterfit ./ I hope there not.

 

[otakueric]

well after a full day of talking to cleveland reps and customer service, me and a golfsmith employee did a side by side comparison while conferenced with a cleveland rep and decided that they are indeed knock-offs, but the best either have ever seen/heard of.

double white line ferrule was almost identical
grips were almost identical
down to the milling or lack there of, on the club face

 

[Topflite_D2]

Oh man that sucks to hear, are you going to try and get your money back and get this guy locked up or something? I'd be pissed and would drive to this guy's house and shove them straight up is azz.

 

[johnx]

I bought mine off of E-bay too. They came in Cleveland box with real Cleveland grips wrapped in plastic and True Temper dynamic gold shafts. But they are grey too. I don't know either. Some old pictures of HiBores seem to indicate they were grey too and then went to black.

 

[otakueric]

i hope you didnt buy the same set i returned. I had my grey hibores checked with plenty of reps and they all agreed it was fake.

compare the hosel, grip, width/depth of the insert, with a real set, and you will realize yours are probably fake

if the grips smell like tire rubber, thats another major sign

sorry man, there have never been grey back hibores. not demos, not promos or protos, never.