Rifling through the pages of the latest Golfsmith, Edwin Watts, or TGW catalog, it's hard not to dream about walking up to the first tee box and drawing a fancy new driver from your bag. For many golfers, however, the prices of these costly new toys is simply too prohibitive. Take for example the new TaylorMade R5 Dual driver, which not only comes with "dual launch control ports," but includes a price tag of nearly $600 as well.

There is a more budget-friendly alternative, however. For some, it may seem like the golf world's equivalent of a shady character peddling imitation watches on the side of the street. However, the world of "knock-off" golf clubs has moved from weekend duffers assembling clubs in their basements to big business. Thanks to retailers who specialize in these clubs, the more politically correct title of "clone clubs" has been adopted as well.

What is a clone club? In short, this is a golf club which (at least aesthetically) closely resembles a similar club from one of the major manufacturers. In many cases, the name of the clone club is similar to that of its hefty priced counterpart. Clone retailers often even go so far as to list the name of the club that the clone version is designed to replicate. Needless to say, the savings are often substantial. Clone drivers, for example, can easily be found priced under $100. Why pay almost $400 Titleist 905 Driver when you can get the clone less than $90?

Before you plan what to do with all your savings from the purchase of clone clubs, it is important to note the differences. On the positive side, most clone retailers offer clubs which come with name brand components. Typically, retailers of clone clubs offer shafts from companies such as True Temper, Grafalloy, and Harrison, the same manufacturers most of the mainstream club makers use. Additionally, grips by manufacturers such as Golf Pride, Winn, and Lamkin are commonplace. The undeniable difference, however, is the most prominent part of the club, the head, as well as the assembly of the club itself.

While mainstream club manufacturers test their products for distance and accuracy using industry-standard techniques, it is virtually impossible to find this data for their clone counterparts. One would have to assume that if clone clubs resembled their mainstream counterparts in performance as much as aesthetics, manufacturers would make these statistics readily available. This looming fact contributes to one of the keys to a solid round of golf- confidence. If a golfer lacks confidence in his equipment, can he be confident in his game?

Another drawback of clone clubs is the lack of trade-in value. When purchasing a new club, or set of clubs, many golfers take advantage of trading in old clubs at their local golf shop. While the money saved by using a trade-in typically is only a fraction of the original cost, this is still substantially more than the trade-in value of a clone club (which would typically be $0).

In the end, the decision to purchase a pricey new club or to opt for a significantly less expensive clone is up to the individual golfer. While the selection of mainstream clubs has grown immensely with the explosion in the sports popularity, so to has the variety of clone clubs. There are many decisions to be made when buying a club, and the legitimized market for clone clubs has only added to the choices.

Robert Hayes is a featured author for http://www.engolfed.com, a web site that includes golf tips, golf articles, and a golf blog.