“The industry is doing what it can but it’s a constantly evolving, moving target,” added John. “We do as much as we can to stop product coming in.

“The best and most effective thing we can do is to educate the consumer what to look for and to learn that just because it looks good and the price looks right, don’t assume that it’s a genuine website.”

And he concluded with an important message for anyone buying golf clubs online: “If you’re not sure about a product you’re considering buying from a website, call us and we can tell if the supplier is an authorised stockist or one of the dozens we know that are sites selling counterfeit products.

“If it is one of our genuine suppliers, you know you’re going to get genuine PING product.”

For valuable advice on avoiding counterfeit PING products, visit www.ping.com or call PING customer services on 01427 615405.

Next time... The work of the US Golf Manufacturers’ Anti-Counterfeiting Working Group.

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