Gold´s Factory Putter & great TSG service

[reapl]

Hi all,

I´m pretty new to this forum and am really sorry that one of my first posts is a little rant. I did more reading than writing in the past but just had to get this off my mind:

Last November I bought a Gold´s Factory Tiger Woods Tribute Putter from TSG. Had some custom options added and was really happy with the service by Tario and TSG. Unfortunately I didn´t hear back from Tario himself after contacting him a while ago. So I thought why not get a second opinion on here or get in contact with somebody knowing more than me.

I´m absolutely happy with the quality of the putter itself, great craftsmanship and the club just feels outstanding! What I have to complain about is the quality of the paintfill, never have seen somethin like this before, even on the cheapest putters I had.

The paintfill is losing it´s color and is almost getting clear and no looks longer red. I own the putter for 4 months now and as it has been winter most of the time it has only been to the course for 5 times maximum, otherwise only carpet putting.

For better illustration, here are some pictures from the putter when it arrived and a current one.

when NEW:

Current:

Am I being to picky here? Would you guys say it is alright like this?

I know it won´t affect the playability, but the looks count as well. Buying a premium putter at a premium price, I would not expect this to happen.

I´m thankful for every opinion.

Cheers

Jan

Edited November 19, 2012 by reapl

[FatMan]

I'm guessing from the quality of the pics that it's translucent paint(?). I haven't had that problem with any of my GF putters w/ non-translucent paint fill.

Have you applied or wiped down the putter head with anything (i.e. WD40)?

[reapl]

Yes, the color is translucent red and I have never applied anything on the putter head other than pure water.

I have never had this happen to a golf club before as well. The transclucent paintfill on my Cameron putters (retail and tour) still looks perfect after a couple of years.

[supo]

ooooooh i wouldnt be happy withthat thatsfor sure

ur right these dont grow on trees, they are uber top putters

[idrive]

Making it the way you want it isn't a problem.

Just ask and you shall receive.

Shoot T another Email and the problem will soon be resolved.

[Shankopotamus]

I definitely wouldn't be happy with that either. I'm sure something can be done about it.

[reapl]

I worte another email to Tario and got an answer. He will forward Gold's the pictures.

I hope something can be done. Just don´t know if sending the putter to Japan (from Germany) and back will be a real option. Shipping cost will be really expensive.

[FatMan]

I worte another email to Tario and got an answer. He will forward Gold's the pictures.

I hope something can be done. Just don´t know if sending the putter to Japan (from Germany) and back will be a real option. Shipping cost will be really expensive.

An option would be to pull the shaft on low heat. That way the shipping cost would be a little less. If you're worried about heating up the head, you can also heat the shaft above the hosel until the epoxy bond breaks. Just make sure to keep the heat source moving.

Another option would be to try your hand in the art of paint filling. Tamiya has translucent paint that will give you the same effect.

[+TourSpecGolfer]

Hi reapl,

We will take care you. please PM me directly. or PM gocchin.

you also have email as an option:

[email protected]

[email protected]

thats paint fill has really faded. not good.

[reapl]

Thank you for all your replies.

I´m in contact with Tario and Chris ... will let you know how this turns out.

[EdGolf]

Great after sales service from TSG for sure..... confidence both T or C will make it right.

[reapl]

Time has passed and I sadly have to give an update.

The paintfill faded even more and looked like crap at one point. I got in contact with Tario and Golds. Many thanks here to Tario, he really tried his best. Unfortunately the only solution Golds offered was to send the putter back to Japan for an inspection (... it´s only paintfill, come on guys...) and redo the paintfill if the fault was on their side. It is the middle of the golf season over here and I can´t be without my putter for several weeks, let alone the couple of hundred bucks of shipping. Sending me some of the original paint and let me do the work on my own would have been the easiest solution, but they didn´t want to agree to this. So overall, nothing has been done and I redid the paintfill with my own colors.

This is what it looked like afterwards:

A couple of months and rounds passed by and I was finding some little spots on the face, thinking it was just dirt I tried to tipe them away. They didn´t really want to disappear and the number was increasing over time. I tried evrything to get them off, but had no chance to get it 100% clean again and after 1 round of golf they are back.

This REALLY upsets me. I thought I bought a premium putter made of SUS304, that isn´t supposed to rust. That was one of the reasons I put out that kind of money. I treat all my clubs really well and my putters like babies. They are wiped after use, cleaned, oiled from time to time. Some of my friends already think I´m nuts.

I have never had that happen to a stainless putter before, no OTR Camerons, Pings, whatever...

I wanted a premium putter nobody else has, wanted that customization and was willing to pay a pretty coin for it. I thought this would end my search for the perfect putter, at least for the nearest future. But with all this hassle I´m having with this putter, I´m not sure anymore.

I´m sure Golds will offer to send it to Japan again, have it inspected and correct the issues if the fault is on their side. I don´t know if others will understand, but my feelings about this putter have changed. I loved it when it arrived, looked great, felt great ... paintfill fades, ok just redo it myself ... looks great again ... then it´s rusting ... not happy anymore. What will come next?

Do I really want to send it to Japan now and be without it for a couple of weeks? I think this time I will have no other choice. Just don´t know what I did wrong and why there are so many problems about it that I never had with (much cheaper!) OTR putters.

Sorry for the rant, but I had to vent somehow.

[supo]

well , put it like this if it was a petek ud be wythout if for 12 months or more.

its a top putter, send it back, get it repaired. fixed, what ever. its worth the money.

a cpl of weeks with out it wont kill you.

if tis a bad as u say they will reimburse u for everything id guess ???

i would like to think so.

get it done

[vincent]

Is that rust or just sand mark?

[+TourSpecGolfer]

Looks like a bad finish to me. I think he should re do your paint fill and refinish the putter on his dime.

I will talk to Sasaya about this. PM me directly please.

[xxio]

Such is the problems when buying overseas. I used to be a JDM addict the companies are great to deal with, even for aftermarket service. However when something is off the shipping to them and back to me would jack up the initial purchase price. It would be unfair to expect them to shoulder shipping.

[RIduffer]

Such is the problems when buying overseas. I used to be a JDM addict the companies are great to deal with, even for aftermarket service. However when something is off the shipping to them and back to me would jack up the initial purchase price. It would be unfair to expect them to shoulder shipping.

I would respectfully disagree there. If a problem is the result of a mfg defect, then they should bear the brunt of the cost of fixing/replacing the item. Perhaps, if shipping was to be valued more than the goods themselves, but when you are talking about an expensive bespoke item like a GF putter, if it is their fault they should shoulder the cost.

[xxio]

I would respectfully disagree there. If a problem is the result of a mfg defect, then they should bear the brunt of the cost of fixing/replacing the item. Perhaps, if shipping was to be valued more than the goods themselves, but when you are talking about an expensive bespoke item like a GF putter, if it is their fault they should shoulder the cost.

No question on the repair of defects. I think GF will repair the problem with no charges to the customer.

International distributorships and dealerships. The warranties/coverages are usually in the fine print.

The product is intended for sale in the Japan DOMESTIC Market. If you take it out of that market you are now responsible for the shipping to get it repaired/replaced in that same market.

Local warranties and repairs are plugged into pricing/costs. There is a reason why Epon/Fourteen/Yamaha dealers in the US will have higher prices than in Japan. They have to cover the shipping for any warranties, they have to pay duties, etc. There are also restrictions that go with it, cannot sell in other markets, etc. That is true for any product, not just golf equipment. If the product does not have a dealer/distributor in your area and you still choose to buy your product overseas than it is your risk when it comes to warrantying items.

That is why TSG has a lot of satisfied customers. They bridge that gap from the JDM market to the overseas buyer. If you buy a product from them, they will work with you.

Some products have terrific customer service. I have had a couple of watches that I bought overseas (one was even pre-owned). The local dealer cleans, warranties, and treats it like it was a local purchase. Although my wife has an older watch (bought elsewhere as well) that she brought in to fix and since they don't carry that model/parts they would have to send it back to Europe and the shipping would have been charged to my wife. That is part of what you pay for in some brands. For electronics I have bought overseas I always buy "International Warranty". It costs a little more but it guarantees that I will not have problems.

It would be great to have International Warranties to be automatic but it is not that simple and I am sure it will jack up pricing even more for brands that do not have extensive dealerships throughout the world.

I for one know that when I buy something JDM unless I buy it from a local dealer, any shipping to have it fixed will be on my dime.

Edited August 28, 2012 by xxio

[gocchin]

To be clear here I am working on these "rust" spots with Jan. And to clarify the putter is SUS303 stainless Steel just like GSS in tour camerons and it is not finished. Stainless steel is not plated like carbon steel.

It should not rust unless neglected and we honestly have never had one GF putter do so until now.

XXIO as always has lots of great points and I always appreciate his comments.

TSG is not only a shop that sells products we try our best to bridge that gap between the JDM market and overseas golfer not only through sales but service, education, information etc.

We will certainly figure this out.

[+TourSpecGolfer]

This particular situation is interesting.

The customer was not happy with his translucent paint fill. Sasaya offered to fix the issue and cover the shipping if there was actually an issue but the customer decided not to send it back and do the paint himself. Not much we or Sasaya can do about that if the customer doesn't want to send it back for inspection.

Now the spots on SUS303, SS doesn't rust we all know that and Sasaya wants it sent back to see what the problem is. We will cover shipping if its an issue of the manufacture, Sasaya will fix if he's at fault as well. But again the customer must be willing to send the putter in for the inspection before we can do that.

[xxio]

Why doesn't he want it sent in? If it bothers him enough to complain out in the open, it shouldn't be an issue to send it in especially if GF is willing to cover shipping.

Spectacular customer service on GF's part to do that, doing that will probably have them lose money on that single purchase.

[EdGolf]

Odd ball...... I would have send it in a jiffy and get it fix !! Being without it for a month or two is a silly excuse IMO and how else would you expect it to get fix without sending it in lol

[reapl]

First of all, thanks to the guys at TSG, they are great to deal with and very helpful.

Interesting that I´m now the bad guy in this situation. Can´t you understand that I don´t want to be without my putter for a month in the MIDDLE of the golf season? I used this putter all year and am so confident with it that I would have to adjust to another putter, which isn´t really what I would like to do when there are matches to play for my team. I asked GF if they could just send me a little bit of the original paint, so I can redo the paintfill on my own. No big deal for them, they would save money and I can keep the putter. They didn´t agree to this, so I though "what the heck" I can do the paintfill on my own.

I know that I can not handle the rust on my own and will have to send it back to get it fixed. The golf season is almost over, so this is a much better time to do it. I never said I wouldn´t send it back this time. The only thing that bothers me is the "IF", I can send the putter back, they will inspect it and IF the fault is on their side, they will ocver shipping and get the putter fixed.

I know I didn´t do anything to the putter that could harm it. I treated it better than any putter before and none of them ever rusted. The point is, Golds has to find something they have done wrong. Since I´m obviously the first one with this problem and they are convinced by their quality, I´m fearing I could be out the shipping cost and have nothing done to the putter.

I know you all love Golds Factory and I´m the new guy on here that nobody knows. Please try to be be fair and understand my situation. I´m not doing this out of fun, there is a problem I´m trying to solve. People are different and think different, some of you might have sent the putter away and let Golds pay about $200 of shipping just to redo the paintfill. I think it wasn´t worth it (just for the paintfill), not for GF and not for me. My decision to not send it back saved GF quite a lot of money and prevented me from being without my putter. If you now want to blame this on me, please do so.

Thanks to the Tario and Chris again, I´m sure we can work something out.

[+TourSpecGolfer]

Ok, perhaps off season you can send it in. Also I can send you a demo putter to use in the meantime while yours gets fixed.

[Craig]

Great offer Chris

Pretty much the over and beyond service that keeps you guys so busy