I bent my 8 iron shaft!

[Golfaway]

So I was playing the other day, 6th hole, 275 yards par 4. An easy par for me usually. I tee off with a 4 iron (I don't use a driver on this one because there is a lake just before the green), very bad shot, leaves me with about 140 yards to the green. I get out my 8 iron, of what is supposed to be an easy 2nd shot for a very regular GIR, bong, short shot, down into the lake my ball goes. I can't feel my self, I hit the 8 iron with all my strength against the ground once, twice, thrice, then throw it full arm across the fairway.

The next day I am on the range, I start my usual PW, 9i, 8i, etc.. routine, very bad shots with the PW and the 9i (fat shots, my new golf nightmare), I get out my 8 iron, start addressing the ball and at once I feel something wrong.

Didn't take a brainer to realize what's wrong. The steel shaft is slightly bent backwards, not left or right. I try to bend it back to its normal position as much as I could but still I could feel something wrong at adress. The clubface is square, the shaft looks normal, but I have the feeling something is wrong. I hit it, bad shot, bad shot, hooked shot, hooked shot. Don't know if that's because I was bad generally that day or not.

Next day I try it again, again I don't feel comfortable at address, but I hit it straight and good. But I just can't take that uncomfortable feeling at address from my mind. The shaft is still slightly bent, you can clearly see it by close inspection and by aligning it vertically and looking at it from above one-eyed, but at address it looks normal, yet I cannot take that feeling out of my mind.

Is it just psychological? Because last round I just kept trying to avoid using the 8 iron even though I know I can hit it the same as I used to do.

[MGP]

If it's bent, it's toast. Once a shaft is bent it loses all it's structural integrity. If you keep playing it you may find the head and part of the shaft flying farther than the ball and possibly hitting and damaging something or someone. Get it replaced.

[Grndslmhttr3]

I bet I can throw my 8-iron farther down the fairway than you can throw yours.

[alf174]

The shaft is ruined and needs to be replaced (Its too bad you weren't kicked off that course and banned for throwing that club. That kind of behavior will get someone hurt someday).

[Grndslmhttr3]

The shaft is ruined and needs to be replaced (Its too bad you weren't kicked off that course and banned for throwing that club. That kind of behavior will get someone hurt someday).

Now now, we're all human. At least he (hopefully) learned his lesson by breaking his club and not injuring someone.

[Mr3Putt]

If it's bent, it's toast.

Agreed. You should NEVER hit that club again. The shaft will snap, you could kill someone. No joke. I've broken 5 clubs in my day, all of them while hitting the ball. Most of those broke while trying to force something from a gnarly lie. I did snap a 9 iron once from the fairway, I'm still puzzled as to what happened that time.

[Bourbon and Coke]

(Its too bad you weren't kicked off that course and banned for throwing that club. That kind of behavior will get someone hurt someday).

It's more likely to hurt the course than another person. You're being far more dramatic than the club thrower.

That said, to the OP, at the point you slammed it against the ground a couple times, throwing it down the fairway just made you a drama queen.

[alf174]

It's more likely to hurt the course than another person. You're being far more dramatic than the club thrower.

The problem is that when someone throws a club in a fit of anger, they don't look where they are throwing first. Sure, I'm dramatic, till someone gets hurt. Say what you want, childish behavior like that doesn't belong on the course, period. If my son or daughter did it, I'd escort him/her off the course myself.

[Bourbon and Coke]

People don't throw clubs because they're in a fit of anger. People break clubs in a fit of anger.

When you throw your club, you're showing everyone on the course "Hey look at me I hit a bad shot and now I'm going to overreact to show everyone that I know it was a bad shot and I don't usually do that." Throwing a club is no more or less safe than hitting the ball itself, except that you've got more control over where the club goes.

Is throwing clubs rude and immature? Sure. Should you teach your kids not to do it? Sure. But that's a different story because it also demonstrates a lack of care for the equipment, and therefore a lack of respect for you, as the provider. It might show a lack of respect for the game, but as far as safety is concerned, there are way more dangerous aspects of the course.

All I know is Bill Murray didn't almost kill some poor woman by throwing his 8 iron and slicing it off into the houses.

[alf174]

Throwing a club is trying to achieve the same result as breaking it.

It might show a lack of respect for the game, but as far as safety is concerned, there are way more dangerous aspects of the course.

Way more? What, like driving into a crowd with a golf cart?

I'll agree that its behavior that shouldn't be exhibited on the course.

[cmvash]

Gotta agree with everyone else. Your 8 iron is toast. It'll never hit the same again and is likely to break now.

I'm sure you realize it now, but you deserve to be out of pocket for a new club due to your actions.

The only thing you should be upset with is yourself - the club didn't put the ball in the water, you did.

[Golfaway]

I am really angry with myself now. I just can't understand why I did this. It was one rare fit of rage. I am usually calm on the course, whenever I'm bad I just try to be calm and swallow my anger, and I usually swing the club one handed in the air to let out my anger, but this time, I just don't know what happened. The whole round was crap and I just snapped and couldn't control myself.

Anyway, as it is pretty tough to replace the shaft here, almost impossible really, I will try to see if I can pull it out myself and install the 8 iron shaft of my old iron set. If that didn't work, I will just have to avoid hitting the 8 iron for the time being.

This is crap!!

[Mr3Putt]

Anyway, as it is pretty tough to replace the shaft here, almost impossible really, I will try to see if I can pull it out myself and install the 8 iron shaft of my old iron set. If that didn't work, I will just have to avoid hitting the 8 iron for the time being.

There's nothing to replacing an iron shaft (Callaway Bore Thrus excepted) If you've got a vise, a torch and some two part epoxy, even a novice should be able to swap out a shaft in under an hour. Youtube has some videos on it. You'll also need a new ferrul.

[Grndslmhttr3]

If worse comes to worse, you might have to buy a new 8-iron altogether.

[Bourbon and Coke]

Throwing a club is trying to achieve the same result as breaking it.

Uh, no. No one throws a club to break it. Most of the time, they don't break.

Way more dangerous? Like snakes, insects, getting hit by an errant ball (or, worse, an ignorant one), or injury to any number of joints and muscles. Hell, I'd bet the risk of skin cancer is greater to most golfers than the risk of getting hit by a thrown club.

[Pro]

I kid has actually killed himself from throwing a club and it snaped and flew back and stabbed him in the heart and he died instantly

[alf174]

Uh, no. No one throws a club to break it. Most of the time, they don't break.

Read the OP's last post, he did it out of rage. And throwing a club is intentional and can be avoided, not accidental like your examples.

If you're going to defend club throwing, thats fine, your choice. My choice is to forbid it.

[Gioguy21]

...i once had a friend break a club after i made a shot...a 50 foot putt that broke 6 feet...he was so mad he broke his putter around a tree...he paid 180 for a new putter...i won 70 bucks. moral of the story, throw a club, you're stupidity and lack of class could lose you 250 bucks.