My !NEW! club decapitated itself after being hit 3 times

[2xBoGuy]

Just got this club brand new, great deal from a reputable site. I took it out on the driving range and on the 3rd time swinging it the head flew off (I think the head went farther than the ball lol). It's an Orlimar Odonnel Triumph 3 Wood. I had an Orlimar trimetal driver I liked, and my friend had a Fairway Wood he liked by them too.... I think the Glue was just bad.

I ended up having a bad round because I didn't have a long ball club, and then when I got home I dropped the head on the sidewalk and scuffed the side even though it was in the bubble wrap that it came in

My question is, How easy would it be for me to fix this glue problem? I might install a different shaft since the original shaft was a reg and I'm used to stiff.





Hit 3 times


Dropped it, probably no return now... thanks jumpy dog!

[clearwaterms]

if the site is reputable, my first call would be to them.

If they can't do anything, my next call would be to Orlimar.

as for replacing the shaft, sure it can be done. However, it appears that there might be pieces of the shaft stuck inside the club, which you would have to get out without damaging the hosel / golf club. This would require a reamer and a jig that would hold the hosel perfectly perpindicular to the floor in a drill press.

To be honest, if you want to put something together, you could probably buy a new head and shaft, a ferule and some glue and have at it. there isn't alot to putting a golf club together.

[2xBoGuy]

I got out the tape measure because I read that too small a shaft can (obviously) cause this problem.
I got exactly:
-tip 5/16 inch Diameter
-Hosel 6/16 inch Diameter

I know that if they are the same size they won't go together, but is this ratio right? (I'm just a hair to the left of center but it's hard to hold and snap)



(I'm a hair low on the tip but it lines up to 5/16)


I cleaned out the hosel with a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol (still a little glue)


And the Shaft with Rubbing alcohol and toilet paper (wrapped it to hold it on)


I don't think any of the shaft other than color from rub was in the hosel.

Do you think it was just the glue, not prepped properly, or wrong sizes? Which tip size do I need if I replace the shaft? I'm new to this stuff. Thanks!

[psuh]

Have you tried contacting the website? I would not tolerate a club of mine to just fall off in 3 swings.

[2xBoGuy]

I am gonna try to get ahold of Orlimar tomorrow and see what they say. Worst case scenario, I reshaft it and I just bought a head. Gotta remember to ask them the tip size.

[glebert]

It looks to me like a 0.335 shaft in a 0.350 hosel. I have pulled a couple of shafts from Trimetal drivers and they were both 0.350 hosel.

edit: on second thought, it's hard to tell the shaft diameter just looking at the tip, since it looks like it is sanded down more than the "barrel". When you stick the shaft back into the head does it wobble around or is it pretty snug?

[Greg]

  2xBoGuy said:

Just got this club brand new, great deal from a reputable site. I took it out on the driving range and on the 3rd time swinging it the head flew off (I think the head went farther than the ball lol). It's an Orlimar Odonnel Triumph 3 Wood. I had an Orlimar trimetal driver I liked, and my friend had a Fairway Wood he liked by them too.... I think the Glue was just bad.

Id contact the site, they should replace it since its clearly not your fault, maybe you could request a stiff shaft 3 wood to replace it since you said you prefer that and not have to worry about trying to salvage it. I've broken 3 clubs since I've been playing and they had to endure a lot of abuse before finally giving way and they were cheap clubs.

[2xBoGuy]

  glebert said:

It looks to me like a 0.335 shaft in a 0.350 hosel. I have pulled a couple of shafts from Trimetal drivers and they were both 0.350 hosel.

It kinda wobbles, but such a small amount you wouldn't notice if you weren't specifically looking for it.

[2xBoGuy]

Orlimar said it was a 10 year old model so it was past warranty(didn't think it was only hit 3x ). Would be around $50 to have them reshaft it so I'll just use this opportunity to learn how.

I forgot to ask so I sent another email asking about the tip size.

[pittpanther]

  2xBoGuy said:

Orlimar said it was a 10 year old model so it was past warranty(didn't think it was only hit 3x

So this "reputable" site sold you a club that's been sitting around for 10 years?

Yeah, it's "new," meaning that no one had bought it yet. But come on. Ten years old? Does this "reputable" site have any kind of satisfaction guarantee? And please tell us the name of the site, so we can avoid it.

[2xBoGuy]

I never contacted the site and with the price it was a gamble anyway. The defect was mfgr and I don't want to cause the site any grief or loss for something that doesn't warrant it.

If I had paid $50 it would be different but since I paid literally a couple dollars (pre shipping) it isn't. The club was in brand new condition(visibly), listed as no return on ebay, and was I'm sure just a bad apple past warranty.

Now I can learn something new and can install the shaft I want. Not ideal, but it works for me.

[glebert]

This is kinda weird. I looked at Golfsmith's OEM shaft replacement guide ( http://www.golfsmith.com/pdf/oem_replacement.pdf ) and they have the tip for all Trimetals as 0.370. Since that is normally the tip diameter for iron shafts, I figure it must be a typo, but I went out and measured the tip on the shaft I pulled from a Trimetal driver and it came out to 0.367". WTF? I was assuming the diameter was 0.350 because it was bigger than 0.335, I've never heard of anyone using 0.370 in woods.