De-lofting Fairway Woods (Clock Ferrule Question...)

[RoyJeeBiv]

please excuse my ignorance on this topic, but in searching on whether or not it's possible to bend a FW (and finding mixed results), i stumbled across this clock ferrule [link ].  i have no idea how this process goes, so if anyone can advise me i'd appreciate the help.

a little background -- i have a Callaway Big Bertha 2004 7+ Wood (19deg).  i absolutely love this club, as i can't hit my 3w with any consistency anymore, and i just got a "new" hand-me-down driver that i need to practice with a lot more before using it on the course.  the smaller head of the 7w suits me very well both off the tee and in the fairway, and has for years.  though now that i'm hitting my long irons better than i ever have, i'm finding fewer uses for the 7w, and i would like to get it back in my game.

as it stands, the 7w desperately needs to be re-gripped.  with that in mind, i also planned on swapping out the uniflex shaft for a stiff shaft (as my irons are stiff, i'd like consistency).  this got me thinking further -- if i'm doing all of that, i wanted to de-loft it by a degree or two to help spread the gap from my 3i (which is 21deg), and also cover a little more ground so i can consider simply taking the 3w out of the bag entirely to make room for a wedge down the road.

i know that probably sounds funny (read: stupid) to some... de-lofting a friggin' 7w to 17deg, but it's a sentimental club.  and i almost like the novel nature of the idea... it'd certainly be a talker on the course (also before anyone suggests it -- i don't want to buy a new club to fill that gap, i'm not interested in hybrids, et al... my wife and i have a baby on the way in July, so the cheapest solution with my current equipment is the preferable, if only, option.)

so, i read bending a FW is a risky proposition.  but from what i can tell, the clock ferrule linked above seems to fit the bill safely.

am i way off-base, here??  do these account for the clubface (...opening??)...??  am i not accounting for anything??  there's a shop in town that can re-grip/re-shaft the club for cheap, so i imagine they could install this in the process.

again, i anticipate some will consider this a dumb idea.  don't rain on my parade too hard -- i'm simply trying to have fun with the game.

thanks,

rjb

[Paradox]

I know you don't wanna hear it but for the price you're going to pay to have that work done..you could buy a used club for the same price.  I konw you said the club was sentimental but Callaways have no hosel so I don't think it could be bent and that ferrule you posted..does it even work with your model of club?

[RoyJeeBiv]

Originally Posted by Paradox

I know you don't wanna hear it but for the price you're going to pay to have that work done..you could buy a used club for the same price.  I konw you said the club was sentimental but Callaways have no hosel so I don't think it could be bent and that ferrule you posted..does it even work with your model of club?

the site lists the Big Bertha II, which is older by a couple years than mine, i think... so i would think it's compatible, but again i'm not knowledgable at all with this aspect of clubs.

[RoyJeeBiv]

(FWIW, i received a response from the website saying that it would work with my club.  i guess it would run me ~$60 for everything if i pull the trigger, i'll have to weigh my options.  if anyone else has input, i'd be happy to hear it.  thanks again.)

[Floris]

I'm sorry but I'd put the 7w in the garage and eBay me a nice 5w that's near mint and has the desired shaft. $60 for a new shaft, new grip and that ferrule sounds like a steal. The grip is $10 at least and that ferrule page won't load, but is bound to be another $10 right! So the new shaft and the men hours will only set you back $40? Here's a great 5w for $61 ex shipping: [url=http://www.ebay.com/itm/Miura-Precious-Edition-18-5-Wood-with-N-S-Pro-950-FW-Stiff-Shaft-/290920776230?pt=Golf_Clubs&hash;=item43bc3ac226]on eBay[/url]

[MS256]

Putting in one of those clock ferrules sounds like a fairly cheap experiment for a club that you like and hit well. I would be more leary of changing the shaft on a club I hit well just for the sake of having "Stiff" written on the shaft.

There really is not much of a universal standard in the industry for what a "Stiff" shaft is. A "Regular" shaft from one company might be (and often is) more stiff than a "Stiff" flex from another company and even shafts from the same company labled the same way will rarely measure the same frequency. Even a "Ladies" flex might turn out to be more stiff than a regular flex from a different company.

There's also much more to finding the correct shaft than "Stiff". Some shafts have lower kick points and some higher kick points and the same goes for torque. Then there's the weight and spine alignment to consider.

The odds are not very good that the new shaft you buy will match your iron shafts in overall shaft dynamics. A really good club fitter could get you really close but that might be more trouble than it's worth.

Why not put the ferrule in using the original shaft (that you know works for you) and get a new grip of the same weight as the old one, so you are not messing with what works?

Edit: Now that I think about it I'm not sure that ferrule will work unless you use a smaller diameter shaft, so maybe using the old shaft isn't an option after all. Sounds like a trip to a certified fitter to get the dynamics from the old shaft and match them or play the shaft guessing game (Choose That Shaft) that most of us have played so many times.

[RoyJeeBiv]

Originally Posted by MS256

Putting in one of those clock ferrules sounds like a fairly cheap experiment for a club that you like and hit well. I would be more leary of changing the shaft on a club I hit well just for the sake of having "Stiff" written on the shaft.

There really is not much of a universal standard in the industry for what a "Stiff" shaft is. A "Regular" shaft from one company might be (and often is) more stiff than a "Stiff" flex from another company and even shafts from the same company labled the same way will rarely measure the same frequency. Even a "Ladies" flex might turn out to be more stiff than a regular flex from a different company.

There's also much more to finding the correct shaft than "Stiff". Some shafts have lower kick points and some higher kick points and the same goes for torque. Then there's the weight and spine alignment to consider.

The odds are not very good that the new shaft you buy will match your iron shafts in overall shaft dynamics. A really good club fitter could get you really close but that might be more trouble than it's worth.

Why not put the ferrule in using the original shaft (that you know works for you) and get a new grip of the same weight as the old one, so you are not messing with what works?

Edit: Now that I think about it I'm not sure that ferrule will work unless you use a smaller diameter shaft, so maybe using the old shaft isn't an option after all. Sounds like a trip to a certified fitter to get the dynamics from the old shaft and match them or play the shaft guessing game (Choose That Shaft) that most of us have played so many times.

valid points, thank you for the post!!  i suppose if my current shaft is compatible, it'd be worth it to keep it as it is -- the re-shafting is the most expensive part anyway!!