Iron Rebuilding? What's relevant??

[golfwpi87]

I have a set of Titleist DCI 962 irons, 3-PW. These are the best irons I've ever played and feel perfect for me since I naturally hit high; and they also let me draw well.

I don't really want new irons but I definitely want to re-shaft these as well as re-groove them. I see there are many services by GolfSmith and the Iron Factory but I want to know what's relevant in the actual play.

The Iron Factory offers the total rebuild that includes re-groove, loft and lie, balance, polish, blast, re-chrome, repaint all lettering and new ferrules. - Obviously a lot of this is cosmetic.

Is there any benefit to blasting the face? Should the face be smooth or rough?

Not sure if there is any benefit to balance and not sure what they do with loft and lie.

If I don't care about cosmetic repairs and just playability enhancements, does anyone have any recommendations other than re-grooving and re-shafting (and what should be included in re-shafting as far as balancing, spine alignment etc)

[Shorty]

Is there any benefit to blasting the face? Should the face be smooth or rough?

It is a cosmetic thing that makes them look new.

It won't make any difference to performance.

And before someone says that it'll grip the ball like sandpaper - no, it won't.

[Mr. Desmond]

You might check out Golf Works.

Jim Kronus of The Iron Factory had some EPA issues in SoCal around 2004 and moved to Colorado. It's tough to tell what really happened. His attorney said it was a one time dumping of a small amount of substance into the sewer, the City of Escondido said it was millions of gallons.

But even before that time, his record was inconsistent. Some said he did great work, others said he was slow and the work was poor quality. Haven't heard anything bad since his move to Colorado.

One guy I know preferred Golf Works.

Don't know if reproving and reworking the irons is worth the cost -- those irons are very old. I played them ... a long time ago. In that time, more than 12-15 years, iron technology has changed a lot. I'd probably do the hard work of demoing and moving forward with newer tech. But good luck.

[WUTiger]

... Don't know if reproving and reworking the irons is worth the cost -- those irons are very old. I played them ... a long time ago. In that time, more than 12-15 years, iron technology has changed a lot. I'd probably do the hard work of demoing and moving forward with newer tech. But good luck.

Here's what you are looking at for per-club cost using GolfWorks, assuming you reshaft with an NS Pro 8950GH shaft:

Item	Cost
Refinish head	$25.95
New shaft	24.50
Reshaft labor	19.95
New grip	7.00
Regrip labor	4.50
Loft & lie check*	4.95
Total	$86.85

For eight irons that's $694.80, plus shipping to and from GolfWorks.

OR, you could get...

• AP1 714 (4-PW) steel shaft set for $799
• Ping G25 (4-UW) steel shaft set for $699.

-------------------------

*For loft and lie check, you probably want factory specs for loft; but, for lie angle,

you probably want it to fit your swing, via checks on a lie board.

[golfwpi87]

Thanks! Yeah a lot of money. But if I did want to keep them what is relevant for playability? Re-shaft, re-groove, loft and lie check? I'm not too concerned with them being more forgiving. I like feeling when I miss hit. But I want to make sure I'm maximizing the potential for control and distance. I will for sure re-groove but am trying to decide if reshafting or other work is relevant. Using stock S400's. Just curious what a modern equivalent to the 962's are?

[MS256]

Just curious. What is it that makes you want new shafts in those clubs? I might get new shafts if I thought the shafts were wrong for me or were damaged but I can't think of another reason.

[WUTiger]

In Ralph Maltby's six-category Maltby Playability Factor system, DCI 962 had a MPF rating of 529, or Conventional. It was a few points below his Game Improvement category. This means it was a bit below average in user-friendliness for irons of the 1990s.

Your iron heads do have a certain amount of perimeter weighting and solid sole to them, so you may be able to hit them OK; I assume you have decent clubhead speed, since you play the S400 shafts.

Regrooving would help out mainly for shots out of the rough.

In your recent reply, you ask if reshafting will help. What would you seek from new shafts? Any problems with the S400s? I suggest you might get a fitting to see how well the current shafts work for you.

Note: If you are age 53 or so, you might check to see if stiff shafts are what you still need. (At least two golf gurus say this is the magic age for a shaft check).

Modern equivalent : I would suspect the CB or the AP2 might be close, but probably a little friendlier because of tech advances. But, I'm more familiar with the history of Titleist iron products than how they play. Could Titleist users help us on this question?

[golfwpi87]

Thanks guys. I guess a follow-up question would be what is the lifespan of shafts and how do you know if they have damage? I've felt a shaft makes more of the iron. So I was thinking reshafting might help with distance and better control. Maybe just a check of the loft and lie would be all that is needed?? And if re-grooving really only helps in the rough I can probably hold on that.

[WUTiger]

Steel shafts sometimes sustain internal rusting if you live in a humid area. You would know it if you have a couple of shafts snap, and you find rusting around the edges of the break.

A contributing factor could be if you soak the grip end of your clubs in a bucket of hot water when you clean the grips - you can get water down the shaft through the hole in the end of the grip. Online golf sites have put out warnings about this.  (I just dip mine in warm soapy water, and scrub them a little outside the bucket. I haven't had trouble with shaft rusting.)

In rare occasions, a shaft will snap just because you caught it in the turf oddly in your downswing. I snapped a MacGregor 5 iron shaft many years ago just hitting a shot off the fairway (no rust found in the break area).

And, people named Henrik Stenson sometimes have a shaft break because they lose their temper after blowing a shot out of the rough.

If you have had these irons for fifteen years or so, and they still feel good, chances the shafts are OK.