First time Clubmaking...

[Chad]

I just had my clubs regripped this week and paid someone to do them. So I started wondering what it actually took to rebuild them. I remember watching my dad do it many years ago so it couldn't be that hard. After searching on the internet and talking with him, I decided I should've done it after all. Then I started seeing various articles on clubmaking. I've been wanting to get my wife to play but didn't really want to spend $200 - $300 for something I'd end up trying to get rid of in 2 weeks when she decided she didn't like it. So, I'm going to build my wife a club, one club and take her to the range to see what she thinks (and to test to see how difficult it is). I also decided I'd try to build myself an 8-iron as it's the club I tend to play most often and could certainly tell a difference in the club itself assuming I build it properly. So for approximately $50 I'm going to build myself and my wife both a club (excluding equipment ie: epoxy, grip tape, etc...)and see if I enjoy it and can keep doing it to develop into a hobby. My question to everyone is, if you re-grip, re-shaft, or build your own clubs, what led you to begin doing it and do you enjoy it as a hobby, business, or both? Are there any horror stories of those who tried and wish they didn't?

[Gapwedge]

As a hobby I built some Golfsmith products back in the day. There is a huge difference in building clubs for yourself as a hobby and becoming a professional clubfitter. Pick up a book by Tom Wishon, The Search for the Perfect Club. A good read. So much goes into a club not to mention the equipment necessary to get the right launch angle, swingweight, shaft stiffness, length, lie, loft, etc. Regripping your clubs is one thing, building a complete set you will be happy with is another. The more I did this as a hobby the more I found out I didn't know near enough even to build my own set. At least pay yourself to attend a clubfitters school to get a taste what it is like.

[wigolffan]

I guess you would have to call me a semi profesional club maker, I make clubs for people who get refered to me, but I dont seek out new clients. Making golf clubs is not rocket science. However that being said there is an art to it. spend some time on golfworks.com they have a msg board there for club makers that will help you out if you get jammed up. Use quality componants golfsmith, golfworks are two of my favorites. Use quality shafts, weight and frequancy match them for sure. A cheap spining tool is a nice thing to have but not a nacessity. Depending on if your going to MOI match or swing weight match you will need various peices of equipment for this. Starting out it is probobly best to swing weight your clubs this is the easier (In my opinion) a decent swing weight scale will only cost between 60 and 80 bucks and last a life time. If you just starting out you can kinda fit yourself for how long your clubs should be by following some basic charts you can find online using your wrist to floor mesurment. As far as frequancy matching and weight matching the shafts if your not sure your going to take it up as a hobby I would buy somthing like a true temper black gold (depending on if its a good fit for your ball flight) Because they are frequancy and weight matched already (however they are heavy so if you suffer from distance or want a lower swing weight you will have to look at somthing like TT dyna lite). They are expensive but cheaper then buying all the tools you would need to do this to other shafts yourself. Get a lie board (10$) and some impact stickers and lie angle fit yourself then just take them somewere to have them bent, a machine will run you 400 bucks or so, but to have them bent at say golf galexy will cost around 40 bucks. wow I just rambled on sorry if you have any questions just msg me with your email and I will help as best I can

long post for my first one ever huh?

[Bluenoser67]

Great post by WiGolffan. For myself I have ventured as far as regripping but thats it. I get a local guy to put my clubs together for me. I orderd a set from Golfsmith in components after working with the guy and he put them together for me for $10 a club. But I think your going about it in the right way by starting with a single club and getting a feel for it. Let us know how it turns out.

[Gapwedge]

  Bluenoser67 said:

Great post by WiGolffan. For myself I have ventured as far as regripping but thats it. I get a local guy to put my clubs together for me. I orderd a set from Golfsmith in components after working with the guy and he put them together for me for $10 a club. But I think your going about it in the right way by starting with a single club and getting a feel for it. Let us know how it turns out.

I wasn't trying to be a wet blanket, but there is more to custom fitting clubs than ordering shafts, club heads, and grips. You can get in the ballpark with what you suggest.

[mikelz]

  Chad said:

There aren't as many horror stories as their used to be. Wooden heads required a lot of craftsmanship. Everything you do now is pretty much epoxy and time. Cautions and suggestions:

1. Read the trimming instructions. Just about every shaft needs trimmed at both ends. Drivers usually do not require any tip trimming.
2. This is easy to overlook: Shaft Tip Abrasion. If you don't give the epoxy something to grab onto, your clubhead flies off at the range. I know. Start with steel shafts. Mark off the amount of shaft that will go into the hosel with a couple wraps of masking tape. Then file the heck out of it. There are dimpling machines for volume clubmakers.
3. Quality Epoxy is essential. Don't buy anything at your local hardware store unless you really know epoxy. Order it from Golfworks or Golfsmith.
4. If you can, chose clubheads that do not require a ferrule. That takes off a lot of time and is something you can screw up in a flash.

I started messing with clubs about 30 years ago. I did it because I read a Hogan book in which he said the shaft is the most important part of the club. He was pretty emphatic about it so I went in search of the right shaft. After re-shafting a couple of 3 woods about 6 times, I hit it. After building my own complete sets about 4 times, I hit the wall. I have a set of Pings in the bag now. They don't even offer shaft options (as far as I know). No, I don't play as well with them. I played to around a 10 for about 20 years. Now I'm a 15 but I'm thirty years older. Who knows? It may be time to put the Maltby Techno-forge irons with the Dyanmic Gold S200 shafts that are trimmed to leave 1/4" extra on the tip end back in the bag.

[Gapwedge]

  mikelz said:

There aren't as many horror stories as their used to be. Wooden heads required a lot of craftsmanship. Everything you do now is pretty much epoxy and time. Cautions and suggestions:

1. Read the trimming instructions. Just about every shaft needs trimmed at both ends. Drivers usually do not require any tip trimming.
2. This is easy to overlook: Shaft Tip Abrasion. If you don't give the epoxy something to grab onto, your clubhead flies off at the range. I know. Start with steel shafts. Mark off the amount of shaft that will go into the hosel with a couple wraps of masking tape. Then file the heck out of it. There are dimpling machines for volume clubmakers.
3. Quality Epoxy is essential. Don't buy anything at your local hardware store unless you really know epoxy. Order it from Golfworks or Golfsmith.
4. If you can, chose clubheads that do not require a ferrule. That takes off a lot of time and is something you can screw up in a flash.

I started messing with clubs about 30 years ago. I did it because I read a Hogan book in which he said the shaft is the most important part of the club. He was pretty emphatic about it so I went in search of the right shaft. After re-shafting a couple of 3 woods about 6 times, I hit it. After building my own complete sets about 4 times, I hit the wall. I have a set of Pings in the bag now. They don't even offer shaft options (as far as I know) . No, I don't play as well with them. I played to around a 10 for about 20 years. Now I'm a 15 but I'm thirty years older. Who knows? It may be time to put the Maltby Techno-forge irons with the Dyanmic Gold S200 shafts that are trimmed to leave 1/4" extra on the tip end back in the bag.

http://ping.com/wrx_index.html Check out Ping Wrx. Hope this helps.

[mikelz]

  Gapwedge said:

http://ping.com/wrx_index.html

Thanks for that link.

[HytrewQasdfg]

If there is a GolfSmith near you, sign up for one of their Saturday clubmaking seminars. They spend about 1/2 a day explaining the different parts of a club, and why the are made in a particular way. You also build a sand wedge (a pretty decent one, by the way) which you get to keep. So you get some info, and some hands on experience.

I think the cost is $20, but if you sign up for their rewards card they give you a coupon so it is free. We'll worth it even if you never build another club, because you'll come out of it with a good understanding of how/why clubs a built a certain way (a great advantage the next time you go to buy clubs.)

Wishon's "The Search for the Perfect Golf Club" is also a must read, even if you don't plan on building clubs. It is a little over-technical at times, but it will give you a good idea of what is hype and what is good sense when it comes to the "latest, new & improved golf club innovation".

[Chad]

I successfully, put the clubs together last night. My only issues were with my wife's club. I didn't think to look at the graphics on her shaft to align them with the front so now they're on the 'back' of the shaft, not that she'll notice but a good lesson to learn...
I didn't do anything with swing weights or a lie board so I haven't gone that far. I put together a Royal Precision Rifle shaft with a Maltby MPF 8-iron head. I want to take it to the range as a 'stock' setup to see if I can feel what I put together. My current Titleist 735's are stock lie and length so I'm hoping there won't be much difference. Looking at them with my untrained eye, they look pretty similar except the MPF has a larger face.

[clubmaker15]

Congrads on building your first clubs. Clubmaking can be simple as long as you can remain patient. I hope more people realize how cheap and easy it is to do. I have built some great clubs at a fraction of the cost. Saved me A LOT of money.

[Timothy D Watson]

I took the Golfsmith Saturday basic building class, read the Golfsmith Basics of Clubmaking book, and studied the The Search for the Perfect Golf Club. It took about two years of study and serious thought to really understand the craft and be a reliable clubfitter.

Then, it took about ten different built clubs, patience, attention to detail, and serious thought between every step of every club on how to improve my clubmaking skills to reach the level of Henry-Griffitts brand precision (measure everything when done to see how precise you were).

Now I am getting in to actually designing and building prototype real wood and special polymer drivers and fairway wood clubheads. I have an interesting small polymer driver head that will not show a mark in extreme impact testing with a golf ball to any surface of the head (crown, skirt, sole, anywere). The head does not dent any in that testing either. I tryed putting the head on a long stick and slamming it into the ball. I also tried slinging the golf ball in a very large flail to wind ripping speeds and hitting the head with that. I did this about twenty times for each technique and the head was invincible. The head cleans up pretty well after having dirt rubbed into it, though not as well as metal heads can clean up. Hitting one of these heads really hard with a hammer will make hammer marks all over the head, but not fracture it.

My clubmaking results have always been above average when compared to factory built. My first non-class clubs were good. I have had a flying success. It takes a great deal more thought than is obvious to do well, though. I recommend trying clubmaking if you are an inteligent and perceptive golfer with an engineering mindset. It saves money and can almost give the fitting advantages of lesser touring pros when done to a "time and money is not a factor" level.

[wigolffan]

Chad and the other gentelman you never told us how you liked your self built clubs? I am curious to find out.

[Chad]

Sorry about that. I built a 7 iron for my wife and an 8 iron for myself. I am EXTREMELY pleased with both being my first time. Since then I purchased components for a driver but turns out not so happy as I didn't let the epoxy set long enough before trying it out and the shaft spun in the head and came out a bit. Luckily, it didn't come completely out and my head go flying. Lesson learned.

[wigolffan]

Hey chad I hate to wait a full day too try out a new club too!!!! I keep some tour set epoxy on hand with an hour cure time just for such ocasion. You can epoxy it and grip it and be at the range in about 2 hours!!!! But for most jobs I use the good old 24 hour stuff

[Chad]

Yeah, I was too excited hoping to repeat the success of the 8-iron...

[wigolffan]

Oh chad one last tip for ya, buy some shafting beeds. The are cheap and a jar will last forever! mix a small amount in with your epoxy and you will be assured of a centered shaft.

[larlev]

I built my snake eyes set just to say I have done it....I didn't get all fancy w/ swingweighting I personally think it's rather pointless I can't feel 8-12 grams diff. or whatever it is.

It was very rewarding and they play great.