CrazyHorsePete

Thanks for the responses. I might be a little partial to Snake Eyes because I had good luck with that putter, and I think Snake Eyes heads are overall better looking. That being said, I certainly haven't written off Maltby. Prices seem comparable. I've never heard of Hireko. I'll check them out.

I prefer low profile fairway woods. Much easier to hit off the ground, and still no problem off the tee. Just tee it a bit lower!

Those were made in the late 90s I believe, back in the bubble shaft days. I know they came in both steel and bubble shaft graphite, but I don't know if Taylormade used different heads for the different shafts. If they did, and yours were designed for the bubble shafts, then I have no idea what the tip size would be. You might have to use the actual bubble shafts, which luckily can be found on eBay. If they were designed for steel, then I can't imagine the tip size being much out of the ordinary.

First off, Happy 4th of July to the sandtrap community! I just had my first clubmaking experience. I blindly ordered a Snake Eyes putter head, and bought a shaft, grip, and some epoxy. I made a belly putter and it was a great success! I'm thinking of doing this as a hobby. I want to try building some irons and wedges. Could anyone who's built irons with Snake Eyes and/or Maltby components share their experiences? Is one better than the other? Unfortunately, my local Golfsmith doesn't carry Snake Eyes heads in the store, and my local Galaxy doesn't carry Maltby heads in the store. This is going to be an internet purchase, so anyone who could give a little advice as to the aforementioned brands or any other brands I've missed, it would be greatly appreciated! I can pick up shafts in the stores, so I don't really need any info about them. Thanks all!

Update: Clearkey, thanks for the swingweight explanation. What you wrote makes sense to me. The putter is built! I used a Snake Eyes head, True Temper putter shaft, and Super Stroke belly putter grip. The new putter came out very nice. I originally intended to put a Winn putter grip on, but when I used some force to seat it, it tore. That thing was a pain. So I bought a Super Stroke, which was cake to put on.

Check out Adams CMB. Awesome looking club. Haven't hit it personally but I've heard good things.

I've played both. In my opinion, it's a matter of feel, more than anything else. It's true that graphite shafts can help for those with lower swing speeds (such as myself), but I've found that the light weight causes me to instinctively try to swing harder, resulting in a loss of accuracy. I prefer the feel of graphite over steel (much softer), but I have better control with lightweight steel shafts. Right now I play Nippon N.S. 950 (steel) in regular flex in my irons. These shafts weigh 95 grams, which I believe is about 20-30 grams heavier than a typical graphite iron shaft. If I were you, I'd head to a golf shop with a simulator. Hit some of each, and decide what you like better. Or find a demo 6 iron of a set you're interested in with a graphite shaft on eBay and take it to the range.

I did not order a head specifically designed for a belly putter, but the head I ordered has a lie angle comparable to a typical belly putter lie angle. Based on the reading I've done, the head weight should be sufficient for a belly putter. The reason for the shaft question is because I know iron shafts tend to be lighter than putter shafts, and I was thinking of using an iron shaft to shift the "balance point" closer to the bottom (increase the swingweight?). I guess if my experiment doesn't work, I'll just reshaft with a standard putter shaft.

Hey all, I'm about to embark on my first adventure into clubmaking. I'm going to build a putter. I've already ordered the head, but before I do anything else, I need a little insight about shafts. I'm thinking about making a belly putter. I know that any shaft with the proper butt diameter will fit, but are there any major disadvantages of using a long iron shaft in X flex as opposed to a putter shaft?

+1. Not to open a can of worms, but it isn't necessary to drop $300+ to buy a good putter. What's a good putter? A good putter is one that feels good to you, that you can use effectively, and that will put the ball in the hole. Go to a golf shop, putt around, and find one within your price range that feels good. Check out used putters as well. My first putter was an el-cheapo Acuity putter from Dick's, and you know what, it did one hell of a job putting the ball in the hole.

Check out Yes! putters. Very nice for the $.

Hey all, just bought a brand new MacGregor MT fairway wood. Got a steal of a deal on it. Love the head shape but absolutely loathe the stock shaft. Want to reshaft it. Currently has a 60 gram regular flex graphite shaft. Since I got the club so cheap, I'm thinking about experimenting with it. I want to put a steel shaft in it (personal preference over graphite). I'd cut the steel shaft an inch or two shorter than the existing graphite shaft. Is this a feasible idea? If so, does anyone has any recommendations for good steel wood shafts that aren't too heavy?

Went with MX-1000s. I decided that I wanted something more forgiving than MX-25s since I don't get to practice often anymore. After a recent demo day, I had it narrowed down to JPX-800 HDs and Cleveland Mashies. Then I found a deal on MX-1000s, which I'd hit before. Sometimes money talks, what can I say? Only downside to the MX-1000s is that I don't get any hybrids with the set. I'm a club ho I guess.

Sold them both and got a new set. Anyone wanna guess which set? I'll give you a clue: it starts with an "M," ends with a "O," and in the middle is "izun."

I normally shoot in the low 90s, with putting being my biggest downfall. MEfree, I asked Galaxy about doing just that. They said it would be $80 per set to reshaft each set, so I'd be spending $160. It would probably be more cost-effective to sell off both sets and buy a set of Callys with the PX Flighted 5.0s or 5.5s. I'm going to hit a bucket on my lunch break today. I brought the 6 and 9 irons from each set to do a little side-by-side comparison.

I hadn't thought of that. Great point. I'm in my mid-20s.

I'm really looking to go down to only one set...thanks for the idea though! I know a lot of people who use combo sets with great results.

Alright, I have two iron sets and one needs to go. I'm moving soon, and am downsizing as much as possible. Problem is that I can't decide which set stays and which one goes!!! Mizuno MX-25 4-PW R300 Callaway X-20 Tour 4-PW PX Flighted 6.0 I've had the MX-25s for a couple years, and bought the Callaways this past winter, because the deal was just too good to pass up. I like both sets a lot, but for different reasons. The X-20 Tours are noticeably more forgiving, which especially helps in the long irons. However, the 6.0 shafts are a bit too stiff for me at this time. My 6 iron swing speed is about 78 right now, according to a Golfsmith launch monitor. Distance with the Mizzys is better. Shots are more consistently straight, although shorter, with the Callys. I love the buttery feel of a well-struck shot with the MX-25s. The X-20 Tours feel decent, even on poorly struck shots. Hoping for a little advice on my course of action. Do I keep the MX-25s and work on becoming a more consistent ball striker? Do I keep the X-20 Tours and work on increasing club head speed? Any feedback is great. Thanks!

When I started, I bought a 5 wood instead of a driver. Fairway woods don't fly as far as drivers, but they are a lot easier to control. With a driver, you'll probably hit a few fairways, but your bad shots with a driver will be uglier than your bad shots with a fairway. A really stray shot with a driver will put you pretty far into the sticks or even on another fairway. My recommendation: get a good 3 or 5 wood. If you want a driver, get one. But use your 3 or 5 wood off the tee until you can control the driver reasonably well. Constant stray tee shots takes all the fun out of golf. Go to the golf shop, look at the used drivers, find a few, try them out, buy the one you like. Look for regular flex and at least 10.5 degrees of loft. But don't forget a fairway wood!

I think it was a combination of my head and using my arms too much. I grabbed my PW, hit a few balls, then repeated the same stroke with my 5 iron, and much better results. Didn't get the distance I wanted out of the 5 but the balls were flying properly. I also hit the entire bucket without a glove to force myself to slow down. I think that helped a little.

I game the Mizuno MX-25 irons. For anyone unfamiliar, they have a significant pocket cavity in the long and mid irons and a much shallower cavity in the short irons. I'm having trouble with the long and mid irons, but am almost 100% consistent with the short irons. Obviously I'm very happy with my performance with the 8-PW, but need some help with the 5-7 irons. I can pick up the 8 and hit a great shot but not the 7. I always seem to hit the 5-7 thin or just completely chunk it. I've never had this problem before. Do I need to use a different swing (maybe shallower?) swing with the 5-7? Maybe the problem is in my head? Any feedback would be great.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions. I've always been a little skeptical of playing with recycled balls, but it appears that AAAA and AAAAA grade balls play as good as new?

As a student, I find that Titleist Pro V1s (and similar quality balls) are out of my price range at $40+ per box. Can anyone recommend a few decent quality balls in the $15-30 range? I like softer balls that I can spin. I have found that I dislike the feeling of harder balls. Brand is wholly unimportant to me. Off-brands are perfectly acceptable. I know the best way is to get fit, but that would require time that I just don't have right now. Thank you for your suggestions.

Some irons yes; some, no. Remember that you will have to buy the shafts and pay to have them re-shafted. You may be better off looking for a set with steel shafts.

Along with 3balls, I'd check out www.callawaygolfpreowned.com and www.rockbottomgolf.com . Are you set on Callaway? Nothing wrong with that if you are, but Callys aren't the cheapest in the world. The X-12s are pretty old, I'm thinking late-1990s?