Golf
Club Repairs
Club Repairs And Alterations
This section deals only with your existing clubs
and while there may be some
overlap in what we say it's worth repeating. This
is also what new club
manufacturers don't like to see but the fact is that almost
any club can be
updated to perform as well as today's latest models at considerably
less cost
than buying a new one. There are only three parts to a golf club, the
head, the
shaft and the grip and everyone of these parts can be interchanged.
Shafts
- This is the only active part of a golf club. It is the shaft that performs
all
of the work in producing distance and accuracy. The grip is only a connection
to
the hands and the head is just a hard material that compresses the ball to make
it
take flight. Remodelling with the latest technology such as light steel, graphite,
ultralite graphite, titanium, shafts will bring most clubs up to today's standards
at a
reasonable price compared to the cost of new clubs. Can you put these new
shafts in
older clubs? Yes of course you can.
Grips- Much lighter in weight
than the older style. This may not sound very
important but less weight translates
into more distance. Everyone can swing
a 4 foot broom handle faster than a 4
foot 2X4 simply because it is lighter in
weight. If you can make a golf club lighter
you can obviously swing it faster
the ball must fly further. Most older drivers
for example weigh 13 to 14 ounces.
with lighter grips and shafts you can get this
weight down to around 10 ounces.
Light grips are now available for any clubs.
Club
Heads- They haven't changed significantly in weight during the last 30
years.
Today's mammoth drivers weight about the same as real persimmon
wood heads did.
The size of the head has increased dramatically over the last
few years through
the use of stronger metals in stainless steel, titanium and
a host of metal combinations
that can be made much thinner and still retain
the necessary strength to withstand
the impact of hitting a ball. If you have
good shafts , consider replacing the
heads instead of the whole club. You can
buy heads today made out of all the
latest space age material at very reasonable
prices.
Loft & Lie - After
constant pounding from hundreds of golf balls or
hitting the ground and practice
mats both the loft and lie of a club can change
causing loss of distance and accuracy.
Most older irons should be checked
periodically for this problem and brought back
to their original specifications.
They can even be improved upon to make the
ball flight lower, higher or even
further by most repair shops.
Re-grooving
- Many irons have worn out grooves that provide little backspin
and poor flight.
these grooves can be re-done, bringing the clubs back to their
original specifications
or even improving on the clubs.
Bounce - This is a technical term for the
angle of the sole on a iron. If you are
having a lot of trouble with skulled shots
then you may have too much bounce
on your clubs. The sole of many irons is somewhat
rounded to stop the head
from digging into the turf. In many cases this roundness
also causes the iron
to bounce off the turf and skull the ball. If it's happening
to you then have some
of the roundness removed and watch what happens to your
shots when they
hit the greens.
Shaft Length - If your shafts feel to
long to short or if you are looking for
more distance or accuracy have your shafts
extended or cut down. This is
done by removing the grip , making the adjustment
and replacing the grip.
Don't let anyone tell you a grip can't be reused. Unless
it is worn out you
don't need to buy a new grip. Hooks and slices are often the
result of the
wrong length shaft. If a shaft is too long the club head may be
sitting on
it's heel while a club that is too short may be sitting on its toe.
Often this
is incorrectly diagnosed as a need to change the lie of a club but
the real
problem is incorrect shaft length. Think about buying a shirt. Sleeve
lengths vary from 29 to 38 inches so how can we all use the same length
golf
clubs?
Refinishing - Both wooden and metal heads can be refinished to look
like
new. Nothing looks better than a persimmon golf club that gleams from it's
polished
finish. Real wood heads are making a bit of a comeback as people
tire of the clank
of some metal heads and metal heads don't hit the ball any
further than a real
wood head despite all of the manufactures claims. The last
real wood head most
people remember hitting was long before shafts were
improved so everyone believes
distance had something to do with metal heads.
Grip Size - We all have different
size hands and that's why they make different
size gloves. How can we then all
have the same size grips on our clubs. Grips
can be sized to fit anyone's hands
and come in junior, small, medium, large and
even for arthritic hands. The next
time you need new grips have the shop
measure your hand and get the correct size
put on. It will do wonders
for your shots.
Rattles - Either in the club
head or the shaft. This is quite common and is usually
a piece of epoxy used to
glue the parts together which has broken off, It has no
effect on the club's
performance but is annoying and distracting. If the rattle is
in the shaft then
the grip can be removed and the material will fall out. If it's in
the head which
happens frequently with titanium then the shaft must be removed
to get the epoxy
out.
OEM - This is a term frequently heard which means "original equipment
manufacturer ". We bring this up because most manufacturers buy their heads,
shafts
and grips from someone else and have the brand name silk screened
or stamped onto
the parts. These parts are then called OEM parts. This allows
the OEM to control
repairs and replacement much the same as the automobile
industry does. Most people
know that if they have a muffler replaced with
OEM parts it will cost considerably
more than having the same job done at
a muffler shop. The golf industry uses the
same strategy and you can't blame
them because it increases their revenue and
controls the quality of repairs.
Most independent repair shops can match the original
specifications of the
part but have to use the real manufacturer's trade name
which will save you
a lot of money. Watch out for this if you are considering
new clubs as it is
common for brand names to develop something unique in size
or design
that has no performance value in order to retain the repair control
. It's
called merchandising but can be a consumer nightmare if the OEM goes
out
of business or changes it's mind due to lack of customer acceptance.
If we have missed something and you would like an answer please e-mail
us
at golftech@intergate.ca
www.golftechcanada.com
:
About the Author
My name is Garry Beaton, I am a self taught golfer that regularly
shoots in
the 70's and have played the game for over 35 years. I also have a golf
club
repair business and have worked on thousands of club for golfers that had
a
problem. Every golfer I talk to has a problem that they want solved for them.
I
am also a certified clubfitter which simply means I understand how to make
any
club fit the skill level of a golfer to improve their game. I have personally
made
over 20 thousand golf clubs for every kind of golfer. The right golf
equipment
will improve anyone's game but nothing will take the place of a
lesson and a lot
of practice. I have tried to present this information in a
straight practical
manner but there obviously are exceptions to everything.
If you would like specific
information tell me something about yourself and
your game and I will try to help
you out.
Contact me by E-mail at: golftech@intergate.ca
or Fax/Phone 604-931-2869
Sincerely,
Garry Beaton