Building golf clubs

jdhdiggs

Shot in the dark:

Has anyone here ever ventured down this road? Any tips?

What have you built?

I'm looking at building an entire set from scratch as my swing speed has now greatly exceeded my current woods/irons ratings causing a lot of inconsistency that I do not have with some stiffer clubs that I tried.

Currently I have some taylor made bubble shaft S-90 super steel clubs and would like to move to steel shafts with high spin.

Stats:
Hit 5I 200-210 (I hate this club, makes my hand go numb)
Measured driver swing speed 120-125
Woods hit high, irons low

Any ideas?

dcarlson

I've never built any clubs.

Have you thought about slowing your swing for more consistency?

jdhdiggs

That throws off the rythm and to be honest, I'm not trying to power the ball that's just my natural swing. Trying to power my driver got me and additional 5mph, but caused more inconsistancies. Two weeks ago, my dad visited and he had some really stiff clubs that, once I got the groove of the swing, I hit really consistant. My 4W has the stiffest shaft of any club currently in my bag and I can hit the thing dead straight or work a fade or draw when I want to.. All this leading to not wanting to change the swing, but the clubs.

I have tried the slowing down thing and all hell broke loose which is why I carry a whole lot of wedges instead of fairway woods/low irons- So I can take a full swing until about 50 yds out (68* anyone?). 3/4 swings are hell for me. Under 50 yds, it becomes more touch than swing so it's fine.

dcarlson

That's cool.

I just find it funny when I play with people who overpower their swing and they wonder where the slice comes from.

Myself, I'm not terribly long but consistency is something I've work on pretty hard to achieve.

I'm not sure if this helps but they do have some specs.

http://www.golfquip.com/steelshafts.htm

jdhdiggs

Notice I never said slice... Just inconsistant...

I do agree with you though, it is funny to watch someone try a beat the hell out of a ball and have it go further sideways than down the fairway. Thanks for the link. I've been looking at Golfsmith and Golfworks as well.

superbrett

You may try reshafting your irons first...maybe to a s300 or a x100 stell shaft. Changing the shaft won't increase/reduce spin, thats just striking it cleanly and having pronounced gooves...ie, clean.
I've put together quite a few clubs. I'm in my Apprintiace year as a Assnt. Pro., I can't tell you the number of people wanting to "buy" their game with new technology. (Not saying that's you, just stated mind you.)

Check out the Clubmakers Entrance to Golfsmith.com, or TGW.com.
Hell, send em to me, we closed down the course for new greens, and I have an abundance of free time in the shop.

Brett

goingganzo

when i get to fo to china i am getting my self a calaway setup with the bigh birtha 2+ and the x 16 irons all with the carbon fiber shaft and bag and putter. my dad got a set and they are sweet

Mjr7531

I made my own Pitching Wedge with the Golfsmith kit and I absolutely love it, it's my favorite club along with my 7 wood. I would suggest building your own club for three reasons, It completely customized, self-satifaction of making your own club, and it's fun! Good luck,
Matt

woodyjacobs

Yeah, I would agree with superbrett...definitely look at some stiffer iron shafts....Dynamic Gold X100 or FM 6.5 (maybe even 7.0). If you are hitting 5I that long you should be able to get those xstiff shafts though okay. And I am sure that even with an s300 shaft you would get more consitency than you are getting out of those graphites just because the steel doesn't torque (twist) the way graphite does. I do wonder however what steel shafts in the irons might do to your trajectory though, if you already hit it low with those graphite shafts. If you can find some of the same irons around (assuming you want to keep the heads you have) with the shafts you are considering to demo it might be a good idea just to see about trajectory and to see what they feel like....they will likely feel a lot heavier to you.

The golfsmith manuals and materials seem to be straight forward and easy to use although I haven't built but a few clubs and haven't ever installed or removed graphite shafts, so I can't speak from too much experience about that.

wallstreet

I built a set of golfsmith irons a ways back. Basically you're just buying their heads as the the shafts I used back then were true temper gold. You always could go see a shop that really knows how to fit clubs and see what they say. Since you're in Dallas, there's always Hank Haney's up in Mckinney. Be careful not to take a lesson though. They might really hose you up then.

jdhdiggs

Looking more at it, I would probably be better off selling the clubs and starting from scratch since the club head is set up for a .400" and not .335 or .350. That would also allow me to go to match the heads and shafts to the clubs. It doesn't look too dificult. I'll let you know how it works out.

Tour2ma

Howdy Walter... tired of those nasty, old 90's yet?

Not a club builder my self, never gone farther than doing my own regrips (very easy). But a very good friend is a Golfsmither. Nothing to it according to him.

When he was selecting a set he bought 5 or so different 5-iron heads and a couple different shafts. Made and remade until he found the right combo, and got in some good club-building practice along the way. Then he built an entire set. Pretty smart approach I thought...

Jstas

My neighbor actually repairs clubs as a hobby and a small side business. I don't know if he still does it though.

He did tell me that one thing he did do was improve the strength and stiffness of the head by double wrapping the shank where the shaft is mounted in the head. He had a special way of doing and I have no clue what he did exactly.

Another thing he told me is that too many people go with the super light shafts that flex alot. They get them because they flex more so they are more forgiving and it helps straighten slices and hooks. When swinging with them though, you have to lead your swing to hit the ball squarely otherwise you won't get enough lift out of it. The flexing of the shaft can actually change the angle that the head hits the ball. Consequently, people swing thier asses off at it and end up with a slice or hook or just chunking the ball down the course anyway because they are trying too hard.

When I learned to play, I just listened to what the pro was telling me. He told me it was amazing that I had such a natural swing. I just told him "I only did what you told me to." What was also surprising was that I was pounding a 5W over 280 yards and a 3W over 360 yards but I wasn't putting any effort into the swing at all. I can't hit a 1W for the life of me though and he said that that is understandable. The 1W head is so heavy and the shaft is so long and thin that it excessivly flexes the shaft under the normal stresses of a proper swing and does not contact the ball properly.

So basically, I learned that if you have a nice, even, slow tempo to your swing, take your time, follow through on your form, you will pound that ball without even trying. The more flex you have in the shaft, the harder it can be to hit properly. My favorite clubs are a set with carbon-graphite shafts. Very light but very stiff. I actually inherited them from a friend who I used to golf with when I was younger. He passed away and they were given to me with a note "...would have wanted you to have these." They are like a $3500 set of clubs and perfectly balanced. Well used too! The clubs I learned on were a 150 dollar set of Wilson RAM's and I was hitting the 9 iron out of that set somthing like 90 yards if I laid into it rather than just lightly popping the ball like I should. I did better with the cheap clubs but they were uncomfortable so I use the other set. The shafts on the other clubs were just a smidge too long for my comfort.

The answer isn't in the clubs, the balls, the shoes, the pants or anything but your swing. Fix your swing, you'll fix your game. The guy I learned from said that if I would slow down my game and get better at putting, I was driving the ball farther than alot of pro players he knew. The problem with the pros is, while they are all certainly skilled and accomplished, they have only learned to play to thier handicap. Not many actually swing the club the way they are supposed to. Just for reference, this guy was 68 years young and he would pick up his hand made wooden 3W driver and slam a golf ball 300+ yards with a swing so effrotless and smooth it looked like he was moving in slow motion.

Demiurge

Originally posted by goingganzo
when i get to fo to china i am getting my self a calaway setup with the bigh birtha 2+ and the x 16 irons all with the carbon fiber shaft and bag and putter. my dad got a set and they are sweet

Sure you know this already....but just in case...don't get the 'shaft' (pun intended) and get yourself a set of knock-offs. I hear a lot of these clubs are forgeries. Unless you're Dan Rather...you should be alright.