Home Made Clubs

[GolfJunkieSr]

I, like a lot of other golfers like to tinker with clubs. Change shafts, lengths, heads, basically mixing up different club pieces, and parts. Here's is my question. Are home made clubs, made from various parts of other clubs legal to use in sanctioned play?

[LowPost42]

Re: Home Made Clubs

Dude, absolutely.

The only thing you have to watch for is driver length (48" tops when the driver is placed against a 60 degree angle), make sure the driver head is conforming, and be careful with how you assemble the putter.

The only difference between clubs epoxied in your garage and clubs epoxied in China is usually the name on them.

[GolfJunkieSr]

Re: Home Made Clubs

So if all the components were conforming at one time or another, when assembled with other pieces, parts that were conforming, the club will still be conforming. Makes sense.

Now let me ask this. If I were to build/machine a putter head completely from scratch using some metal pieces that were never part of a golf club, would that putter head be considered conforming for a sanctioned event? I am thinking "no" because it had never been inspected, and accepted as conforming by a ruling body. Correct? GJS

[golfshooter]

Re: Home Made Clubs

I am not able to answer your questions but maybe some one or you could answer mine. Is there a book or good web site that will help me to take clubs apart and reassemble as you are doing. I have been itching to try this on several of my drivers I have collected over the years. I am good with my hands and have an engineering back ground so should be able to do it given the correct info.
Regards Peter

[GolfJunkieSr]

Re: Home Made Clubs

Try your local library first. They should have something available. That, or any of the stores like Golfsmith who sell club making components. They should have a "how to" book available. I have a book by Ralph Maltby titled "Golf Club Design, Fitting, Alteration, and Repair" that has taught me a bunch of stuff. Good luck, and enjoy the fun journey. GJS

I am not able to answer your questions but maybe some one or you could answer mine. Is there a book or good web site that will help me to take clubs apart and reassemble as you are doing. I have been itching to try this on several of my drivers I have collected over the years. I am good with my hands and have an engineering back ground so should be able to do it given the correct info.
Regards Peter

[LowPost42]

Re: Home Made Clubs

shooter, Ralphs book is a tremendous tool - but building clubs isn't rocket science.

GJS, as long as your build your putter to be conforming (as identified in the Appendix of the Rules) there's no reason to worry. FWIW, there's no "conforming putter" list like there is for driver heads and balls. Also, just because a head was "once conforming" doesn't mean it still is - I'm thinking of .860 COR drivers specifically. The head used in your gamer must still be absent from the non-conforming list. I say it like this because if a head is NOT on the non-conforming list, it's assumed to be conforming.

For higher level players with a condition of competition that your driver be on the conforming list, please use a model on that is blatantly on the list for your own sake and sanity.

Most professional club builders started out as a garage hobbiest, putting them together themselves.

Where building clubs gets expensive is as you learn about things that make clubs play better - and then either build or buy the equipment to check and correct these things. You have been warned. This is a slippery slope!

[GolfJunkieSr]

Re: Home Made Clubs

I have the time, and the money to mess around with different ideas. I built a putter from scratch using 3/4" shaft stock, and added someone else's patented design to the face. I have replaced my 2 ball putter with this new putter, because I putt better with it. No plans to market it, not my deal. Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. GJS

shooter, Ralphs book is a tremendous tool - but building clubs isn't rocket science.

GJS, as long as your build your putter to be conforming (as identified in the Appendix of the Rules) there's no reason to worry. FWIW, there's no "conforming putter" list like there is for driver heads and balls. Also, just because a head was "once conforming" doesn't mean it still is - I'm thinking of .860 COR drivers specifically. The head used in your gamer must still be absent from the non-conforming list. I say it like this because if a head is NOT on the non-conforming list, it's assumed to be conforming.

For higher level players with a condition of competition that your driver be on the conforming list, please use a model on that is blatantly on the list for your own sake and sanity.

Most professional club builders started out as a garage hobbiest, putting them together themselves.

Where building clubs gets expensive is as you learn about things that make clubs play better - and then either build or buy the equipment to check and correct these things. You have been warned. This is a slippery slope!

[rotator]

Re: Home Made Clubs

Hi Peter,

I started many, like 30-40 years ago, by assimilating as much info about club making and fitting as possible from whatever sources I was able to find. I took Maltby's book out from the library when it came out and it was very comprehensive and helpful. I befriended a longtime clubfitter/clubmaker, who had a large store/shop in Toronto, and hung around his shop and helped out. He had all the equipment and I was able to learn a lot from him. He saw the writing on the wall a few years ago, with the closing of the small independent stores and the growth of the mega retailers and closed his business. I bought some of the stock and some of the smaller and duplicate equipment from him, the larger equipment was promised to another clubmaker.

So, as well as doing my own fiddling, I made clubs and repairs for many people, for the bare costs, not as a business, but for the satisfaction. Sometimes I got a case of beer.

I still change out my equipment frequently, making mods to my equipment. For example, I'm really pleased with some more recent changes I made on three hybrids. I swapped shafts out (taking more flexible shafts and putting them on the longer, lower lofted clubs -, and by the opposite token, stiffening up the shorter, more lofted clubs), extending some shaft lengths by as much as 1"- 2", the end result being better feel and performance. One of the clubs is now a dependable "driving iron" with 21 degree loft, which I can use on tight holes and get the distance of a 5 or 3 wood.

I was an equipment freak and for the longest time knew about every club manufactured and used by players. I still follow the latest developments, but have slackened off, due to having settled on the kind of equipment which suits me and I am satisfied there is no more magic bullets that will help my game to any significant degree.

You may be interested to know that there are now many websites, which have tutorials or info regarding clubmaking and fitting, such as Golfsmith, Golf Works and others. You can google under generic searches such as clubmaking, removal and reshafting of golf clubs, clubfitting and other key words.

Using the same key words, you can find videos that do the same, such as on You Tube. An example is "removal and replacement of graphite shafts". You will want to know special care must be taken when dealing with graphite shafts and special tools and equipment may have to be used (purchased).

Have fun,

Ted

[golfshooter]

Re: Home Made Clubs

Hi guys,firstly thank you all for the great information and support you have given. There is a great satisfaction that comes from tinkering with clubs and seeing the improvement. For me so far it has been my putter. Starting with a generic Australian relatively poor quality club I have cut it to 31 inches , added weight to the center of the head and filed the face until there was no daylight under my straight edge and finally highly magnified the ball contact point. The putter now fits me like an old shoe and would never trade it for another. I now look forward to a little more tinkering,the hardest part is getting past the fear of actually tackling the job with confidence.Again thanks to all, sorry about the late reply.
Regards Peter

[LowPost42]

Re: Home Made Clubs

Hi guys,firstly thank you all for the great information and support you have given. There is a great satisfaction that comes from tinkering with clubs and seeing the improvement. For me so far it has been my putter. Starting with a generic Australian relatively poor quality club I have cut it to 31 inches , added weight to the center of the head and filed the face until there was no daylight under my straight edge and finally highly magnified the ball contact point. The putter now fits me like an old shoe and would never trade it for another. I now look forward to a little more tinkering,the hardest part is getting past the fear of actually tackling the job with confidence.Again thanks to all, sorry about the late reply.
Regards Peter

Welcome to the dark side. If you have the guts, putter mod is the one area where you can make the fastest and easiest inroads into tinkering - because the results are often striking with relatively little effort.

One of the best things I did when I was playing a short set was to cut down the putter. Now that I'm playing a set that's roughly 2" longer than standard a taller putter feels better.

This is one of the things about tinkering - and really, custom fitting: If you change your swing and/or your stance, you very likely need a change in equipment spec - firstly to length and lie.