How to Reshaft a Golf Club

Reshafting Golf Clubs

Most golfers just have their club builder take care of this matter. Some have tried and failed at doing minor and major club repair and work in their garage. This article will show you that with proper tools and a little practice; anyone can professionally re-shaft, re-grip and fine tune your own golf clubs yourself and save hundreds while doing so.

Preparing the components

The golf shaft stays in the club head because of the high strength epoxy. The first step is to ensure the epoxy makes a firm bond with the two components. Epoxy does well with “abraded” surfaces, or rough surfaces. Smooth bonding points will result in flying club heads and a frustrated club building experience.

1.       Pull the club head off the original shaft. If you have a shaft puller, great, if not, you can use a vice if it is a steel shaft. Mount the club on the shaft puller or vice and apply heat with the heat gun on the bottom section of the hosel for about 30 seconds. Applying over 180° of heat should break down the epoxy and you should be able to pull out the head from the shaft.

Note: if you are removing a graphite shaft from a head, you should use a shaft remover. The resin in the graphite shaft has a slightly higher breaking temp than the epoxy in the head, and overheating will result in a gooey mess inside the hosel that would have to be drilled out after it is cooled down. Also, using a shaft remover will allow you to reuse the pullout in another club in the future. If you do not have a shaft remover, you can use a box wrench. If you turn the threaded bolt slowly, you should be able to remove the shaft from the head. You can continue to use more heat from the heat gun if it gives you difficulty.

2.       After the club head has cooled, use the cordless drill with the steel hosel brush to clean out the hosel thoroughly of epoxy, as well as abrading the inside of the hosel to ensure a quality bond of the new shaft to the head.

If you are using a pullout shaft, make sure the hole at the tip of the shaft has been drilled out, as well as the grip removed. This hole is essential for airflow to reach the epoxy assuring a quality bond. If this end is plugged, the shaft will slide back out as the club cures and will not have adequate bond depth to keep the head on properly.

Use a belt sander or sand paper and sand 1”-1 ¼” of the tip. Depending on the bore depth of the head you are installing it in. Remember that the ferrule will be overlapping the sanded edge, so it doesn’t have to be perfect.

Advanced club builders only: Before prepping the shaft, you can tip the shaft (depending on parallel) to fine tune it to play stiffer. The more you tip the shaft, the stiffer it will play in frequency. There isn’t an exact guide for how much to tip to how stiff it will get, each shaft is different, but normally ½” tip will jump it up ½ a flex, and 1” tip will jump it up a full flex.

Note: If you are re-shafting a fairway wood, make sure to tip 1” for the 3wd, 5” for the 5wd and 2” for the 7wd and 9wd. You can tip more to make the club play stiffer, or tip less to make the club play softer in flex.

Flex is relative to the length of the shaft as well as the head weight – heavier heads will play softer in flex, and vice versa – If you have any questions on how much to tip, please inquire with a fitting professional.

4.       Once the components are cool and ready to build, mix the 2 part epoxy. Epoxy is made up of resin and an activator. Make sure you read the instructions carefully on the epoxy packaging; most epoxy is designed for a 50/50 mix. Put ½ a teaspoon size of both on a mixing pad and mix thoroughly. All epoxy is different, but with normal golf club epoxy, it takes 5-20 min to set (for the shaft not to move around) and 24-48 hrs to cure (completely harden). Please read instructions carefully to know what timeframe you are working with.

Carefully roll the tip of the shaft in the mixed epoxy so a thin layer is on the surface. Slide the ferrule about 3/4” up the shaft so ½” of the shaft is showing at the end.

Using a popsicle stick or any mixing stick, put ½ teaspoon of epoxy in the hosel. The surface area that bonds inside the club is the inner wall of the hosel, so make sure there is adequate coverage inside the hosel. Use more epoxy if needed.

5.       Insert the shaft into the head and tamp the end on the ground. Spin the shaft around a couple times to assure adequate coverage along the shaft wall and the hosel wall. Wipe off any excess epoxy from the head/ferrule/shaft and place on your workbench. Make sure to align the shaft logo up or down, based on preference, aligned to the face of the club. Once you let the shaft set, the epoxy will do its work and there is no going back, so make sure before it cures, that you are happy with the orientation of the shaft. If there is a gap between the head and the ferrule, slide the ferrule down so there is no gap. The ferrule prevents the head from snapping the shaft off at the hosel by dissipating some force into the ferrule.

6.       After the club sets (5-20min), check to see if there is any glue oozing out and measure the club for final length. The correct way to measure a golf club is to set the club up at address, score lines on the face, parallel to the ground, and place a ruler from the bottom of the shaft, all the way up. Depending on the weight of the head, the length will vary, but here is a guide below of what “standard” length should be in your club. Please check with the club head manufacturer to see what “standard” length on your club is. Mark the desired length on the shaft. Use the saw to cut the shaft to length. Cut slow, to prevent splintering of the shaft.

7.       Place the club into the vice and put on the grip tape. Make sure you have enough tape to cover the grip, but not too much where it shows over the tip. Overlap the tape at the end of the shaft and twist and tuck into the back of the shaft. This will assure no dirt and particles go into your shaft up the hole in back of the grip and give unwanted “rattles” in the shaft. Apply a generous amount of mineral spirits and let it sit for 2 min to activate the adhesive. Put mineral spirits into the grip as well and shake to assure optimal coating of the solvent in the grip.

8.       Pinch the tip of the grip and slide it over the end. This takes practice but it is possible. Slide the grip on the shaft all the way until it seats properly at the end. Make sure to partially cover the hole at the end so it doesn’t “spit” solvent back at you. Line up the grip to the face (logo up or down is your preference), and wipe the excess solvent off the grip and shaft. The grip will need to sit for ½ -1 hour before it is set and the club will need 24/48 hrs until the epoxy completely cured before swinging.