Whipping coming loose from Louisville Golf driver

[humphereydumpherey]

I tried to post earlier but... I bought a refurbished louisville golf 50s classic driver recently and the whipping started to come loose early on with just some range play, in turf mats, which must have started it.

Still, my other woods have never come loose despite heavy range mat use.

They won't respond to my emails and the local proshop can't repair whipping. I added some tape as a last ditch effort but it has loosened further with just a few extra swings.

Is this bad workmanship? It's a shame as their stuff is like works of art. Due to their bad email response times I will be wary to buy anything more from them. Is it worth repairing or will it just come undone again?

Notice the adjacent 1950c Amour 3 wood with perfect whipping.

[deejaid]

This can happen to any persimmon wood, high quality or otherwise, and it isn’t a big deal. I find it a bit humorous that the local pro shop can’t fix this but you can fix this yourself in 10 minutes.

 

First, unwrap all the whipping from the club. Use a pencil to wrap the whipping around so it doesn’t become a tangled mess. Cut an 8” piece of whipping from the long piece you just removed. Set it aside.

Next, put the club in a rubber golf club clamp and gently tighten so that the club is secure but can still be spun easily in the rubber clamp. This is important to make winding the whipping easier.

Next, lay the end of the long piece whipping opabout 1/2” down the back of the shaft at the top where the whipping begins. You usually see a discoloration on the shaft to see where to start, just make sure it’s on the back of the head.

Wrap around the shaft about 5 times over the end to keep it secure.

Now, continue wrapping by using your right hand to guide the whipping while the left hand twists the club head to rotate the shaft in the clamp/vise.

Continue wrapping the whipping tightly until you are about five wraps from the end. Take the 8” piece of whipping you cut off earlier, make a loop with it, and lay it down on the back of the club head on top of the whipping.

Continue whipping over top of the loop your final five or six turns.

Once you have reached the bottom, thread the end of the whipping through the loop. Pull the loop up and the end of he whipping will be tucked underneath the last five rows of whipping.

Use an Exacto knife to cut the excess from the tucked pieces at the beginning and end of your wrap.

 

Apply some clear nail polish to to keep the ends secure.

 

There you go. A nice, tight whipping, and an old club ready for many more rounds.

[robert horneman]

Excellent step by step process deejaid. Original poster should able to do it. There are some very good vids on You Tube that may also help.

[Socrates]

Let's assume that the whipping job was done correctly. If so, then one common reason is that there is a crack in the wooden hosel and as the club impacts the ball, there is enough movement to force the whipping to come loose. Take off all the whipping and put the head under load and check for cracks in the neck. If that is the case, the shaft has to come out and the head epoxied. Sometimes you could inject epoxy into the crack, but that doesn't always work.

[raggal62]

Another possibility is the head can be loose. From the photo it appears the club had been pinned, but I have seen in the past where a slightly loose head can result in a separation of the head and ferrule, thus causing a winding failure of the whipping.

It's also entirely possible the ferrule itself has worked loose, albeit a rare scenario.

[SteveNZ]

Heartily echo what @robert horneman said. That’s a great guide. Terrific stuff DJ.

[humphereydumpherey]

Very helpful guide, which I am grateful for, although unfortunately at the moment I don't have any room or equipment to do any of that myself.

If it is the head, how did the head get loose so fast? I have read other reports on here at Louisville Golf persimmon heads chipped or cracked. Delicate worksmanship? They won't even respond to my emails. Back to vintage Hogan ...

[raggal62]

To check for a loose head take the grip in one hand and the head in the other and twist in opposite directions. Confirming a solid connection should rule out that particular cause for the loose whipping.

[humphereydumpherey]

Feels solid, as if just the.whipping is weak but the head for now is rigid. Will the loose whipping eventually loosen the head?

[raggal62]

No ... loose whipping won't loosen the head itself, but it might somewhat weaken the hosel if not repaired. I would discontinue use until you can get it fixed. Hopefully you can locate an old school repair guy in your area. It is fairly evident they are becoming dinosaurs.

[humphereydumpherey]

Louisville golf says the whipping protects the "neck" from water and potential hairline cracking. Does that mean "hosel"? Hairline cracking to the hosel?

[farmer]

The neck is considered the hosel. Without the whipping, the top part of the neck, being very thin, will crack. You don't have to have equipment to do the whipping, I used to do it holding the club between my legs. You don't have to use golf specific cord, heavy fishing line will work. It's really not hard, it just takes some practice.

[dg18]

Send to izett golf Ardmore Pa. if you can’t fix it .They do beautiful work

[ping rat]

Where are you located? I would be happy to do it for you if you are around the Houston Tx area.

[humphereydumpherey]

I'll send it to Louisville golf... The local "club doctor" days he hasn't even seen whipping in seven years.

The era has passed ... The robots won