$3.96 Black Putter Shaft

[Tellsch]

Well...kind of. I wanted a black putter shaft but didn't want to spend $40 on a Vibrant shaft. It seems like everywhere is out of the cheaper FST black shaft (do they even make them anymore?).

 

I bought 8' of 5/8 heat shrink tube on eBay and thought I would give it a shot. I got 8' to allow for trial and error and to have some extra for other clubs. I am really surprised how well it turned out! There is no writing on the tube and it is a nice flat black that fits really tight. I have a stepped shaft and thought it might look goofy around the steps, but it doesn't.

 

I am not sure on the durability yet but it seems pretty tough. I messed up the trimming the first time and was easily able to remove it and try again. It adds about 10 grams to the shaft weight. So far so good!

[Colby327]

Great idea! Does it feel anything different? weight?

[Gripit_Swiftit]

looks great. interested to hear how durable it is over a season

[Tellsch]

Doesn't really feel any different. It will be awhile before I get on the course here in Chicago, but putting inside it feels the same. I am sure more sensitive players could feel the 10 grams increase in weight, but I really cant.

Durability will be interesting. I use those black rubber shaft vise clamps to put on grips. My garage is pretty cold (30 degrees) and the rubber was very hard and difficult to get the shaft in. I thought for sure it would scratch or damage the covering when I was putting on the grip. It didn't leave a mark. I think this might work out...

[Tellsch]

Here is the stuff I bought: http://www.ebay.com/itm/16-0mm-5-8-Polyolefin-Heat-Shrink-Tubing-Tube-Sleeve-Wrap-BEST-DEAL-US-SHIP-/221353520127?ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:3160

Ordered Tuesday and got it today.

[jj270]

Cool idea. GO BEARS!!!

[502 to Right]

[quote name='Tellsch' timestamp='1391134961' post='8568886']
Doesn't really feel any different. It will be [s]awhile[/s] [b]a[/b] [b]long time[/b] before I get on the course here in Chicago,
[/quote]

I fixed that for you. Winter will never end.

[ode1]

FYI, there are several low cost options that would work, as long as the putter will accept a standard .370 shaft there are some standard iron shafts that would work too:

Apollo Black (same shaft as there standard stepless w/ black finish)
Apollo Gunsmoke, if you want a lighter putter shaft
FST Black Nickel Pro putter shaft
Diamond Tour Golf Vivid Steel black
DTG Smoke Straight putter shaft or stepless iron shaft

[jj270]

[quote name='502 to Right' timestamp='1391136404' post='8569048']
[quote name='Tellsch' timestamp='1391134961' post='8568886']
Doesn't really feel any different. It will be [s]awhile[/s] [b]a[/b] [b]long time[/b] before I get on the course here in Chicago,
[/quote]

I fixed that for you. Winter will never end.
[/quote]
Ain't that the truth. You from the 502 area code?

[blink3665]

That is awesome. I have a few putters that will soon be getting the treatment. I am curious about the durability, but for that price it's worthwhile to give it a shot! Plus, I like that added weight to the shaft.

Great idea!

[Sporting chance]

"Buy" button already hit on eBay! Great idea...and I notice you can get red, green, blue, white etc. I've tried VHT epoxy paint on shafts and it's reasonably durable, however this should be more ding-resistant. Thanks for sharing!

[TJCDAS]

Very cool we were talking about this last summer I am happy someone gave it a go, it look awesome.

[url="http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/862142-painting-a-putter-shaft/#entry7269396"]http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/862142-painting-a-putter-shaft/#entry7269396[/url]

[Sporting chance]

Well...just tried it on an old Bettinardi stepless shaft and it looks awesome! Can't wait to breath some new life into old Bullseye and TP Mills shafts!

[Tellsch]

I have received a few PMs on how I did it so I thought I would post to the thread.

1. Remove the grip
2. Clean up the shaft with rubbing alcohol (or whatever you want). I also removed the shaft label, optional, but I think it looks better without
3. Slide the shrink tube onto the shaft - leave about .5" extra on the neck and an inch or 2 extra on the top where the grip stops
4. Use a heat gun (hair dryer should also work) and work it from the neck up, go all around the shaft to make sure it is shrinking uniformly
5. Once it is tight and there are not any wrinkles, trim the neck. Use a sharp razor blade or knife and try to cut just the tube. You don't need to cut all the way through, as long as it is scored deep enough, it should be enough. This is the most important step as you want a nice straight finish to the bottom.
6. After the neck is trimmed, I hit it with the heat gun one last time to make sure it was completely tight.
7. For the top portion, you can do it a few ways. I chose to have the grip tape go over the tube so when I was sliding on the grip it would not start to roll it. Seemed to work fine.

The first time I did it I wasn't happy with my trim job on the bottom so I took it off and did it again. Second time it turned out good. There you have it!

[CWB]

Brilliant !!

[CallawayKid86]

Looks great! May have to give that a shot on my metal x #9. Been thinking about painting the shaft, but really don't have the space to do it since moving in to an apartment. Do you think it may come out better if you pull the head?

[Tellsch]

I don't think it is necessary. Once you shrink it tight, you will see an outline of where the head goes into the neck so you have a line to go by. One of the areas I messed up the first time was I actually used that line as the cut line. There was a couple areas that pulled up and you could see the chrome. I took it off and tried again this time cutting a little bit past the neck line and it turned out great.

If you already have the head off, might be worth a shot. I wouldn't take the head off just for this though.

[Northpaw68]

Great idea!!

[sixtysevensixtyseven]

Good idea. I'm interested to see how it holds up as well.

[super20dan]

i am going to try this too. got a old pga t line putter i found in the trash. the shaft is rusted badly. looks terriable .so the shrink wrap is all one long peice?

[ladahl]

I ordered some a while back after seeing this thread.. I have an 8' section ready to roll... LMK how it holds up.

[Mob]

Looks great, very impressive. I just sent my putter to Vibrant last week to have them change it to matte black as well. I can't wait to get it back, but the way the weather is going here, it will probably be April before I can use it.

[VNutz]

Picked up some of these last week, will give it a trial run to see how it looks and will make a decision on going the Vibrant route based on how I think this looks.

[cmltc]

This is what I've been looking for, ordering now!

[Russ757]

Why not. Looks great and I need something to do

[carpergolf]

My putter turned out great all black taylormade kia ma

[Russ757]

CARPPPPP!!!

Get some pics man.. or youll get the <this is worthless..

[carpergolf]

For some reason I can't post pix for this iPhone 5 size to big

This putter looks sick

[bosoxfan]

Can anybody give any early updates as far as durability? I painted my shaft in the middle of winter, but I think it is going to be pretty fragile, would love to know if this has a long life of looking good???
KH

[zacktess]

i just tried this on my putter as well as my dad's and it worked great. Don't use a hair dryer, it is very slow to shirk the material and even then it doesnt shrink it tight enough. Go out and buy a heat gun, even then its still cheaper than sending it to viberant golf. Plus you could return the heat gun once your done if you want. I did my dads putter first and we just slid it over it and then shrunk it however it ended up shrinking and became too short so make sure when you cut your piece to leave some extra.