What decade is it again? Or, what happens on WRX when you lose your mind.

[Dan Drake]

It's entirely possible that I've completely lost my mind..............

 

And yet somehow, I'm reasonably okay with that.

 

Let me explain. I only purchase used clubs and, much to the chagrin of my lovely wife, I rarely sell them. Not because I have tons of space or am independently wealthy, mind you, no. Mainly because I destroy them trying to find the perfect setup. You see, I like to "Frankenstein" sets of clubs. For example, I made my own set of single length irons as a proof of concept AND I did it for less than $50 all told. But, the cost for keeping zee cost so low was that I now have a set of previously semi-valuable clubs, at least by my definition (>$200, told you I ain't wealthy), that are now almost entirely destroyed. I suppose I could take them all back apart and rebuild them back to "normal" and then sell them, but that doesn't really fit the ending of the stories that I like to tell!

 

And even when considering all that, my new endeavor may even be a bit more asinine, if that's possible. It's certainly preposterous.

 

I'm going back old school. Back when bell bottoms and huge shoes were cool, boy bands were popular, and the war on drugs was a little more lenient.

 

Wait, you mean to tell me that those things are all back? Again?

 

Perfect. I wasn't alive the first time around, so here's my chance! I'm taking a "classic" set and dialing the lofts back even farther, further, uh, more. My Mizuno MP 11's, yes those of the 21° 3i and 48° Pw, are getting a face lift. Rather, a loft lift. Why, you might ask, would I go about starting to ruin another completely good club? Well, there are many reasons, most of them to strange to tell, but here are the main ones that I think I thunk. The #1 thing that I do not like about these clubs is the offset. Good night, there is a ton of it! I mean you could fit Mama Cass in between the hosel and the leading edge of the Pw! So I did what any normal evil genius would do. I weakened that sucker by 5° and have been using it as a Gw, lol. I know, I know, I need help.

 

Well, that logically led to another fit of post modernism. Why not do that with all the clubs? Why not, indeed?

 

And then, suddenly, a flash of brilliance! Or perhaps, indigestion. Either way, it occurred to me that one of the issues keeping my previous homemade MOI matching from working well were the long shaft lengths of the long irons and the head weight of them, if you weren't going to grind them. I added those little nuggets of info to the wavy, wafty memory of some very solid long irons that I hit with my single length clubs (short shafts in long irons, ahahahaha!) and I realized the next step! Hard step the whole dang lot of them! Shorter shafts with weaker lofts, holy cow, things are getting weird, quickly.

 

So, I'm going to end up, hopefully, with a set of 3-Pw MP 11's with lofts of 24°-52/53° and 1/2" shorter lengths down to the 9i (I think?). At that point, the lead tape is coming out and these things are gonna get all gobbed up! Lie angles will be dealt with last, because nobody likes them anyway. Add a 58° Sw/Lw thingy, a driver, a brassie, two spoons, and a putter and off I shall go! Wait, is this the 60's or the 20's? I'm lost again.

 

Will any of it matter? I doubt it. My bad swings are really bad. No GI club is going to help them in all honesty. I'm also not as long as those boys on the telly, so I may as well quite trying to be. I'm gonna play a different style of golf from now on. Maybe even a style that will help me score a bit better? Perhaps even have a more honest approach to it all? I'll keep you all posted on the build and the results.

 

(Plus, it's going to be an absolute hoot rifling a 40° 7i at the flag from 146 on a par 3 and casually showing my playing partners what I hit, only to watch them short circuit trying to figure out what the flip just happened)

 

Pictures to follow.............

[Kirasdad]

This is fantastic. Sounds like something I would do...wait a minute, it's something I did do. Took a perfectly good set of Hogan Edge irons and frankensteined them (is that a verb?) into a SL set that was great...if you didn't mind that the 5,6,and 7 irons all went the same distance.

 

but, hey! That's half the fun. And it was fun, just ask Teevons who had to try and execute all my dumb ideas.

 

Good luck with your project. Keep us posted.

[BIG STU]

Dan it is not crazy I do nutty stuff like that all the time even though I have not tried the single length thing yet because honestly it does not appeal to me. Now I have created some monsters in the wedge department with different grinds. I will get after a sole with a grinder in a heartbeat. Now I will not grind on a classic wedge but will buy some junkers at the thrift store in a heartbeat. I will also break out the lead tape in the drop of a hat. I have also built some hot fairway woods I call "heaters" by messing with lower shaft flexes and weight placement. Of course I have a couple of staff bags full of failed experiments too but it is fun.

[jonnygrouville]

As my wife says "This is why you're not allowed nice things".

 

Thousands and thousands of dollars on research and development in the Taylor Made salt-mines, still don't know how to weight a golf club. Five minutes in my garage, sorted.

 

All presents will be modified or improved (ruined to some) by New Year. Merry Xmas!

 

[birly-shirly]

Good plan. I have a set of mizunos from the 80s set up exactly like that. Actually I had 3, until one set got disassembled to provide shafts for some 50s Hogans. In the mizunos case, my thinking was exactly the same. More loft and less offset is a win win. Makes a 2 iron viable at the top of the set and makes a mad proliferation of wedges redundant.

[oldschoolrocker]

Well Dan,

You're sure preaching to the right choir.

I'm thinking of doing something over the winter that may get me excommunicated. It has to do with some old hickory shafts and some modern (70ish) clubheads.

That's one of the benefits of finding good stuff on the cheap. One can experiment.

Keep us posted.

[stixman]

Don't tell me ( or 'them' ) that you're going to swap the hosel on a modern-ish club head for one butchered from a hickory blade so you can fit a hickory shaft?

 

Has anyone done that, is it do-able?

[Fellaheen51]

Supply of old(er) clubs? Check. Misc. shafts and assorted sundry's? Check. Enjoy putzing around with golf clubs? Check. Just enough knowledge to be dangerous? Check. Does it make them "better"? Of course, they now have been "personalized".

 

Does the end result enable me to be better playing at golf? In my head, absolutely. The reality, not really. But that is not necessarily the point of the exercise. Dabbling in "futzing" has its own rewards in and of itself.

 

Merry Christmas to all my Classic brethren.

[oldschoolrocker]

Stix,

There will be no butchery involved of any hickory clubhead. This is still in its infancy stage, so I haven't formulated theory to practice quite yet.

I am waiting for someone to get back to me from craigslist about a stash of 20 or so hickorys before I do any Frankenstein tinkering.

Played Tads Tom Morris set at our after work nine hole money match Wednesday, and hit them well enough I am taking them out this morning for a Christmas Eve blitz.

Dressing to the nines for it as well, complete with button down shirt, tie, Argyle Cashmere sweater, and felt fedora.

Merry Christmas and May God Bless you and yours.

Randy

 

Almost forgot. I am gifting a hickory niblick to one of the lads at the blitz that told me he remembered his father being a wizard with an old hickory niblick when he first learned the game.

My intention is to slowly win him over to hickory play. He is one of the Horseman for our Persimmon and Blade days at the club.

[Juice__25]

I have a driver that I put in play regularly that I call Frankenstein. It's an Adams Speedline with a True Temper Command 127g Steel shaft played at 44.5 inches. It's also hot melted and stuffed with cotton balls to help with SW and dull the sound. Keep experimenting I say.

[Dan Drake]

I have a driver that I put in play regularly that I call Frankenstein. It's an Adams Speedline with a True Temper Command 127g Steel shaft played at 44.5 inches. It's also hot melted and stuffed with cotton balls to help with SW and dull the sound. Keep experimenting I say.

 

Sweet merciful goodness, what does it swingweight at?

 

R3?

[scomac2002]

I have a driver that I put in play regularly that I call Frankenstein. It's an Adams Speedline with a True Temper Command 127g Steel shaft played at 44.5 inches. It's also hot melted and stuffed with cotton balls to help with SW and dull the sound. Keep experimenting I say.

 

Sweet merciful goodness, what does it swingweight at?

 

R3?

 

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Kathy Marie]

What a GREAT THREAD!!! :rofl: :rofl:

 

 

Thank You Dan &

 

 

Merry Christmas to all my Classic Peeps!!!

 

 

:wave:

 

Kathy

[Juice__25]

I have a driver that I put in play regularly that I call Frankenstein. It's an Adams Speedline with a True Temper Command 127g Steel shaft played at 44.5 inches. It's also hot melted and stuffed with cotton balls to help with SW and dull the sound. Keep experimenting I say.

 

Sweet merciful goodness, what does it swingweight at?

 

R3?

 

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

 

Lol. Actually, it's an F7.

 

My point being, you may think you've lost your mind, but you'll always find someone crazier than you. Lol.

[Juice__25]

What a GREAT THREAD!!! :rofl: :rofl:

 

 

Thank You Dan &

 

 

Merry Christmas to all my Classic Peeps!!!

 

 

:wave:

 

Kathy

 

Merry Christmas Kathy and everyone else!!

 

J

[oldschoolrocker]

Oh what the heck,

"Merry Christmas to ya'll, and thank each and everyone for being part of my extended family in this crazy technical age in which we live."

[scomac2002]

Oh what the heck,

"Merry Christmas to ya'll, and thank each and everyone for being part of my extended family in this crazy technical age in which we live."

 

Same to you Randy and all the rest of the crew that likes to call the Classic Golf and Golfers forum home. Merry Christmas one and all!

[Dan Drake]

I have a driver that I put in play regularly that I call Frankenstein. It's an Adams Speedline with a True Temper Command 127g Steel shaft played at 44.5 inches. It's also hot melted and stuffed with cotton balls to help with SW and dull the sound. Keep experimenting I say.

 

Sweet merciful goodness, what does it swingweight at?

 

R3?

 

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

 

Lol. Actually, it's an F7.

 

My point being, you may think you've lost your mind, but you'll always find someone crazier than you. Lol.

 

You can always spot a mad scientist by the color of his shaft adapters. If it is nice and shiny, you know he either has too much money or orders his shafts all done for him.

 

But see a faded, splotchy, discolored adapter, you know exactly what you've got. A guy who will heat that sucker up and reuse it many, many times, aesthetics and plastic ferrules be darned, lol!

 

Well done, Juice!

[BIG STU]

I have a driver that I put in play regularly that I call Frankenstein. It's an Adams Speedline with a True Temper Command 127g Steel shaft played at 44.5 inches. It's also hot melted and stuffed with cotton balls to help with SW and dull the sound. Keep experimenting I say.

 

Sweet merciful goodness, what does it swingweight at?

 

R3?

 

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

 

Lol. Actually, it's an F7.

 

My point being, you may think you've lost your mind, but you'll always find someone crazier than you. Lol.

Juice there was some guy over in the other forums a while back that had steel shafted a Cleveland Classic 290 with I think a X-100 steel. Said it hit good. I actually have a 290 head I am thinking about doing it up. See how it does WTH if it does not pan out it aint the first time trust me

[Dan Drake]

I have a driver that I put in play regularly that I call Frankenstein. It's an Adams Speedline with a True Temper Command 127g Steel shaft played at 44.5 inches. It's also hot melted and stuffed with cotton balls to help with SW and dull the sound. Keep experimenting I say.

 

Sweet merciful goodness, what does it swingweight at?

 

R3?

 

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

 

Lol. Actually, it's an F7.

 

My point being, you may think you've lost your mind, but you'll always find someone crazier than you. Lol.

Juice there was some guy over in the other forums a while back that had steel shafted a Cleveland Classic 290 with I think a X-100 steel. Said it hit good. I actually have a 290 head I am thinking about doing it up. See how it does WTH if it does not pan out it aint the first time trust me

 

STU,

 

I believe that was one of ROBOPTI's moments of madness threads. He was shooting for the consistency of steel with a new, low spin head. He went with the Cleveland mainly due to the wonderful aesthetics of the head, I believe.

 

I did the same with a J33R head and it was fun. My main issue was not being aware of the tipping needs of a DGX100 .335 (way different than the irons) combined with the tipping needs of a large BBGM head like the J33.

 

I would do it again in a heartbeat, so I say, GO FOR IT!

[RSinSG]

Funny thread. I was chuckling out loud and my wife asked me what was so funny. I told her she wouldn't get it. Of course she insisted I tell her so I did. She said I was weird if I thought that was funny.

[Dan Drake]

Well, these puppies have been shafted (hard stepped, even!), bent, hit, taped, bent, hit, bent, taped, untaped, bent, and hit.

 

They have no more offset (to speak of), way to much bounce, the wrong shafts in them and none of the swing weights match. Perfect!!!!!

 

And even after all that abuse, there's sure to be more in store for these sweet clubs o' my-e-yine.

 

Current WITB (by loft only)

 

P

58°

53°

48°

44°

40°

36°

32°

28°

24°

20° hybrid

17° hybrid

13° fairway wood

D

 

So, I'm either playing a vintage set from the 50's with 3-P as the names of my clubs, or I'm playing a modern set of 5-P, G, S, & L, if you prefer. Either way, 24° (Holy clubmaking knowledge from 30 years ago, Mr. Wishon!) through 52°-ish is covered and I'm simply choosing to use the 14th club at the top end of the bag vs. the bottom end.

 

The more things change..................

 

(And don't worry, I'll be taking my 36° club to the local launch monitor and hit it a few times. For once and for all, I want to see if the monitor can detect what # is printed on the bottom of a 36° club, since that is what the club companies would want to have us believe. I have a very sneaking suspicion that launch angle, ball speed, apex, and everything else will be pretty dog-gone similar for my club vs. say, a TMAG Psi 8i, lol.)

[BIG STU]

Well, these puppies have been shafted (hard stepped, even!), bent, hit, taped, bent, hit, bent, taped, untaped, bent, and hit.

 

They have no more offset (to speak of), way to much bounce, the wrong shafts in them and none of the swing weights match. Perfect!!!!!

 

And even after all that abuse, there's sure to be more in store for these sweet clubs o' my-e-yine.

 

Current WITB (by loft only)

 

P

58°

53°

48°

44°

40°

36°

32°

28°

24°

20° hybrid

17° hybrid

13° fairway wood

D

 

So, I'm either playing a vintage set from the 50's with 3-P as the names of my clubs, or I'm playing a modern set of 5-P, G, S, & L, if you prefer. Either way, 24° (Holy clubmaking knowledge from 30 years ago, Mr. Wishon!) through 52°-ish is covered and I'm simply choosing to use the 14th club at the top end of the bag vs. the bottom end.

 

The more things change..................

 

(And don't worry, I'll be taking my 36° club to the local launch monitor and hit it a few times. For once and for all, I want to see if the monitor can detect what # is printed on the bottom of a 36° club, since that is what the club companies would want to have us believe. I have a very sneaking suspicion that launch angle, ball speed, apex, and everything else will be pretty dog-gone similar for my club vs. say, a TMAG Psi 8i, lol.)

If those stated lofts are on the Mizuno MP-11s you have posted then I would say the lofts are dead on spec off the top of my head

[boggyman]

Dan it is not crazy I do nutty stuff like that all the time even though I have not tried the single length thing yet because honestly it does not appeal to me. Now I have created some monsters in the wedge department with different grinds. I will get after a sole with a grinder in a heartbeat. Now I will not grind on a classic wedge but will buy some junkers at the thrift store in a heartbeat. I will also break out the lead tape in the drop of a hat. I have also built some hot fairway woods I call "heaters" by messing with lower shaft flexes and weight placement. Of course I have a couple of staff bags full of failed experiments too but it is fun.

Yes indeed it's a lot of fun! I gotta start hanging round here more so than the Equipment Forum!

[Dan Drake]

The de-jacked MP 11's have now been regripped and are firmly in the bag. With the addition of the new grips, I want to take them out to the range for a bit more lead taping/untaping and finalize exactly what's going on.

 

It is certainly an interesting feeling, reaching in the bag for a "7i" for a stock shot from 148, lol. It's very reminiscent of when I started to play golf, right about the time these clubs were made. I guess I'm about a club longer than I was at 15 years old!