How to fix a persimmon head that pops in and out

mehr117 · March 20

Hi all,

I have a Wilson Aqua Tite 4 wood that I love and one day the head came loose from the shaft. It pops in and out where you can push it back in and it looks normal but if you swing it'll come loose again. The top pin goes down a little when this happens. Also, a broken off drill bit fell out of the hole in the neck the other day and the hole is fairly large so someone must have tried before I got it. I'm guessing it's the pin in the neck that either came out or is loose, but I've never repaired a persimmon before and would love to repair this one. Thank you!

Stephen8802 · March 21

It sounds scary, but re-shafting a club is pretty easy. You just need some golf club epoxy from Golfworks or Brampton epoxy from Amazon. From what it looks like now, the head might come free without any heat, which would allow you to keep the dowel in the shaft that is already there. But if you need heat, you drill out the wood in the bottom of the shaft, heat a rod with a torch, and shove it up the shaft...the head should come off then. Epoxy a new dowel into the shaft, epoxy the shaft into the head, re-whip the club, and you are good to go. No need for a new pin, modern epoxy will hold.

Sound hard? Watch these and you will see that it isn't too hard.

Head removal:

Gluing on head:

The hardest part will be getting new whipping. The original stuff is hard to find, but there are good substitutes you can use.

The Aspidistra in the Hall · March 21

I reckon the OP could reuse the old whipping, it looks in good shape.

The OP describes it as a 'Aquatite' 4 wood. I thought Aquatite was the name used around the Wilson laminates of the time but this is a lovely persimmon block. When he's glued and rewhipped it the club does need to be sealed against the elements, polyurethane spray would be best.

mehr117 · March 21

yeah the whipping is still good, I will probably just reuse. It says Aqua Tite on the toe, I'm not positive if it's laminate or persimmon to be honest. Thank you both for the tips! I did watch those 2 videos prior to posting, I was just hoping I didn't have to completely reshaft it, but it will be a fun learning experience.

Socrates · March 21

18 minutes ago, mehr117 said:

yeah the whipping is still good, I will probably just reuse. It says Aqua Tite on the toe, I'm not positive if it's laminate or persimmon to be honest. Thank you both for the tips! I did watch those 2 videos prior to posting, I was just hoping I didn't have to completely reshaft it, but it will be a fun learning experience.

You will never be able to re-use the whipping. It will be too short to work with. You usually need about 6" or more at both ends to work with to get the whipping to be the length that it was when the club was finished - that gets cut off and discarded. Been there, tried that. It doesn't work.

The Aspidistra in the Hall · March 22

9 hours ago, Socrates said:

You will never be able to re-use the whipping. It will be too short to work with. You usually need about 6" or more at both ends to work with to get the whipping to be the length that it was when the club was finished - that gets cut off and discarded. Been there, tried that. It doesn't work.

If you use a 'pull through' it does work, you might be a turn short but that's all. I've done it often.

If you use the clubmakers way off a spool of twine, you have a point but there's always another way.

Should you be unfamiliar with the 'pull through' method, Gavin demonstrates it in this clip.

I would add, from experience of both methods, that it is a good idea to pull the loop through diagonally in line with the rotation of your whipping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utdcK5Ck0CA

Edited March 22 by The Aspidistra in the Hall
For completion.

Socrates · March 22

4 hours ago, The Aspidistra in the Hall said:

If you use a 'pull through' it does work, you might be a turn short but that's all. I've done it often.

If you use the clubmakers way off a spool of twine, you have a point but there's always another way.

Should you be unfamiliar with the 'pull through' method, Gavin demonstrates it in this clip.

I would add, from experience of both methods, that it is a good idea to pull the loop through diagonally in line with the rotation of your whipping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utdcK5Ck0CA

You will end up shortchanging yourself and you will have to reduce the length of the whipped area. Most often it is not a good compromise as it will be readily evident that you did so. And many times the whipping itself is not in very good shape and halfway thru you find it snaps under tension. Then you're F'd.

The Aspidistra in the Hall · March 22

3 hours ago, Socrates said:

You will end up shortchanging yourself and you will have to reduce the length of the whipped area. Most often it is not a good compromise as it will be readily evident that you did so. And many times the whipping itself is not in very good shape and halfway thru you find it snaps under tension. Then you're F'd.

Then it is clear I'm missing something. Would you be kind enough to explain?

Using a pull through doesn't alter the length of the whipping, unless you are daft enough to make your pull through from the whipping itself. Common sense would tell you not to do that.

Point taken about the whipping wearing out and breaking...but the OPs looks pristine and is likely a rewhipping from the previous 'refurb' attempt.

AZBandit · March 22

I may be wrong here - I've never tried to re-use whipping. Since you make a loop to pull the whipping through itself - and then trim the excess - won't the used whipping be too short to perform the same operation again? We're probably only talking a few turns, but...

Also, it would be next to impossible to get any tension on the used stuff near the end of the turning. Not as big a deal with the nylon cord, but that kinked up stuff would be tricky to work with.

I think I'd just use new cord.

The Aspidistra in the Hall · March 22

16 minutes ago, AZBandit said:

I may be wrong here - I've never tried to re-use whipping. Since you make a loop to pull the whipping through itself - and then trim the excess - won't the used whipping be too short to perform the same operation again? We're probably only talking a few turns, but...

Also, it would be next to impossible to get any tension on the used stuff near the end of the turning. Not as big a deal with the nylon cord, but that kinked up stuff would be tricky to work with.

I think I'd just use new cord.

Sorry to have to fight my corner, but I've often done this.

Maybe being a UK war generation child made me resourceful, not for me to say.

But my previous post paid attention to 'not cutting a section of the whipping' to sacrifice for making a loop. Use something else, plenty of stuff around most folks home to serve as a pull-through.

There is absolutely no need to short change the whipping length. If you start at the same place and finish at the same place the job is done. It requires attention and thought, but it's not difficult.

And it's true what you say, if you have a plentiful supply of new material, why would you waste time messing around recycling the used? Well, in a world of plenty I can see that philosophy has legs...but it ain't always so.