Broken Iron Shaft

hackerboy · June 19, 2008

Hi- New to this side of the forum, have 3 quick questions. Yesterday I thought I hit a really good 5 iron. The ball came up 15 yards short right on line. Then I realized the graphite shaft had snapped near the hozel and the head was hanging on by a thread (Ping G2 TFC 100). 1/2) Is this common, and what what is the cause ?? I've been playing for 10 years and have only had one broken club, and that was a driver which broke in an airline baggage compartment, never had one go while playing. 3) What does it entail to remove a shaft and replace it (for the layman, I'll have it done professionally). How does one get the shaft out, and what actually holds a graphite shaft in the head of an iron. Is glue used, is the metal squeezed around it??? Sorry for dumb questions. Thanks much.

mat562 · June 19, 2008

Hi mate,

A shaft snapping near the hosel is relatively common and can be attributed to a number of causes. THe hosel is a fairly common point for a shaft to snap since it's an area of great stress upon the shaft, and the junction of the club and shaft which, together with issues relating to the quality of installation, can be to blame.

If the break is very close to the hosel, it will likely involve drilling out the old portion of shaft since it may well be difficult or impossible to extract the broken section using a tool.

Shafts are basically 'glued' into place using a type of epoxy resin that provides a strong bond between clubhead and shaft. After removal of the broken shaft the interior of the hosel will be cleaned and prepped to accept a new shaft which will similarly be epoxied into place.

In the first instance I'd contact Ping, regardless of how long you've had the clubs and whether or not you bought them new. They'll be able to remedy the damage and give you a quote for the work it entails. Because it's a stock Ping shaft that's involved, you'll need to get Ping on board anyway; either directly or via a Ping account-holding pro or retailer.

Best of luck.