Aluminum Shaft History

[2OnePutt]

There is a seller on ebay selling a Hogan Bounce Sole 2 iron with an aluminum shaft.. was wondering if there would be any notable difference between that and an apex #3 steel shaft. Thanks.

[Extreme Firepower]

Aluminium shafts appeared in the 70's but didn't take off as they became brittle in cold weather
and broke very easily.

The big benefit was they were lighter than steel and didn't rust. Apart from snapping in the cold, the feel
just wasn't there either.

With Titanium shafts in the 90's Aluminium as a golf shaft material was dropped.

I think there was one manufacturer who made new alloyed Aluminium shafts, Easton sports I think, memory is going here quick search:

from 1996 trade show.

Easton Golf Shafts are made of an aluminum alloy and they announced a revamped A70 alloy shaft with sleek new graphics and a lower price point. They were able to reduce manufacturing costs by $3 per shaft and will be passing along savings to their customer. This price puts them in direct competition with high-end steel shafts currently on the market. The A70 is made from a 7000 series alloy used in aerospace applications and boasts phenomenal strength and light weight. The A70 's tapered design transmits shock energy down the tube, dissipating impact and creating the feel Easton is famous for. Easton shafts are sold through distributers. Their phone number is
818-782-6445.

Sadly they no longer make golf components, the A70 if you have a set is prob worth a few bob :0

[2OnePutt]

[quote name='Extreme Firepower' date='11 January 2010 - 12:35 PM' timestamp='1263231303' post='2174690']
Aluminium shafts appeared in the 70's but didn't take off as they became brittle in cold weather
and broke very easily.


The big benefit was they were lighter than steel and didn't rust. Apart from snapping in the cold, the feel
just wasn't there either.

[/quote]


Thanks for the info. I was wondering why I've never came across aluminum shafts before!

[drewspin]

the company Element 21 e21 tried to bring back aluminum alloy shafts in the past few years with the addition of scandium to the aluminum. The shafts felt great, had really thick tip sections, but they are crazy expensive... and I do mean CRAZY.

[honketyhank]

I have a set of Wilson Staff irons from the late 1960's with aluminum shafts. I have to say that the 'feel' just isn't there for a well hit shot.

[Shallowface]

Many years ago, I put one of those Easton shafts in a Golfsmith Solid Tone Foamless driver head. Actually drew a crowd with it at the driving range due to the sound it made. Sounded a lot like an aluminum baseball bat hitting a steel fence post, but those guys sure liked it. If I'd had 20 of them in the trunk of my car I could have sold them all.

[belmullet]

I have a couple of vintage sets with aluminum shafts, including some First Flight Golden eagles which was what I played in high school thanks to a gruff old guy who ran a par three course that I learned golf at in junior high school. He practically gave them away to me because I had no money- he claimed it would be "good advertising" for him if I made the high school golf team (he gave me staff bag as well). What a good guy.

The reason I replied was that I was wondering if anyone has re-shafted any of these clubs? Were the aluminum shafts the same tip size as standard tapered steel shafts? Thanks.

[honketyhank]

I havent measured, but the aluminum shafts look a bit oversize compared to steel shafts. I'm guessing maybe 0.39 or so.

[CyFan]

To reshaft with steel you will need to shim the hosel. I had a friend with a set of Wilson Staff irons who broke one or more aluminum shafts and had them reshafted with steel. Ended up with a weird mix of shafts in his set, but somehow still played really good golf.

[Igolf68]

The element 21 shafts “eagle one” (scandium and who knows what else mixed together as an alloy) are .370 tip in both the irons and hybrids. Golfworks used to sell the individual shafts for $65 a piece about a dozen years ago. The company went bankrupt and the shafts sat in a warehouse for a long time. There is a person that is now selling the shafts again on the internet.

The element 21 golf clubs were crazy expensive when the first came out. I think they tried to get about $1200 for a set of irons. Keep in mind this was about a dozen years ago. But they were (are) very nice clubs. They look good, are hollow but look like a decent players’ game improvement club, with a slightly oversized head made of 17-4 stainless and filled with TPU foam for a decent feel. When the company went out of business the clubs sat in a warehouse for quite a while. Eventually Rock Bottom got a hold of some of the components and some poorly trained assemblers slapped them together, some without even the ferrules put on the clubs. Who knows how properly or improperly they trimmed the shafts. They sold them for like $129. Quite a drop in price and assembled quality. I have a set from before the Rock Bottom assembled days and they are very nice clubs. The hybrids are very nice too, except the hybrids look weird because they have these strange “louvres” on the back of the head that is supposed to help with alignment. I try to ignore that part. They play nice. You can still see the infomercials for them on YouTube and find them on eBay. Rock Bottom is still selling the last of the hybrids but with a graphite shaft in them instead of the unique scandium shaft.