Playing Hickory Golf

[majic]

To clean the inside of hosels go to a store that sells guns. They will have metal brushes for cleaning shotguns. They work good in a drill.

You can use 1/8 aluminum welding rod for pins. Works great and is easier to clean up without damaging the hosel. For a slick look cut to length brass and simply glue in when shafting.

[Jiggered]

Many pages back I was reading about using boiled linseed oil to restore and add weight to dried out wood heads, I'm keen to try this on a couple of very dry looking heads, but after soaking in the oil how long should you leave the woods until you can start working on the heads?

 

I'm thinking of two areas:

 

1 Epoxying the insert and the shaft back, or is it best to glue the shaft back first?

2 Applying final finish coatings?

[Jiggered]

Another question, sorry but I did warn you all I'd be asking loads!

 

Getting a head ready to remove in boiling water/bagged, I was dismayed to find an old repair under the whipping. It looks like a pretty big crack has been repaired in the past by drilling through the neck and shaft and pinning with a wooden peg, see picture below.

 

The head feels pretty secure but I'm wondering what's the best course of action here?

• Play it as it is and hope for the best, if it does get worse then a full strip, break and reglue?
  
• Drill out the peg now and remove and repair? Looks like a tricky process without a bench drill.
  
• Any other suggestions? (Apart from slinging it!)
  

What's most annoying is that this club has the best swing weight of my woods.

[stixman]

With supporting whipping that should be OK. A bit of PVA glue under the whipping to add extra support is a good idea, but do that and play it.

It's a common enough repair, if done with epoxy it's good to go.

[Jiggered]

With supporting whipping that should be OK. A bit of PVA glue under the whipping to add extra support is a good idea, but do that and play it.

It's a common enough repair, if done with epoxy it's good to go.

 

Thanks Chris, that's what I wanted to hear!

[majic]

If you soak it in boiled linseed oil it has a strong possibility of increasing the head weight and your swing weight

Refinish and play it

[Jiggered]

If you soak it in boiled linseed oil it has a strong possibility of increasing the head weight and your swing weight

Refinish and play it

 

Thanks Tad, and can you refinish straightaway or do you need to leave for a few days or weeks before refinishing?

[majic]

You will need to get the surface free of any excess oil. Then go through proper sand and refinish

[Jiggered]

As the Welsh Hickory Open draws closer I've still got a lot of work to do!

 

Hopefully I'll get out on the course with some of my clubs to play a few holes and then, after the clocks change, I should be able to get a few hours in after work.

 

Restoration progress:

All irons have had their heads removed, epoxied and pinned, three of those have had shafts cleaned, refinished and regripped, see pics below (left to right: jigger, long faced mashie and niblick).

Woods are taking longer. The Paxton with previouslt repaired split at the hosel I've just rewhipped and cleaned the head.

The WH Davies and GW Pedler I've taken the heads off, added several layers of Boiled Linseed, reglued fibre inserts and drilled a seat for some lead in the bottom of the Pedler.

 

Clubs I'll be taking out today are the Paxton and Duncan woods. The 2 iron (existing grip is usable), jigger, long faced mashie, mashie niblick (existing grip is usable), niblick and putter.

 

The pics below include a nice shaft mark I found on the long faced mashie which matches the Pro's head stamp, SG Bowers.

 

The weather forecast looks good!

[Blade Junkie]

Great job Nick ! Looking forward to the write up on how you get on with hitting them :)

 

When you practice, bear in mind that you'll get a hickory "allowance" on top of your normal CONGU 'steel' handicap .... at 11, you'll be playing off 16 at the Welsh Hickory, so bogey counts as a "good" score (on SI 1-16 anyway!)

 

The Aberdovey event is usually played off the yellow tees, at 6,091 yards par-71.

[Jiggered]

Cheers Geoff, looking forward to it!

 

Just about to head up to Doncatser to pick up an unusual looking set irons that I won on the bay which includes a couple of Gradidge Bobby Locke woods.

[ebeer]

Hey Jiggered, those clubs came out very well. Really nice work on the pins and grip. Enjoy those beauties, they look course worthy and ready to strike some shots.

 

Cheers.

[augustgolf]

Nice looking work!

 

Enjoy the outing

[Jiggered]

First hit and first round with the hickories, I have much to learn!

 

Started off on a par 3, 150 yards, thought my mashie would be a good choice but didn't expect to reach the green, into the wind, nice strike and the ball just ballooned and went 95 yards! Niblick to front fringe, putt on +2 for double.

 

The scores for the round were:

DB, DB, 5 over, 4 over, triple, B, B, B, par! Out in 55....

DB, DB, triple, DB, DB, DB, B, B, and then on the last, a par 3 over water, I topped my first into the water and then shanked my last ball OB, I was 45 at that point so score was 100 plus one hole.

I can blame the unfamiliarity of the clubs for some of that but my poor play also contributed, a lot of tops and fats!

 

Not a great start but I learnt a lot:

• I now see why everybody says finding a good driver is so important, the crack on my Paxton driver isn't stable and I expect it to open up soon, which will at least mean I can go all out for a full repair.
  
• The G Duncan wood is so light it's unplayable.
  
• The Gibson long faced mashie is more like a mashie jigger, a lot of weight low in the head and the ball soars, 100 yards seems to be typical so I'm going to need another mashie.
  
• The Cleveland Supersoft ball has a totally different feel on the green to what I'm used to.
  
• I think I was a bit kid gloves with the clubs as I didn't want to do them any damage so distances can be improved when I get used to them.
  
• The niblick from a bunker is not an easy shot to play.
  
• The jigger is a great club!
  

[majic]

Do you know the loft of the Gibso? Shoot for 36-37 degrees. You don't want a driver you want a Brassie. C9 or heavier is ok swing weight. Spot for lofts of 28,32,36,42,48- niblick. These with a Brassie and a bulldog or lofted fairway will do good for you.

[jonnygrouville]

Great advice from Tad. Obviously.

 

Getting off the tee is huge with hickories. Driving not that big a deal, if a spoon or cleek can get you 200 yards and in play, you're in great shape. Even if it leaves you another 200, get down there for a chip and you're in the game.

 

Good luck for everyone going to the Welsh. I'll make it one of these years!

 

[stixman]

Good luck to 'Our Guys' playing in the Welsh Hickory Championship weekend at Aberdovey GC. Hope the weather stays fair and you enjoy the new Par 3 12th. If it is anything like the original, which it will be, a word of advice. Commit to the shot.

In fact that is better than fair advice for every shot at Aberdovey, but there more than most.

[Jiggered]

Thanks Chris, I can't speak for anybody else but I know that I'll be needing all the luck I can get.

 

I took one of my selection of woods out the other evening, untested and unrestored, just to see if it felt any better than the one I'd been using, first swing and the head came off and bounced down the fairway, just like you described a shot you saw in Sweden if I remember correctly!

Luckily I tracked it as it bounced along and have since glued it back on and the whole club is now restored with whipping, grip and Tru-Oil finish.

[Boney]

the head came off and bounced down the fairway

 

Ha! Did anyone else see it? How'd you play it off?

 

But what I'm actually curious about is where and how the club failed. Was it the join, or the clubhead, or shaft...?

[Jiggered]

the head came off and bounced down the fairway

 

Ha! Did anyone else see it? How'd you play it off?

 

But what I'm actually curious about is where and how the club failed. Was it the join, or the clubhead, or shaft...?

 

I was out for a practice on my own, it happened as I hit the ball and the head just slid away from the shaft so the glue must have failed.

 

Head and shaft were okay though so I've epoxied them back together.

[stixman]

Thanks Chris, I can't speak for anybody else but I know that I'll be needing all the luck I can get.

 

I took one of my selection of woods out the other evening, untested and unrestored, just to see if it felt any better than the one I'd been using, first swing and the head came off and bounced down the fairway, just like you described a shot you saw in Sweden if I remember correctly!

Luckily I tracked it as it bounced along and have since glued it back on and the whole club is now restored with whipping, grip and Tru-Oil finish.

 

And you would have had the opportunity to offset the shaft alignment to couteract the torque of the hickory, about 7 or 8 degrees would be about right. That way you build in a 'kick' for the torque to double up on the kick from the longtitudinal flex.

[Jiggered]

And you would have had the opportunity to offset the shaft alignment to couteract the torque of the hickory, about 7 or 8 degrees would be about right. That way you build in a 'kick' for the torque to double up on the kick from the longtitudinal flex.

 

A bit late for that now, but for future reference I assume that you're talking about closing the face to offset the fade shot?

A fade is all I've been able to achieve with my other trialed wood.

 

Looking at the club I've just repaired, it does sit slightly closed.

[ebeer]

And you would have had the opportunity to offset the shaft alignment to couteract the torque of the hickory, about 7 or 8 degrees would be about right. That way you build in a 'kick' for the torque to double up on the kick from the longtitudinal flex.

 

I'm interested in this as well...I have some outstanding tee clubs that sometime feel like a lottery off the tee. I can deal with the flex, but I'm convinced the torque is the wildcard variable producing less predictability than I would like.

[stixman]

And you would have had the opportunity to offset the shaft alignment to couteract the torque of the hickory, about 7 or 8 degrees would be about right. That way you build in a 'kick' for the torque to double up on the kick from the longtitudinal flex.

 

A bit late for that now, but for future reference I assume that you're talking about closing the face to offset the fade shot?

A fade is all I've been able to achieve with my other trialed wood.

 

Looking at the club I've just repaired, it does sit slightly closed.

 

No, no. It's the shaft. All you do when resetting is to align the grain 8 degrees left, or counter clockwise. The head has nothing to do with it, or has 'fade' or 'draw' effects from shaping the sole, as suggested in my PGA manual of golf club maintenance. That is a different thing.

[Jiggered]

You've lost me now Chris, what if the grain had already been so aligned?

[ebeer]

And you would have had the opportunity to offset the shaft alignment to couteract the torque of the hickory, about 7 or 8 degrees would be about right. That way you build in a 'kick' for the torque to double up on the kick from the longtitudinal flex.

 

A bit late for that now, but for future reference I assume that you're talking about closing the face to offset the fade shot?

A fade is all I've been able to achieve with my other trialed wood.

 

Looking at the club I've just repaired, it does sit slightly closed.

 

No, no. It's the shaft. All you do when resetting is to align the grain 8 degrees left, or counter clockwise. The head has nothing to do with it, or has 'fade' or 'draw' effects from shaping the sole, as suggested in my PGA manual of golf club maintenance. That is a different thing.

 

No, no. It's the shaft. All you do when resetting is to align the grain 8 degrees left, or counter clockwise. The head has nothing to do with it, or has 'fade' or 'draw' effects from shaping the sole, as suggested in my PGA manual of golf club maintenance. That is a different thing.

 

I've always thought the grain should be perpendicular to the club face. If I understand correctly, the image on the left (if looking straight down the shaft at address) is perpendicular to the face. The image on the right is rotated counter clockwise. Is this what you mean?

 

 

[stixman]

And you would have had the opportunity to offset the shaft alignment to couteract the torque of the hickory, about 7 or 8 degrees would be about right. That way you build in a 'kick' for the torque to double up on the kick from the longtitudinal flex.

 

A bit late for that now, but for future reference I assume that you're talking about closing the face to offset the fade shot?

A fade is all I've been able to achieve with my other trialed wood.

 

Looking at the club I've just repaired, it does sit slightly closed.

 

No, no. It's the shaft. All you do when resetting is to align the grain 8 degrees left, or counter clockwise. The head has nothing to do with it, or has 'fade' or 'draw' effects from shaping the sole, as suggested in my PGA manual of golf club maintenance. That is a different thing.

 

No, no. It's the shaft. All you do when resetting is to align the grain 8 degrees left, or counter clockwise. The head has nothing to do with it, or has 'fade' or 'draw' effects from shaping the sole, as suggested in my PGA manual of golf club maintenance. That is a different thing.

 

I've always thought the grain should be perpendicular to the club face. If I understand correctly, the image on the left (if looking straight down the shaft at address) is perpendicular to the face. The image on the right is rotated counter clockwise. Is this what you mean?

 

 

 

Correct! This is what some clubmakers did and is what I do for special orders with good shafts. ( Majics)

[Bella Woods]

Thanks Chris, I can't speak for anybody else but I know that I'll be needing all the luck I can get.

 

I took one of my selection of woods out the other evening, untested and unrestored, just to see if it felt any better than the one I'd been using, first swing and the head came off and bounced down the fairway, just like you described a shot you saw in Sweden if I remember correctly!

Luckily I tracked it as it bounced along and have since glued it back on and the whole club is now restored with whipping, grip and Tru-Oil finish.

 

And you would have had the opportunity to offset the shaft alignment to couteract the torque of the hickory, about 7 or 8 degrees would be about right. That way you build in a 'kick' for the torque to double up on the kick from the longtitudinal flex.

 

Interesting Stixman - never thought of that. Have you ever measured the effect on torque?

 

My method is to create an epoxy sleeve covering about 1 1/2" (3/4" each way) over the meeting of the shaft and neck.

It is under the whipping and filed down smooth. I have not measured the effect, but it seems to cut down the torque of

a wood as shots are much more accurate and misses are the result of me only......

 

Edit:

 

If you don't file/sand the tip of the hosel to micro thin where it meets the shaft (maybe a 1/16" thick at that point) it helps too.

The epoxy sleeve kind of acts like a ferrule covering the joining section of the wood head and shaft.

[stixman]

Thanks Bella, now I'd never thought of that!, Quite a little exchange of ideas going on here.

I've never measured the effect either, I'm not an engineer and wouldn't know where to start.

[stixman]

You've lost me now Chris, what if the grain had already been so aligned?

 

Does Ebeers explanation cover it? We are talking grain in the shaft here which can be manipulated/ set through every degree on the compass, not the grain in the club head.