reshafting

[bogeybubba]

Hello, I need some advice. I bought some 3 metal and 5 metal club heads and some TT Xl lite steel shafts for these clubs and I brought them to a 'clubfitter' I tried them out and hit them poorly. I am not a poor golfer and can hit both clubs from the rough, fairway and tee with no difficulty. When further examing my new fitted clubs, I noticed that the tips were much longer than my other woods and drivers. Were they improperly installed and cut on the wrong side instead of the handle side? Thanks for any advice.

[Slammin' Stever]

I am not quite sure what you are trying to say. Are the tips of these TT lite shafts "fatter" then your so called normal shafts or are they "longer" in the sense that the tipping is longer from the end of the hosel (neck of the head) to the first "step" on the shaft?

It sounds like your woods look pretty crappy.

TT Lite XL shafts have a common parallel tip diameter of .335.

So assuming that your heads are a standard hosel (not tapered ) they should fix okay. This beening said, if your club installer were to cut too much off or shorten the tip too much then the tip would be way too thick. Or if your heads were a tapered hosel then the only way for him to try to get those shafts in the hosels would be for him to grind alot more off the shafts then needed. If have seen alot of stuff like this done .

If you want I can take a look at the problem. I can evaluate the clubs better by physically seeing them.

If you are too far from Ottawa you can e-mail a picture if you want.

Stever


:roller :roller :roller

[bogeybubba]

well I am not sure about how it is supposed to be cut down. I asked for the usual length of the club shaft, which is 42 inches for 5 wood and 43 for 3 wood according to the True temper fitting shaft. I think he cut too much off of the handle end, and nothing at all off of the club head side. I compared it to other woods that I have and going by the final taper and where the true temper logo, it seems way off. I don't have a scanner, so its hard for me to show you. I can only describe it.

[toolman2001]

A few comments...

Each shaft design will usually has different tip trimming instructions, so you can't compare the 'back of heel' to 1st step dimension from one shaft design to another. Note that for a given shaft design, this dimension will also vary from club number to club number and will be different for different flexes.

The tip trimming instructions for that shaft can be found at http://www.truetemper.com/products/S...e_XL.htm#Trim. I don't find this very useful, because it does not give 'back of heel to 1st step' dimensions, which is really what is needed.

However, assuming the heads are a typical blind bore component design and you wanted a R flex, the 3 wood should have been tip trimmed by 2 inches and the 5 wood should have been trimmed 2.5 inches.

These days, all metal wood heads take a parallel tip shaft. Taper tip is required for OEM irons only.

[Slammin' Stever]

The way that you can tell if the shafts have been trimmed properly is to use a ruler and measure from the "heel" of the club head to the first "step" or first reduction on the shaft. For a
TT Lite 3 wood the "S" or stiff shaft should measure approx. 10 inches and for a "R" or regular shaft it should measure 12 inches from heel to the first step. For a 5 wood the "S" is 9 inches and "R" is 11 inches from heel to the first step. This may vary by a 1/2 an inch.

Any variance from this measurement may mean that something strange has been done to fit your clubs together. However as I said before physically seeing is then believing.

I hope this helps.

Stever

[Slammin' Stever]

Andre'
You are correct about the measurement.

Bang components are the best quality that a club maker will find. Their Titanium is the highest grade, CP5 certified premium grade Titanium. SP-700 titanium alloy is composed of Ti-4.5Al-3V-2Fe-2Mo and represents a significant improvement over conventional Ti-6Al-4V alloy in terms of formability, strength and heat-treatment properties.

Their iron heads are made of 304 soft investment cast steel. These heads feel like forged and have the distances like harder 431 investment cast. They can be bent easily 4 degrees without reverting back to their origional lofts and lie prior to bending.

Many pro's and long drive champions in the Ottawa Valley play BANG components that I have introduced to them. These are not knock-off components but are their own origional technology and designs.

The Big Bang 450cc finished 2nd in the 2002 Long Drive world championships.

I sell other components but these are the cream of the crop hands down to none.

Hope this helps.

Stever

:xxrotflma :multi

[Slammin' Stever]

Andre,
Most of BANG's heads are legal. Overall the results that I have seen from testing them with the general public. 95% of the golfers from all handicap levels have benefited from additonal yardage and quite a bit better control. That said, the shaft that has complimented BANG's heads have also contributed to that factor also.

BANG has quite a few driver heads and 4 lines of iron heads. They are coming out with 3 more designs. Although I do not know the exact amount of money they spend on research I know that they must be doing something right to keep on spending money on designing new components. They also have spent over $100,000 US in sponsoring Long Drivers of US and CND. Something that Steve Almo the president of the company is very committed to.

The P1 was the first Long drive prototype it is a 310cc head, it comes in left and right lofts 3 to 12 degree lofts. It is very popular and still is being used by many. Excellent choice for someone who likes slightly smaller (large) heads.

The components are made in China from the same foundries and finishing houses that many of the OEM's heads come from. One reason the quality is there with every component.

For more info check the BANG thread under this forum.

Thanks,

Steve

:move :move :move :move :move

[Kilroy]

3 to 12 degree

Three degrees? Man, my putter is 3 degrees!
It must just go like stink if you can get above the turf! :multi
What loft does Rocket Rochette (sponsored by Bang) use in his long drive competitions?

Hehehe... I just remembered John Daly hit a putter off the tee at the skins game a couple of years ago and it went 150 yards as I recall.

[Slammin' Stever]

Mitch is quite the "Long Hitting" machine. He normally hits a 9 degree loft if the wind is at his back. He uses a 49' Harrison Pro 2.5 Titanium Tipped XXX shaft at anywhere from 49" to 52"

With the wind in his face he will drop down to a 7.5 loft.

We went out and played Stonebridge this summer. On the 8th West (our 17th) hole he hit a demo ball off the tee for some members using the BANG Yellow Mellow 9 degree with a 49" Harrison pro XXX.
It is a hole that plays 381 yards to the center of the green off of the mens tees.

We found the ball slightly embedded up on the back fringe of the green. I figured it was about 365 to the center of the green and it was about 15 yards past that point at 380. This was with a left to right wind slightly in your face. NOT BAD!

On the first hole, number 1 East he hit his drive off of the back tees to about 10 yards past the 150 mark and blew a 60 degree sandwedge some 15 yards over the green! Not bad for a 500 yard par five and he was just getting warmed up!

If anyone has a chance to see Mitch hit, you will be very impressed to say the least. He is not rated 15th in the World Long Drive because he leaves something in the bag!

On top of his performance he is also one of the nicest guys that you will ever meet. He supports the LONG Drive guys here in the Ottawa area and is always willing to help them futher their cause in the sport that he loves so much. It is definately a sport in itself.

If anyone has gotten into the blocks with 6 balls and had to give it all they got, they will understand Mitch's passion for this sport.

[Slammin' Stever]

Andre,

BANG does have variety of graphite shafts. One unique shaft that they sell is a graphite Tour Tube step shaft. That's right a graphite shaft with steps incorporated into the design. The iron shafts are a 2.5 torque and the woods are 3 torque.

These BANG heads are designed to widen out the "sweet spot". The bulge and roll effect is very forgiving with off the center hits. With a shaft that has a low torque and less "twist" capibilites, an off center hit will push or pull the ball slightly but not allow alot of punishing side spin.

I played a steel shafted 250cc air dried persimmon and suffered for years with a push slice. I used a 400cc with a moderate priced graphite shaft and was sold for life. My score has dropped by 10 strokes, just from having the ability to play from the fairway or fringe rather then the trees.

Andre,

I hope you understand that I do not want to cut off your interest in my company and BANG products, however I do not want to use this forum as a place of business. If you want to know more about the business end of my company then e-mail me through my web page and I will respond.

Thanks Again,

Stever

:print :envelope

[nice_lag]

Originally posted by Slammin' Stever



We went out and played Stonebridge this summer. On the 8th West (our 17th) hole he hit a demo ball off the tee for some members using the BANG Mellow Yellow 9 degree with a 49" Harrison pro XXX.
It is a hole that plays 381 yards to the center of the green off of the mens tees.

We found the ball slightly embedded up on the back fringe of the green. I figured it was about 365 to the center of the green and it was about 15 yards past that point at 380. This was with a left to right wind slightly in your face. NOT BAD!

I have all the respect in the world for anyone able to hit that Mellow Yellow decently. Nothing against the club. I hit some good shots with it. I just couldn't get past the bright shiny yellow head colour when I "demo'd" the club It sure is a very bright thing; I found it too distracting. It makes me appreciate how "dull" my Deep Red is....

[ParT]

There is lot to consider when reshafting. This is in my opinion the most critical part of the club. Since it is the only dynamic part of the club, a proper fitting is an absolute must. You should consider weight, stiffness, material, torque, length, flex, spine alignment etc...

When you say your hitting these poorly, please advise on what is happening. If you not hitting the ball in the center of the face, chances are your clubs are the wrong length.. If you lost distance, they are probably too stiff or heavy. If you're experiencing a large spray, they are probably too soft (this is usually accompanied with more distance). If they are very inconsistent, chances are spine alignment was not considered during assembly. In otherwords, there is a lot more to it.

[ParT]

Spining is a subject that isn't frequently spoken about so it's not surprising that it is misunderstood. A shaft has 2 natural frequencies (or spines) which are 90 degrees apart. If you're club has been properly spined it will oscillate in a straight line. If the spine is off, the club will have a tendency to oscillate in circles when locked in a vice. Good shafts oscillate close to the same frequency when tested on both spines. I have seen some awful shafts that are a regular on one axis and a stiff when spun 90 degrees to the other axis.
A properly spined club will be easier to keep square at impact, will flex properly with less twist and will have less spray. Although the jury is out on this one, I have found putting the weaker axis towards the target to be the prefered choice.
The problem with spining is that people don't like the decals pointing in different directions in their set. So the solution is to by a good shaft. You'll probably have better luck with an avarage filament wound shaft or an expensive wrapped shaft.

[powerlefty]

I'm not sure if my recollection is correct but I seem to recall that "spining" is only an issue on composite (e.g. graphite) shafts because of the way they are made. Graphite shafts are actually carbon fibres set in an epoxy which is then cured under heat and pressure into a very stromg and denser structure. Any composite material can be engineered for specific directional properties of strength, flex and frequency by orienting the carbon fibres in certain directions, e.g. vertically along the length of the shaft, at 45 degrees as the fibres are wound around the shaft, etc. I don't think it is an issue with steel shafts because the material is homogeneous, i.e. the same in every direction. So long as the steel shaft maintains the same thickness around the circumference of the shaft, there shound be no spining effect.

[ParT]

It is possible to locate the spine in a steel shaft however the difference in CPM between the strong and weak axis is usually less than found on many graphite shafts.

There are three commonly used methods to produce graphite shafts: the sheet lamination process, the seamless filament winding process, and the resin transfer moulding process, that is frequently used to mould irregular-shaped parts.

In the sheet lamination process, unidirectional ply and angular ply of graphite prepreg (i.e. a thin and flat sheet of graphite fiber bonded together with epoxy resin) are laminated over a steel mandrel to achieve the desired level of strength, stiffness, torque, weight, and kick point.

In the filament winding process, the steel mandrel is held on both ends in the winding machine. The mandrel is then spun at a rate controlled by the machine. Simultaneously, a graphite tow is wound over the mandrel at the angle and density controlled by the designer. In the resin transfer moulding (RTM) process, the shaft maker first needs to design a graphite sleeve braided with a multi-axial braiding machine. The mandrel is then inserted inside the sleeve, and placed inside a two part mould, and when clamped together creates a female cavity of a shaft. Finally, epoxy resin is injected inside the mould with 135 psi pressure, and the shaft is heated to cure.

[4jag]

Thank-you Cliff Clavin.

Just kidding, I actually find this stuff confusing but interesting.

[ParT]

Food for thought on spines

No shaft can be perfectly uniform therefore there must be a weak axis somewhere. Most clubmakers believe this axis should be pointed either directly at your intended target or directly away from it. There seems to be no consensus whether one direction is better than the other. Pointing the spine axis in the plane makes a lot of sense to me. In a spine tester when the shaft is bent it will attempt to rotate such that it is being bent in its weakest direction. During the swing, the club for the most part bends in the direction of the swing plane. If the weak axis is lying in this plane there will be little tendency for the shaft to rotate during your swing as it does in a spine finder. I don't know how strong this rotational tendency is but why not minimize it?

I can get more technical on this subject if you like but I get the impression we would all prefer to be golfing.