- 1). Get your club heads. Perhaps you intend to use the club heads from your old set, but you can also find good club heads at many garage sales or buy them online. Many club heads designed to imitate famous name brands, sometimes called "clones," are available online for about half the price of the name-brand products (see Resources).
- 2). Get your shafts. There are two important components to shaft design to consider: the length and the stiffness. The average driver shaft length (for a man) is 43 inches, but this length can be adjusted according to your height. Shaft-length calculators are available online (see Resources). Shafts come in five basic stiffnesses or "flexes": seniors, women's, standard, stiff and extra stiff. The names sometimes vary. You can have your swing speed measured at a golf training facility to match you with a shaft flex, but usually you can get a good idea of what flex will work best by what feels most comfortable when you swing.
- 3). Get your grips. Golf club grips used to be made of leather, and leather ones are still available, but rubber grips are cheaper and just as effective. There are two types of rubber grips: standard (soft) and corded (hard), the corded variety having strands of cord incorporated into the structure of the grip. Grips have variable stickiness or tackiness; choose whichever you feel most comfortable with. The thickness of the grips can also affect your swing: choose thinner grips to hit a draw (or hook) and thicker grips to effect a fade (or slice/cut). You can change the thickness by applying layers of tape to the shaft beneath the grips.
- 4). Attach the club heads to the shafts. Use epoxy to seal the club head to the shaft. Sandpapering the shaft beforehand will help the adhesion. You can also install "ferrules," the black plastic or metal bands that taper outward from the shaft to the club head. They are not necessary for performance, but improve the club cosmetically. Be sure to let the epoxy dry for at least 24 hours before using your clubs.
- 5). Install the grips on your new golf clubs. Put a piece of double-sided tape on the end of the shafts where the new grips will sit and then -- using a grip solvent (any volatile liquid like lighter fluid or glass cleaner will work) to coat the tape, shaft and the inside of the grip -- slide the new grip onto the shaft. You may need to stabilize the shaft with a vise, but it is possible to install the grip without it.
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