Hickory Golf Restoration

Tips for restoring that old hickory shafted club

 "This information copyright of Gavin Bottrell ...see his websites at www.antiquegolfdirectory.com and www.antiquegolfclub.co.uk " 

One of the most frequently asked questions that one receives from Vintage Golf Club Collectors is on the care and repair of Hickory golf clubs. Here we will discuss two forms of hickory golf restoration; the appropriate techniques for both straightening and for lengthening a Hickory shaft.

Many collectors have decided against buying an antique golf club if the hickory shaft has been warped more than an inch or so along its length. For a true collector or player of antique golf clubs, the pleasure of owning such a club is truly diminished if it doesn't have just that "right" look or that "right" feel.

First, get a segment of hollow metal tubing about 45 inches long that has an inner diameter just larger than the shaft you wish to straighten.

Next, remove the grip from the club.

Utilizing a handheld gas blowtorch heat the hickory shaft. If the shaft has a local kink in it, heat it around that area. If the shaft is bowed over a wider section heat all of that section accordingly.

You’ll need to pass the blowtorch over the shaft at a moderate pace- too slow and you melt the varnish and burn the wood. To quick and you’ll not get enough heat into the wood- this might serve as a great opportunity to practice on a less valuable club. You need to get the wood hot enough for it to bend easily. You should, of course, be wearing some safety googles and some ( leather not rubber ) safety gloves. Once the shaft feels hot through the gloves apply some gentle pressure to it to straighten out the worst sections – bending it over another separate block of wood works well. With the wood still hot ( reheat it if necessary ) place the shaft into the metal tube and leave it to cool naturally for at least 20 minutes.

Hopefully, when you pull the shaft out it’ll be nice and straight! Simply repeat theprocedure as necessary. It really is not that difficult.

Now lets look at another area of hickory golf restoration...lengthening a hickory shaft.

Most good collectors have purchased hickories and removed grips to find that a shaft has been extended by a “mortice and tenon” type joint. A hole had been drilled into the top of the remaining shaft and an extension with a portion turned down to fit inside it has been added so that the pieces met squarely. As this method is only feasible for display clubs, its difficulty and time consuming nature may not be worth it.

The best method of extending a shaft on a club to be used for play draws on a method well known to many collectors; a scarf or scare joint ( referred to as a splice by many ).

There are a few things to know if you wish to do this on a club for play;

Ensure that the original shaft was fitted with the end grain of the wood lying in the “direction of shot” ( i.e horizontal when looking end-on to the shaft with the blade of the club sticking straight up ). A surprising number of hickory golf clubs are still to be found where the shaft has been incorrectly fitted. The scare must be cut also horizontal following the grain, and not across it which will leave the wood suceptible to splitting as soon as the club is used.

Ensure that the length of the scare is in excess of four inches to give plenty of contacting material at the join between the two pieces.

Once you’ve cut the two pieces and have offered them up against each other , before you glue them roughen up each flat area to enable the glue to “key” into the grain (i.e avoid the simple mistake of making them too smooth! )

Use a suitable adhesive which is not too brittle, yet of adequate strength. Take advice from your local hardware store.

This method has been proved to work if done with some care, and again is simple enough for most collectors to do on their own with the proper care and attention. You no longer have to be of the crowd that counts themself incapable of hickory golf restoration.

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