Equipment
Don’t do this to your clubs at home!
There are several club building tasks that can be done at home with just a few basic tools—changing grips, for example, is one of the most popular do-it-yourself jobs. But with so many ways to customize and tweak your clubs, and the growing popularity of unique finishes, there are still some things that should be left to the professionals with proper tools, like stripping chrome.
Chrome is chemically applied to metal by using an electrical charge run through a bath containing an electrolytic salt (chromium anhydride) solution. The electrical current passing through the bath causes the chromium metal in the bath to fall out of solution and deposit onto the metal placed into the solution. This process creates fumes and requires a lot of chemicals to do it properly.
If you have to dress up like Walter White to do club work, it’s best to leave that job up to someone that has the proper setup and the ability to dispose of excess chemicals.
Alternatively, there are some metal finishes that can be removed quite easily at home with over the counter products. The most common is the baked-on jet black finish found on Titleist Vokey wedges and Cobra Irons – all it takes is some grocery store cleaning vinegar, and some patience. You just have to remove the heads from the shafts, let them soak fully submerged for 3-4 hours, and then do a final cleaning with fine steel wool, it’s just that easy.
There are a number of how to’s on this including one from our friend Bryan LaRoche aka BryanGolf on Instagram.
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.
“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.
From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4
3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms
Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105
Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Aaron Rai’s winning WITB: 2026 PGA Championship
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Photos from the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
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Charles Schwab Challenge Tour Report: MacIntyre, Åberg and Spaun all switch putters, TaylorMade launches new Spider
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Maria Torres WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4 3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4 5-wood: Ping G440...
Eric Cole WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: PXG Lightning Tour Max (9 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees) Shaft:...
Si Woo Kim WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (8.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X Mini driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Mini...
Wyndham Clark’s winning WITB: 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D Tour (15 degrees) Shaft: Project...
Greg
May 19, 2020 at 11:24 am
I wouldn’t do this. Chances are it’ll affect how the club performs and one would ruin a perfectly good club. Not to mention destroy any resale value.
MichaelKucera
May 17, 2020 at 4:32 pm
I’m an expert in plating and coatings. DO NOT try this at home. I wouldn’t golf heads to your local platers either. The local platers are set up for volume not individual lots.
chip75
May 17, 2020 at 5:15 pm
Michael, out of interest, when plating or de-plating how are the depth of grooves accounted for? Wouldn’t the process make the grooves deeper or shallower? or are grooves freshened up after chroming?
Colin Jenkins
May 17, 2020 at 8:25 am
Rust remover gets the black finish off heads and you don’t have to remove the shafts. Leave for 30 mins and buff off.