At GolfWRX it has always been our goal to help inform, educate, and empower golfers to learn more about their equipment, and in many cases, help them take ownership of the process to work on their own clubs. With just a few basic tools, it’s quite easy to do things like regrip, re-epoxy, or change paintfill, but there are still a lot of jobs that should be left to professionals with the proper tools—for both safety and for the sake of your gear.

As we covered in part one of this series, there are some ways to customize the finish of your clubs at home, but you should leave stripping chrome up to the professionals. I know it may seem obvious, but based on the number of questions I get on a weekly basis about how to potentially strip chrome plating, I believe it was a great introductory topic.

For part two, we’re going to get into something a little less complicated but still important.

Don’t pull a graphite shaft without the proper tools!

Graphite shaft technology has never been better, and that includes the materials and processes used to manufacture them. Although driver shafts can handle a lot of forces from the golf swing and the impact of the ball, the one thing they can’t handle is too much heat and twisting. Steel shafts, on the other hand, can take the heat and twisting, which is why they are the best place to start for beginner club builders, since all you need to pull a club head is a vice, rubber clamp, and torch.

If you are going to work on graphite-shafted clubs, the most important tool that any hobbyist club builder should have or have access to is a high-quality shaft puller. It’s a necessary tool for anyone who wants to do repairs and helps prevent damage to a shaft while pulling it.

Why a shaft puller is important

A shaft puller only applies linear pressure down the shaft towards the hosel of the club. The more linear pressure that can be applied to the clubhead, the less heat needs to be used to break down the epoxy. When done properly both the shaft and the head are reusable in the future.

And by the way, if you want to know how to pull a graphite shaft, check out my video below.