Over Prepped Driver Tip... Is My Shaft Ruined?

[lal]

Will start off by saying I'm an idiot. Brought my shaft into PGATSS to get a simple tip adapter changed from TM to Ping. After inquiring multiple times that they had the correct Ping adapter for newer models in stock, they assured me they did. 
 

Went back 2 days later.... wrong adapter installed. Plenty of details I will leave out, long and short of it is got new adapter installed, I let it cure (but only for about 18 hours.. likely my own mistake of listening to pgatss tech saying 12 hrs should be fine), went to play, and upon my first couple swings felt a little crack at the top of my swing while in transition. Wasn't sure if it was a case of epoxy not fully curing/faulty install/or worst case... ruined shaft. 
 

Obviously was concerned so I stopped hitting it rest of round. Brought to a local shop with a more experienced tech today who took a look at it for me. No visible cracks in tip to naked eye, however hard to say if there's any damage internally. He said there was a TON of epoxy on it.
 

He also measured diameter and said it may have been over prepped via having to install a 3rd adapter unnecessarily. Pictures attached for measurement (0.3195" if it doesn't work for whatever reason). 
 

Herein lies my questions & concerns... is this reduced diameter a cause for concern if the tech who measured installed adapter correctly (long set epoxy, centering beads, etc etc)? Should I be concerned that the shaft will behave differently? Is it a ticking time bomb to eventually fail and make my driver head fly off? Or is this loss of diameter somewhat expected/within normal tolerance when changing tip adapters, and won't cause any difference in structural integrity of the driver/playability of it?

 

Thank you in advance for any thoughts or insights on this one. 

[Socrates]

At .3195, it still should be okay.  Epoxy is a marvellous thing and can make up for a lot of mistakes in assembly.  That being said, it goes to show that people who shouldn't be doing repairs are still doing them. And charging money for it.  I'll bet (guarantee you) that I can take a shaft out of an adaptor 10 times and it might go from .335 to .334.  Maybe less.  There is no good reason that shaft should have gone anywhere near a sanding belt which is why it is at .3195".

 

That all said, there is no guarantee that the shaft hasn't been damaged.  The only test you can do is a destructive test and if that shaft tip is damaged it will break.  At this point you can only get them to put on the proper tip again and hope for the best.

 

Any good long cure epoxy will be at handling strength in 4 hrs.  In 8 hrs at 72º you should be able to hit it.  At 18 hrs it is nearly at 100% and fully cured in 24 hrs.  If it cracked at the 18 hr mark, it could have been the adaptor making the noise or it could have been the shaft.  You are rolling the dice here.

 

They PGASS, have  potentially screwed up the shaft so I would want some sort of guarantee that if it breaks in a few games, that they replace it.  Or they replace it now.  But you have gone elsewhere now so my bet is you are on your own now.

[Howard_Jones]

18 hours ago, lal said:

Will start off by saying I'm an idiot. Brought my shaft into PGATSS to get a simple tip adapter changed from TM to Ping. After inquiring multiple times that they had the correct Ping adapter for newer models in stock, they assured me they did. 
 

Went back 2 days later.... wrong adapter installed. Plenty of details I will leave out, long and short of it is got new adapter installed, I let it cure (but only for about 18 hours.. likely my own mistake of listening to pgatss tech saying 12 hrs should be fine), went to play, and upon my first couple swings felt a little crack at the top of my swing while in transition. Wasn't sure if it was a case of epoxy not fully curing/faulty install/or worst case... ruined shaft. 
 

Obviously was concerned so I stopped hitting it rest of round. Brought to a local shop with a more experienced tech today who took a look at it for me. No visible cracks in tip to naked eye, however hard to say if there's any damage internally. He said there was a TON of epoxy on it.
 

He also measured diameter and said it may have been over prepped via having to install a 3rd adapter unnecessarily. Pictures attached for measurement (0.3195" if it doesn't work for whatever reason). 
 

Herein lies my questions & concerns... is this reduced diameter a cause for concern if the tech who measured installed adapter correctly (long set epoxy, centering beads, etc etc)? Should I be concerned that the shaft will behave differently? Is it a ticking time bomb to eventually fail and make my driver head fly off? Or is this loss of diameter somewhat expected/within normal tolerance when changing tip adapters, and won't cause any difference in structural integrity of the driver/playability of it?

 

Thank you in advance for any thoughts or insights on this one. 

 

If there is no damage to the tip, we can shim it using a slightly modified brass shim like we use, when installing a 0.355 shaft into a 0.370 hosel

 

Count it as 0.015, so the shaft will be 

0.3195 + 0.015 = 0.3345, and mayby a tad tight vs the hosel.

 

So its all about if the shaft tip is damaged or not, OD can be fixed with shims. Professionals might use fiberglass mesh tape as shims, but thats not really a "DIY" job since it takes lots of practice to make that right, while a brass shim is kind of idiot proof.

 

 

[Noodler]

This makes me sad.  It's the kinda stuff I went through before I had had enough and decided to learn how to do my own club work.

 

You've gotten some great advice already on how to handle this, but as noted previously, it's really hard to tell if there's actual damage to the tip.  If all else fails, tip it all the way back and maybe make it a 3W or 5W shaft.

[bogeypro]

Someone get over zealous with the belt sander.  No need for all that.  

 

You could use a shim and maybe some glass shaft beads.  

[Socrates]

2 hours ago, bogeypro said:

Someone get over zealous with the belt sander.  No need for all that.  

 

You could use a shim and maybe some glass shaft beads.  

Glass shafting beads have no place in club repair.  They are far too small for the job at hand.  You need something bigger like Quick Center.

[iRod]

On 7/15/2025 at 11:46 AM, bogeypro said:

Someone get over zealous with the belt sander.  No need for all that.  

 

You could use a shim and maybe some glass shaft beads.  

File or blade to just get paint/epoxy removed is way better. Belt sanders invite opportunities to make errors. Especially with novice hands like at big box stores like PGASS.

[Nessism]

If the shaft is long enough, you can tip it some, to remove damaged area.  Most people won't be able to tell the difference if you hack off 1/2" or so.

[ignitewvu]

No way you should install that straight up.....a shim is a possibility but still.

Edited July 17 by ignitewvu

[lal]

It ended up being reinstalled with just 24 hr long set epoxy and glass beads. Could completely be mental seeing as I'm a head case but my driver feels like complete garbage now.. stability feels very off and overall have a much less stout feeling to it.
 

I am not actively thinking about any of this while playing (actually fairly decent at blocking out bad external thoughts/focusing on task at hand while playing/sticking to pre shot routine). 

 

is it possible the reduced diameter could impact stability at all? Or is it a moot point given the epoxy should have given a pretty decent/strong bond as stated in an above comment earlier? Any thoughts or advice appreciated. 

[DArnie]

Should be good to go, only way to find out is to play. If it feels so bad, you should get a new shaft. Maybe see what they can do for you.

[Howard_Jones]

4 hours ago, lal said:

 

 

is it possible the reduced diameter could impact stability at all? 

Most likly not, and as longb as the epoxy bound is good, no matter how whats down in the hosel looks like, "its out of play" its only the shaft above the hosel that can bend, so whats down there can NOT make the shaft to behave different.
 

[ChaosTheory]

This is why there is a better method of tip cleanup.

 

Press the tip against a bench.

Grasp the shaft with your off hand, and press the end of your thumb straight down onto the upper limit of the prep area.  Your fingernail (straight up and down) is now a stop.
Using a utility knife, hold the blade perpendicular to the shaft.

Scrape back and forth.

 

 This will remove paint and epoxy, but not graphite.

 

 I know it sounds dangerous, but you would have to see it to realize it is not.  Many pros do this.  Wear a big glove if you want, but it’s not necessary.  If you are not comfortable, then don’t do it.

 

OP, I’d clean it up as above, then use a shim.

[Ger21]

3 hours ago, ChaosTheory said:

I know it sounds dangerous, but you would have to see it to realize it is not.

I wrap blue tape around the shaft wear the prepping starts/stops, and scrape between the tape and the end of the shaft. No need to have your fingers near a blade.

But yes, scraping is the way to go. No reason for a graphite shaft to ever see sandpaper.

[markheardjr]

Came to recommend the brass shim Howard suggested.

 

Also, if you don't shim it, you will find it difficult to insert in center, will probably want to slant a few degrees. That alone, if resting one side on the sharp hosel, can make this thing crack. Do your best to center it. Even if you have to wrap some copper thread or fishing line around it while epoxying. Do your best to center, maybe install just the adapter, not with the head on it.

[lal]

 Update: adapters fine. Swing weight was off by a decent amount after change was made (lost some playing length going from TM tip to Ping). Had the tech who helped with repair throw some lead tape to get it back to D3, and was immediately striping it  again. All's well that ends well. Thank you all for your advice and insight!

[lal]

Reviving this for more drama and maybe a learn from my mistakes lesson. Before getting my tip adapter changed I had shafts swapped on 4i/5i by another PGA tour superstore location. 
 

Took a swing tonight on 3rd hole at my club after hitting arguably best drive I ever have on a particularly tough tee shot, and....

 

 

[Nessism]

Time to learn for yourself, how to build clubs.

[st1800e]

Another PGASS fail, you never know who’s working on your clubs there.   

 

Yes, learn to do it yourself.   It’s not very difficult once you know how.  

[hwwong]

42 minutes ago, lal said:

Reviving this for more drama and maybe a learn from my mistakes lesson. Before getting my tip adapter changed I had shafts swapped on 4i/5i by another PGA tour superstore location. 
 

Took a swing tonight on 3rd hole at my club after hitting arguably best drive I ever have on a particularly tough tee shot, and....

 

 

 

This is absolutely terrible.  Agreed with others.  Time to learn to do it yourself.  It's fairly easy.

[lal]

Yeah ive wanted to learn how to do it myself only issue is complete lack of space. Live in a major city and am limited to a 1 bedroom apartment that's 650sqft. Oh well. Guess I'll have to get an outdoor storage unit and make it my shop.  

 

 

[st1800e]

Another option is to search out independent club makers and research who is good, reviews etc.   being in a major city there has to be a few.   You could post on here with your general location and ask for suggestions etc.  

[NosajNeelik]

36 minutes ago, lal said:

Yeah ive wanted to learn how to do it myself only issue is complete lack of space. Live in a major city and am limited to a 1 bedroom apartment that's 650sqft. Oh well. Guess I'll have to get an outdoor storage unit and make it my shop.  

 

 

I live in NYC and do all my club work in the apartment. If there’s a will, there’s a way. I just have a small vice I clamp to the table for pulling graphite shafts, a small tire air compressor from Amazon to blow on grips…My wife absolutely loves it. 

Edited July 28 by NosajNeelik