This is a fairly detailed write-up on the creation of tailormade (bespoke) golf clubs. These are clubs made specifically for an individual golfer.
Bespoke is for whom ?For those players for whom the standard mass produced golf clubs are not viable to use,
such as people whose height means they are unable to make proper use of the clubs, then the step to take is to get clubs made up specifically for themselves. This is also a good idea for any serious golfer, just to get the maximum benefits from the clubs themselves.
Assessing what the golfer needsThe first stage is acquiring a tailor made set of clubs, requires that tests be taken to work out the exact specification of the clubs. This involves placing the golfer into a confined are and having them hit a golf ball at a special mat. From this the person who will design and build the clubs will check the divot marks on the mat, that have been made by the impact of the golf balls. Also, the area of the club that mostly made contact with the balls will also be checked.
The next part requires that the golfer goes to a specially set-up driving range, where the trajectory, speed, and spin of the golf balls, as the golfer hits them down the range, are measured by a special computer system.
Creating the clubsThe first stage of the creation of the clubs, involves the making of the moulds of the club heads. A standard sized club head is made out of wax, then dipped into a bin of white ceramic. Next the heads are dipped into a second bin, containing a fine grained ceramic based sand.
With the mould in place, the next stage is to drain out the wax. This is done by placing the heads into an oven, and just the right temperature to melt the wax, and have it flow from the moulds. The moulds are not yet ready to be used to produce the metal golf club heads, they still need to be hardened up to the point where they can take molten metal. To achieve this they are placed into another oven and heated up to 1000 degrees Celsius.
Moulding the metal headsDepending on what type of club the mould will produce, they will either by filled with molten aluminium/aluminum for putters, molten stainless steel for irons, or molten titanium or scandium for woods.
The cool downThe moulds are left overnight to cool down, then come the next day, the metal heads are removed from the moulds. The heads are cleaned of any excess metal and debris, resulting in a nice smooth finish.
The clubs become wholeOnce the heads are ready they are attached to the shafts with glue. These shafts are made out of a carbon fibre composite, and are cut to the desired length for the golfer. In order to make a secure fitting, the club/shaft join is hit with an intense burst of heat.
Fine tuning this golfing toolNext irons and drivers are weighed to find out their centre of gravity, and special weights are added in order to perfect this.Close to the end and the clubs grip is fixed to the opposite end of the shaft to the head. And finally each club has a unique serial number inscribed on its surface. Now complete, the tailor made clubs are ready to be put to good use out on the courses by their owners.