Flaniganbilt/Golf Garage/TigerNick Iron restoration

[smdunlop]

Hey everyone. I have a few questions on these companies.

 

I am looking to do a black finish on my irons but I cannot find any information on how the finish actually holds up. Is it better than OEM black finishes? 

I am also hoping to include my shafts, ferrules and grips for them to put on. How good are they are club assembly? Should I just have them send the heads back and take them to a club builder?

I have tried emailing and contacting all of these companies and haven't heard back from ANY. Is this common? Do you have any recommendations on someone else to use? 

 

Thanks!

[kb7]

I know Ken at Flaniganbilt is in the process of moving to a new shop. I had some weld work done by him a few years ago and he was awesome to work with and did a great job. Stay patient and wait for Ken as his n11 finish looks great and is said to be the best in the business. 

[Ger21]

I believe that TigerNick includes assembly in his prices, making him much cheaper than the others.

I only have experience with Flanigan Bilt. If you send him complete clubs, expect to pay well over $100/club. He's super busy, and in the process of moving his shop, so he's not easy to get in touch with.

 

There are several types of black finishes, so it can be hard to compare. Flanigan's N Eleven (black nitride) is probably the most durable, but it will wear off, sometimes quickly. Tiger Nicks black is the same. If you hit sandy balls, they'll scratch the face. The black will wear off the soles in sandy conditions. The sole of my SW is almost completely silver after one season of ~35 rounds.

Some OEM finishes like DLC and PVD can chip. Black Nitride won't ship, as it's not a coating. The most important thing you can do with black irons is keep them clean, and avoid sandy driving ranges.

[smdunlop]

6 minutes ago, Ger21 said:

I believe that TigerNick includes assembly in his prices, making him much cheaper than the others.

I only have experience with Flanigan Bilt. If you send him complete clubs, expect to pay well over $100/club. He's super busy, and in the process of moving his shop, so he's not easy to get in touch with.

 

There are several types of black finishes, so it can be hard to compare. Flanigan's N Eleven (black nitride) is probably the most durable, but it will wear off, sometimes quickly. Tiger Nicks black is the same. If you hit sandy balls, they'll scratch the face. The black will wear off the soles in sandy conditions. The sole of my SW is almost completely silver after one season of ~35 rounds.

Some OEM finishes like DLC and PVD can chip. Black Nitride won't ship, as it's not a coating. The most important thing you can do with black irons is keep them clean, and avoid sandy driving ranges.

I appreciate the feedback. I know he's moving, but I sent emails to all of them back in January. Granted, I am not in a hurry but wanted to make sure it wasn't our of the ordinary!

Honestly, cost is only part of it to me. If I knew a finish lasted longer, i would pay more for it. I saw on the Flanigan website that it's about $55 for a finish of 7 irons and $20 for the reshafting. Where is the other $20 coming from?

[Phabs]

My Nike blades are done by Tiger Nick and they're been great.  His communication is pretty lack luster but your stuff gets done.

 

Golf Garage is overpriced in my opinion.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to send stuff to Flanigan - he seems slammed and all the work I see from him looks top notch.  

[Ger21]

9 hours ago, smdunlop said:

I saw on the Flanigan website that it's about $55 for a finish of 7 irons and $20 for the reshafting. Where is the other $20 coming from?

I may be wrong then. I'm not sure if he charges $20 to take them apart and put them together, or $20+$20?

Unfortunately, none of these guys are really good at communication, mostly because they are so busy.

I've never had a reason to contact them, just shipped my heads and waited. 12 weeks for my irons I just got back.

[Ger21]

9 hours ago, smdunlop said:

but I sent emails to all of them back in January

Flanigan was super busy then and actually stopped taking orders back then. He probably gets a hundred emails a day, and just can't get to them all.

[smdunlop]

12 hours ago, Ger21 said:

I may be wrong then. I'm not sure if he charges $20 to take them apart and put them together, or $20+$20?

Unfortunately, none of these guys are really good at communication, mostly because they are so busy.

I've never had a reason to contact them, just shipped my heads and waited. 12 weeks for my irons I just got back.

got it! that was my other question! so i literally just send them in and wait? do they update you as the process happens?

[smdunlop]

17 hours ago, Phabs said:

My Nike blades are done by Tiger Nick and they're been great.  His communication is pretty lack luster but your stuff gets done.

 

Golf Garage is overpriced in my opinion.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to send stuff to Flanigan - he seems slammed and all the work I see from him looks top notch.  

can i see a picture of your tigernick ones?

[Phabs]

2 minutes ago, smdunlop said:

can i see a picture of your tigernick ones?

 

[smdunlop]

2 minutes ago, Phabs said:

 

those look amazing! i was literally going to do something similar with the orange. I am looking to get vapor pros done and even have the orange ferrules almost like that!

[Phabs]

1 minute ago, smdunlop said:

those look amazing! i was literally going to do something similar with the orange. I am looking to get vapor pros done and even have the orange ferrules almost like that!

I've replaced the 7 iron to 4 iron with VR Pro's since this pic.  Sent them to Tiger Nick as well to get coated 

[Ger21]

27 minutes ago, smdunlop said:

so i literally just send them in and wait? do they update you as the process happens?

Yes. Went I sent my wedges in, I got an invoice about 8 weeks later.

When I sent my irons, I got an email after about 9-10 weeks saying they were being worked on, and an invoice after about 12 weeks. No other communication.

 

[smdunlop]

Thank you all for the information! now I need to decide between these two companies. The finish looks similar.

[Ger21]

I'm pretty sure it's the same finish, black nitride.

[R_Swanson]

Good info in here, I was thinking of getting this done to a couple sets as well.

 

Weird how Tiger Nick charges the same for heads only as he charges to disassemble and build an entire set.

[smdunlop]

18 hours ago, R_Swanson said:

Good info in here, I was thinking of getting this done to a couple sets as well.

 

Weird how Tiger Nick charges the same for heads only as he charges to disassemble and build an entire set.

i agree. I also felt weird that his pictures were so low quality. it was hard to see if they looked good