Loose club heads

RSK7070 · May 6

Hello all,

Looking for some advice about managing loose club heads in my irons (Mizuno MP-67s). Granted, these clubs are 15+ years old, they're still my gamers and are in great shape. I've had an issue where the 8 iron (and now 9 and PW) are separating from the ferrules and getting loose.

I took my clubs to Club Champion to check this issue out about 2 years ago. At that time, the tech said the 8 iron needed to be re-shafted because the tip was bent (watched him pull the clubhead and bend the shaft as he did - unimpressed with them). Fine, paid for that and within the season it was loose again. Took it back to Club Champion and they basically told me I'm out of luck but can pay to re-shaft it again - no thanks.

Fast forward, took the club to a friend of a friend who's an assistant pro at a local club. He pulled the head, cleaned the tip, re-epoxied the same shaft but here we are again. He said he had trouble keeping the head seated because of the brass tip at the tip of the shaft.

I play heavy total weight and swing weight irons. My angle of attack isn't particularly steep and nor do I pound the mat at a driving range often. Any tips how to fix this problem for good?

I was hesitant to take it to a golf galaxy type place if more sophisticated options failed, but maybe that's the move?

Looking for recommendations in the NYC/NJ area ideally.

Thanks

AzRoger · May 6

If a clubhead is coming loose it's usually due to poor prep work or bad epoxy, in your case I would guess poor prep work is more likely. When removing and reinstalling a head both the shaft tip and the inside of the hosel needs to have all of the old epoxy removed and then clean up with acetone. Also worth checking is how loose the shaft tips are in the hosel, should not be a lot of play or use tip shims if needed.

CTG77 · May 6

I would concur with the poor prep or bad epoxy. If you don't have your own build setup, and need to have someone else do it, it's important to ensure they do a good job, take their time, and prep the parts properly. Further, they need to use good epoxy. I prefer the 3M DP8410NS or DP810NS, but those are expensive and more expensive, respectively, so I get why some don't use them. I would, however, rather NOT lose clubheads into creeks and / or ponds, and we have a few tee shots and / or normal 2nd shots right over bodies of water on our 2 courses at our club, so I absolutely won't risk an expensive club to cheap garbage epoxy.

gdb99 · May 6

Also, when everything is taken apart, all epoxy needs to be removes, as was stated above, including cleaning out the old epoxy in the tip weights. If you don't drill those out, the air trapped when assembling will push the head off the shaft.

You just need to find a competent club builder.

What shafts are in your irons? KBS shafts are known for bending at the tips. I've also had True Temper shafts bend, so it happens on older irons.

RSK7070 · May 7

Thanks for all the input. They are KBS C-tapers.

The trapped air in the brass tip weights sounds like could be the problem. I trust my friend or a friend used adequate epoxy but not sure if he took the epoxy off the tip weights. He did tell me he cleaned up the tip and bore but no mention about the weights

gdb99 · May 7

4 minutes ago, RSK7070 said:

Thanks for all the input. They are KBS C-tapers.

The trapped air in the brass tip weights sounds like could be the problem. I trust my friend or a friend used adequate epoxy but not sure if he took the epoxy off the tip weights. He did tell me he cleaned up the tip and bore but no mention about the weights

Yeah, the weights need to be removed and the center hole drilled out. At the least, drilled out.
If you like the heads, you could buy a new set of shafts. Shafts aren’t cheap like they used to be though.

Nessism · May 7

9 minutes ago, RSK7070 said:

Thanks for all the input. They are KBS C-tapers.

The trapped air in the brass tip weights sounds like could be the problem. I trust my friend or a friend used adequate epoxy but not sure if he took the epoxy off the tip weights. He did tell me he cleaned up the tip and bore but no mention about the weights

It sounds like your friend didn't understand the need to drill a hole through the vent hole in the tip weights. That's critical to avoid an air lock when inserting the shaft. There is no need to remove the weight, just drill a hole.

Edited May 7 by Nessism