shortening club shafts

Question
John,  I've read a little about shaft lengths and removing grips. I have a set of new clubs with graphite shafts I'd like to give to my mom (age 67) but the clubs are too long for her. I don't have the money or time to re-shaft them. If I was to remove the grips and shorten the iron shafts 1" and the woods 2-3", would she be able to use them and enjoy them more than the 30 year old steel shaft clubs she is complaining about? The woods are regular flex and the irons are stiff flex.  Thanks

Answer
Dave,

You can shorten shafts, but when you do it will make the shaft flex stiffer than it was. I don't know how much she plays or how good she is.  My first thought is that if she's using 30 year old clubs now, the benefit from using newer ones will outweigh the problems caused by shortening them.  If you only cut an inch or so off she'll never notice the difference anyway.  You can save the grips with a little practice if you have the correct supplies.  You can get syringes from a drug store and use them to inject paint thinner between the rubber and the shaft. You'll need a 12 gage needle or so...too small and they'll break on you or bend.  When you get the solvent in there it will form bulges under the grip. Take the needle out and work the solvent around by pushing the bulge down. Careful when the needle comes out...you might get sprayed with the solvent.  Do this several times around each grip & they'll slip right off.  When you trim the graphite shafts you can use a hacksaw.  Just wrap a layer of masking tape on the spot you're going to cut.  Cut through the tape and it will help keep the shaft from splintering on you.

Will these shortened clubs be perfect for a 67 year old woman? Almost definitely not.  But unless she's signed up for Q school it shouldn't matter.  One great benefit to graphite shafts is that they dampen a lot of the vibrations at impact.  That's one reason they're so popular with seniors.  I say cut 'em off, re-grip & then you two go play 18 together.

Have fun.

John