So you’ve finally gotten into golf. You’ve purchased your first set of clubs, you’ve signed up for a country club membership, and you’ve started learning as much as you can about the sport. That’s all well and good, and quite honestly, that’s a rather fantastic start! But then you actually start golfing – you make your way down to the golf course, you start to take your swing… and the unexpected happens. Instead of you actually landing the ball where you want it to go, you end up breaking your club. So, what do you do when your golf club breaks during swing? Why does it happen, and how do you prevent it in the future?
If your golf club breaks during swing, there are a number of reasons why that may be. In today’s article, we are going to talk about the reasons why your golf club is breaking, and what you can do when they do. So, if you’re ready to find out, let’s get started!
Why Your Golf Club Breaks During Swing
We’re sure that if you’re here, you’re asking why your golf club breaks during swing. You see, at one point in time, golf clubs used to be handmade. Yes, they were made one by one! The clubs of old were made using 100% steel. Back in the day, these clubs were basically unbreakable. But despite this fact, they are not a match at all for today’s modern hybrid and graphite clubs.
Today’s hybrid and graphite clubs are not exactly… indestructible. Plus, the golf clubs of today are also made in bulk, not in handmade. This allows the clubs to become more affordable for everyone, with a caveat. Because these clubs are mass-produced, sometimes there are some minor defects that might slip the net.
Now, remember, if your golf club breaks during swing frequently, it might be easy to blame defects and problems in the manufacturing process. But if it happens with regularity, it’s time to look beyond those reasons and think about what you could be doing that is endangering your clubs. You might have a subpar technique when swinging, for example. Or, you could also be smacking the clubhead into the ground when you swing.
With that said, let’s have a look at more reasons why golf clubs might break.
Rusty Shaft
Although your golf club looks completely fine on the outside, the fact is, it might just be rotting from the inside out. There are so many golf clubs out there that are rotting without their owners even realizing. Often, it’s because golf clubs get left outside in the rain, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Sometimes, it could also be because during cleaning, too much water might have been used. Both of these situations allow for water to start running down the shaft, entering any weak areas or breaks in the surface.
If your club set gets wet frequently, it will start suffering the consequences. The clubs will begin to rust and crack, and you’ll start seeing them weakening. This results in a higher possibility that your golf club breaks during swing.
A solution for this is to keep your golf clubs indoors. If you choose to keep them outside, you’ll need to have them under some shelter. This way, you can prevent your clubs from getting too wet too often. If you choose to store your golf clubs outdoors, do make sure that you have some dehumidifiers or silica gel around to absorb ambient moisture. Lastly, always wipe your golf clubs down every single time they get wet – like after a golf game in the rain, for example.
When cleaning your clubs, try not to use a lot of water. The less, the better. And of course, never ever submerge golf clubs in the water. Instead, you should wipe them with damp cloths.
Epoxy is Used Inside of the Shaft
Many people have been using epoxy to make their own golf clubs in recent times. While there’s nothing wrong with this, one thing to keep in mind is that many use epoxy as an adhesive for their creations. Epoxy works great and certainly does the trick. However, if you end up getting the epoxy inside of your golf clubs’ shafts, you can cause your golf clubs to break.
Some people have even noticed that their golf club breaks during swing because of using a bit too much of the epoxy adhesive when they glue the clubhead to the club’s shaft. And so, it appears as though epoxy acts as a potential breaking point when you’re hitting golf balls.
If you plan to DIY your clubs, look for 24-hour epoxy. This means the adhesive will take 1 day or 24 hrs to dry. Epoxy of this kind is more durable – just make sure not to use too much and let the product get into the shaft.
Your Clubs Have Graphite Shafts
The entry of graphite into the golf club market was welcomed by golfers who were looking for lighter-weight clubs. Certainly, it can be said that graphite clubs are lighter. The reduced weight results in faster swing speeds, which results in 6-12 yards of improvement when compared to steel clubs.
However, graphite is simply not as durable as steel.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use them, though. You definitely can, especially if you prefer them! Just be sure to take extra good care of your clubs and everything should be just fine.
Your Clubs Aren’t Secure in Your Golf Bag
Golfers are usually one of two things. They’re either completely obsessive about taking care of their clubs and keeping them immaculate, or they don’t care at all and just chuck the clubs every which way.
Clean freaks who love taking good care of their beloved clubs often use things like head covers and dividers to prevent damage to the clubs. This type of golfer also usually wipes their golf clubs down after every hole that they complete before they put the club back in the bag.
Then, you have the other type – the golfer who really couldn’t be bothered with any of that stuff. Golf clubs get tossed onto the floor or into the trunk of a car haphazardly. Clubs are rarely wiped down. No dividers or head covers are used. Golfers like this just chuck the clubs into their bags when they’re done with a hole. Now this type of golfer, you’ll hear coming from a mile away. Often, golfers like this will have their clubs clanging and banging together inside their bag. As the metal clubs rattle, they start getting damaged – and so now you start seeing the problem.
Not all golfers are like that, of course. Sometimes, they fall in the middle. They will take pretty good care of their clubs, but they won’t bother to make any extra effort or go the extra mile when it comes to caring for their clubs. That’s not bad, but you also have to consider that clubs can break pretty easily. So if they’re already rattling around in a bag and not getting wiped down, they start weakening… and the next thing you know, your golf club breaks during swing time!
Too Much Heat!
Now, just like golf clubs can get too wet too often, they can also get too, too hot. You see, storing golf clubs in places where the ambient temperature is hot will start to weaken the material of the club shafts. If you live in an arid area, it’s probably best to store your clubs indoors. As in, in your home.
You see, storing your golf clubs in your car’s trunk, or in your hot garage, or even in your backyard shed, can create a myriad of problems. Typically, heat stress won’t really damage or destroy a golf club, but it can certainly cause some parts of the club to weaken. Particularly, you’ll see the head and shaft connection point becoming weaker. This is increases the risk that your golf club breaks during swing time.
Remember the epoxy we were telling you about earlier? This is what weakens in the club when you store your set in hot places. So do your best to keep your clubs from getting too hot!
It might be a bit excessive to say this but, if you’re going to be leaving your clubs in your car for a while (for example, going to the store for an hour), it’s probably best to put your clubs in the passenger seat with the A/C on. Though this presents its own risks, so proceed with caution!
Player Misuse and Abuse
Now, we aren’t accusing you of anything, of course. We just figured it’d be important to mention that one of the most common reasons that a golf club breaks during swing is player abuse. Yep… as in, the player mishandles the club(s).
Let’s be real here. Golf can be rather… well, extremely frustrating. This is especially true when the shots you make don’t go how you want them to. Truly it’s not uncommon that a golfer will, out of frustration, smack or hit their golf club into the ground. Or onto a tree. They might even just take that club and chuck it as hard and as far away as they can. Oops!
Well, golf clubs are obviously not made to be able to handle this type of abuse. And as easy as it is to tell golfers to not punish their clubs when they make bad shots, it’s hard for a golfer to actually hold their temper sometimes.
If you think that you suffer from a little bit of a temper problem when you golf, it may be wise to try and lessen it if you can. Otherwise, you’ll have clubs that break often – and you’ll end up having to buy more and more replacements. Talk about unnecessary expenses!
Incorrect Swing Technique
Another notable thing when your golf club breaks during swing time is that you may have an incorrect or even poor technique for your swing. In other words, sometimes, a broken club can be the fault of the golfer. Often, a lot of golfers might think that their clubs are indestructible because they were made using stainless steel.
Unfortunately, this is just not the case.
When you make an incorrect swing, your club may take some damage. This is what happens when your golf ball makes contact with the club shaft instead of hitting the club’s head, which is what it should hit.
The only solution is to practice your swing and get better at it, so that your golf ball hits the club’s head as it’s supposed to.
Counterfeit Clubs
Beware of when and how you purchase your golf clubs, because sometimes you might be getting a raw deal. You see, there is this new and growing trend of counterfeit clubs. These clubs are making the rounds, and some golfers are buying in knowingly. Others, on the other hand, simply get duped.
Counterfeit clubs can probably perform decently, and they’re typically alright for newbies. That’s not to say we condone the purchase and use of them. You see, counterfeits often have a much shorter life expectancy. They’re often made using cheap components, and on top of that they aren’t put through the same type of durability testing from their manufacturers that other legitimate and authentic clubs do.
And so, even though your clubs are cheaper and will save you money from the outset, they’ll eventually cost you more for being counterfeit. This is because you’ll end up spending more to replace them often as they continue to break.
Final Thoughts
Golf clubs typically last a long time. In fact, if you purchase quality clubs and take care of them well, they can last you ten, maybe even fifteen years of use. Some really good quality clubs can even last longer if you take care of them carefully.
If you take a look at the reasons listed here as to why golf clubs might break during your swing, then you can take the necessary actions to help prevent breaks from happening. This way, you won’t have to end up replacing your clubs often. On top of that, you’ll know what you need to do to really get your golf clubs to last a long time!
We hope that this guide has been helpful and that you are able to do what you need to in order to keep your golf clubs for years to come. And if golf is not for you, you should try playing online games instead. Nothing will be broken here. Start a rewarding journey filled with entertainment with icecasino. It boasts a vast selection of games, appealing promotions, easy-to-use banking methods, and exceptional customer service. This platform has made a name for itself as a frontrunner in the industry. Just try and you will see!
