MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / July 15, 2000

LAPLACE – Rick Miller learned the ropes while working part time at a golf course when he was 13. There he learned all aspects of club repair, fromfitting and regripping to reshafting and refinishing.

“For most of it, once you learn how to do it it’s pretty easy,” Miller said.

Miller, in becoming a club professional, also went through the Professional Golf Association’s training program where one of the sections was club repair. Today, he has a stack full of books on both clubrepair and refitting as well as a work area with a variety of tools for the job in his office at Riverlands.

Like many things in the game, club repair has changed with the change in technology. When wooden heads were is use most of the time spent inrepair was in refinishing. Now that metal heads are all the vogue, it isregripping and fitting that takes up the majority of the time.

“Five to 10 years ago we used to get a lot of wooden heads,” Miller said.

“Now in the last two years, none.”Grips are another area in the industry that has seen a change in the materials used. About 20 years ago leather was used and the personregripping the club had to spend time winding the grips. Now with rubbercomposites being used the grip slips right on and off. Miller can redo anentire set in 15 minutes and have it ready to play in 25 minutes. Abeginner can do it in just an hour or two.

In regripping a club, Miller first takes off the old material and cleans the shaft. He will then put double-sided tape on the shaft. After a squirt ofmineral spirits in the new grip, Miller slides the grip on. Then it’s just amatter of waiting for the tape to seal inside it.

Miller recommends the average golfer should have their clubs regripped at least once a year. A golfer who plays more regularly should change theirgrips at least twice a year. Tour grips are currently the possible.Custom fitting of clubs is a recent trend in the sport. When selling a setof clubs, Miller will look at the person’s swing, determining the correct lie angle of the head and the length of the shaft.

“Definitely when you get them a golf club specific to them, they are getting a better product,” Miller said.

Miller also does reshafting of clubs, although he said the only times he has to do a whole set is when the golfer wants to change the kind of shaft, from steel to graphite for instance. He does get the occasional club thathas been broken accidently or in a fit of anger.

“Most of the clubs are wedges and putters,” Miller said. “Those are theclubs that aggravate people and get snapped on purpose.”Most clubs usually break near the hosel, and the hardest part is getting the old shaft out. Once the old shaft is out Miller cleans out the head, preparesthe new shaft and applies the glue before attaching the head. After a 24-hour period for the glue to set, Miller puts the grips on and the club is ready to go. The most important steps of the process are the preparing ofthe new shaft, giving the glue an area to adhere to, and the amount of glue applied.

“If you don’t prepare the shaft right it usually come right out,” Miller said. “If you use too much glue it breaks off in the shaft, and you get therattling in the club. You just have to put it in the right place.”Miller told the story of one apprentice he worked with who didn’t prepare a shaft correctly for a customer. The first time the customer took theclubs out, three of the heads flew off.

As for the kinds of shafts, Miller said most of the metal woods these days are graphite while the irons are still mostly steel. Graphite is muchlighter and softer, but steel tends to last longer.

“The average player is still better off using steel because of the wear and tear,” Miller said.

But despite the abuses the average golfer puts their clubs through, Miller said the clubs can withstand it, especially those put out by the well- known manufacturers.

“Clubs are pretty durable,” Miller said.

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