Hickory Club Restoration

Do you have some hickory golf clubs that have seen better days? Have you wondered what they looked like or even played like? Maybe you have a cherished set or putter passed down through the family that you would like to pass down as well. Hickory clubs are very durable. Many are still playable at over 100 years old. At Groundhog Hickory Golf, we can polish off the rust, bring the wood back to life and restore your hickories to their former glory. Whether you need some basic cleaning for a trophy above your mantel or a complete refurbishment so your hickory can go in your bag and out on the course, we would love to take care of your treasured clubs.

A stack of old, weathered hickory golf clubs leaning against a wall.
A hickory golf club refurbishment in progress on a workbench with tools and supplies in the background. A hickory golf club wrapped in a leather grip is mounted on a wooden frame, with scissors and small containers nearby.

Our Process

Consultation and Assessment

  • Send us a picture of your clubs along with your ideas for the final result.

  • We will determine the current state of deterioration and estimate level of work needed to get it to the customer's desired state of restoration.

    • A simple cleaning and regripping starts at $20 per club.

    • Restorations to playable condition start at $75 per club.

  • Multiple colors, elaborate designs, special requests, more in-depth repairs, etc. will carry additional cost.

  • If there are any visible markings we can attempt to estimate the club’s exact age and origins.

  • After the assessment is complete, we provide a preliminary estimate of cost and time to get the club(s) into the condition desired.

  • Ship or drop off your clubs to our Phoenixville, PA workshop.

    • Club owner is responsible for the cost of shipping both ways.

  • After inspecting the clubs first hand and finalizing the specifics on level of restoration and customization we will give a final cost for restoration before work begins.

A rusty hickory golf club head before restoration.

Repair and Refurbishment

To take a hickory club from a typical state of aging and corrosion to playable condition usually requires most, if not all of the following steps. If the desired state of restoration is to be a non-playable decoration or trophy, some steps can be omitted.

  • remove hosel pin and head

  • restore shaft

    • strip old grip, underpinning, and adhesive 

    • pull any old tacks

    • sand off old finish and any adhesive remnants

    • file and shape hosel cone 

    • straighten if needed

    • repair minor splits and cracks with high impact epoxy

    • apply stain

    • apply shellac 

  • restore club head

    • remove rust/corrosion/grime/etc off club head

    • chemical bath for heavy rust

    • physical abrasion for lighter/surface rust 

    • polish and buff

  • reset head with high impact epoxy and new brass hosel pin

Handmade hickory golf club undergoing restoration on a workbench.
Close-up of a antique brass golf club head lying on a workbench surrounded by tools and equipment, including a utility knife, a clamp, and sanding material.
A piece of wood or a small branch with a hole drilled into it, attached with wire to a metal tool on a workbench.

Customization and Gripping

The last part of the process is the most artistic and creative. We can finish your hickory club with a basic dark leather grip and minimal black whipping thread, or we can go crazy. Pebble grain leather, faux alligator, tartan fabric accents, multiple colors and patterns, you name it. We can also do paint fill on any markings on the club head to make the original stampings pop with color.

  • apply new grip  

    • apply desired number of layers of friction fabric underpinning

    • apply adhesive layer

    • tack and wrap leather 

    • apply whipping thread to secure grip

  • apply reinforcing or decorative whipping thread/fabric/wire/etc. as needed/desired

  • paint fill details on back/sole of club head if desired

A restored hickory golf club with color painted accents.
A partially restored hickory golf club with leather, thread, and tartan fabric that will be used to complete the restoration.