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I recently heard about getting clubs "pured". Can anyone tell me exactly what this is/does and if it's worth the expense?

http://www.sstpure.com/media/clubmaker0502.html

The logic is that the shaft is 'pured' to ensure complete consistency. I'm looking at new irons and am unsure whether the cost is justified. I'd be interested if anyone else has spent the money.

I recommend that you go the that website and find out exactly what SST Puring is all about. I've talked to Dick Weiss, president of SST, and he was most helpfull in explaining the difference between Puring and spline aligning, two different things.
Since talking to Mr Weiss, I have been SST puriing all of my shafts for all the graphite shafted woods I build. Every club has had a nice "solid feel" to it, and I'm quite happy with the results I'm getting. It costs me $9.95 per shaft, and if you figure the total cost of a new wood or driver, what's $10. I spent $85 for my NV65 shaft, $120 for the head, $2 for the grip. For $10, I can install the shaft in the best possible alignment, knowing I will get the most out of the shaft and the head. Plus, all the woods I've built using the SST pureing have a nice solid feel, and that's not always what you get when the shaft isn't aligned the correct way. Is it worth $10? I think it is.

I have only built one set of irons with SST pured shafts, and they felt great. I built them for myself, but when I let a friend play a round of 18 with them, he talked me out of them, he didn't want to go back to his own irons. He liked mine so much better. How much of it was the SST pureing? I can't say, but he loves the set of clubs. Is it worth if for a set of steel shaft irons? I've heard yes, and I've heard no. I know a lot of golfers believe that spine alignment is worth it for all their irons, and SST pureing is a step above spine alignment, so I quess it would be worth it also.

Bottom line, $10 for a great driver? I think that's a no brainer. $80 to $100 for a set of irons and wedges? That's depends on how well you play, and the size of your wallet. What's it worth to know all your clubs are as good as they can be, and all your clubs feel the same. Solid feel and maximum control and accuracy, is that worth $10 a club? Is it worth $45 for a dozen ProVi balls? If you can't break 100, I doubt it. If you're trying to break par, I think so. What do you think?

Very well stated OnePutt...thanks for sharing!

Excellent post, One Putt.

Sounds as if I should get my driver and three wood 'pured' first and see if I can 'feel' the difference. My driver is a GBB2 graphite, my three wood a Steelhead steel shaft. Is it worth getting the steel shafted wood s pured?.

Thanks for the kind words you two. First thing you want to do is check the Golfsmith site and get the exact prices for SST puring a club that's already built. The $9.95 figure is for a new shaft you buy from Golfsmith, used shafts, ones that have been pulled is more, and when you send the whole club in, it's a different price. That's why I order all my wood shafts from Golfsmith and have them SST pure it before they ship it to me. Much cheaper this way. Once you have the price for your driver to be pured, and figure in the cost of shipping it both ways, you might decide it would be better to upgrade the shaft and get what you really want. If you are having any problems with consistancy with your driver, there's a good chance the SST puring would help. As for the steel shaft wood, it wouldb be cheaper to buy a new SST pured steel shaft from Golfsmith and have it installed than to have the old shaft removed, pured and re-installed. You might also want to check the SST site and see if there are any stores in your area that do the puring local, that would save the shipping both ways at least. If you are leaning toward a new graphite shaft for the driver, look in the clearance section on Golfsmiths site, and you might find a really good deal on a shaft you have been wanting to try but didn't want to pay the higher price, They have some good discounts at times. Worth checking every once in awhile.

I reshafted my driver just last week and got it purred as well. The upcharge was $25. I have played 4 rounds with it and I like the overall driver, since its a new shaft I am not sure if it made a real difference. I went from the stock TM shaft in a 540xd to a Grafalloy ProLaunch 65s.

You were charged an extra $25? That seems high. Heres what's listed in the latest Golfsmith catalog for prices.

NEW SHAFT, UNCUT PURCHASED FROM GOLFSMITH $9.95
NEW SHAFT, UNCUT NOT PURCHASED AT GOLFSMITH $14.50
CUT SHAFTS REMOVED FROM CLUB HEAD $24.50
COMPLETE CLUB SENT IN $45.00

It looks like you were charged the used shaft price for your shaft replacement. Was it a new shaft, or a used one. I could be wrong on this, but I was under the belief that the SST pureing process is a franchise deal, and all the prices are supposed to be pretty much the same from store to store. Would you ming telling me who did the work? I have seen where a local store offers SST puring, I'll have to call them and get a price. Thanks for your post.

Golfsmith charges the least amount for PUREing compared to other shops. Golf Etc., in Folsom, CA charges 60-80 dollars to PURE a shaft. I would not be surprised to see other shops at a much higher rate than Golfsmith.

BTW, I have virtually every wood shaft out of my shop PUREd. I have a great many customers who are absolutely positive that the process made a difference for them. I reshafted my ow iron set with PUREd Grafalloy Prolaunch shafts and have seen a significant positive result after the process.

There's another method of shaft oreintation that I find is more exacting than PURing, its called peeking a shaft and its done by Advanced shaft dynamics out of Houston Tx. Its the same process that V.J. Singh uses plus quite a few others on the Pro Tours. It aligns the centrodial Axis of each shaft so all play exactly the same. I've had it done to my personal irons and can notice a big difference is the shot pattern. www.advancedshaftdynamics.com

Thanks for the tip, but that link you posted comes up non-existant. Can you double check the address, and re-post it. I'd like to see what's up on the site. Thanks.

Been to that site. A lot of old magazine articles but not data to speak of. I saw a lot of "claims", but nothing to get excited about. And when I did a search for a local shop that does the PEAKing, I got a shop near me. Only problem, the shop owner has never heard of the company or the process. Mostly the site knocks what others like SST Puring is doing, and doesnt' tell how their method is any better. There is also a statement about how Spline alignment doesn't work for golf shafts and that this is a "scienctific fact". Sorry, but until I see the "sciencetific testing to prove it", this statement of fact is a bunch of "personnel opinion", not fact at all.

I sent a message to Advanced Shaft Dynamics, telling them all this, and I'm still waiting to hear their side of all this nonsense. No word so far. I also sent a message to the shop that was listed on the site asking them to check it out. If someone has some update information on this process, and if in fact it really exists, I'd like to hear about it. Later, Don.

I took a club that was pured by golfsmith to a sst pure dealer and had them repure the club(because there was no improvement in performance after the 1st pureing). The sst pure dealer installed the club in a different spot. I asked him why the difference. He showed me the spec sheet for the shaft. golfsmith had marked the shaft in the wrong alignment. I feel you get what you pay for.

I am getting ready to go to the range with my new NEXT Magnetix driver which has a pured Proforce S shaft. I am very much a 'feel' player and I should be able to tell if 'pureing' makes a difference. I don't know who pured this shaft, it just says it was done by a licensee of SST. But I will report my results back later.