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I want to experiment with a longer driver shaft and I had a few questions I hope some of you club builders or experienced hobbyists could answer. I've got a backup 45 inch driver that I would like to have extended via a grip end plug to 45.5, then 46 and maybe 46.5 or 47 inches. My thought is that it would be quicker and more cost effective to simply use a shaft extension and re-grip while I'm determining whether I can consistently hit the sweetspot with the longer shaft.

- Does extension in this manner significantly effect flex, and if so, at what length would I be likely to notice it?

- Would repeated insertion and removal of butt end extenders have a detrimental effect on the shaft? If so, I guess I'd be better off starting with the longest length and having the extender cut down accordingly (if this can be done while still installed in the shaft).

In case it's relevant, the club I'll be using for this experiment is a nice used Mizuno MP-001 460 10.5 w/ Aldila NV65 S that I recently acquired.

Thanks for any thoughts.

I have installed extenders in many shafts and, IMO, using the Golfsmith graphite shaft extender (stock # 278G $1.99) I would install it at the 47 inch length and, if it doesn't work out, I would cut it down. I would be concerned that constantly reheating the butt end of the shaft would weaken the fibers.

Thanks for the reply hi-tek.
At present the only golf club work I do is regripping. Does initially installing a butt end extension require only epoxy (or some sort of adhesive) and cutting to length, does it usually also entail sanding the extension to match the shaft diameter? I was just curious whether I might be able to do this myself.

I simply epoxy the extension and cut it. The 278G extension fits most graphite shafts. Golfsmith also has a universal estension that is larger in diameter and may require sanding. Also extending the butt end of a shaft can affect swingweight and club balance, so the less length that is added the better.

many of my drivers are extra long (1.5 in.) and this is what i suggest, buy the graphite extender (buy both sizes) from golfsmith or golfworks or if you have an old shaft you can use a piece of that also,and you can do one of three ways; (#1)
use the extender by itself, make sure you clean out the inside of the butt of the shaft and sand using 320 gritt paper and a pencil and clean again, apply epoxy to the inside of the shaft and the extender and put together. i use an epoxy gel made by devcon which you can buy at many hardware stores( it has a blue and white tubes) which bonds well but lets loose with minimal heat.

(#2) find a piece of shaft a cut it to where it will slide in three or four inches, sand the outside of the piece of shaft that slide in and follow directions above excluding the extension.

(#3) go to a home depot, lowes, or a place the sells hard wood and buy a wooden hard wood only dowel (softer wood will break) that will just slide inside butt end of shaft and cut it so three or four inches will slide in the butt end and four inches outsde, sand the extension and follow directions above but this time cut the extender so all you have is a hollow tube or piece of shaft and slide that over the extension part, glueing both sides first. the reason for this is that the entender by itself , especially at 4 iches has a tendency to give in your hand right at the end and you will feel this. the dowel re-enforces
and although you do add a touch of weight, you don't notice it because it's so far back on the shaft but there will be no give, just rock solid.
extending a shaft may add some flex and swing weight, but very little. i found that an inch and a half was about the best. hope this helps. mike

hi-tek & mikey300 - thanks for your replies.