Build Your Hickory Golf Club
Building a custom hickory golf club means choosing four things: a $15 club head, a hickory shaft (pick your flex), a leather grip (suede or tacky, pick your color), and how you want it built. DIY kit ships in 2-3 days — parts in a box, you put it together. Assembled by Brad ships in 14 days because staining and varnishing the shaft takes time. Pick your parts below.
DIY kit: ships in 2-3 days. Assembled by Brad: ships in 14 days.
- 1 Head
- 2 Shaft
- 3 Grip
- 4 Build
Step 1 — Pick your head
Pick the head you want to swing. These are club heads pulled straight from the original inventory — they need to be bored and refinished before you can shaft them. You're getting the raw material to build a club, not a finished head. If you pick the DIY kit, that work is on you. If you pick “Assembled by Brad,” he does it for you before the build.
Step 2 — Pick your shaft
Now pick the shaft. Hickory comes in three flexes. Standard plays softer, stiff plays firmer, X-stiff is for the long hitters who want feedback. You'll bore the hosel to fit the shaft you pick (or add the $5 bore-out service at checkout and we'll do it). Then stain the shaft, cut it to length, and grip it with suede or tacky leather.
Step 3 — Pick your grip
Two grip styles, each in a handful of colors. Suede is a soft-finish wrap that feels broken-in from day one. Tacky leather is a grippier surface that stays put when your hands sweat. Pick the kind, then the color.
Step 4 — How do you want it built?
Two paths. DIY kit is the parts in a box: head, shaft, and grip. You build it. The whipping cord and back screw aren't included — you supply those. Ships in 2-3 days. Assembled by Brad means I fit it, stain the shaft, set the grip, varnish it, and whip it. Ready to play. Adds 2 weeks for staining and finishing because shellac doesn't dry on a deadline.
DIY kit vs assembled — quick compare
| DIY kit | Assembled by Brad | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | Loose parts + instructions | Finished club, ready to play |
| Ships in | 2-3 days | 14 days |
| Best for | Tinkerers, restorers, build-experience seekers | Players who want to swing, not sand |
| Skill needed | Basic hand tools, patience | None |
| Price | Parts only | Parts + build fee |
Your build
- Head
- —
- Build
- —
- Hosel bore-out
- Done for you
- Rebuild kit
- Finishing supplies
Total $0.00
Complete your setup golfers usually add
Build added to your cart.
Building a full set? Add another club, or head to checkout.
Questions about the build
Match a hickory shaft to your head, then pick the flex by feel. Standard is the most forgiving. Stiff gives more feedback. X-stiff is for the strong hitters. You'll bore the hosel on your head to fit the shaft you pick (or add the $5 bore-out service at checkout and we'll do it for you).
The club heads in the builder are $15 heads from the original inventory. They haven't been bored, refinished, or fitted yet. You'll bore the hosel to the right depth and diameter for your shaft, refinish the head, then install the shaft — that means staining it, cutting it to length, and gripping it with suede or tacky leather. Want us to bore the hosel for you? Add the $5 bore-out service at checkout.
The kit ships you the parts in a box — head, shaft, and grip — and you put the club together yourself. Assembled means I do it. I fit the head, stain and varnish the shaft, set the grip, whip the hosel, and ship it ready to play. The kit is faster and cheaper. Assembled takes 2 weeks because staining can't be rushed.
Shellac and varnish need time to cure. Rushing it gets you a sticky shaft and a finish that lifts off in a season. I do my staining in batches and let everything dry slow. 14 days is the honest number. If you need it faster, the DIY kit goes out in 2-3 days.
Head, shaft, and grip in a box. Ships in 2-3 days. You bore the hosel, clean up the head, stain and varnish the shaft, set the grip, and whip the hosel. The whipping cord and back screw aren't included — you supply those.
Yes — there's an optional add-on in the build summary. Check the "Have us bore out the hosel for you" box and we'll bore the head to the right depth and diameter for your shaft before it ships. Adds $5 to the build. Works with both DIY kits and assembled builds.
It's the box of consumables a DIY build needs but the parts kit doesn't include: epoxy, whipping thread, a thread puller, wood putty to bring the neck flush with the shaft, and a back screw with grip tacks. Pick the DIY kit and you'll see an optional "Add the retro-fit rebuild kit" box in your build summary — check it and the supplies ship with your parts. Building an assembled club instead? You don't need it; Brad supplies all of that.
Each part is a separate item on the order. If something's wrong, email me at brad@oldworldhickorygolf.com and we'll work it out. Assembled builds, once they're stained and built to your specs, are final sale — same as a tailored suit.
The site checks inventory at every step. If a head goes to zero between when you pick it and when you check out, you'll see a notice. You can pick a different head and keep your shaft and grip choices.