(Post #1800!) I love golf items which step outside the boundaries of the stuffy country club mentality. I like to wear aggressive apparel and have crazy golf accessories complimenting my gear. The Shaftix shaft wraps do exactly that. I’m able to have some insane looking shafts and send a message to other golfers: Though I may be a hack with a “granny over-the-top across the line epileptic seizure on crack which makes Charles Barkley look like Ernie Els and makes Jim Furyk look on plane” swing, I have some hip golf gear and appointments! I’m feeling like Rodney Dangerfield as Al Czervik in Caddyshack.
Shaftix Overview
As succinctly as I can put it, Shaftix are stickers (wraps) you put on your golf club shafts to make them look cool. They’re similar to the stickers you put on glass which leave no residue when you peel them off. Shaftix come in many different cool colors, patterns and varieties. The wraps are easy to apply and remove, for when you need to change shaft colors with the season or perhaps for a special event.
Shaftix Installation
Putting the Shaftix shaft wraps on the clubs couldn’t be much easier. You measure the length you need and trip the wrap with scissors. Then you peel back your grip about a half an inch to an inch and apply the wrap from one side to the other. If you mess up it is no big deal because the wrap peels off easily and retains the tackiness.
One note on installation. You can only put these wraps on graphite shafts or “rifle” style steel shafts which are smooth. Standard “stepped” iron shafts won’t work. This is a bummer because I want Shaftix on every club I have and I can’t put them on my irons!
Available Styles
As far as I can tell there are over 70 current styles available. Style headings currently include patriotic, tribal, solids & plaids, camo, animal, military, collegiate, kids, ladies and extras. You can also have custom company logos or other graphics put on shaft wraps through Shaftix. This would be great for promotion.
My current lineup (pictured below) is headed by my favorite golf graphic, the skull and cross bones. I have those on my two most deadly clubs (especially for my opponents), my driver and putter. The skull and cross bones Shaftix are an absolutely perfect companion to any Tattoo Golf gear. I also have the dice and a couple of psychedelic patterns (no acid thank you).
Durability
I’ve had my Shaftix on my most used clubs for several months now. I have them on my Ping driver, putter, Nickent hybrid, along with my 52 and 56 degree wedges. I haven’t noticed any wear and tear which would bother me. There’s a bit from all the hundreds of times I’ve accessed the clubs, but the Shaftix are holding strong.
Come to think of it, Shaftix are a great way of actually protecting your graphite shafts!
Critiques
I have two critiques. First, I generally like Winn W5 grips. They’re fairly fat at the bottom of the grip. Peeling back my W5’s resulted in my splitting two grips open. I had to re-grip them after that. If you worry about splitting your grips, just wait to put your Shaftix on for when you’re getting your clubs re-gripped.
My 2nd critique is on the feedback end. “Feedback” in the golf world is how the club talks to you when you hit it. I did notice that my driver didn’t “ring” as much after installing the Shaftix wrap. The wrap deadened the sound a bit. Not much, but I could tell a difference.
Pricing
Single Shaftix are available for $4.95 each and a set of three runs $12.95.
Shaftix Images
I have more images of my Shaftix and installation shots in the Hooked On Golf Blog Shaftix Gallery.
Conclusion
Shaftix are very reasonably priced, fun, durable and look super cool. At the big tournament I played in last week all the big sticks were asking me what shaft I had in my driver. I told them it was custom made for me. I didn’t tell them it was a $4.95 shaft wrap.
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