Abstract: A golf club shaft blank is clamped at its butt end and deformed at its tip end to establish the longitudinal deformation characteristics of the shaft blank. The shaft is repositioned relative to the clamp and then reclamped at a new location which, when deformed, has the desired longitudinal deformation characteristics. The shaft is sawed to the desired length by removing material from the butt end and the tip end of the shaft.
Abstract: A hollow golf club shaft is prepared by flag rolling a base layer of composite material pieces over a mandrel having a larger-diameter region and a reduced-diameter region. The base layer is optionally precompacted. A collar is slid along he length of the mandrel having the reduced-diameter region and base layer to lie adjacent to the larger-diameter region, and at least one overlayer composite material piece is flag rolled overlying the base-layer composite material pieces onto that portion of the mandrel having the reduced diameter.
Abstract: A carbon graphite fiber reinforced shaft incorporating longitudinal plies and radial plies. In transverse aspect, the radial plies incorporate two interleaved helices with three turns around the shaft. The fibers in the two helices are oppositely oriented at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the shaft. The fibers in one radial ply have a modulus that is substantially 50% greater than the modulus of the opposed interleaved radial ply.