Adding tungsten powder to your golf clubs is a professional-grade method for dialing in the exact feel and performance you want from your equipment. It's the secret many club fitters use to precisely adjust a club’s swing weight for better control and more consistent strikes. This guide will walk you through the entire process, step-by-step, showing you how to safely and effectively use tungsten powder to customize your own clubs.
Before we get our hands dirty, it's good to know exactly what we're working with and why. For years, golfers used lead tape on the outside of the club head to add weight. While lead tape is functional, it has its downsides - it can look messy, affect aerodynamics, and it's not the most precise method.
Enter tungsten powder. Tungsten is an incredibly dense, non-toxic metal. In fact, it's about 1.7 times denser than lead. This density is its biggest advantage. It means you can add a significant amount of weight in a very small, concentrated area without altering the club’s and outside appearance. By placing it inside the tip of the shaft, the weight is hidden away, stable, and doing its job without you even seeing it.
The primary reason for adding this weight is to adjust the swing weight of your golf club. Swing weight isn’t the total weight of the club, it’s a measurement of how the weight is distributed and how heavy the club head feels as you swing it. Think about the difference between holding a hammer by the head versus holding it by the handle. The actual weight is the same, but the *feel* is completely different. That's swing weight in a nutshell. A higher swing weight (like D4, D5) makes the head feel heavier, while a lower swing weight (like C8, D0) makes it feel lighter.
By personalizing the swing weight, you can achieve:
This is a an at-home club fitting project, so gathering the right tools beforehand is essential for a smooth and safe process. You won't need a full workshop, but you do need a few specific items. Think of it like getting your ingredients ready before you start cooking.
With your tools laid out, it's time for the fun part. Work carefully and patiently, and you’ll get a professional result. We'll be working on one club at a time.
This is more an art than a science, as it’s all about feel. A good rule of thumb is that adding 2 grams of weight to the club head increases the swing weight by roughly one point (e.g., from D2 to D3). If this is your first time, it's smart to start with a very small amount, like 2-4 grams. You can always add more later, but taking it out means repeating the entire process. Temporarily tacking small lead tape strips to the outside of the head and hitting a few balls can help you find a weight that feels good before you commit to the permanent internal solution.
This is the most technical step. Secure the rubber vise clamp around your shaft and tighten it in a vise. Position your shaft puller on the club, with the press pushing against the shaft tip and the puller mechanism secured under the hosel of the club head.
Using your heat gun, apply gentle, even heat to the club’s hosel for about 30-60 seconds. Keep the gun moving to avoid concentrating heat in one spot, especially with a graphite shaft. The warmth will soften the epoxy. Once heated, slowly tighten the shaft puller. You should feel a "pop" as the epoxy bond breaks and the head begins to move free. Continue to tighten until the head is completely off the shaft.
Proper cleaning is non-negotiable for safety. A clean surface is what helps the new epoxy an incredibly strong bond. Use a brass hosel brush or a drill bit turned by hand to scrape out all the old epoxy from inside the hosel. Then, use a cloth with rubbing alcohol or acetone to wipe the inside of the hosel and the tip of the shaft completely clean. Finish sanding shaft tip lightly with sandpaper to slightly abrade the shiny finish, giving the epoxy more surface area to which it can ahere.
Using your digital scale, precisely measure out your desired amount of tungsten powder. Place your small funnel into the open tip of the golf shaft and pour the powder in slowly. Tap the shaft gently to help the powder settle down toward the bottom of the tip.
This is a big step - to prevent a rattling sound, you need to plug the shaft so the powder can't move. A small piece of a wine cork works perfectly. Taper one end so it fits snugly and push it into the shaft tip until it’s secure. Alternatively, you can use a small, tightly packed cotton ball. A tiny dot of generic super glue or epoxy on the cork can help lock it in place, so there's zero chance of it coming loose and mixing with the structural epoxy later.
Mix your high-strength golf epoxy according to its instructions. Most are two-part formulas that require equal amounts to be mixed thoroughly for about a minute. Apply a thin, even coat of epoxy around the outside of the shaft tip and apply a small amount inside the hosel. Don't overdo it - too much epoxy will just ooze out and make a mess.
Carefully slide the club head back onto the shaft. Rotate it slightly as you push it on to ensure an even spread of epoxy. Align the club head with the shaft graphics as you desire, and then wipe away any excess epoxy that has squeezed out of the hosel with an alcohol-soaked towel.
Patience is definitely a virtue here. Stand the club upright (grip end down, head up) in a corner and let it sit undisturbed for the full curing time recommended by the epoxy manufacturer, which is typically 24 hours. Resisting the urge to swing it early is important fo renswinge the epoxy to forms a complete bond.
Adding tungsten powder to your golf shafts is a fantastic way to personally customize the swing weight and feel of your equipment, giving you next-level control. By following these steps with care and patience, you can fine-tune your clubs with thesame precision that was once only available from professional club builders.
Of course, a perfectly tuned club works best when you also have a smart plan for every shot. For that kind of expert-level strategy on the fly, our Caddie AI app delivers on-demand advice right on the course. If you’re ever facing a weird stance or find your ball in a patch of nasty rough, you can even snap a photo of your lie, and we’ll give you a simple, practical way to play the shot. It takes the guesswork out of those tricky situations, so you can swing with confidence, knowing you've made the smart a choice
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