Equipment
From the GolfWRX Vault: Essential tips, tricks, and tools for building clubs at home
In addition to continuing to look forward to new content that will serve and engage our readership, we also want to showcase standout pieces that remain relevant from years past. In particular, articles with a club building or instruction focus continue to deliver value and convey useful information well after their publish dates.
We want to make sure that once an article falls off the front page as new content is covered it isn’t relegated to the back pages of our website.
We hope that you’ll appreciate and find value in this effort, and the first article from the GolfWRX Vault is a perfect example of a piece that not only remains relevant and engaging, but one that the author still gets questions about and routinely refers readers to.
Ryan Barath, well before his time as a full-time WRX staffer, wrote “Building golf clubs at home: The essential tips, tricks, and tools” back in October of 2016.
In the piece, Barath discusses both the elements of setting up a shop in general and what he has done in his basement workspace in particular.
A taste of the piece.
One of the most important things about building clubs is doing it properly with the right tools, and doing it safely. After setting up up multiple build shops over the years, from small hobby shops to large multi-station build shops, having the opportunity to build my own home shop from the ground up was something I always looked forward to. My shop is in my basement, and because of the limited space, it was imperative to find as many space saving-solutions as possible.
Like many people with a hobby they are passionate about, I look forward to one day having a stand-alone garage for all of my tools (and maybe a hitting net), but for now my basement gets the job done. I’m lucky to have access to a much large machine shop where I do wedge grinding, finishing and sandblasting, which are all jobs that make a lot more noise and create a lot more dust. I can’t get away with doing those things in a confined space, but we’ll touch on that later.
Although not a tool, arguably the most important piece of equipment is the workbench. Having a quality workbench is needed because of the amount of abuse that it will take over its lifespan. Also, just like a great kitchen design, you need counter space and a good workbench provides that. Dropping a clubhead (especially a driver or fairway wood with nice paint job) can be costly. The next extension of the workbench is a good vice that has been properly attached to the bench with bolts. Like I’ve said in previous articles, I believe when you do something you should take the time to do it properly. I once saw a vice screwed into a workbench with 1.25-inch screws, and as soon as someone went to use the vice it ripped out and took a club with it.
Equipment
From the GolfWRX Classifieds: Titleist Vokey Proto Wedges 54M, 60T
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @Putt4Dough is selling some prototype wedges from Vokey Wedgeworks. These include a 54 degree wedge with the M grind and a 60 degree wedge with a T grind.

From the listing:
(1) Titleist Vokey Proto Wedge 54M with a Tour Issue DGS400 shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet (logo down). Standard length, lie, and loft. BB&F ferrule. Raw wedge in good condition. No initials. Price is $200 shipped. Buy both wedges for $380 shipped.
(2) Titleist Vokey Proto Wedge 60T with a KBS Tour 130X shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet. Standard length, lie, and loft. Raw wedge in good condition. No initials. Price is $200 shipped. Buy both wedges for $380 shipped.
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules.
Whats in the Bag
Ryan Palmer WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (9 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 60 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 70 6.5

5-wood: TaylorMade SIM2 Max (18 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 80 TX

Irons: Srixon ZXiU (23 degrees), Srixon Z785 MB (5-PW)
Shafts: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 100 6.5 (4), KBS Tour 130 X

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (50-08F, 54-10S, 58-04T @59)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X

Putter: Odyssey Dual Force Rossie II

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Equipment
Slab city on the Korn Ferry Tour — Lead Tape Report
This week, we have our Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, on the ground at the OccuNet Classic at Tascosa Golf Club in Amarillo, Texas, for the 14th event of the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season. With that, we see some great things in the Lead Tape Report as we roll into Amarillo.
Joel Thelen
Monday Qualifier, Joel Thelen is in the field this week. He has played on the Korn Ferry Tour for a full season in 2023, and he is back in action this week. A couple of clubs caught my eye this week in his bag.
First off: His trusted Titleist 816 H2 hybrid. This club came out in October of 2015, and it still remains strong in the bag. Also, take a look at this Odyssey White Hot OG 7, putting a capital S in the 7S model. This custom neck has some impressive lean for an arm-lock-style putter. The bottom of the putter is covered in tape for optimal weighting.





Mitchell Meissner
Taking a look at Mitchell Meissner’s bag this week, we have some great lead tape coverage. Top to bottom working from fairway metals, irons, and wedges. We can see on the short irons and wedges that there is tape at the base of the grip, adding a little counterbalance. Along with that, some tape on the short irons and wedges as well. Moving to his putter, he rolls the Odyssey 7 Bird putter. Meissner putts left-handed and strikes the ball right-handed.






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