What Is Hot Melt In Golf?
Most of the time it's a ‘tour only’ option, but what exactly is hot melt and how does it work?
A topic that came up recently on the Golf Monthly Kick Point Gear podcast is that of hot melt, which begs the question... what is hot melt and how does it affect the performance of golf clubs?
Put simply, hot melt is a heated glue typically placed inside a hollow club head, primarily drivers, fairway woods and hybrids. Hot melt is the modern replacement for lead tape, which was previously used by tour pros (and still is occasionally) in previous years to change the weight distribution on the club head as well as the sound and feel characteristics.
WHAT IS HOT MELT USED FOR?
There are two main uses for hot melt with modern golf equipment and the first is to alter weight distribution in the head, which changes the CG (Center of Gravity).
It’s worth noting that given the advancement of golf equipment and the number of drivers and fairway woods we can purchase with adjustable weights on the head, using hot melt for changing the weight of a clubhead is not as prevalent now as it was two decades ago.
Players in the past would often use lead tape on their clubs to change the weight of the head to their liking. For example – if a player was missing to the right with his or her driver, they may have added lead tape to the heel portion of the club head for a more dynamic closure of the face as it reaches impact.
Lead tape is still widely used on putters in particular, but a lot less so on drivers and other fairway metals. This is largely because lead tape isn’t the prettiest look on the sole – but also because of the emergence of hot melt.
The second main use for hot melt is to alter the acoustics. What is the point of a shiny new driver if it sounds like you’re smashing a golf ball off a frying pan every time you hit it?
Get the Golf Monthly Newsletter
Subscribe to the Golf Monthly newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest tour news, equipment news, reviews, head-to-heads and buyer’s guides from our team of experienced experts.
Hot melt, once inserted inside the head of a driver or fairway wood, can be used to significantly change the acoustics of the club at impact with the golf ball, generally dampening vibration and muting the sound somewhat.
As mentioned by our own equipment expert Joe Ferguson on the first episode of the Kick Point podcast, numerous tour pros use hot melt to fine tune how their clubs sound at impact.
Joe highlighted one tour player who used the Ping G425 driver with extensive hot melt in the head for the sole purpose of changing the loud, high-pitched noise the driver produced into something more subtle.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF HOT MELT
Using hot melt allows players to make those little tweaks to their clubs that can make all the difference from a psychological point of view.
Hot melt can be used in such small amounts, too, meaning those players who need the smallest weight adjustments can do so without adding a clunky, ugly-looking strip of lead tape to the bottom of the club head.
As mentioned, those little tweaks can include changing the acoustics of the golf club, with hot melt being used to subtly dampen the noise at impact. This is a common practice in the makings of modern clubs by equipment manufacturers today.
WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF USING HOT MELT?
Given it’s a hot glue being poured into the hollow head of a golf club, if a player does not like the adjustments the melt has made it can be difficult to reverse such tweaks. Joe mentions on the podcast that the only way to remove hot melt from a club face is to “heat the club head to within an inch of its life” so the hardened glue can softly and drop out of the head. Once the hot melt is in the head, whether you’ve put too much in or it’s in the wrong place, it’s a difficult procedure to remove the melt.
Conor Keenan is a freelance writer, joining Golf Monthly in the spring of 2024. Hailing from Newcastle, Northern Ireland, Conor is lucky to have Royal County Down as his home golf course. Golf has been a constant in his life, beginning to play the game at the age of four and later becoming a caddy at RCD at just eleven years old. Now 26, Conor has caddied over 500 rounds in a 12-year-long caddying career at one of the best courses in the world. Playing to a four handicap, you’re likely to find him on his local driving range trying (and failing) to hit a Shane Lowry-esc stinger that helped him win The 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
In the bag:
Driver: Ping G
3 wood: Callaway Epic
Hybrid: Ping G425
Irons: Mizuno JPX 900 Tour
Wedges: Taylormade Milled Grind 52,56,60
Putter: Scotty Cameron Circa 62
- Joe FergusonStaff Writer
-
Veteran Pro Claims Biggest Pay Day Of Career As Single Paycheck Surpasses All But One Of His Previous Seasons
Not only did Julien Guerrier claim the biggest title of his career, but the paycheck from his Andalucia Masters win was more than all but one of his season earnings on Tour
By Matt Cradock Published
-
Shriners Children's Open Final Round Tee Times
JT Poston takes a three-shot lead over Doug Ghim into the final round at TPC Summerlin - here are the tee times
By Mike Hall Published
-
Tiger Woods Won Four Straight Majors With This Driver... But Can It Still Perform?
Joe Ferguson pitted arguably the most iconic driver of the modern era, the Titleist 975D, up against the brand new Titleist GT3 driver and the results were interesting...
By Joe Ferguson Published
-
Can This 30-Year-Old Masters Winning Putter Still Work Its Magic?
Joe Ferguson takes a look at the putter Sir Nick Faldo used to overcome Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters
By Joe Ferguson Published
-
Don't Do This One Thing If You Want To Avoid Your Clubheads Flying Off Like Rory McIlroy...
Rory McIlroy experienced a rather unpleasant equipment mishap at the BMW PGA Championship. Here's how to avoid the same fate...
By Joe Ferguson Published
-
What Are The New Training Aids Rory McIlroy Is Using?
Rory McIlroy was spotted on the range at Wentworth earlier this week with some interesting new practice devices. We explain what they are and why he's using them…
By Joe Ferguson Published
-
I Told You It Was Coming! Why Golf's Putter Revolution Will Change Your Game Forever...
Equipment expert Joe Ferguson believes that 2024 will go down as the year that changed putting forever…
By Joe Ferguson Published
-
7 Reasons To Get Custom Fitted For Irons
Not sure whether you should be upgrading your iron set? There are some telltale signs to look out for...
By Joel Tadman Published
-
How Second Hand Clubs Make Golf More Accessible
It’s no exaggeration to say that the second-hand golf market is helping to grow the game – and make the sport more sustainable
By In partnership with golfclubs4cash Published
-
5 Common Misconceptions About Graphite Golf Shafts
Equipment expert Joe Ferguson takes a look at some of the myths still surrounding graphite golf shafts...
By Joe Ferguson Published