Joining the Club Is a Lengthy and Tedious Process

Unlike the pros, whose livelihood demands an intimate knowledge of the tools of their trade, amateur golfers--from duffers to scratch players--probably don’t realize that their top-of-the-line irons, like pieces of fine jewelry, are cast through the “lost-wax” method and finished by hand. First, molten wax is injected into a metal mold of the club’s head. The finished wax molds are dipped in layers of silica sand and crushed rock over several days to form a ceramic shell. When the shells are heated in a special oven, the wax melts, leaving a void to fill with molten steel. After the heads are formed, skilled craftsmen polish and buff them to a gleaming shine. These clubs are designed and marketed by Pinseeker Golf Corp., the largest golf club manufacturer in Orange County with annual sales of about $5 million. The clubs are cast from the company’s molds at a foundry in Compton and moved to a polishing plant in Walnut, near West Covina. The clubs are assembled and inspected at Pinseeker headquarters in Santa Ana. The company employs about 55 people. All the hand-work means a set of quality clubs costs about $750. The clubs are sold primarily in pro shops at golf courses in 140 countries around the world.