There was some talk at the beginning of Masters week about Bryson DeChambeau using a 5 iron that he made with a 3D printer.
It didn’t help. He missed the cut at 6-over.
Nonetheless, golf clubs 3D printed to players’ individual specifications likely are the future. I saw Cobra golf’ introduced 3D printed clubs ‘s 3D printed clubs at the 2025 PGA show.
The photo I too k of the cutaway above looks quite a bit like the interior of 3D prints I make on my own Prusa MK3S printer. The biggest difference, of course, is that clubs are printed in metal, and I print in plastic (polylactide, a bio-plastic usually made from plant starches).
I’ve this notion that I might be able to design and print a putter, providing I was able to include some weight slots.
Dreams aside, I actually do use the 3D printer for golf purposes. I’ve printed a knob and a bracket as replacement parts on a Speedcart (it’s at GolfBlogger’s Nothern HQ, or I’d show a photo). I also printed a replacement belt clip for an MGI battery powered push cart (the orange clip in the photo at top). I designed and printed a knob for the end of one of my alignment rods. The other orange items in the photo are for an umbrella attachment for the same cart.
Just for fun one time, I also printed a golf ball holster (also in the photo at top)
In my bag, I have a couple of 3D printed pill boxes and a cigar tube. The pill boxes cost about twelve cents to make (according to the software I use to prepare the design files for printing). All the 3d materials are relatively light and quite sturdy.
I’ve thought about making tees, but given how many I find on the course, there’s no need.
Browsing various online 3d libraries like printables.com and thingiverse.com, I have found hundreds of golf related items that people have designed and uploaded. The vast majority are free to download and print.
Among the files are swing and putt trainers, ball stencils, launch monitor stands, tee and ball holsters, divot tools, bag clips, score counters, umbrella holders for push carts, phone holders for carts, cigar holders, alignment stick holders, ball retrievers, and ball markers.
The weirdest I’ve found is a hot dog holder designed to stay put in a golf buggy.
The novelty of making things aside, I think the biggest immediate use for a 3D printer is replacement parts. A clip for the MGI remote retails for $29 on the MGI website. I printed it for less than a dollar in 45 minutes.
As of this moment, 3D printers are a bit finnicky and a hobby all to themselves. They’ve gotten much easier to use and significantly cheaper over the last couple of years. It won’t be long until they are as foolproof and cheap as inkjet on paper printers (that said, inkjets still get jammed and clogged, so perhaps not exactly foolproof).
Once they do, though, it should revolutionize the spare parts industry. Instead of ordering a spare part such as a knob or bracket at exorbitant prices from a manufacturer, consumers will be able to download files and print them at home.
Some companies still will try to fleece customers by charging stupidly high prices for those files, but I don’t think that will work in the long run. Already, you can scan an object with your phone and create a 3d file. If I had not found a free file that someone had designed for the belt clip, it would have only taken me fifteen minutes to design it in a basic CAD program.
I don’t know when 3d metal printers will be available at a reasonable price to the public, but when they are, I’ll join Bryson in printing clubs.
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