i have some golf clubs id like to make into polo mallets but after chopping off the ends,
ive realised they are rather thin - 1cm diameter

Do you think drilling them and using a very thin bolt would be ok or is there any other recommended technique?
i did see some golf club mallets at the polo tournament but didn't inspect them..

If there is enough length cut off a few inches and flip the off cut round and tap that back up the end of the newly shortened handle. If you have enough length you can do this twice. The will give you a little extra strength. (DT told me this method I think). Then do you drilling / use of self tappers.

Drill with the smallest bit you can at first - 1mm or so.
Or punch a dent in it for the wider drill bit to sit in.

Once you've made a small hole in the shaft (sorry, that sounds filthy) use a larger drill bit. Then the bolt doesn't have to be so tiny.

thanks tomasito that sounds like it will work ill do a test run.
Monsieur Brick I don't think that technique will work for my golf clubs as the hole down the middle is not very big.

It will only work if the shaft is tapered this is true but I thought most golf clubs where.

yeah it is tapered but the tapering is little or nothing by the time you get to the head end of the mallet
if that makes any sense..

I drilled (with great difficulty!) a 5mm hole sideways through the stainless shaft of the clubs that I used (as did Rik with his). After around 6 weeks use, the shaft broke. Given the difficulty of the drilling, I think I will either look at a different method of fixing the shaft to the mallet head, or use ski-poles.

the longest lasting original polo mallet at polo club is aidans, he used a golf club and some plastic tubing .... he is also an engineer of high repute, so it can be done well and pretty easily search for the wasp on flikr photo's or facebook or myspace see how it was done the golf clubs seem very hardy as well although aidan doesn't so much hit the ball as waft at it so no major force going through his mallet

and his was originally screwed together with a bolt screw up through the base into the golf club and one across ways

don't reveal my secret dicki!

Not being a polo player you could probably tell me to piss off, but being a golfer I know that the steel used in shafts is quite thin as it needs to be flexible enough to create a whip effect.

If I was going to make one out of a shaft I'd use a stiff shaft (they come in regular or stiff for the quicker swinger), use the grip end as the end to put the mallet on as the diameter is bigger so less chance of failure, and build up a grip on the original clubhead end.

so i made 4 mallets a couple of days ago and they seem to be standing up well
i drilled 5mm holes sideways aswell so im hoping they won't follow suit and break after 6 weeks..

thanks for the advice everyone

thanks for the advise...i'll take that into account when i have to build a new mallet.probably in another couple of years.