If you get fitted by this guy you know you’re getting top tier stuff. He actually cares about the individual not just a quick buck like other fitters do.
Wow this is a great explanation of swing weighting. I have asked so many club makers and they either don't know or don't want to tell you the secret. Thanks so much this information is priceless.
So the lighter shaft has a lighter swing weight? I would have thought the head is now relatively heavier compared to the shaft so it will tip more to the head resulting in a higher swingweight...
#1 video to use if you want to "GUESS" wtf is wrong with a club or swing. I mean he basically told you a swing weight scale is pointless, but he has one sitting right next to him LOL. You cant make this up lol. I bought a digital swing scale this year, best investment ever... when you buy off the rack. You would be greatly surprised at WTF you actually bought. If you buy used clubs this is a MUST have as well. Without it (but adding lead tape or taking it off) you are basically guessing at what you are doing.
Bottom line is to test every change, try to be consistent throughout is beneficial, IMO but not known until you test. I had to add grip weight when I started to us DriTac LT grips and they were 10g less. Also the new Tailormade heads are 10g less and is problematic when using a previous shaft that was fitted to the older heavier head.
I agree 100% on your points about swing weighting for irons and woods etc. But for putters, this is a much more subjective issue, and I can personally say that if i switch putter grips and go for a heavier one, i always find getting back to the original swing weight is what seems to work best for me. YMMV
Can you make a video proving if a wrist watch such as a heavy Apple Watch Ultra would change the swinging weight of a club. I watch your channel all the time. Please let me know if you would consider making a video on this or just have an answer.
Great point on #2. Even pro fitters mess this up all the time. The grip ends up "tricking" the weight scale, and just countering that with more head weight creates sledgehammers.
Explain this "trick" that's being played on the scale. (To even offer up an answer will demonstrate a misunderstanding of what "swing weight is) But go ahead.
Honestly, it doesn’t matter how heavy the shaft is for me. Personally, I find when you add swing weight specially you had more towards the hill. If I’m a straight shot, I can get it drawn naturally very easily and I never worry about a fade. So it’s not just about changing the weight because you want to have your club it’s also the fact if you place it a certain place it can make a fade or draw if you have a good swing not talking about people that have a slice it’s gonna fix their slice because that is proper rotation that will fix that not moving
Does anyone really make a truly 'matched' set of clubs these days? Dead weight vs swing weight, counter balancing, adding weight to heads, jamming lead down shafts? Why exactly are clube so expensive and are we really getting our money's worth? Maybe we should go back to the old days and just pick out clubs one at a time and match that club to the specific task we want it to do???
I have had this issue with driver shafts even ending up at C5! So the project had to be scrapped. Grips I now weigh individually they can range from 70 gram to 24 gram, and that does not include tapping up for larger grips too. I try to keep graphite irons near D0 , drivers near DO , FW woods C8- D2 ( these are tough to get accurate).Irons target is D2 but depends on the person too, junior and seniors go for C7-D0. Male adult mid 20's D2-3 no issues.
how do you adjust swing weight in irons with new graphite shafts where the max tip weight is 10 grams and you need more weight to match to other irons? thanks
Swing weight is about "blue printing". I've only used it to match irons in a set. Our clients, mostly pros, liked to see their Swing Weights match. It generally meant I'd cut them correctly, a good thing. I've also worked on putters for clients that weigh around 1 kilo, the heaviest being 1200g... these were officially labelled "Heavy Putters" and were just weird. 😁🤪👍
So if my iron shafts are +1.25" should i try to stick with a lighter shaft like a 105s or 105x? Currently in a +1.25" kbs $ taper 130 with jumbomax small ultralight grips and its reeking havoc on my body. So im trying to decide if i should switch to dif shafts. standard length id play stiff. Should i stay with x flex because im +1.25" Please help!
It's all feel so I don't want to make guesses. I do think moving into 105g or similar will be a good option. Stiff vs X, honestly will be less important. Understand that for most people the stiffer shaft will stay open more so if you fade the ball, might be problem. Opposite true if you draw.
Question on this though - I recently build some new wedges. I used my old shafts cut to proper length. I found my swing weights for my 58/54 to be d7/8. When I built the 50 degree it came out at D2...seems logical feel wise to add 12 grams to the head to get it to that d7/d8 range...but are you saying it may not be worth it?
Your 50 degree, or gap wedge, should probably fall more in line swing weight wise with your regular pitching wedge..It is basically a more lofted pitching wedge, plus maybe a degree or 2 of bounce..
I had to go with WINN LITE Oversize grips (33 grams each) in my T100s's to get to D1 since they are 1/2 inch short. With my TM MG3 54 deg. wedge i had to go with midsize WINN LITE (23 gr.) to keep the Swingweight at D4, if I used an Oversize it wouldv'e been about D2 which for me is too "light" feeling for a Sandwedge
@@legend9018 I’ve used GolfPride for about 25 years until last 2-3 years until I tried WINN. I have the DRI-TAC LT midsize non taper in my driver and 3 wood. Love them.
So what is your solution for P7Mc irons that are at D5 or more?? How do you lessen the swing weight ? Shafts are true temper 95 regular with golf pride z grip 360 52 grams.
I think A.J. would agree, but if those are factory shafts, standard length, and your swingweight scale is accurate, then that’s a quality control issue. But if they’ve been reshafted, then there’s a couple of things that could’ve happened. There could’ve been too much weight added, probably through the use of tip weights, or possibly the original factory shafts were graphite, say 75 gram shafts..Remember, the lighter the shaft, the heavier the head..
And I’ll add this also. Years ago when graphite iron shafts were all the rage, and a 110 gram steel iron shaft was considered lightweight, manufactures made two specific head weights, heavy for graphite, lighter for steel shafts. With the advent of super lightweight steel iron shafts, that head weight may overlap to include 95 gram steel shafts. Just a thought..
AJ, I have a question, I’m a senior golfer and have switched to graphite shafted irons. (In theory) the most efficient use of my slower swing, would be an iron with a slightly lower total static weight with a very lite shaft, a heavier head & grip. I.e. 60g shaft (down from 85g) and add 12g to the head & 12g to the grip. Total mass is close and more mass at the head should yield greater distance??
Great video AJ, I always wanted to see someone test 2 clubs that had identical static weights but 2 very different swing weights to see if there was any difference in performance, ball striking consistency or feel. I wonder what your thoughts are on this. I also had a friend of mine get a very expensive set of custom irons built for him that were all supposed to be D2 but we’re wildly different. Everything from C8 to D6
Going to depend on the golfer. Some golfers like heavy head feel and some like lighter. Some add counter weights to the grip end of everything b/c they like that feel. Got a video planned on this topic to see if we notice any better results.
I have a question Mr Phillips: Do you understand that you can have two clubs ...same head ...same grip ...& even weigh the same (static weight) ...and these two clubs can have vastly different swing weights? This "difference" can also arise between a 6 iron & 7 iron. You can just ..."go play" ..if you like ...but I promise you this one thing ...you'll do so ...POORLY! Do you think ...for one minute ...that professionals play with iron sets that bounce up & down ...to & fro ...on a swing weight scale? Not a chance.
@@randycooper3940 A half a swing weight here or there will make no difference to 99% of golfers and thats all the difference is likely to be if all components are the same. Calm down Randy‼
The result closely mirrors cutting down the shaft and gripping at the same distance. Biggest difference will be the smaller grip diameter when choking down vs cutting.
by far the best explanation on swing weight - would love to play and test with different weights and swing weights - unfortunately I dont see any professional fitter around here
I wish I was more educated on how grip weight throws off swing weights. Last year, I transitioned to midsize grips and swapped my shafts into a slightly lighter model and my ball striking became wildly inconsistent. Any fitter worth their salt should have you fit for grips in order to put you in the correct grip-shaft-head combo for your swing. Needless to say, I’ve gone back to standard grips but added additional wraps to thicken them up to minimize any weight change.
I switched to GP Midsize + 4 ,s on irons , 2 years ago, they are great feel and stopped the arthritis , hand pains etc.. But they weigh 68 g. so had to put lead tape on all my clubs to get back to D0.(.graphite shafts tensei AV 2 reg.. )so now trying Iomic Midsize , with extra tape , to get the same feel...they only weigh 56 g.... Driver and woods-hybrids all have Jumbomax Ultralites.. awesome results..
Isn’t this exactly why moment of inertia is the correct measurement. Adding midsize grips would increase the MoI of the club slightly requiring more torque to accelerate the club.
Moving to a heavier grip will increase the MOI of the club, but really not by much. The influence of weight on MOI become much more meaningful as the increase in weight moves away from the pivot point of the swing. In other words, a 5g tip weight will have much more influence than a 5g heavier grip. Howard_Jones has some great posts on GolfWRX where he shares some measurements he took by switching grips. Standard to Midsize grip increased MOI by less than 1% in his example.
Hi AJ, I’ve read on thehackersparadise forum someone mentioning that 8 grams difference in head weight between irons would make a better basis for MOI matching. What are your thoughts on this? I’m asking this because I’m going to install graphite shafts in all my irons which are now fitted with TT XP115. I also like progression of the stiffness in the shafts going from less stiff in the lower irons to stiffer in the high lofted irons. I would install 80 gr in irons 4-5, 90gr in 6-8 and 100 gr in 9-LW. However, as I will be installing different weighted shafts, I would need to take the weight difference into account and distribute the tip weights throughout the irons so the total weight of each iron would match up with the weight each iron would have had, had I installed the same type (e.g. 90 gr shaft) in all of them. Does that make sense?
Thanks, AJ, for the explanation. It cleared up a few questions I had when I got larger grips for all of my clubs about a year ago. Again, thanks for sharing. Cheers.
Interesting video. I used to do some club making and I'm pretty obsessed with the swing weights of my clubs. You're obviously a more experienced club builder than me but I do think swing weight is important. I made one of these "mistakes" with my putter. After cutting it down an inch and adding a big Wynn grip to it, the swing weight was really low. I added a LOT of lead tape to the head and got the swing weight right, but of course it's now a pretty heavy putter. But it's been great, feels heaps better than it did before and seems to be helping my putting. Only issue is how much heavier it makes my golf bag. 🤣
My biggest take away for people is to just not assume a certain swing weight. Actually test it out, experiment with some lead tape and find what works, not just hunt for a SW number.
This video adds to my confusion. A heavier grip moved the balance point up toward the handle and lowered the swing weight. But when you put a lighter shaft with the same weight head it also moved the balance point up and lowered the swing weight. This makes no sense. Heavy head in relation to a lighter shaft should have moved the balance point down and increased the swing weight right?
This happens because the swing weight scale has its fulcrum at 14 inches which means the majority of the shaft and the shaft's weight is on the head side. When you change the shaft weight more of that change will be on that side hence the referred to SW change.
Hello. I've had sim2 max OS irons for a while that were +0.5inches. I recently made changes to them after recommendation from multiple fitters that I should be playing standard length irons. I cut the extra 0.5in off my shaft and regripped with a midsize grip. Using a swing weight calculator on line it says my 5 iron is a C4? That's seems very dramatic for the changes a made. Fulcrum: 27.625 Weight: 422.2
@EFGMC but since I was playing them +1/2 inch shouldn't they have already been +3 swings weights from the beginning. So is standard is D0 and I add a modsize it should clock in at a c8? Or do MFGs adjust the swing weight to D0 on custom clubs regardless if you add/subtract.
@@alextobolski1168 Custom stuff usually won't be SW matched to the off the rack specs because there's no way to do that in some builds. The SW always needs to be dictated by the build, not by an arbitrary number.
So if you add an inch to the length and the swing weight increases, instead of adding lead tape under the grip, I should be drilling weight away off the head??
Played and built clubs for 30+ years. For me, light weight graphite shaft irons are particularly sensitive to swing weight. C-9 or less? Feels like a whiffle ball club. Get them up to D-1 or D-2 and they feel much better. This is a particular problem with Ping irons.
So I assume there are standard different weights for different manufacturers. This means that all players should have a fitting when buying new clubs/woods.
This explains "swing weight" pretty well (even though, by the "comments", it's obvious that some folks still don't "get it") That being said, he is actually wrong about something. If a person changes their grips (to heavier ones), they then add weight to the head to get the swing weight back where it was (he said this was a "mistake"). No sir! It could very well be that this freshly gripped & lead taped club is now the PERFECT "static weight" & now this golfer is hitting it straighter & further than ever before!
@@EFGMC In his last book, Cap'n Clumaker , Tom Wishon relates that he once asked the Nike guys why they matched their irons sets in constant swingweight and not constant MOI. The Nike answer was that they indeed knew that MOI matching allowed far better level of consistency than swingweight matching, biut that the challenge of being the first major company to drop swingweight in favor of MOI matching posed too great a risk to Nike revenue. Nike found that "everything associated witth convincing golfers that MOI matching was better than swingweight would be too difficult because the letter D followed by a number was too ingrained in the minds of the golfers as the tried and true method of club matching". And that "my clubs are 2743 grams-centimeters squared" "would be far more difficult for golfers to embrace than "my clubs are D1" Really, when you just think a little about what is swingweight, i.e. a static measurement of the clubs balance, which , as you very well demonstrate, can lure the golfers into playing with senseless balanced clubs, you can but come to the conclusion that swingweight matching is fundamentaly misleading. But well , swingweigh is very nice for manufacturers and lazy clublakers as do take heads each one with 7 gram more tha the next one , cut your shafts half an inch by half an inch, take grips all of the same weight , glue and put grips, and there the miracle happens : your set is swingweight matched . But then the heft which operats when you swing the so matched set is different from club to clu of the bag. Does that really add consisteny ? Now, if your golfers really want swingweight, as they are use to it since a long time and can feel that they weight the same when at address or at the top of the backswing, you can assemble them both swigweight and MOI matched.
@@EFGMC it is not an assumption, it's real life. Just think about it : MOI is a basic physical quantity which represents the heft that resists rotational acceleration of the club around the wrist hinge of a golfer. Swingweight is an empirical approximation of the heft of a golf club that is felt by a golfer. Swingweight doesn't represent anything really physical in a golf swing. How could the same static balance for each club help the golfer ? The swingweight is what you feel when you weight the club at address or at the top of the backswing but it doesn't take into consideration the fack that the club is swung around the wrist of the golfer ! And therefore with a swingweight assembled set, you have different a force resisting to the movement from club to club. No way this could really help !🤔 And what you explain makes it clear as to how the swingweight matching can be a total fantasy. The big golf clubs brands know about that. But the process for manufacturing irons sets with same swingweight for each club is far easier than with the same MOI. Just read what Nike said to Tom Wishon about those two options in his last book "Cap'n Clubmaker." ! Now , if your golfers like swingweight matching, because they are used to their feel at address, you can propose to match their sets both to same swingweight and same MOI. I call that "Perfect Balance" and it is patented in Fance and main European countries
interesting video AJ having watched your other videos on swing weight and counter balancing im about to embark on playing around with my wedges swing weights and counter balancing them..i also literally just bought a 40 gram senior flex shaft for my driver after watching your autoflex videos..i have 2 nike covert drivers one is the tour version with 60 gram stiff shaft the other is original covert with a 50 gram stiff shaft..my new senior shaft will give me 3 interchangable shafts with both heads..and im keen to try counter balancing the 40 gram senior flex with 10 and 20 gram weights and testing them in my simulator..have you any additional advice on my planned testing and when it comes to my wedges is there a happy medium you've found when adding weight to a wedge be it head or counter balanced?
Hi AJ. I talked to you several months ago about putting lady's shafts in my Wilson staff blades with the same length to get more pop at the bottom to the ball and adding midsize grips. I have added lead tape and found I hit the ball more solid, higher and straight. But I only hit my 28 degree 5 iron a 130 yards. I was expecting my men's head to be heavier than woman's heads which would increase swing weight. From your example I would be going the wrong direction and reduce swing weight with the lighter shaft? I play Wilson staff blades and not interested in graphite in the irons. Also not sure how much head droop I would get with the lighter steel shaft needing to bend more upright. Sorry for the long winded comment! I hope you can help me understand better before I go and do something crazy. Thanks, Jeff
You have to decide whether swing weight is a measuremnt or not. If you decide that getting a D8 driver back to D2 with some weight in the grip isnt going to work then you have kinda made swing weights and counterbalancing pointless metric. If fitting how often does the person like the swing weight corrected back with grip weight? more often than not or less often?
I fitted clubs for pros and club golfers with demo clubs and then frequencied every club I built to the demo club selected. I did this for 30 years and we didn't have trackman. Excellent video. t
I really like watching your videos, you have a very very good idea of what you are doing. Myself I should be locked up as my idea of swing weight is so far out of the box thinking it’s insane. ( weighting head and shaft ) very heavy golf clubs. I work on what works for me, it’s all that matters.
very good info AJ, I didn't follow your advice on the Hammer, go check it out. I even referenced you in it, LOL You told me not to, but I don't listen. I made a 6 degree lie angle adjustment with the rubber hammer, turns out that is how Ping adjust them too!
Yes. Just measure total weight and length from butt end to balance point and enter those numbers in the swing weight app. This app will give you a good idea of what the swing weight of your golf club is.
Thanks AJ, I have some Wishing EQi single lenght irons that I pulled apart due to I did not like the shaft brand. When I weigh then with 110. Shafts still coming out with E,6 SWING WEIGHT. I was thinking about hevier shaft and grip. Hopefully not getting too much static weight any ideas? PS LOVE TO TINKER. LOVE YOUR VIDS
changed my grips to midsize last year from fitted irons with standard. 15 gram difference. i played well this year but had a random shank or two. my mishits were closer to the heel when normally i would miss on toe. going back to standard 50 gram grips with a few extra wraps
Swing weight seems a thing that US Americans seem to get paranoid about. In UK or Europe its not such an issue, Static weight and feel are more important
"Feel" and "Swing weight" seem to be relatively interchangeable. It's largely about the relationship of the head weight to the rest of the club, which directly impacts the feel of the club. But Americans are obsessed with quantifying and measuring these things (and yes, I'm American). I had never even heard of the term "swing weight" until a few months ago. But I've noticed how different clubs had very different feels, and the swing weight calculations explain a lot of it.
@@AllTradesGeorge I was taught in the Sam Snead/Patty Berg school of thought where the "swing is the thing". Both said that most golfers shouldn't bother worrying about swingweights as long as they can feel the clubhead at all times. Most people nowadays seem to be obsessed with keeping the club too light for the added swing speed, yet they are flummoxed at the lack of control and sporadic shot patterns (despite the added distance).
@@joshuawhittemore1283 most of the swing weight videos I've seen basically say that the best swing weight for you is whatever gives you the best awareness of where the club head is, which is why there's no such thing as a standardized "this club should have this swing weight" guide. It's very much an individual thing, the advantage to having it quantified is that it becomes much easier to replicate the same feel if you change clubs, or shafts, or grips. But the concept is still directly connected to feel.
I personally try and do all my swing weighting using a hybrid type idea where the longest irons are a point lighter than the mid irons, and the 9 and PW can get a little heavier. That seems to work best for the greatest number of golfers and also allows for a more seamless transition from irons into woods/hybrid/utility clubs on the long end and wedges on the short end.
You made some valid points but no solutions AJ. I was going to mention an MOI based club set build(which I did for each club using the SW machine), your idea of using 3 step changes in a club set's SW sounds good also. I don't recall the formula I used but it was based on Dave Tuttleman's work on this.
@@cfree5119 They should be fine. You can also cut the extension insert side down if you are only needing a very short extension. You won't need a 2 inch stem for a 1/4 or 1/2 inch extension. This will remove more weight and make the final club feel more like a single 1 piece shaft.
Ciao AJ, it's one year since a I started golf with Basic start clubs golf set by Decathlon ,Inesis series 100 Now i got changed grips from standard to midsize thus increasing clubs weight and balance feeling.Sw 56° is better for me thus,increasing distance and accuracy With the Pw , 46° I added 4g lead tape at the back thus improving distance .With Iron 9 , 39 °,it 's ok without lead tape.The only iron I'm still in trouble is iron 7 30 °, Iwill add 3g lead at the back of club head at the middle position as per your video Otherwise isit feasible to place the lead in back ,just down inside the cavity ? Ciao and again geat videos Adriano -Rome
16:56 on October 18, 1023. Hi AJ. A little late to the party but I have a question. I have a Driver with a swing weight of C-8. I can't feel the head very well. I have added 10 grams of lead tape back and center on the head. If I am correct the swing weight should be approximately D-3. I'm heading to the range tomorrow to test. Do you think I'm headed in the right direction? I believe I have a moderate to quick transition.
The math is correct, and it should help if you feel like the head is getting lost in your swing. That said, the only way to find the right amount of weight is to try it and see how your distance and dispersion are. Might need to add or take away a little in order to fine tune it.
Another awesome video, thanks AJ! Question for you...I swing weighted my clubs and they get progressively heavier from PW-4i. Everything I'm reading should have them going the other way. Is this a bad thing? PW: D4 9: D5 8: D5 7: D6 6: D7 5: D8 4: D8 Heads: Taylormade P790Ti Shafts: Steel Project X Flighted 5.5 Grips: Golf Pride MCC plus 4
Can adding 5 grams in grip weight change my swing weight in my irons significantly? Also an extra wrap equaling (2) total. Playing p770 with s300 dynamic gold. Shows swing weight stock d1. Feels like I am losing the head a tad now after grip change.
I recently went through a fitting at Club Champion. I played a Nippon Pro 850 GH shaft in regular flex. This shaft felt stiff to me and I lost distance with it. So the reason for the fitting. They put me in an Accura Isi 50 gram graphite shaft. My flight is higher but I did not get anymore distance. The shaft feels too light playing with it and I can't feel anything. So can you get too light of a shaft?
Yes, I would say these days more people are incorrectly fit into too light more often than too heavy. Unless your speed is very slow, 50g is just too light for most golfers.
Question If you add 40 grams to driver grip . It’s bad …. I thought I saw one of your video that said that it makes your swing speed and ball speed faster. I think that was some jack Nicholas did or some pro. Can you explain what the difference is ????
The counterbalancing is not done to reach a certain swing weight, it's all about the counterbalance. What I refer to here is trying to reach a random SW number simply for the sake of hitting that number, not because you've actually tested that SW with this configuration.
So I just swapped my kbs tour lites (115 g)x flex built to a d2 to dynamic gold x100 (130g) . Doing a pre epoxy swing weight calc and the new shafts plus club heads and grips are coming in at a d7 with no tip weights. Any suggestions on how to get that closer to a d2-3? Or Do I just ride it out to d7
The heavier shaft will add a couple points and the KBS are more butt heavy so the heads were weighted to get to D2. Only options are go back to lighter shafts, shorten the length, or remove some head weight.
AJ, your videos are outstanding, we all appreciate them. Quick question on adding butt weights to counter balance a shaft. I have Ping iBlade's with a DG S300 (124g) shaft (Ping shipped as: +1" and D8, Ping said since it was a heavy shaft and 1" extended there was no way they could get to the published D2 swing weight since Ping doesn't use counter balance weights. I removed 1" from end of shafts, this brough the factory configuration back to D1/D2 range). I'm going to replace the shaft with a TT AMT Black Stiff (3 iron 95g to PW 116G) or TT DG MID 100 Stiff (105g). Question is, when I add weight back into the shaft to get it to it target (3I @ 408g to PW @ 450g) I'll need to add a combination of tip and butt weights to do so. True Temper said that adding counter or butt weights to their shafts degrade performance. On average I'll need to add a counter of 6g to 10g to offset the 12g of tip weight I need to achieve my D2 swing weight and overall club weight of 430g (7 iron). My GW is 464g, that is why I'd like the PW at 450. What are your thoughts on using counter balance weights to achieve club weight and swing weigh targets? Does the use of counter weights degrade the performance of the shaft? Thank you, Jack
Never heard of counter weights causing issues with shaft integrity but I guess it could depending on the style of weight you use. I am not a fan of counterbalancing for swing weight's sake. However if you are trying to hit certain static weight numbers and progression through the set, then it can be a good option assuming you handle swinging the extra weight.
I also have srixon ZX7 mk2, standard length. Still feel heavy. How could I decrease stock D3 to D1? Any way without redoing grips? Seems a waste to toss freshly installed tour velvets.
Love your videos. I've putted around my clubs changing shafts, grips, and used lead tape for years. I bought a small air compressor (1 gal) and was happy putting grips on. All of a sudden, the grips go on OK but I have trouble getting the last inch on the shaft. I have the AC set at 85lbs. Any ideas?
I often need to reset and do a final blast of air with a harder push on the butt end for this exact reason. I focus my force on the very butt end at this point while making sure I don't have any twisting up at the tip.
This makes a lot of sense. I’ve been gripping my driver down about 3/4 inch and seem to get better strike with no change to swing speed. I’ve been thinking of cutting it down. Would I just be better off choking up since it seems like you are saying there is no meaningful difference?
The difference between choking up and cutting the shaft are; Very very very slight difference in SW. (Less than a point) Very very very slight difference in static weight (the weight of an inch of graphite shaft = couple grams Biggest difference is grip will feel bigger if you cut it down because you will be gripping closer to butt end.
Probably yes if you are wanting the exact same feel. However if you are changing sizes or shapes then it's no longer apples to apples so not sure it matters so much.
Thanks AJ for the great videos. I am just coming down this rabbit hole of working with golf clubs. I am wanting to start doing my own reshafting and regripping and moving upward from there. There is definitely a lot more to this than I originally thought. I am a very high handicapper with low swing speed (older slightly banged up vet). At this point do I even need to worry about swing weight or should I just swap my iron/wedge shafts out to graphite and move on from there? Other than your videos, do have any recommendations for books in regards to club building and repairing? Thank you
I would start with the reshafting and then look at changing swing weight to find the right feel. Maybe start with one club that you can add lead tape and find the right SW feel. Once you know that you can build the rest of the set around that. I honestly don't know of any books out there on the topic. I am sure there are some but I think you are better off with internet research on different golf forums and sites. Two of the best resources are the clubmakers forum on GolfWRX.com and the website of Dave Tutelman. Incredible amount of knowledge between the 2.
I'm confused now, if a swing weight on an old club feels right and i change my clubs with a lighter shaft (steel to Graphite) and the Head now feels like a lump on the end of the shaft which now feels unbalanced would i not be better to re balance (adjust swing weight) and bring it back to the old one.
You might. The point is not to just assume that the previous SW is going to be correct with the new club. That is why we use lead tape to experiment and find the best feeling weight.
It's weird...I just weighted my clubs and I get a big jump between PW and 50 deg. 9i=452.6g, PW=460.7g, 50=490.1g, 54=473.3g, 58=475.7g. All my wedges (Mizuno T22) have DG S400 shaft and irons (Mizuno Pro 223) have PX LZ 6.0 120g.
I built this old ping copy into a chipper, Ping makes the Chip R at E6, not sure I have that much lead it came out C6 with a Ultralight Jumbo max Grip, but lead tape is not going to hurt a 30 something year old copy, LOL If I get it there and like it, have you ever used epoxy over the lead to smooth and lock it in? Thanks Spike
@@EFGMC I figure a nice black epoxy over the lead would hide it and replicate the Ping even more. I will be testing at E6 a lot, before I lock it in, seems heavy, but the experiment must continue.
Hi AJ, I enjoy your interesting video topics about the DIY things a curious golfer can get into. I have a question though: can that doodad that will adjust the loft of a driver head be added to a non adjustable driver head?
I have irons that are +.75" and I am 6'3" tall. The swing weight is D9 which is higher than standard and they do feel heavy to me. I'd like to bring the swing weight down. What are my options? I would be open to shortening them .25"
Shortening 1/4 inch will knock off a little over 1 SWP. Lighter shaft can can also drop a little more weight. Last option is removing some head weight. In most cases this is the most difficult as it entails drilling out material to get the club lighter. Will need a drill press for this option.
Quick question about lead tape - if I add lead tape to the inside of the club head (closer to the shaft on the head) will it be more draw or fade bias?
With a wood, heel weight will move the CG towards the heel and promote more draw spin from gear effect. With irons its really hard to change ball flight with lead tape, unless you you a whole lot!
Im trying to figure out how to keep my midsize mcc align grips (62g vs stock 46.5g) without chaging the stock swing weight. I also dont want to add any lead tape... whats the solution for this? Lighter shaft? Currently playing jpx 923 forged, modus 3 115 x stiff (119 grams). Do I go modus 3 105 x stiff (112g)? Please help, thanks!
You would need to go heavier in the shafts to increase the swing weight. MCCs are about 62g so they change the SW 3 points. That means you need to add close to 30g of shaft weight in order to get SW back up. Adding head weight is far more efficient as you only need 6g of head weight.
I have changed from MCC Plus 4 midsize to Super stroke- cross comforts -midsize because the GP midsize align plus 4 ,s are so Heavy.. much lighter grips the Cross comforts and built the tapes up to 3 to feel like the MCC grips...plus they don't rip up your hands and glove as much.. ! Got my swing weight back to D0 on the irons without adding loads of lead tape..
HI Question ? i wanna get a SIM 2 MAX driver instead of the stealth 2 cause in Canada the price difference is 400.00 Canadian..i am buying the driver at golf town and i would like the driver shaft to be 44 1/2 inches down from 45.75 so they have to cut 1.25 inches off...plus i want a golf pride MCC plus 4 midsize grip....would this work and balance out at all ? and should the 1.25 inches come off from the butt end or the tip of the ventus blue stock shaft ? need your advice...thx.....cheers from Canada
I might recommend buying at stock length and blowing on a mid size grip with air. Take that club to the range and try choking up different amounts to get a "feel" for both the length and weight of it. Then you can remove the grip and cut the shaft to whatever length you want knowing what it will play like. If you loose head feel with it shorter, you can buy heavier weights or get out the lead tape. Always like to test a length/weight change in a temporary setting before making it permanent.
@@EFGMC i currently have a PXG GEN 5 cut down to 44 1/2 inches and it work great..i find the middle more consistantly OR should i just choke down an inch on the club and play with it that way....i have now way of testing it first due to my location
@@GOLFADDICT65 It's easy to cut down the shaft if it's too long after the fact. Just need a hacksaw. Much harder to add length if you decide you want to go longer later.
I have 95 gram shafts and 40 gram grips.... .my swing weight is D-7! Tom Weisskopf always added weight to the head! reason>> he said don't you want the weight in the head of the hammer or in the handle! ...........YOU call these things mistakes>>NOT TRUE!!
Never said don't add weight. Said don't assume! Did say don't add weight to the grip end of a heavy club just to make it SW lighter which is essentially what you are saying.
Hi, Great video. Would you have any views or consider a video on matching graphite shafts in wedges (weight/swing weight, etc) with those in an iron set. In my case I have Recoil 95's in JPX forged iron set and am struggling to get/build 50/54/58 wedges with the same shaft so as to maintain feel. I bought Vokeys with Recoil 95s but their head weight was so heavy... fine for a full shot but a disaster for half/touch shots (in my opinion).
Might need to find some lighter wedge heads if you have tried the same Recoil and not liked the result. You could put lighter shafts in, but I don't ever recommend going that direction in weight. Then again everyone is different so maybe the 80g Recoil might give you the "feel" you are looking for. Would test on 1 club first obviously if you go that way.
Question. I added weight to all my irons to get them around D3. That weight swings well and I like the results ball striking wise. My 9i however sits at D7, how can I bring this back to D3 or close without adding a ton of weight to the club? Appreciate it.
@@safranic Need a drill press and a clamp to be able to hold the head and drill down into the hosel making a hole with a smaller diameter than .350 so the shaft can't slip into it. Some people will try and drill out the back of a head, but will not be an option with those Titleist heads I think.
Good video. I’ve been testing many players distance irons. In general they all seem to be hollow body heads with stock 105-115 gram shafts. Maybe they are weighting the heads more in general and combining it with lighter shafts for speed ?
Thanks for the video, very interesting. What would be the best solution then for clubs that need to be elongated?, I have to add 1,5" and swing weight goes from D3 to E0. My idea was a lighter grip and some weight at the butt but with the weight of the extension and the balancing weight I will for sure make the clubs 15-20gr heavier and probably still D5-D6. I would like to avoid buying new lighter shafts, both for price reasons and also not knowing how they would fit me (launch, spin, etc.). Thanks in advance
Only way to do it and not add weight to lower SW is either with lighter shafts or by removing mass from the heads. Otherwise you are just adding more weight to a already heavy club.
@@EFGMC thanks, seems like the good choice in my case then. I want to keep my shafts. Great channel AJ!, I’ve learned a bunch and allowed me to customise my clubs and have fun in the process!
Does swing weight have anything to do with where you strike the face of the club? What I mean is, if your strike pattern is consistently on the heel of the face, could you change the strike on the iron to the toe by adding or subtracting swing weight? I hope this makes sense.
It could but only if the changes in swing weight correlate to a change in the physical delivery of the club for the golfer in question. There is no hard rule that increasing swing weight does X or decreasing swing weight does Y. For some, changing the swing weight may result in no impact to their swing. For others, it could mean better feel which would allow them to maintain better tempo/timing the results of which could be improved strike. Since swing weight is all about feel, changes will ultimately impact golfers differently.
It could but you could also get results from other changes like shaft weight, length, and of course set up and technique. Usually a swing weight change will be more about improving consistency of strike not necessarily moving strike location.
Hi AJ, I am 6'4" and going to put in a +1 shaft extensions for my irons and wedges this winter. I am curious how I should go about adding this and trying to figure out my club weight. Any advance on navigating this process?
Extensions are really easy. You can either cut them to length before or after you epoxy them in. Just buy some appropriate diameter extensions and make sure you clean out the shaft interior before epoxying.
If you get fitted by this guy you know you’re getting top tier stuff. He actually cares about the individual not just a quick buck like other fitters do.
Wow this is a great explanation of swing weighting. I have asked so many club makers and they either don't know or don't want to tell you the secret. Thanks so much this information is priceless.
So the lighter shaft has a lighter swing weight? I would have thought the head is now relatively heavier compared to the shaft so it will tip more to the head resulting in a higher swingweight...
#1 video to use if you want to "GUESS" wtf is wrong with a club or swing. I mean he basically told you a swing weight scale is pointless, but he has one sitting right next to him LOL. You cant make this up lol. I bought a digital swing scale this year, best investment ever... when you buy off the rack. You would be greatly surprised at WTF you actually bought. If you buy used clubs this is a MUST have as well. Without it (but adding lead tape or taking it off) you are basically guessing at what you are doing.
Bottom line is to test every change, try to be consistent throughout is beneficial, IMO but not known until you test. I had to add grip weight when I started to us DriTac LT grips and they were 10g less. Also the new Tailormade heads are 10g less and is problematic when using a previous shaft that was fitted to the older heavier head.
I agree 100% on your points about swing weighting for irons and woods etc. But for putters, this is a much more subjective issue, and I can personally say that if i switch putter grips and go for a heavier one, i always find getting back to the original swing weight is what seems to work best for me.
YMMV
Can you make a video proving if a wrist watch such as a heavy Apple Watch Ultra would change the swinging weight of a club. I watch your channel all the time. Please let me know if you would consider making a video on this or just have an answer.
Great point on #2. Even pro fitters mess this up all the time. The grip ends up "tricking" the weight scale, and just countering that with more head weight creates sledgehammers.
Explain this "trick" that's being played on the scale. (To even offer up an answer will demonstrate a misunderstanding of what "swing weight is) But go ahead.
Honestly, it doesn’t matter how heavy the shaft is for me. Personally, I find when you add swing weight specially you had more towards the hill. If I’m a straight shot, I can get it drawn naturally very easily and I never worry about a fade. So it’s not just about changing the weight because you want to have your club it’s also the fact if you place it a certain place it can make a fade or draw if you have a good swing not talking about people that have a slice it’s gonna fix their slice because that is proper rotation that will fix that not moving
Thanks, you just answered my question that's been bugging me for a while
Does anyone really make a truly 'matched' set of clubs these days? Dead weight vs swing weight, counter balancing, adding weight to heads, jamming lead down shafts? Why exactly are clube so expensive and are we really getting our money's worth? Maybe we should go back to the old days and just pick out clubs one at a time and match that club to the specific task we want it to do???
I have had this issue with driver shafts even ending up at C5! So the project had to be scrapped. Grips I now weigh individually they can range from 70 gram to 24 gram, and that does not include tapping up for larger grips too. I try to keep graphite irons near D0 , drivers near DO , FW woods C8- D2 ( these are tough to get accurate).Irons target is D2 but depends on the person too, junior and seniors go for C7-D0. Male adult mid 20's D2-3 no issues.
Not to mention the frequency when adding weight to the head. Your stiff becomes a regular flex. So tipping is required
Been saying this forever
Thanks AJ
how do you adjust swing weight in irons with new graphite shafts where the max tip weight is 10 grams and you need more weight to match to other irons? thanks
Swing weight is about "blue printing". I've only used it to match irons in a set. Our clients, mostly pros, liked to see their Swing Weights match. It generally meant I'd cut them correctly, a good thing.
I've also worked on putters for clients that weigh around 1 kilo, the heaviest being 1200g... these were officially labelled "Heavy Putters" and were just weird. 😁🤪👍
I had a heavy putter years ago. Great from short distance, different story from farther away.
@@EFGMC have you tried MOI Matching? We had the Whishon MOI Scale.
So if my iron shafts are +1.25" should i try to stick with a lighter shaft like a 105s or 105x? Currently in a +1.25" kbs $ taper 130 with jumbomax small ultralight grips and its reeking havoc on my body. So im trying to decide if i should switch to dif shafts. standard length id play stiff. Should i stay with x flex because im +1.25"
Please help!
It's all feel so I don't want to make guesses. I do think moving into 105g or similar will be a good option. Stiff vs X, honestly will be less important. Understand that for most people the stiffer shaft will stay open more so if you fade the ball, might be problem. Opposite true if you draw.
Question on this though - I recently build some new wedges. I used my old shafts cut to proper length. I found my swing weights for my 58/54 to be d7/8. When I built the 50 degree it came out at D2...seems logical feel wise to add 12 grams to the head to get it to that d7/d8 range...but are you saying it may not be worth it?
Your 50 degree, or gap wedge, should probably fall more in line swing weight wise with your regular pitching wedge..It is basically a more lofted pitching wedge, plus maybe a degree or 2 of bounce..
Adam, thx for this info.... Great inside ...
I had to go with WINN LITE Oversize grips (33 grams each) in my T100s's to get to D1 since they are 1/2 inch short. With my TM MG3 54 deg. wedge i had to go with midsize WINN LITE (23 gr.) to keep the Swingweight at D4, if I used an Oversize it wouldv'e been about D2 which for me is too "light" feeling for a Sandwedge
The Winn grips have really made keeping swing weight more consistent much easier despite changing sizes
@@legend9018 I’ve used GolfPride for about 25 years until last 2-3 years until I tried WINN. I have the DRI-TAC LT midsize non taper in my driver and 3 wood. Love them.
So what is your solution for P7Mc irons that are at D5 or more?? How do you lessen the swing weight ? Shafts are true temper 95 regular with golf pride z grip 360 52 grams.
I think A.J. would agree, but if those are factory shafts, standard length, and your swingweight scale is accurate, then that’s a quality control issue. But if they’ve been reshafted, then there’s a couple of things that could’ve happened. There could’ve been too much weight added, probably through the use of tip weights, or possibly the original factory shafts were graphite, say 75 gram shafts..Remember, the lighter the shaft, the heavier the head..
And I’ll add this also. Years ago when graphite iron shafts were all the rage, and a 110 gram steel iron shaft was considered lightweight, manufactures made two specific head weights, heavy for graphite, lighter for steel shafts. With the advent of super lightweight steel iron shafts, that head weight may overlap to include 95 gram steel shafts. Just a thought..
AJ, I have a question, I’m a senior golfer and have switched to graphite shafted irons. (In theory) the most efficient use of my slower swing, would be an iron with a slightly lower total static weight with a very lite shaft, a heavier head & grip. I.e. 60g shaft (down from 85g) and add 12g to the head & 12g to the grip. Total mass is close and more mass at the head should yield greater distance??
More mass in the head should yield more distance assuming this new balance allows for consistent ball striking.
Great video AJ, I always wanted to see someone test 2 clubs that had identical static weights but 2 very different swing weights to see if there was any difference in performance, ball striking consistency or feel. I wonder what your thoughts are on this. I also had a friend of mine get a very expensive set of custom irons built for him that were all supposed to be D2 but we’re wildly different. Everything from C8 to D6
Going to depend on the golfer. Some golfers like heavy head feel and some like lighter. Some add counter weights to the grip end of everything b/c they like that feel. Got a video planned on this topic to see if we notice any better results.
Just dont worry about ist and play golf.
I have a question Mr Phillips: Do you understand that you can have two clubs ...same head ...same grip ...& even weigh the same (static weight) ...and these two clubs can have vastly different swing weights? This "difference" can also arise between a 6 iron & 7 iron. You can just ..."go play" ..if you like ...but I promise you this one thing ...you'll do so ...POORLY! Do you think ...for one minute ...that professionals play with iron sets that bounce up & down ...to & fro ...on a swing weight scale? Not a chance.
@@randycooper3940 A half a swing weight here or there will make no difference to 99% of golfers and thats all the difference is likely to be if all components are the same. Calm down Randy‼
I add lead tape to my wedges .. I get a lighter grip, more control and finese
Just asking a question here... if you choke down on your golf club-- this changes swingweight? Significantly or suttle?
The result closely mirrors cutting down the shaft and gripping at the same distance. Biggest difference will be the smaller grip diameter when choking down vs cutting.
I.e. swing weight is not meaningful
by far the best explanation on swing weight - would love to play and test with different weights and swing weights - unfortunately I dont see any professional fitter around here
Damn that was good
SCIENCE!
I wish I was more educated on how grip weight throws off swing weights. Last year, I transitioned to midsize grips and swapped my shafts into a slightly lighter model and my ball striking became wildly inconsistent. Any fitter worth their salt should have you fit for grips in order to put you in the correct grip-shaft-head combo for your swing. Needless to say, I’ve gone back to standard grips but added additional wraps to thicken them up to minimize any weight change.
You can find a few different oversized grip options that weigh out at standard size 50g weight. Winn and JumboMax I would check out.
I switched to GP Midsize + 4 ,s on irons , 2 years ago, they are great feel and stopped the arthritis , hand pains etc..
But they weigh 68 g. so had to put lead tape on all my clubs to get back to D0.(.graphite shafts tensei AV 2 reg.. )so now trying Iomic Midsize , with extra tape , to get the same feel...they only weigh 56 g....
Driver and woods-hybrids all have Jumbomax Ultralites.. awesome results..
The tape adds weight so its probably just between your ears..
Isn’t this exactly why moment of inertia is the correct measurement. Adding midsize grips would increase the MoI of the club slightly requiring more torque to accelerate the club.
Moving to a heavier grip will increase the MOI of the club, but really not by much. The influence of weight on MOI become much more meaningful as the increase in weight moves away from the pivot point of the swing. In other words, a 5g tip weight will have much more influence than a 5g heavier grip. Howard_Jones has some great posts on GolfWRX where he shares some measurements he took by switching grips. Standard to Midsize grip increased MOI by less than 1% in his example.
Thanks for educating us AJ, great vid!!!
Hi AJ, I’ve read on thehackersparadise forum someone mentioning that 8 grams difference in head weight between irons would make a better basis for MOI matching. What are your thoughts on this? I’m asking this because I’m going to install graphite shafts in all my irons which are now fitted with TT XP115. I also like progression of the stiffness in the shafts going from less stiff in the lower irons to stiffer in the high lofted irons. I would install 80 gr in irons 4-5, 90gr in 6-8 and 100 gr in 9-LW. However, as I will be installing different weighted shafts, I would need to take the weight difference into account and distribute the tip weights throughout the irons so the total weight of each iron would match up with the weight each iron would have had, had I installed the same type (e.g. 90 gr shaft) in all of them. Does that make sense?
8g head difference would be a good starting point. You can also change your length progression to 3/8 and accomplish similar results.
@@EFGMC thanks for your feedback. Getting more knowledgeable by watching your videos. Best regards from 🇧🇪
What about going lighter shaft in irons? I have 130 now and think I should try the 105
Plenty of people will see better results going to a lighter shaft. 130 is pretty heavy for most recreational golfers.
Thanks, AJ, for the explanation. It cleared up a few questions I had when I got larger grips for all of my clubs about a year ago. Again, thanks for sharing. Cheers.
Interesting video. I used to do some club making and I'm pretty obsessed with the swing weights of my clubs. You're obviously a more experienced club builder than me but I do think swing weight is important. I made one of these "mistakes" with my putter. After cutting it down an inch and adding a big Wynn grip to it, the swing weight was really low. I added a LOT of lead tape to the head and got the swing weight right, but of course it's now a pretty heavy putter. But it's been great, feels heaps better than it did before and seems to be helping my putting. Only issue is how much heavier it makes my golf bag. 🤣
My biggest take away for people is to just not assume a certain swing weight. Actually test it out, experiment with some lead tape and find what works, not just hunt for a SW number.
What does all this mean? What should the club be?
AJ, I play my irons at c9 with oversized grips, but my diy chipper is E6 with Jumbomax. I haven’t figured out driver yet?
This video adds to my confusion. A heavier grip moved the balance point up toward the handle and lowered the swing weight. But when you put a lighter shaft with the same weight head it also moved the balance point up and lowered the swing weight. This makes no sense. Heavy head in relation to a lighter shaft should have moved the balance point down and increased the swing weight right?
This happens because the swing weight scale has its fulcrum at 14 inches which means the majority of the shaft and the shaft's weight is on the head side. When you change the shaft weight more of that change will be on that side hence the referred to SW change.
Makes sense thanks!
I have made those mistakes before.
Hello. I've had sim2 max OS irons for a while that were +0.5inches. I recently made changes to them after recommendation from multiple fitters that I should be playing standard length irons. I cut the extra 0.5in off my shaft and regripped with a midsize grip. Using a swing weight calculator on line it says my 5 iron is a C4? That's seems very dramatic for the changes a made.
Fulcrum: 27.625
Weight: 422.2
1/2 inch will drop SW 3pts and midsize grip will also drop it another 2 give or take.
@EFGMC but since I was playing them +1/2 inch shouldn't they have already been +3 swings weights from the beginning. So is standard is D0 and I add a modsize it should clock in at a c8? Or do MFGs adjust the swing weight to D0 on custom clubs regardless if you add/subtract.
@@alextobolski1168 Custom stuff usually won't be SW matched to the off the rack specs because there's no way to do that in some builds. The SW always needs to be dictated by the build, not by an arbitrary number.
So if you add an inch to the length and the swing weight increases, instead of adding lead tape under the grip, I should be drilling weight away off the head??
Only if it feels too heavy when you try it.
Played and built clubs for 30+ years. For me, light weight graphite shaft irons are particularly sensitive to swing weight. C-9 or less? Feels like a whiffle ball club. Get them up to D-1 or D-2 and they feel much better. This is a particular problem with Ping irons.
I’ve noticed players who use a heavier stiffer shaft prefer a heavier swing weight. Like 5 or a 4.
Balanced clubs make a world of difference.
So I assume there are standard different weights for different manufacturers. This means that all players should have a fitting when buying new clubs/woods.
This explains "swing weight" pretty well (even though, by the "comments", it's obvious that some folks still don't "get it") That being said, he is actually wrong about something. If a person changes their grips (to heavier ones), they then add weight to the head to get the swing weight back where it was (he said this was a "mistake"). No sir! It could very well be that this freshly gripped & lead taped club is now the PERFECT "static weight" & now this golfer is hitting it straighter & further than ever before!
Swingweight really is an irrelevant measurment. Use MOI !
Try MOI sure, but don't assume that it's better. Blanket statement thinking its better for every golfer.
@@EFGMC In his last book, Cap'n Clumaker , Tom Wishon relates that he once asked the Nike guys why they matched their irons sets in constant swingweight and not constant MOI. The Nike answer was that they indeed knew that MOI matching allowed far better level of consistency than swingweight matching, biut that the challenge of being the first major company to drop swingweight in favor of MOI matching posed too great a risk to Nike revenue. Nike found that "everything associated witth convincing golfers that MOI matching was better than swingweight would be too difficult because the letter D followed by a number was too ingrained in the minds of the golfers as the tried and true method of club matching".
And that "my clubs are 2743 grams-centimeters squared" "would be far more difficult for golfers to embrace than "my clubs are D1"
Really, when you just think a little about what is swingweight, i.e. a static measurement of the clubs balance, which , as you very well demonstrate, can lure the golfers into playing with senseless balanced clubs, you can but come to the conclusion that swingweight matching is fundamentaly misleading. But well , swingweigh is very nice for manufacturers and lazy clublakers as do take heads each one with 7 gram more tha the next one , cut your shafts half an inch by half an inch, take grips all of the same weight , glue and put grips, and there the miracle happens : your set is swingweight matched . But then the heft which operats when you swing the so matched set is different from club to clu of the bag. Does that really add consisteny ?
Now, if your golfers really want swingweight, as they are use to it since a long time and can feel that they weight the same when at address or at the top of the backswing, you can assemble them both swigweight and MOI matched.
@@EFGMC it is not an assumption, it's real life. Just think about it : MOI is a basic physical quantity which represents the heft that resists rotational acceleration of the club around the wrist hinge of a golfer. Swingweight is an empirical approximation of the heft of a golf club that is felt by a golfer. Swingweight doesn't represent anything really physical in a golf swing. How could the same static balance for each club help the golfer ? The swingweight is what you feel when you weight the club at address or at the top of the backswing but it doesn't take into consideration the fack that the club is swung around the wrist of the golfer ! And therefore with a swingweight assembled set, you have different a force resisting to the movement from club to club. No way this could really help !🤔 And what you explain makes it clear as to how the swingweight matching can be a total fantasy.
The big golf clubs brands know about that. But the process for manufacturing irons sets with same swingweight for each club is far easier than with the same MOI.
Just read what Nike said to Tom Wishon about those two options in his last book "Cap'n Clubmaker." !
Now , if your golfers like swingweight matching, because they are used to their feel at address, you can propose to match their sets both to same swingweight and same MOI. I call that "Perfect Balance" and it is patented in Fance and main European countries
interesting video AJ having watched your other videos on swing weight and counter balancing im about to embark on playing around with my wedges swing weights and counter balancing them..i also literally just bought a 40 gram senior flex shaft for my driver after watching your autoflex videos..i have 2 nike covert drivers one is the tour version with 60 gram stiff shaft the other is original covert with a 50 gram stiff shaft..my new senior shaft will give me 3 interchangable shafts with both heads..and im keen to try counter balancing the 40 gram senior flex with 10 and 20 gram weights and testing them in my simulator..have you any additional advice on my planned testing and when it comes to my wedges is there a happy medium you've found when adding weight to a wedge be it head or counter balanced?
Hi AJ. I talked to you several months ago about putting lady's shafts in my Wilson staff blades with the same length to get more pop at the bottom to the ball and adding midsize grips. I have added lead tape and found I hit the ball more solid, higher and straight. But I only hit my 28 degree 5 iron a 130 yards. I was expecting my men's head to be heavier than woman's heads which would increase swing weight. From your example I would be going the wrong direction and reduce swing weight with the lighter shaft? I play Wilson staff blades and not interested in graphite in the irons. Also not sure how much head droop I would get with the lighter steel shaft needing to bend more upright. Sorry for the long winded comment! I hope you can help me understand better before I go and do something crazy. Thanks, Jeff
How do I determine what swing weight is best for me?
You dont its just feel, like he said swing weight doesnt matter.
Best way to help noobs understand swing weight is that its the weight you feel in the club head. Overall weight is the weight of the entire club.
Maybe add a pommel, just like a sword. 😂🤦🏻♂️
You have to decide whether swing weight is a measuremnt or not. If you decide that getting a D8 driver back to D2 with some weight in the grip isnt going to work then you have kinda made swing weights and counterbalancing pointless metric. If fitting how often does the person like the swing weight corrected back with grip weight? more often than not or less often?
This is a good argument for MOI rather than swing weight. Going to a heavier grip will have little effect on MOI but will decrease SW
I fitted clubs for pros and club golfers with demo clubs and then frequencied every club I built to
the demo club selected. I did this for 30 years and we didn't have trackman.
Excellent video.
t
I really like watching your videos, you have a very very good idea of what you are doing. Myself I should be locked up as my idea of swing weight is so far out of the box thinking it’s insane. ( weighting head and shaft ) very heavy golf clubs. I work on what works for me, it’s all that matters.
very good info AJ, I didn't follow your advice on the Hammer, go check it out. I even referenced you in it, LOL You told me not to, but I don't listen. I made a 6 degree lie angle adjustment with the rubber hammer, turns out that is how Ping adjust them too!
ruclips.net/video/McCjHhtctfU/видео.html
Can you make a swing weight device at home
Yes. Just measure total weight and length from butt end to balance point and enter those numbers in the swing weight app. This app will give you a good idea of what the swing weight of your golf club is.
Thanks AJ, I have some Wishing EQi single lenght irons that I pulled apart due to I did not like the shaft brand. When I weigh then with 110. Shafts still coming out with E,6 SWING WEIGHT. I was thinking about hevier shaft and grip. Hopefully not getting too much static weight any ideas? PS LOVE TO TINKER. LOVE YOUR VIDS
changed my grips to midsize last year from fitted irons with standard. 15 gram difference. i played well this year but had a random shank or two. my mishits were closer to the heel when normally i would miss on toe. going back to standard 50 gram grips with a few extra wraps
Swing weight seems a thing that US Americans seem to get paranoid about. In UK or Europe its not such an issue, Static weight and feel are more important
Agreed. As long as you can feel the clubhead throughout the swing, you should be in pretty good shape. Cheers.
I am "in good shape" Thank you for your concern. But I am Fine thank you.@@joshuawhittemore1283
"Feel" and "Swing weight" seem to be relatively interchangeable. It's largely about the relationship of the head weight to the rest of the club, which directly impacts the feel of the club. But Americans are obsessed with quantifying and measuring these things (and yes, I'm American).
I had never even heard of the term "swing weight" until a few months ago. But I've noticed how different clubs had very different feels, and the swing weight calculations explain a lot of it.
@@AllTradesGeorge I was taught in the Sam Snead/Patty Berg school of thought where the "swing is the thing". Both said that most golfers shouldn't bother worrying about swingweights as long as they can feel the clubhead at all times. Most people nowadays seem to be obsessed with keeping the club too light for the added swing speed, yet they are flummoxed at the lack of control and sporadic shot patterns (despite the added distance).
@@joshuawhittemore1283 most of the swing weight videos I've seen basically say that the best swing weight for you is whatever gives you the best awareness of where the club head is, which is why there's no such thing as a standardized "this club should have this swing weight" guide. It's very much an individual thing, the advantage to having it quantified is that it becomes much easier to replicate the same feel if you change clubs, or shafts, or grips. But the concept is still directly connected to feel.
My Driver is 12.62 oz would it be in the C or D category
What are your thoughts on measuring the club based on MOI and fitting a set of irons around MOI vrs to swing weight?
I personally try and do all my swing weighting using a hybrid type idea where the longest irons are a point lighter than the mid irons, and the 9 and PW can get a little heavier. That seems to work best for the greatest number of golfers and also allows for a more seamless transition from irons into woods/hybrid/utility clubs on the long end and wedges on the short end.
@@EFGMC got it this makes total sense. Thank you
I built my irons with 3/8" increments and 1/2 swingweight difference on each. Read on GolfWRX forum this was the poor mans way to MOI match
You made some valid points but no solutions AJ. I was going to mention an MOI based club set build(which I did for each club using the SW machine), your idea of using 3 step changes in a club set's SW sounds good also. I don't recall the formula I used but it was based on Dave Tuttleman's work on this.
@@wally6193 Yep, 0.6 SWP per club progression gives you an MOI matched set.
If I extend an iron shaft by a quarter inch, what is the view on matching the then different swing weights to my other irons?
You ideally want the same or similar sw in all the irons.
@EFGMC so extensions are. Bad idea for 1 or.2 clubs that weren't correctly built
@@cfree5119 They should be fine. You can also cut the extension insert side down if you are only needing a very short extension. You won't need a 2 inch stem for a 1/4 or 1/2 inch extension. This will remove more weight and make the final club feel more like a single 1 piece shaft.
Great video!
Ciao AJ, it's one year since a I started golf with Basic start clubs golf set by Decathlon ,Inesis series 100 Now i got changed grips from standard to midsize thus increasing clubs weight and balance feeling.Sw 56° is better for me thus,increasing distance and accuracy With the Pw , 46° I added 4g lead tape at the back thus improving distance .With Iron 9 , 39 °,it 's ok without lead tape.The only iron I'm still in trouble is iron 7 30 °, Iwill add 3g lead at the back of club head at the middle position as per your video Otherwise isit feasible to place the lead in back ,just down inside the cavity ? Ciao and again geat videos
Adriano -Rome
That small amount of tape can be put anywhere you want. It won't affect the center of gravity so anywhere on the head should be fine.
16:56 on October 18, 1023. Hi AJ. A little late to the party but I have a question. I have a Driver with a swing weight of C-8. I can't feel the head very well. I have added 10 grams of lead tape back and center on the head. If I am correct the swing weight should be approximately D-3. I'm heading to the range tomorrow to test. Do you think I'm headed in the right direction? I believe I have a moderate to quick transition.
The math is correct, and it should help if you feel like the head is getting lost in your swing. That said, the only way to find the right amount of weight is to try it and see how your distance and dispersion are. Might need to add or take away a little in order to fine tune it.
Another awesome video, thanks AJ! Question for you...I swing weighted my clubs and they get progressively heavier from PW-4i. Everything I'm reading should have them going the other way. Is this a bad thing?
PW: D4
9: D5
8: D5
7: D6
6: D7
5: D8
4: D8
Heads: Taylormade P790Ti
Shafts: Steel Project X Flighted 5.5
Grips: Golf Pride MCC plus 4
It's not how I would set up my irons but if you can hit them well then what does it matter.
Can adding 5 grams in grip weight change my swing weight in my irons significantly? Also an extra wrap equaling (2) total. Playing p770 with s300 dynamic gold. Shows swing weight stock d1. Feels like I am losing the head a tad now after grip change.
Not much, but every golfer is different as far as how much they feel from weight change.
I recently went through a fitting at Club Champion. I played a Nippon Pro 850 GH shaft in regular flex. This shaft felt stiff to me and I lost distance with it. So the reason for the fitting. They put me in an Accura Isi 50 gram graphite shaft. My flight is higher but I did not get anymore distance. The shaft feels too light playing with it and I can't feel anything. So can you get too light of a shaft?
Yes, I would say these days more people are incorrectly fit into too light more often than too heavy. Unless your speed is very slow, 50g is just too light for most golfers.
Question
If you add 40 grams to driver grip . It’s bad …. I thought I saw one of your video that said that it makes your swing speed and ball speed faster. I think that was some jack Nicholas did or some pro.
Can you explain what the difference is ????
The counterbalancing is not done to reach a certain swing weight, it's all about the counterbalance. What I refer to here is trying to reach a random SW number simply for the sake of hitting that number, not because you've actually tested that SW with this configuration.
So I just swapped my kbs tour lites (115 g)x flex built to a d2 to dynamic gold x100 (130g) . Doing a pre epoxy swing weight calc and the new shafts plus club heads and grips are coming in at a d7 with no tip weights. Any suggestions on how to get that closer to a d2-3? Or Do I just ride it out to d7
The heavier shaft will add a couple points and the KBS are more butt heavy so the heads were weighted to get to D2. Only options are go back to lighter shafts, shorten the length, or remove some head weight.
AJ, your videos are outstanding, we all appreciate them. Quick question on adding butt weights to counter balance a shaft. I have Ping iBlade's with a DG S300 (124g) shaft (Ping shipped as: +1" and D8, Ping said since it was a heavy shaft and 1" extended there was no way they could get to the published D2 swing weight since Ping doesn't use counter balance weights. I removed 1" from end of shafts, this brough the factory configuration back to D1/D2 range). I'm going to replace the shaft with a TT AMT Black Stiff (3 iron 95g to PW 116G) or TT DG MID 100 Stiff (105g). Question is, when I add weight back into the shaft to get it to it target (3I @ 408g to PW @ 450g) I'll need to add a combination of tip and butt weights to do so. True Temper said that adding counter or butt weights to their shafts degrade performance. On average I'll need to add a counter of 6g to 10g to offset the 12g of tip weight I need to achieve my D2 swing weight and overall club weight of 430g (7 iron). My GW is 464g, that is why I'd like the PW at 450. What are your thoughts on using counter balance weights to achieve club weight and swing weigh targets? Does the use of counter weights degrade the performance of the shaft? Thank you, Jack
Never heard of counter weights causing issues with shaft integrity but I guess it could depending on the style of weight you use.
I am not a fan of counterbalancing for swing weight's sake. However if you are trying to hit certain static weight numbers and progression through the set, then it can be a good option assuming you handle swinging the extra weight.
the magnificent rabbit hole of swing weighting! thanks for the video!
I also have srixon ZX7 mk2, standard length. Still feel heavy. How could I decrease stock D3 to D1? Any way without redoing grips? Seems a waste to toss freshly installed tour velvets.
Only way to reduce weight:
shorten the shaft lengths
switch to lighter shafts
drill out the heads
Love your videos. I've putted around my clubs changing shafts, grips, and used lead tape for years. I bought a small air compressor (1 gal) and was happy putting grips on. All of a sudden, the grips go on OK but I have trouble getting the last inch on the shaft. I have the AC set at 85lbs. Any ideas?
I often need to reset and do a final blast of air with a harder push on the butt end for this exact reason. I focus my force on the very butt end at this point while making sure I don't have any twisting up at the tip.
This answered a lot of questions for me. Thanks!
How do we go about sending you a set to build?
Email
adam@elitefitgolf.com
Sorry AJ , back to an older video, Any views on OBAN shafts ? Thanks ..
I think they are fine but they are often used by fitters because they are difficult to get from the OEMs thereby forcing customers to buy from them.
This makes a lot of sense. I’ve been gripping my driver down about 3/4 inch and seem to get better strike with no change to swing speed. I’ve been thinking of cutting it down. Would I just be better off choking up since it seems like you are saying there is no meaningful difference?
The difference between choking up and cutting the shaft are;
Very very very slight difference in SW. (Less than a point)
Very very very slight difference in static weight (the weight of an inch of graphite shaft = couple grams
Biggest difference is grip will feel bigger if you cut it down because you will be gripping closer to butt end.
What about changing grips on the same putter? Would it not be beneficial to match the swing weights before and after the grip change? Apples/apples?
Probably yes if you are wanting the exact same feel. However if you are changing sizes or shapes then it's no longer apples to apples so not sure it matters so much.
Thanks AJ for the great videos. I am just coming down this rabbit hole of working with golf clubs. I am wanting to start doing my own reshafting and regripping and moving upward from there. There is definitely a lot more to this than I originally thought. I am a very high handicapper with low swing speed (older slightly banged up vet). At this point do I even need to worry about swing weight or should I just swap my iron/wedge shafts out to graphite and move on from there? Other than your videos, do have any recommendations for books in regards to club building and repairing? Thank you
I would start with the reshafting and then look at changing swing weight to find the right feel. Maybe start with one club that you can add lead tape and find the right SW feel. Once you know that you can build the rest of the set around that.
I honestly don't know of any books out there on the topic. I am sure there are some but I think you are better off with internet research on different golf forums and sites. Two of the best resources are the clubmakers forum on GolfWRX.com and the website of Dave Tutelman. Incredible amount of knowledge between the 2.
I'm confused now, if a swing weight on an old club feels right and i change my clubs with a lighter shaft (steel to Graphite) and the Head now feels like a lump on the end of the shaft which now feels unbalanced would i not be better to re balance (adjust swing weight) and bring it back to the old one.
You might. The point is not to just assume that the previous SW is going to be correct with the new club. That is why we use lead tape to experiment and find the best feeling weight.
It's weird...I just weighted my clubs and I get a big jump between PW and 50 deg. 9i=452.6g, PW=460.7g, 50=490.1g, 54=473.3g, 58=475.7g. All my wedges (Mizuno T22) have DG S400 shaft and irons (Mizuno Pro 223) have PX LZ 6.0 120g.
That 50 seems out of line with the rest of the progression.
@@EFGMC Yes indeed. I weighted the head (301g), raw shaft (130g) and grip (54g). Is 130g a bit heavy for a 33.5" shaft (DG TI S400)?
I built this old ping copy into a chipper, Ping makes the Chip R at E6, not sure I have that much lead it came out C6 with a Ultralight Jumbo max Grip, but lead tape is not going to hurt a 30 something year old copy, LOL If I get it there and like it, have you ever used epoxy over the lead to smooth and lock it in? Thanks Spike
I haven't but I have seen others do similar.
@@EFGMC I figure a nice black epoxy over the lead would hide it and replicate the Ping even more. I will be testing at E6 a lot, before I lock it in, seems heavy, but the experiment must continue.
@@FrugalFixerSpike You want it to feel like a putter ideally so heavy is good.
Highly sensible, thanks 😊.
Hi AJ, I enjoy your interesting video topics about the DIY things a curious golfer can get into. I have a question though: can that doodad that will adjust the loft of a driver head be added to a non adjustable driver head?
No. You have to have the driver made that way to have a large enough hosel to fit the adapter.
When trying to balance out your irons, should you try to have sand wedge the same?
I prefer progressive weighting where the long irons are lighter and the wedges are heavier.
I have irons that are +.75" and I am 6'3" tall. The swing weight is D9 which is higher than standard and they do feel heavy to me. I'd like to bring the swing weight down. What are my options? I would be open to shortening them .25"
Shortening 1/4 inch will knock off a little over 1 SWP.
Lighter shaft can can also drop a little more weight.
Last option is removing some head weight. In most cases this is the most difficult as it entails drilling out material to get the club lighter. Will need a drill press for this option.
Go to a graphite shaft. They are more stiff for a given weight
Quick question about lead tape - if I add lead tape to the inside of the club head (closer to the shaft on the head) will it be more draw or fade bias?
With a wood, heel weight will move the CG towards the heel and promote more draw spin from gear effect. With irons its really hard to change ball flight with lead tape, unless you you a whole lot!
Im trying to figure out how to keep my midsize mcc align grips (62g vs stock 46.5g) without chaging the stock swing weight. I also dont want to add any lead tape... whats the solution for this? Lighter shaft? Currently playing jpx 923 forged, modus 3 115 x stiff (119 grams). Do I go modus 3 105 x stiff (112g)? Please help, thanks!
You would need to go heavier in the shafts to increase the swing weight. MCCs are about 62g so they change the SW 3 points. That means you need to add close to 30g of shaft weight in order to get SW back up. Adding head weight is far more efficient as you only need 6g of head weight.
@@EFGMC thank you for the reply!
I have changed from MCC Plus 4 midsize to Super stroke- cross comforts -midsize because the GP midsize align plus 4 ,s are so Heavy..
much lighter grips the Cross comforts and built the tapes up to 3 to feel like the MCC grips...plus they don't rip up your hands and glove as much.. ! Got my swing weight back to D0 on the irons without adding loads of lead tape..
HI Question ? i wanna get a SIM 2 MAX driver instead of the stealth 2 cause in Canada the price difference is 400.00 Canadian..i am buying the driver at golf town and i would like the driver shaft to be 44 1/2 inches down from 45.75 so they have to cut 1.25 inches off...plus i want a golf pride MCC plus 4 midsize grip....would this work and balance out at all ? and should the 1.25 inches come off from the butt end or the tip of the ventus blue stock shaft ? need your advice...thx.....cheers from Canada
I might recommend buying at stock length and blowing on a mid size grip with air. Take that club to the range and try choking up different amounts to get a "feel" for both the length and weight of it. Then you can remove the grip and cut the shaft to whatever length you want knowing what it will play like. If you loose head feel with it shorter, you can buy heavier weights or get out the lead tape.
Always like to test a length/weight change in a temporary setting before making it permanent.
@@EFGMC i currently have a PXG GEN 5 cut down to 44 1/2 inches and it work great..i find the middle more consistantly OR should i just choke down an inch on the club and play with it that way....i have now way of testing it first due to my location
@@GOLFADDICT65 It's easy to cut down the shaft if it's too long after the fact. Just need a hacksaw. Much harder to add length if you decide you want to go longer later.
I have 95 gram shafts and 40 gram grips.... .my swing weight is D-7! Tom Weisskopf always added weight to the head! reason>> he said don't you want the weight in the head of the hammer or in the handle! ...........YOU call these things mistakes>>NOT TRUE!!
I don’t think he is telling people not to add weight to their heads. It’s golfer dependent.
Never said don't add weight. Said don't assume! Did say don't add weight to the grip end of a heavy club just to make it SW lighter which is essentially what you are saying.
Stop worrying about it and play golf.
Hi, Great video. Would you have any views or consider a video on matching graphite shafts in wedges (weight/swing weight, etc) with those in an iron set. In my case I have Recoil 95's in JPX forged iron set and am struggling to get/build 50/54/58 wedges with the same shaft so as to maintain feel. I bought Vokeys with Recoil 95s but their head weight was so heavy... fine for a full shot but a disaster for half/touch shots (in my opinion).
Might need to find some lighter wedge heads if you have tried the same Recoil and not liked the result. You could put lighter shafts in, but I don't ever recommend going that direction in weight. Then again everyone is different so maybe the 80g Recoil might give you the "feel" you are looking for. Would test on 1 club first obviously if you go that way.
@@EFGMC Thanks so much for reply but would a lighter shaft while reducing the overall weight not have the effect of increasing the head "weight"
@@billguy2847 For every 9g you reduce shaft weight, you reduce the SW by 1pt.
100% correct
Question. I added weight to all my irons to get them around D3. That weight swings well and I like the results ball striking wise. My 9i however sits at D7, how can I bring this back to D3 or close without adding a ton of weight to the club?
Appreciate it.
Options, lighter shaft, drilling the head out to remove weight or making it shorter. No other good options.
gotcha. I have the original T100 irons, what would I use to drill them out, will the shaft sit ok?
@@safranic Need a drill press and a clamp to be able to hold the head and drill down into the hosel making a hole with a smaller diameter than .350 so the shaft can't slip into it. Some people will try and drill out the back of a head, but will not be an option with those Titleist heads I think.
Great video, AJ! Lots of good info here.
Good video. I’ve been testing many players distance irons. In general they all seem to be hollow body heads with stock 105-115 gram shafts. Maybe they are weighting the heads more in general and combining it with lighter shafts for speed ?
Yes, it would not take more than a few grams to rebalance out a club with 10-15g lighter shafts.
hollow body heads arnt lighter than solig MB heads they all aim for a similar head weight, in holow body they get the weight back in the sole.
So are you saying because I have to have midsize grips that I’m screwing up my clubs?
Thanks for the video, very interesting.
What would be the best solution then for clubs that need to be elongated?, I have to add 1,5" and swing weight goes from D3 to E0. My idea was a lighter grip and some weight at the butt but with the weight of the extension and the balancing weight I will for sure make the clubs 15-20gr heavier and probably still D5-D6. I would like to avoid buying new lighter shafts, both for price reasons and also not knowing how they would fit me (launch, spin, etc.). Thanks in advance
Only way to do it and not add weight to lower SW is either with lighter shafts or by removing mass from the heads.
Otherwise you are just adding more weight to a already heavy club.
@@EFGMC thanks AJ!,
Does removing mass from the head impact the performance of the club? (MOI, ball speed , feel, etc )
@@felobo33 Maybe feel changes a little. Most likely not removing enough weight to change anything else.
@@EFGMC thanks, seems like the good choice in my case then. I want to keep my shafts.
Great channel AJ!, I’ve learned a bunch and allowed me to customise my clubs and have fun in the process!
Does swing weight have anything to do with where you strike the face of the club? What I mean is, if your strike pattern is consistently on the heel of the face, could you change the strike on the iron to the toe by adding or subtracting swing weight?
I hope this makes sense.
It could but only if the changes in swing weight correlate to a change in the physical delivery of the club for the golfer in question.
There is no hard rule that increasing swing weight does X or decreasing swing weight does Y.
For some, changing the swing weight may result in no impact to their swing. For others, it could mean better feel which would allow them to maintain better tempo/timing the results of which could be improved strike.
Since swing weight is all about feel, changes will ultimately impact golfers differently.
It could but you could also get results from other changes like shaft weight, length, and of course set up and technique.
Usually a swing weight change will be more about improving consistency of strike not necessarily moving strike location.
Hi AJ, I am 6'4" and going to put in a +1 shaft extensions for my irons and wedges this winter. I am curious how I should go about adding this and trying to figure out my club weight. Any advance on navigating this process?
Extensions are really easy. You can either cut them to length before or after you epoxy them in. Just buy some appropriate diameter extensions and make sure you clean out the shaft interior before epoxying.
@@EFGMC thanks for your response, so I wouldn't need to worry about the club weight? The extensions shouldn't throw off this balance per se?
@@JAYBRICKEN They will increase the swing weight but since you are ideally extending all the clubs the same, the change in weight will be uniform.
@@EFGMC Thank you!