Changing chafts, lengths and swing weights!

[StrightDownTheMiddle]

Hey all,

So I thought this would be a simple process, I bought a set of Mizuno JPX 850 forged irons. I knew the shafts were wrong when buying them but the heads were in great condition. The set came with standard length KBS Tour stiff shafts. I play 1" longer than standard Dynamic Gold S300's. I've not swapped out shafts before but I'm usually pretty DIY savey, bit of google, youtube how hard can it be.

Today I took the heads off, no problems there, easy enought to do. Only I've found some (not all) of the irons have tip weights (varying sizes). I've kept the weights with the heads that they were pulled from but the question is, how do I know if they're required for the new shafts? I've not a great deal of knowledge on swing weights (although I'm sure some googling might have the answers) I just thought I'd ping this one out there for anyone who fanicies educating me in this art :). The shafts are a .355 taper tip, which again I figured as they wouldn't need trimming would make this process a whole lot easier, plug and play! I could experiment easy enough but would like to save some time and get a bit more insight into this.

Interestingly the heads are stamped with a 'C' indicating they were a custom fit, perhaps they head weights were for this fitting purpose and consequently are not of any further use.

Thanks in advance and let me know if you need any further infomration

Phil

[tommc23]

Hi Phil we do have some good club builders here so give this some time they aren't on daily. Good luck getting your answer.

[hckymeyer]

You'll find that most OEM's end up using tip weights in their builds.  It's less expensive than the higher tolerances they'd have to pay for to have consistent weight across every iron.  So it's really just a way for them to hit the target swing weight.

Here are some quick rough estimates.  1/2" length = 3 swing weight points.  9 grams of shaft weight = 1 SWP.  5 grams grip weight = 1 SWP.  There are other things that can affect swing weight (club weight and lie angle but I'm going to assuming you won't be messing with those.

Here's where you have a few decisions to make.  You can absolutely just plug and play the shafts.  If you go this route you will most likely not have consistent swing weights across the set.  

Other option is to try and build them to a specific swing weight.  This is where being fit helps out so you will know what swing weight works best for you.  Otherwise it's kind of a shot in the dark.  You could also just try and build them to the factory spec which can be found online.  Right off the bat the clubs will most likely be a heavier swing weight just from the 1" over length spec.  

So it's really your choice how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.  If you start building your own stuff I'd highly recommend investing in a swing weight scale.  You can get them relatively inexpensively from golfworks.com (wait for the 20% tools coupon) or various other places online.

Hopefully that rambling answer made some sort of sense.  If you have more questions fire away.

[McGolf]

1) You could have just extended the shafts 1" The KBS imo is a better shaft.

2) Remove the weights and reinstall them. It to ensure the epoxy gets into the space inside and out of the shaft and the hosel. Dirt is not you friend and there is plenty in there if you take it out.

3) Yes the swing weight will go up making the length longer. If you are putting on larger grips it will balance a good portion of the SW added from the length.