Shortened my driver

[BADFanBoi Scotty]

On 12/18/2019 at 1:55 AM, GolfSpy MPR said:

Working on an experiment with this right now. I'm going to be building up a shorter shaft for my Rogue, so I went to eBay and ordered some Chinese knock-off weight screws. (I view these as pretty low risk; if they fit and they have weight, I'm good.) I don't have a swingweight scale, but I'm planning to use something like this website to give me an approximation based on the overall weight and the balance point.

Might need to weigh them first... Done this, took them to the lab to weigh them... The 16g weight came in at 14.2g, and the 12g came in at 14.8g!

[BADFanBoi Scotty]

On 12/20/2019 at 12:56 PM, pulledabill said:

Added lead tape  and brought SW to D1.Hit a few tonight and certainly felt the difference. Headed back tomorrow with it at a D4 to feel that. 

Pulled out the lead tape, but got far too concerned about how it looked on the bottom (So neat!) that I forgot to put any on the top. Now just hitting airplanes and not getting any run.

[Rickp]

Thank - that's as clear as mud . Seriously though I think I get it. 

Umm, I didn’t.


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[cnosil]

Choked up on my driver today and hit it pretty well so I came home and chopped off .75"       Driver is now 44.5".    

[BADFanBoi Scotty]

On 12/24/2019 at 1:42 PM, Rickp said:

Umm, I didn’t.


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Increase mass as long as you don't decrease speed

[NRJyzr]

Huge fan of shorter driver lengths.  Feel the modern driver and 3w club lengths foisted on the golf public are a disservice to the game.  Anyone notice a bias?  LOL 

I've cut down more than a half dozen drivers to 43.5", and even a bit shorter.  My results have been promising, improved accuracy with no loss of distance.  For each club, I've added weight to being them to my preferred swingweight for driver, and I've preferred staying in the 80g and up shaft weight class, if at all possible.

The caveat on my experience: several years ago, I went through a fitting that showed my swingspeed at 43.25" and even 43" was 2-3 mph faster than the 44"-44.25" driver I'd had in my bag at the time.  Shaft weight didn't seem to have an effect, my swings with shorter clubs were with heavier shafts, including steel.

In softball, as lighter bats became prevalent, it was found every player had a personal point of diminishing returns with respect to the weight.  Some, including open division level players, could go down to 26oz and see improvement, while others found better speed at various points heavier. 

It seems this same phenomenon exists in golf, relative to club length.  Each player has their own point past which added length adds no speed, and can even subtract it.  Some can keep going all the way to the USGA maximum, while others peak somewhat shorter.  Evidently, I am one of those in the shorter camp.   

This all irrespective of contact quality, which is a different point in the discussion.  

[patrickleeleep]

I cut my down and added a mid size grip which changed the swing weight even more. I changed the weight out in the g400 from the standard 7g weight to a 17.5g weight. Loving the feeling of it and its been pretty consistent. 

[MattF]

OK, here's my ? If I cut my M5 1.25" to 44.5"  how much weight should I be looking at adding. I can do it via new sliding weights. The OEM are 10g each and I can get up to 16g.

Thanks.

[cnosil]

OK, here's my ? If I cut my M5 1.25" to 44.5"  how much weight should I be looking at adding. I can do it via new sliding weights. The OEM are 10g each and I can get up to 16g.

Thanks.

Depends. You may not need anything if the club works for you.

1/2 inch = 3 swing weight points
2grams = 1 Swingweight point

1.25 = 7.5 reduction in swingweight. So you need to add about 15 grams to the head to get back to original swingweight. You could also install a lighter weight grip.

You can tape dimes to the bottom of the clubhead to experiment. Each is slightly over 2 grams.

[MattF]

1 hour ago, cnosil said:

Depends. You may not need anything if the club works for you.

1/2 inch = 3 swing weight points
2grams = 1 Swingweight point

1.25 = 7.5 reduction in swingweight. So you need to add about 15 grams to the head to get back to original swingweight. You could also install a lighter weight grip.

You can tape dimes to the bottom of the clubhead to experiment. Each is slightly over 2 grams.

Thank you sir, that gives me a starting point. I play Pure grips, so getting a lighter one is out of the equation...I'm a bit OCD about having things match. So, the most I can get is 12 grams of added weight into the head. Looks like I'll be experimenting.

[chisag]

25 minutes ago, MattF said:

Thank you sir, that gives me a starting point. I play Pure grips, so getting a lighter one is out of the equation...I'm a bit OCD about having things match. So, the most I can get is 12 grams of added weight into the head. Looks like I'll be experimenting.

 

... Knowledge is power and ignorance is bliss, especially when it comes to golf swings and equipment. I have always been meticulous about club specs going back to Flo and Spine when installing new shafts when QC mandated it. So I have 2 stories for you: 

I always played my driver at D1 after finding that weight worked best for my swing. 2 years ago in Phoenix for the winter I did not have access to my workshop and about a month before coming home I picked up a new shaft to try in my F8. I installed it and it felt a hair heavy but I took it to the course and hit it very well. I continued to hit it well for the remainder of my time there. I came home and curious as to the swing weight, I measured it and was surprised to find it was D7!?! That is just way heavier than I have ever played. Took it out for my first round back in Chicago and it felt like a sledgehammer. Same driver I played well with in Phoenix that was a hair heavy was now too heavy and unplayable. Nothing changed but my knowledge of the specs. 

Long story short, some remember Fred Couples taking a thru bore Ram 3 wood from Tom Watsons trunk and playing it in some tournaments and just killing it. Talking to a reporter after a round he stated it was the best 3 wood he ever owned. Watson heard that and next time he saw Freddie said he was surprised he was hitting an R Flex shaft so well. Freddie thought it was an X flex and after that sprayed it all over the course, they re-shafted it but never found the magic again. Nothing changed but his knowledge of the specs.

... So experiment away and if you find something that works DO NOT check your specs. 

[MaxEntropy]

21 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... Knowledge is power and ignorance is bliss, especially when it comes to golf swings and equipment. I have always been meticulous about club specs going back to Flo and Spine when installing new shafts when QC mandated it. So I have 2 stories for you: 

I always played my driver at D1 after finding that weight worked best for my swing. 2 years ago in Phoenix for the winter I did not have access to my workshop and about a month before coming home I picked up a new shaft to try in my F8. I installed it and it felt a hair heavy but I took it to the course and hit it very well. I continued to hit it well for the remainder of my time there. I came home and curious as to the swing weight, I measured it and was surprised to find it was D7!?! That is just way heavier than I have ever played. Took it out for my first round back in Chicago and it felt like a sledgehammer. Same driver I played well with in Phoenix that was a hair heavy was now too heavy and unplayable. Nothing changed but my knowledge of the specs. 

Long story short, some remember Fred Couples taking a thru bore Ram 3 wood from Tom Watsons trunk and playing it in some tournaments and just killing it. Talking to a reporter after a round he stated it was the best 3 wood he ever owned. Watson heard that and next time he saw Freddie said he was surprised he was hitting an R Flex shaft so well. Freddie thought it was an X flex and after that sprayed it all over the course, they re-shafted it but never found the magic again. Nothing changed but his knowledge of the specs.

... So experiment away and if you find something that works DO NOT check your specs. 

It's Schrodinger's golf club - we can't play the club without knowing the specs, but once we know the specs, we can't play it.

[Rickp]

It's Schrodinger's golf club - we can't play the club without knowing the specs, but once we know the specs, we can't play it.

The thing is I understand it and I didn’t have to ask SWMBO


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[Tsecor]

swing weight is over rated if you play to a higher hdcp. Its nothing you should worry about unless you are properly fitted for a club. 

[seancgmartin]

On 12/17/2019 at 2:55 PM, GolfSpy MPR said:

Working on an experiment with this right now. I'm going to be building up a shorter shaft for my Rogue, so I went to eBay and ordered some Chinese knock-off weight screws. (I view these as pretty low risk; if they fit and they have weight, I'm good.) I don't have a swingweight scale, but I'm planning to use something like this website to give me an approximation based on the overall weight and the balance point.

You say low risk, but I put one of these in, and the screw stripped when I went to remove it (first use), so have a degree of wariness/care when taking it in/out. Made me a little nervous drilling a slot in it to remove with a standard screwdriver (power drills in delicate places is a large part of my job as a neurosurgeon as well!)

[seancgmartin]

On 1/16/2020 at 6:31 PM, Tsecor said:

swing weight is over rated if you play to a higher hdcp. Its nothing you should worry about unless you are properly fitted for a club. 

Slightly disagree with this. Some people just feel the difference very acutely, others don't - I think it's a brain thing rather than a golf skill thing. I feel small changes very clearly for whatever reason, and I'm by no means a skilled golfer. Though that may be a factor of having been fit properly and know what it feels like when it's "just right", so becomes pretty obvious when it isn't.

[Tsecor]

2 hours ago, seancgmartin said:

Slightly disagree with this. Some people just feel the difference very acutely, others don't - I think it's a brain thing rather than a golf skill thing. I feel small changes very clearly for whatever reason, and I'm by no means a skilled golfer. Though that may be a factor of having been fit properly and know what it feels like when it's "just right", so becomes pretty obvious when it isn't.

agree for the most part. My point being high HDCP players will adjust in a matter of minutes to a club with different swing weight. They really do not know what to look for so to me its over rated on many levels.