DQOTD: Altering Swing Weights?

[funkyjudge 219]

8 hours ago, Golfnut0226 said:

my thought exactly, usually heavy club is harder to square up

 

Not necessarily so.  Some golfers respond better and are able to square the club/clubface better with a heavier club, while others fare much better with a lighter club.  This is why, as professional clubfitters, we have a mantra that goes “test, test, and then test some more”.

[wbn 3]

The lead tape is a good and inexpensive way to go. Changing shafts may help but at a considerable cost to expieriment. Go with the lead tape first. I am curriently swinging a D8 driver, up from the stock D1. It has made a huge difference. After determining what swing weight I wanted, I went to ebay and bought heavier club weights and changed out the stock weights. Effective and cheap. I also bought a much lighter shaft that also increased the swing weight.

[JFish350 601]

5 hours ago, wbn said:

The lead tape is a good and inexpensive way to go. Changing shafts may help but at a considerable cost to expieriment. Go with the lead tape first. I am curriently swinging a D8 driver, up from the stock D1. It has made a huge difference. After determining what swing weight I wanted, I went to ebay and bought heavier club weights and changed out the stock weights. Effective and cheap. I also bought a much lighter shaft that also increased the swing weight.

OK, This is probably a noob question, but I am a person who doesn't tinker much weights and changing things around.  

Are you talking about the weight in the club head itself? Hope that makes sense and yes I feel the eye rolls through the wires. Not trying to highjack this thread, I just didn't realize I could take the weight out and use a heavier/lighter weight.  

[Middler 3,460]

6 minutes ago, JFish350 said:

OK, This is probably a noob question, but I am a person who doesn't tinker much weights and changing things around.  

Are you talking about the weight in the club head itself? Hope that makes sense and yes I feel the eye rolls through the wires. Not trying to highjack this thread, I just didn't realize I could take the weight out and use a heavier/lighter weight.  

Many drivers/woods have one or more screw in weights, you can buy lighter and/or heavier weights and replace. If not you can use lead tape to experiment, and then a fitter can add subtract weight using other methods (bottom of the shaft, inside the club head, etc.) to alter your swing weight accordingly. Lead tape isn’t supposed to be a permanent solution, but some players do it.

[RickyBobby_PR 9,260]

14 minutes ago, JFish350 said:

OK, This is probably a noob question, but I am a person who doesn't tinker much weights and changing things around.  

Are you talking about the weight in the club head itself? Hope that makes sense and yes I feel the eye rolls through the wires. Not trying to highjack this thread, I just didn't realize I could take the weight out and use a heavier/lighter weight.  

With the clubs that have removable weights you can buy different ones and change the weight. Hot melt is also another way to influence weight and sound

[cnosil 24,438]

2 hours ago, JFish350 said:

OK, This is probably a noob question, but I am a person who doesn't tinker much weights and changing things around.  

Are you talking about the weight in the club head itself? Hope that makes sense and yes I feel the eye rolls through the wires. Not trying to highjack this thread, I just didn't realize I could take the weight out and use a heavier/lighter weight.  

Your signature shows that you play a GBB Epic driver.  Here is a source for different weight weights.  

https://www.golfworks.com/the-golfworks-gbb-epic-driver-weights/p/bb9102/

To try an clarify your question.  With clubs there are different ways the club can be measured.  First is total weight which is the combination of each components weight.  Swing weight is more about the balance and feel of the club.   Put on a heavier grip and the swing weight drips;  a lighter grip increases swing weight.  Change the shaft, weight of the club head, length of the club, lie angle of the club and you impact the swingweight.   You see swing weight numbers like C8, D5, E2, etc.  These are obtained from a swing weight scale.     Some people are more sensitive to others regarding swingweight and some players can't tell one from another.   Generally it impacts how you feel the club during the swing.  

[Pro-V-None 9]

If it's a matter of the clubhead being so light you can't feel it in your hands/mind as you take the club back, then it's a weight issue.  If that's not it, it's a club length issue. The longer clubs require a flatter swing (back and downswing), which is harder than a more vertical swing. And it's harder to keep your clubface controlled and tracking in your mind with the longer clubs.

I recently bought a 48" driver and it is the most difficult club to square I've ever hit. It feels like you're swinging horizontal on the way back and down, almost like hitting a tee ball waist high vs a downward vertical strike that you do with your short irons.  And that makes squaring the clubface so much harder, especially if you're not a "hands" type swinger and rely on body rotation to square the club. I have to consciously turn my wrists as hard as I can through the impact zone to have any hope of hitting a straight shot with that club. Otherwise I'll hit a hard push or even a massive banana ball, instead of a nice draw which is my typical flight pattern.  I'm sure it would be even more difficult if I tried an even longer club, no matter the weight.  

I hope you solve your issue.

 

 

 

 

[Middler 3,460]

50 minutes ago, Pro-V-None said:

I recently bought a 48" driver and it is the most difficult club to square I've ever hit. It feels like you're swinging horizontal on the way back and down, almost like hitting a tee ball waist high vs a downward vertical strike that you do with your short irons.  And that makes squaring the clubface so much harder, especially if you're not a "hands" type swinger and rely on body rotation to square the club. I have to consciously turn my wrists as hard as I can through the impact zone to have any hope of hitting a straight shot with that club. Otherwise I'll hit a hard push or even a massive banana ball, instead of a nice draw which is my typical flight pattern.  I'm sure it would be even more difficult if I tried an even longer club, no matter the weight.  

Unlike my irons, that’s what I have to do with my D, 3W & 3H. With my 3W & 3H I have to turn my wrists hard to yield a straight shot. With my driver I have to turn my wrists somewhat, if I turn them hard I smother it left. If I don’t actively turn my wrists, I get a push slice. Finding that tempo and wrist turn that gets me off the tee straight is an “adventure” every time I play…sure would like to figure out something more repeatable. I average 7-8 fairways hit per round, ranging from 2 to 13 of 14 though those extremes are an exception thankfully.

[RickyBobby_PR 9,260]

Sounds more like a swing problem than a swing weight issue.  Possibly improper wrist set in the backswing and having to compensate in the transition and downswing.

 

[Pro-V-None 9]

I am a hands player now anyway. I make my hands responsible for applying the face to the ball, so I take it back preparing to bring it back with the least amount of manipulation into the ball.  I'm aiming the entire swing, I guess. I gave up on the idea of a mechanical golf swing regulated by the big muscles of the body, since most of the motion is done subconciously anyway, so why focus on it? It makes fixing things so much easier.  Slicing the ball? No need to reconsider your hip turn, shoulder turn, swing plane, elbow position, ball position, etc.  looking for the fix.  The clubface was open at impact. Close it faster so it's square next time. The hands are holding the club, so let them do it. Problem solved. Hitting the ball left. Okay, the clubface is closing early. Have it come in less closed until the ball stops going left and starts going straight. Easy. The hands can do that. And sometimes you hit bad shots, not because of swing faults, but because you're human and don't have perfect eye/hand coordination.  That's life and there's no mechanical fix for that. 

You may want to check out AJ Bonar or even some old clips by Henry Cotton.  Both of those guys advocate the hands controlling the swing helped me more than guys giving swing tips and body positions you must emulate to hit the ball well.  I'd rather just be told what the clubface is supposed to do to the ball and work out how to do it myself instead of turning the golf swing into some elaborate dance move that almost nobody will ever learn how to do successfully no matter how hard you try. 

Edited October 17, 2021 by Pro-V-None
spelling

[RickyBobby_PR 9,260]

1 hour ago, Pro-V-None said:

I am a hands player now anyway. I make my hands responsible for applying the face to the ball, so I take it back preparing to bring it back with the least amount of manipulation into the ball.  I'm aiming the entire swing, I guess. I gave up on the idea of a mechanical golf swing regulated by the big muscles of the body, since most of the motion is done subconciously anyway, so why focus on it? It makes fixing things so much easier.  Slicing the ball? No need to reconsider your hip turn, shoulder turn, swing plane, elbow position, ball position, etc.  looking for the fix.  The clubface was open at impact. Close it faster so it's square next time. The hands are holding the club, so let them do it. Problem solved. Hitting the ball left. Okay, the clubface is closing early. Have it come in less closed until the ball stops going left and starts going straight. Easy. The hands can do that. And sometimes you hit bad shots, not because of swing faults, but because you're human and don't have perfect eye/hand coordination.  That's life and there's no mechanical fix for that. 

You may want to check out AJ Bonar or even some old clips by Henry Cotton.  Both of those guys advocate the hands controlling the swing helped me more than guys giving swing tips and body positions you must emulate to hit the ball well.  I'd rather just be told what the clubface is supposed to do to the ball and work out how to do it myself instead of turning the golf swing into some elaborate dance move that almost nobody will ever learn how to do successfully no matter how hard you try. 

Go check out Monte Scheinblum and his no turn cast and broom tips on Instagram you will see how the wrists work in a swing. Every swing has hip turn, shoulder turn, left and right side bend along with wrist set in the backswing and how the bow and uncock in the backswing. AMG has some really good gears 3d videos on hip turn, shoulder turn, wrist movements in the swing and some of the best are the am vs pro

everything in the golf swing is about matching up and when matchups up are off then there has to be compensation. Turning the wrists harder is a compensation for something not working wright in the backswing. 

[Golfnut0226 6]

On 10/16/2021 at 12:54 AM, funkyjudge said:

Not necessarily so.  Some golfers respond better and are able to square the club/clubface better with a heavier club, while others fare much better with a lighter club.  This is why, as professional clubfitters, we have a mantra that goes “test, test, and then test some more”.

and that is why I ststed "usually" Most high hncp players don't seem to have a clue where the club head is in the swing

[cnosil 24,438]

19 minutes ago, Golfnut0226 said:

and that is why I ststed "usually" Most high hncp players don't seem to have a clue where the club head is in the swing

Why limit your statement to high handicap players?   

[RI_Redneck 136]

On 10/15/2021 at 3:12 PM, Middler said:

That’s what I was thinking. Some lead tape and a trip to the driving range to experiment. I can’t figure out why it happens with my woods/hybrids and not my irons? The swing weights on my irons are lower, so I may be looking at this all wrong, but no harm in trying.

For me, the head lags behind if the SW/MOI is too high for my tempo. I don't run into this problem much since I like my clubs on the heavy side. I ran into it while experimenting for the proper weighting years ago.

Odds are, if adding the lead tape makes it worse, then you need to go lighter instead. Hopefully your clubs have weights that can be changed. Otherwise, you may be looking at a reshaft. Only trying will tell.

BT

[NRJyzr 1,237]

On 10/15/2021 at 2:12 PM, Middler said:

That’s what I was thinking. Some lead tape and a trip to the driving range to experiment. I can’t figure out why it happens with my woods/hybrids and not my irons? The swing weights on my irons are lower, so I may be looking at this all wrong, but no harm in trying.

Static weight, perhaps?  Guessing your woods and hybrids are significantly lighter than your irons.

When i swing a too light club, my swing goes completely in the trash heap.  I tried my friend's G20 irons a few weeks ago, couldn't even hit the ball.  He has lightweight steel in Ping G20s, I'm using 105g graphite, but my irons' swingweight was about 8 pts higher than his clubs.

[NRJyzr 1,237]

On 10/16/2021 at 12:00 PM, Middler said:

Lead tape isn’t supposed to be a permanent solution

That's just crazy talk. 

 

[RickyBobby_PR 9,260]

2 hours ago, NRJyzr said:

That's just crazy talk. 

 

Lots of pros with lead tape all over their clubs. Some of them have the entire back of an iron or wedge loaded with it. Phil is famous for his

[NRJyzr 1,237]

[driveandputtmachine 106]

I am of the opinion that trying to match your woods to your irons is a fool's errand.  First off SW I think is crap.  Total weight and balance point(MOI matching is much better) but you still should not match your irons because it is a different swing.

Take your driver, 3w and hybrid to the range.  Get a large roll of high density lead tape.  Experiment with placing on the shaft, head to figure it out.  I start with the shaft, many people I see are having issues with super light shafts when their irons are super heavy.  Use foot powder spray to determine your strike location as well.  You could be hitting many of them off of the heel which could be causing problems with the fade, but more than likely you, like roughly 70% of players, are more susceptible to weight and it causing a timing issue with your driver and woods.

Placement on the shaft?  You can ring it around the spot 14" below the grip, or you can mark that spot and extend above and below that mark in equal distance.  Also on the head, place equal part on the toe and heel if your strike pattern becomes erratic with the weight on the shaft.  This is how I self fit my driver a few years back to understand what head weight, shaft weight, and balance point of a shaft works best for me.

[Golfnut0226 6]

On 10/18/2021 at 6:09 PM, cnosil said:

Why limit your statement to high handicap players?   

good point !