R1 driver weights ?'s

[Psawmiller]

Hello everybody

 

I have a taylormade r1 and I was wondering about the interchangeable weights for the driver. I know they make different weights for them and being a slower swinger (mid 80's) would I benefit in replacing the 10g weight with say a 6g or a 4g weight? Would it be possible to gain any distance doing that or I guess what harm could come from me doing this. Btw I have always felt it was a little head heavy for my taste.

 

Thanks

Paul

[hckymeyer]

I'll play a little bit of devils advocate to RP's post. I completely agree with the heel/toe weighting and having a draw/fade basis in the R series drivers. There just isn't enough weight there to really affect ball flight.

 

However I do think it's a great way to dial in swing weight. 2gr of head weight amounts to 1 swing weight point. So for example switching from a 10gr weight to a 4gr weight would lower the swing weight by 3pts. It really comes down to what you swing the best though. In theory a lighter club will allow you to swing faster and should make the ball go farther. That's all in theory though, there are so many things that can affect the distance your ball travels that it's hard to say this would actually help.

 

Bottom line is that if the head feels heavy to you, swapping to some lighter weights is a pretty inexpensive experiment to try out.

 

Anyone know if the R11/Spider weights will fit the R1? I have two 2gr weights sitting around collecting dust. If they fit you can have one to do some testing.

[revkev]

Richard left one possibility out for hitting it farther - move to Scotland.

 

In regards to the swing weight of a club allowing you to hit it farther yes - in theory - but remember a few seasons back when the light weight grip to bring the clubs swing weight down was all the rage?

 

Also realize that wearing a glove effects the clubs swing weight.

 

In the end if you want to hit it farther hit the gym, make sure the club fits and that you are hitting it as solidly as possible.

 

Good luck!

[Psawmiller]

Ok first of all thank you for the informative replies. Now if I understood this all correctly the amount of weight is so negligible that my swing speed won't increase by using lighter weights. Having said that in theory if I put a lighter weight in and drop the swing weight down to a level that I am more comfortable with, or one that is more efficient for me I could swing the club faster(in theory of course). However I fully understand that any gain would most likely be minimal I really just like to tinker and try new things. I may be interested in hitting you guys up on your offer to try your weights for some on course testing, I will let you know.

 

Thanks

 

 

Paul

[Psawmiller]

Hey guys

 

Ok so I found a 6 gram weight at a local pro shop and decided to buy it for some unscientific testing.(it only cost me a couple bucks so no big deal). My previous setup was the 10 gram weight in the heel and the 1gram weight in the toe. Ok so my test went as follows I was on a empty course and over the course of nine holes I would hit my driver with the stock setup and one drive with the 6 gram in place of the 10 gram weight. Basically both drives went the same distance( no shock there), but here is the interesting thing on the back nine I decided to try something different I put the 6gram weight in the toe and the 10 gram weight in the heel. Ok there is nothing scientific no launch monitor numbers to back this up but I was hitting places on holes I have never been before and accuracy was top notch for me. If this was a course I didn't know very well I probably not have noticed the difference, but I work part time at this course and that allows me unlimited golf with a cart for free so I play at least 3 times a week for the past 4 months. Don't get me wrong I'm not claiming I gained 20 yards I'm saying maybe 3 to 5 yards of carry and it seemed to roll out a bit more than normal to give me a noticeable difference. My guess is the heavier swing weight helped with my sometimes quick transition. I don't really know but I am going out tomorrow evening so I will post any further observations.

 

Sorry for carrying on,

 

Paul

[hckymeyer]

Very interesting results. Kind of funny how we often go into a golf experiment expecting one thing to work, only to find out it was the complete opposite thing that actually helps