Shaft too light?

[MadAerospace]

So basically I use a Nippon  NES pro 950 that came off the rack with my Srixon irons, and recently (been doing a lot more training and practice, lessons, etc..) I've been feeling the club head less, if you get what I mean. Sometimes I'm at the top of my backswing and the shaft falls literally, Jon Daly style but not on purpose, so I tend to slow down my back swing to counteract that, which I don't want to do tweaks to my swing. Is it too light? I feel like if the shaft was a bit heavier, It would help me have more control over the club. I live in a place where golf isn't that big of a sport so there are no places to do a fitting here. Any help would be appreciated.

[Pepperturbo]

Consider learning what those irons are swing weighted at, then shifting the swing weight to accommodate your feel.  Proper swing weighting of 95g shafts in 2i-3i-4i, is the only element that when adjusted to D2 (3i/4i) & D3 (2i) allows me to feel the club head at the top of my swing.

[MadAerospace]

1 hour ago, Pepperturbo said:

Consider learning what those irons are swing weighted at, then shifting the swing weight to accommodate your feel.  Proper swing weighting of 95g shafts in 2i-3i-4i, is the only element that when adjusted to D2 (3i/4i) & D3 (2i) allows me to feel the club head at the top of my swing.

Thanks I will try that out, any way to tell the exact swing weght of a club ?

[Pepperturbo]

1 hour ago, MadAerospace said:

Thanks I will try that out, any way to tell the exact swing weght of a club ?

Yes, on a swing weight scale.  Mitchell Golf makes one, but it's not inexpensive.  Builders have them and some local golf stores have them.

[Lefty Mondegreen]

Somebody on ebay has a 3d printed model that works resting on/reading from a digital gram scale.  Haven't tried it yet ...

 

Also, estimators are available online, and you'll want to look at Howard's DIY driver fitting (irons are discussed around p 4 or 6?).  No problem with adding lead tape to shafts.  I think someone said we can feel 10 gram changes (maybe work with 5 gram increments to start).  I add cloth tape as a base layer, so I can peel it off and weigh it, but it isn't necessary.  So a short club and a long club ... 

 

FWIW:  I don't feel/load the Nippons well, prefer KBS ....  But as I work on keeping the club in the fingers, wide takeaway, swinging around the body and late release there is a phase where I feel a whip and loss of control.  At first, because I flip, open the club face and don't staying connected (and therefore don't achieve late release ... why are we listening to me again?).  

 

As I learn to compress the ball, the shaft is coming back into it.  So, depending on where I am in mastering these swing components, my shaft preference changes (although I am less sensitive, overall, if that make any sense).  So, I stick with it, but am ready to assess when I get settled.  Certainly, you can weight the head and the shaft to see if you like more better in the mean time.  

 

My shaft falls, Big John stylee, when my takeaway is deep, not wide, and my wrists collapse.  Lighter shafts may take more concentration, but the fault is all mine.  In fact lighter shafts, because I can manipulate them more, make me more conscious and precise about the motion.  Still haven't decided about weight. 

 

https://www.hirekogolf.com/golf-clubfitting-assembled-swingweight-calculator

 

http://www.leaderboard.com/swingwt.htm

[MadAerospace]

11 hours ago, Pepperturbo said:

Yes, on a swing weight scale.  Mitchell Golf makes one, but it's not inexpensive.  Builders have them and some local golf stores have them.

Yeah that's the issue, no golf stores or shops or anything in the whole country that I am in right now. Need to wait till I'm back in teh states (not sure when), or somewhere that has golf stuff. Thanks anyways

[MadAerospace]

10 hours ago, Lefty Mondegreen said:

Somebody on ebay has a 3d printed model that works resting on/reading from a digital gram scale.  Haven't tried it yet ...

 

Also, estimators are available online, and you'll want to look at Howard's DIY driver fitting (irons are discussed around p 4 or 6?).  No problem with adding lead tape to shafts.  I think someone said we can feel 10 gram changes (maybe work with 5 gram increments to start).  I add cloth tape as a base layer, so I can peel it off and weigh it, but it isn't necessary.  So a short club and a long club ... 

 

FWIW:  I don't feel/load the Nippons well, prefer KBS ....  But as I work on keeping the club in the fingers, wide takeaway, swinging around the body and late release there is a phase where I feel a whip and loss of control.  At first, because I flip, open the club face and don't staying connected (and therefore don't achieve late release ... why are we listening to me again?).  

 

As I learn to compress the ball, the shaft is coming back into it.  So, depending on where I am in mastering these swing components, my shaft preference changes (although I am less sensitive, overall, if that make any sense).  So, I stick with it, but am ready to assess when I get settled.  Certainly, you can weight the head and the shaft to see if you like more better in the mean time.  

 

My shaft falls, Big John stylee, when my takeaway is deep, not wide, and my wrists collapse.  Lighter shafts may take more concentration, but the fault is all mine.  In fact lighter shafts, because I can manipulate them more, make me more conscious and precise about the motion.  Still haven't decided about weight. 

 

https://www.hirekogolf.com/golf-clubfitting-assembled-swingweight-calculator

 

http://www.leaderboard.com/swingwt.htm

Yes that makes sense, also my swing was changing constantly (fairly new to the game), but now it has kind of settled. I'm thinking of just skipping all the work and waiting till I'm back in teh states or somewhere that has golf shops an dplaces to get a fitting done. By then I think my swing would have solidified a bit more I assume and I'd know what I like/dislike and can try more things, what do you think?

Edited May 21 by MadAerospace

[Stuart_G]

17 hours ago, MadAerospace said:

Is it too light? I feel like if the shaft was a bit heavier, It would help me have more control over the club. I live in a place where golf isn't that big of a sport so there are no places to do a fitting here. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Very easy thing to test out.   Get some lead tape and wrap it around the shaft about 4"-6" below the bottom of the grip.    Add it in 10 gm increments to start and refine with 5 gm increments.  That will tell you what the best shaft weight might be for you or how important it might be to your swing.

 

As others have also mentioned, when you change shaft weight it can effect what swing weight (or really head weight) might be the best fit.   So adding lead tape on the head (in 2 gm increments) is a good test as well.    And while it's not exactly the same thing,  this can sometimes be used to compensate if the shaft weight is too light.   So if the first test tells you that you probably should be playing heavier shafts, it can still be helpful until you can get a set with better fitting shafts.

 

Just don't do them both at the same time - at least at first.  The recommendation is to do the shaft weight first and head weight second.

Edited May 21 by Stuart_G

[Streuner]

The Nippon shafts are great for swingers, but if you rush a bit at the downswing the feel becomes strange. The heavier 1050 or Modus 105 / 120 are not that sensible. But with some lead tape around the shaft around the Middle will give you a good Suggestion 

[MadAerospace]

2 hours ago, Stuart_G said:

 

Very easy thing to test out.   Get some lead tape and wrap it around the shaft about 4"-6" below the bottom of the grip.    Add it in 10 gm increments to start and refine with 5 gm increments.  That will tell you what the best shaft weight might be for you or how important it might be to your swing.

 

As others have also mentioned, when you change shaft weight it can effect what swing weight (or really head weight) might be the best fit.   So adding lead tape on the head (in 2 gm increments) is a good test as well.    And while it's not exactly the same thing,  this can sometimes be used to compensate if the shaft weight is too light.   So if the first test tells you that you probably should be playing heavier shafts, it can still be helpful until you can get a set with better fitting shafts.

 

Just don't do them both at the same time - at least at first.  The recommendation is to do the shaft weight first and head weight second.

Thank you, I'll give it a shot until I can get a proper fitting 

[Stuart_G]

1 minute ago, MadAerospace said:

Thank you, I'll give it a shot until I can get a proper fitting 

 

With the state of the fitting industry, sometimes doing it yourself much more effective and reliable.  Then when you do go it, the main thing that's left is just finding the right stiffness profile in the weight you already found to work best.

[MadAerospace]

2 minutes ago, Stuart_G said:

 

With the state of the fitting industry, sometimes doing it yourself much more effective and reliable.  Then when you do go it, the main thing that's left is just finding the right stiffness profile in the weight you already found to work best.

Yeah I'll start with the weight, I assume stifness comes from the correct swing speed yeah?

[Stuart_G]

1 hour ago, MadAerospace said:

Yeah I'll start with the weight, I assume stifness comes from the correct swing speed yeah?

 

Not really.   Swing speed and things like how aggresive the transition will effect how much a shaft loads or unloads, but it doesn't tell us what the best fit will be.  There is no ideal amount of loading.

 

It's actually more about feel and how that feel might effect the swing.  Maybe a preferred feel or a learned expectation for a particular feel of the shaft loading and unloading that helps with timing of the swing.  Or for many it's not really all that important, you might be able to play a wide range of stiffness profiles with very little effect on the ball flight results.

 

Just remember, it's really best if you look at stiffness as a contributing factor to things like dispersion, accuracy, and shot shape control,   NOT launch and spin.

 

Edited May 21 by Stuart_G

[Lefty Mondegreen]

12 hours ago, MadAerospace said:

By then I think my swing would have solidified a bit more I assume and I'd know what I like/dislike and can try more things, what do you think?

I think the others have covered the options, better than I can.  But I would recommend going through a process, whether it's adding weight to the shafts or the heads.  Get a set where you like it now, if possible.