Swing Weight Advice – Shorter Shaft on Ai Smoke Max 3W (Ventus Red 7S @ 42")

[2tone_23]

Hey everyone – quick swing weight question:

I'm swapping out the stock Denali White 70S shaft from my Callaway Ai Smoke Max 3 wood for a Ventus Red 7S cut to 42"). As expected, this shorter shaft is going to drop the swing weight compared to the stock ~43.25" setup.

Couple of questions:

• Do I need to adjust swing weight back to standard (D3-D4 range)?

• What would happen to performance or feel if I don’t adjust it back?

• Is there a preferred method for restoring swing weight in this kind of build (e.g., hot melt, lead tape, heavier head weight)?

On paper, I’m guessing I’ll be 6–9 swing weight points light. I like the feel of standard swing weight and want to retain that head awareness during the swing, but I’m also curious how others have approached this.

Appreciate any insights or tips—especially from anyone who’s run a shorter fairway wood build before.

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

[Ty_Guy]

Swing it as is with the new setup, then slowly add lead tape about 3 SW points at a time. That will be ~5g each time. Compare the results with 0g, 5g, and 10g added. What feels the best between those numbers? What has the best launch monitor numbers? To do this easily on the range, find out how long a 2g strip of tape is. Most lead tape is around .5g per inch.

 

Take that weight added and purchase equal weighted screws for the added difference vs. the currently installed weight screws, if available. Use lead tape for the rest. Voila! You're set!

 

I should add, more directly answering your question, that a different shaft profile will have a different feel. So the exact swing weight you previously had, may not be the one to chase. It may be a possibility that your new Ventus Red build feel just fine. Assuming you're using a Denali Blue, your new Ventus Red is 5 grams heavier. Some swing weight will already be compensated for with the heavier Ventus.

 

An additional step to find the right SW for your 3W: Do you have a similar club in the bag (5w or 7w?) If you like how those feel, swing them either before or after you find a good feel for your 3W. Assuming they are similar builds, it will be nice to get a similar feel out of them. You may very well find the perfect SW with the new 3W, then want to adjust your other woods to match.

Edited June 5 by Ty_Guy

[2tone_23]

Thanks a bunch for all those awesome suggestions! Just to clarify, the original shaft was the Denali White 7S (the low-spin profile), which weighs about 75 grams. The new Ventus Red 7S is a bit lighter, around 71 grams. So, the Ventus Red is actually lighter, not heavier, as I said before.

Now, about the weights, Callaway and other companies don’t offer interchangeable weights specifically for the fairway wood heads. Only driver weights seem to be available. So, I’m stuck with lead tape or hot melt to adjust my swing weight.

[Ty_Guy]

3 hours ago, 2tone_23 said:

Thanks a bunch for all those awesome suggestions! Just to clarify, the original shaft was the Denali White 7S (the low-spin profile), which weighs about 75 grams. The new Ventus Red 7S is a bit lighter, around 71 grams. So, the Ventus Red is actually lighter, not heavier, as I said before.

Now, about the weights, Callaway and other companies don’t offer interchangeable weights specifically for the fairway wood heads. Only driver weights seem to be available. So, I’m stuck with lead tape or hot melt to adjust my swing weight.

Gotcha!

 

Making some assumptions, you will need 10g to get swing weight back up to D0. From there, every gram will increase SW about .6 points. This math is based on a 210g 3W head, 71g uncut shaft, 42" play length.

 

Prior to adding weight, the new club will be at an estimated C4.6. No one would chase a certain number, but I'm betting it will feel very light at first. If you choose to leave it as is, I'd expect lower smash factors. How much lower, though, I can't say.

 

I play my woods .75 to .5" short. There is about 12 inches (5g) of lead tape on my 4W. It doesn't look bad at all.

 

Still do the lead tape experiment or jump the gun and go ahead and pop a 10g weight peg in there if you're feeling confident that will be what you need. Or take the methodical approach, adding tape in increments. It will be a lot of lead tape. After you find the right weight, you can install a graphite tip weight pictured below.

 

I kind of lean towards if you feel savvy enough on SW and where you like to be, starting from the extra weight peg may be easier. It all depends on you ability (or how convenient it is) to extract and re-shaft as you test. I tend to get a little excited when in your shoes and tend to jump the gun. It's worked out for me much more than it hasn't.

 

They come in various sizes and materials. It is easy to find a 10g weight peg. After that, you're looking at only needing to get clever with a couple grams of lead tape.

https://www.golfworks.com/rubber-tungsten-tip-weights/p/gw0121/

 

Edited June 6 by Ty_Guy

[Stuart_G]

9 hours ago, 2tone_23 said:

Only driver weights seem to be available. So, I’m stuck with lead tape or hot melt to adjust my swing weight.

 

You can always check Ebay or Amazon for chinese knock off replacement weights.

 

But it is ALWAYS going to be better starting off with the lead tape to figure out how much needs to be added.   Once you have that figured out, you can look for alternatives when you know how much weight you'll need.

 

 

As far as tip weights go - I'm guessing there isn't any interest in tip weights by the OP - since it means pulling the head.

 

But regardless, for those readers that might be interested in using tip weights:

 

The lead weights for graphite shafts are great if you only need 2 gm or 4 gm

 

If you need more than that, these brass and tungsten options are (IMO) better options since they don't take up a full 1/4" of the hossel bore like the tungsten/rubber weights or the 6 gm lead weight.   That means they don't adversely effect the playing length or cut shaft length or the length of the final glue joint.

 

https://billybobsgolf.com/product/brass-swingweights-for-graphite-shafts/

https://billybobsgolf.com/product/brass-swingweight-for-heavy-graphite-shafts-with-small-mandrel-hole/

https://billybobsgolf.com/product/tungsten-swingweights-graphite-shafts-170-shank-o-d-135-shank-o-d-2g-12g/

Edited June 6 by Stuart_G

[2tone_23]

I don’t mind using a tip weight — the head is removable since it’s an adjustable hosel. I’m cutting down to a 42” Ventus Red 7S shaft from the standard ~43.25”, so I’m expecting to lose around 7.5 swing weight points, which would drop me from about D3 to roughly C5.5. That’s about a 15-gram swing weight deficit, so I’ll likely need a 10–12 gram tip weight and then fine-tune with lead tape from there.

[2tone_23]

I haven’t been able to find an after market weight shaped like this for the ai smoke fairway woods. If anyone knows where I can get a weight shaped like that, this would be the easiest option. Pic attached. 

[Stuart_G]

1 hour ago, 2tone_23 said:

I don’t mind using a tip weight — the head is removable since it’s an adjustable hosel. 

 

FYI - you still need to pull / remove the adapter from the shaft and re-glue if you want to add a tip weight.   If you're ok with that, then sure, use tip weights.

 

PS  The swing weight "rules" about how much you might need aren't really very reliable in this context.    There is nothing special or magic about the standard or stock swing weights.   You need to find what works for you.

 

Edited June 6 by Stuart_G

[2tone_23]

Totally fair — I know the swing weight “rules” aren’t exact, especially when factoring in balance points, butt stiffness, grip weight, etc.

 

But just in the traditional sense, if I’m trying to get swing weight back to the D3–D4 range, wouldn’t I be looking at around a 7.5-point drop, meaning I’d need to add roughly 15 grams back to the head to compensate?

 

Just trying to get a baseline target before dialing it in with lead tape or tip weights.

[Stuart_G]

 

FYI - another reason you shouldn't rely on the rules is to predict or calculate swing weight changes is that any shaft change could mean a change in shaft balance point - which could have a noticeable effect on swing weight.   You won't know what you'll get until  you actually measure it.

 

But back to the more important question.

 

14 minutes ago, 2tone_23 said:

 if I’m trying to get swing weight back to the D3–D4 range

 

The question is why are you trying to do that?  Or why do you think that would be a good thing to do?

 

 

 

Part of the problems or the imperfections of the swing weight system - is that D4 in one configuration may not feel the same as D4 in a different configuration.   Big changes in length and changes in shaft weight (or grip weight) usually means it's best to throw out any old values and refit for head weight - even if you know they were good values in a different club configuration - which isn't clear based on the info you provided so far.   

 

But the bigger potential issue (IMO) is that the fact that you're trying to get back to a stock swing weight is a good indicator that you were never really fit for swing weight in the first place.  And the fact that you are shortening the playing length means that the club itself in general wasn't a good fit. So why try to go back to something that you weren't fit for and you know wasn't a good fit?

 

I'm not trying to tell you what might be or might not be a good target.  There is no way anyone here can tell you that.  All I'm really trying to say is it's not usually a good idea to make assumptions about it.  Trying to take short cuts opens the door for less than ideal results.  It's better to err on the side of too light than too heavy so you can work your way up to the best fit with lead tape.

Edited June 6 by Stuart_G