Swing weight factors in relation to parts

[Pigems]

[quote name='FAIRWAYFOUND!' timestamp='1390760794' post='8536793']
I can't seem to find this. Can someone tell me how much each strip of grip tape usually weighs? Thanks in advance.
[/quote]

I was just about to ask the same thing, I just changed all my grips this weekend. It wasn't a big change for most of my clubs but my irons had 2 wraps of masking tape and one wrap of two way grip tape and a NDMC grip and I went to Golf Pride Tour Wraps standard with only one layer of two way grip tape and I'm wondering how many SW point I would have lost/gained in this process.

[Pigems]

Just realized I have a scale Duh! LOL. A full strip of two way grip tape weight 4.4g before you peel either side off.

[Smilesy]

I want to cut down my Razr Fit Extreme driver to 45" (from the stock 46"). I have tried a mates shaft who cut the same Trinity shaft down and I liked the extra control, but it felt a bit light to me so would like to work out how to keep my swing weight around stock. My rough maths is as below:
Cutting shaft inch = -6 points
Swapping 13g to 15g weight = +1point
Swapping 1g to 7g weight = +3points
So I'm at -2 points which I can live with.
I'm also thinking of trying to get a light weight grip which should get me to about the same point anyway.

Cutting an inch off will obviously drop the total shaft weight, but I'm guessing that is going to be negligible, is that right? Are my calculations correct?
Thanks

[marshallbarnes]

so helpful thanks for the tips

[BillyZ2]

I have some Callaway X-Hot reg flex graphite irons that are D0 sw, and I want to get them to about the D5 range. I am thinking of taking off the stock Callaway grips (51grams) and installing some Winn Dri Tac Wrap Lites (24 grams) on the clubs. According to the SW rules by the OP, this should just about do it.
1) Is this a correct assumption?
2) Any other recommended way of increasing SW a couple notches? (I don't really like lead tape)

[Pigems]

Tip weights would do it

[BillyZ2]

[quote name='Pigems' timestamp='1394149263' post='8814673']
Tip weights would do it
[/quote]I suppose the only way to use tip weights is to have the iron disassembled. I know you can use tungsten powder, but I wonder how reliable that is, whether it stays in place once in. I also know lead tape is a possibility, but would rather try other options, if I can. Is there another weight type that could be inserted into the shaft after it has been assembled?

[Pigems]

WWMHD...What Would Mike Holmes Do??

It's only a couple bucks to have a club head removed(or free if you do it yourself) and it's simple to put back together yourself once your put the weights in

[BillyZ2]

[quote name='Pigems' timestamp='1394155957' post='8815527']
WWMHD...What Would Mike Holmes Do??

It's only a couple bucks to have a club head removed(or free if you do it yourself) and it's simple to put back together yourself once your put the weights in
[/quote]You have a good point there, is that something a golfer can do, or is it better to get it done by a club tech, I have decent hands on skills.

[Pigems]

As long as it's a steel shaft I'd say go for it yourself, if it's graphite have the pros remove the heads. Putting them back together you can definitely do yourself as well. Im no club builder by any stretch of the imagination but I have successfully removed a set of irons heads, takes about 15-20 min to do the set if you take your time. It's not hard at all

[BillyZ2]

[quote name='Pigems' timestamp='1394157228' post='8815713']
As long as it's a steel shaft I'd say go for it yourself, if it's graphite have the pros remove the heads. Putting them back together you can definitely do yourself as well. Im no club builder by any stretch of the imagination but I have successfully removed a set of irons heads, takes about 15-20 min to do the set if you take your time. It's not hard at all
[/quote]Oops, these are graphite on the Callaway X Hots. Callaway also uses "bore-through hosel". hmmm?

[Pigems]

Let's the pros do it then, no need to take a chance

[FairwaysToHeaven]

Just have a quick question and apologize if it's been answered in these pages.

Thinking about ordering irons that come standard with stock shafts that are lightweight. 85g. Specs show they are d2 SW. if I custom order these irons withkbs tour s which are 120g, should I be concerned about sw.they will also be half inch long. Should I request d2, or would that require increasing head weight which would have negative results.

Irons are tm speedblades if that matters

[BillyZ2]

[quote name='HoosierMizuno' timestamp='1394298070' post='8826333']
Just have a quick question and apologize if it's been answered in these pages.

Thinking about ordering irons that come standard with stock shafts that are lightweight. 85g. Specs show they are d2 SW. if I custom order these irons withkbs tour s which are 120g, should I be concerned about sw.they will also be half inch long. Should I request d2, or would that require increasing head weight which would have negative results.

Irons are tm speedblades if that matters
[/quote]I don't have the experience a club maker has, but I think they can get in the ball park of D2 if you were to ask them to. Just the same, with a heavy shaft and a 1/2" longer it might be difficult to get exactly D2. Custom ordering is a good way to go to get the clubs the way you want them. I personally don't care for real light sw's, I like them around D5ish, maybe D7, it let's me feel the club head easier during the swing.

[FairwaysToHeaven]

The problem I see with wanting a heavy swingweight when club head is lightweight yet sw is d2 is to add a heavy shaft and keep or increase sw you'd have to increase club head weight substantially which could affect playability that the manufacturer didn't intend for that heavy of head.

[BillyZ2]

Here is a good link with good technical advice on swingweight of a club, especially when it applies to different grip weight:

[url="http://blog.hirekogolf.com/2010/02/tricking-the-swingweight-scale/"]http://blog.hirekogolf.com/2010/02/tricking-the-swingweight-scale/[/url]

[dornstar]

Alright, I'm retarded with this stuff, so can someone check my math. Would be greatly appreciated...

[size=4]TaylorMade Speedblades @ D2.5[/size]


Change stock 85g shaft to 106g Project X 95 6.5.
Change stock 47.5g grip to 46.5g Golf Pride New Decade.

So, if my math is right, it would be +2.3 for the shaft and +0.2 for the grip for a total of D5?

[LDB II]

[quote name='g8rgolfer' timestamp='1305611724' post='3240421']
[quote name='joey3108' timestamp='1154037578' post='248269']
9 gr shaft weight differences = 1 swing weight point

4* flatter lie = increase 1 swing weight point[/quote]


Which way?
[/quote]If you add shaft weight, the sw increases 1 sw.

[LDB II]

[quote name='jpalermo' timestamp='1317853343' post='3630617']
so, had him tip it 1/2", and cut to a 45" playing length. weird part is that it was a 65g shaft and now it feels head heavy. why would that be. oh yeah 25g grip too
[/quote]
It's definitely the grip that's affecting your swing weight. Standard rubber grips are usually 48-50 grams, so if you replace that with the 25 gram, the swing weights increase by about 4 points.

[BillyZ2]

[quote name='LDB II' timestamp='1399054511' post='9219235']
[quote name='jpalermo' timestamp='1317853343' post='3630617']
so, had him tip it 1/2", and cut to a 45" playing length. weird part is that it was a 65g shaft and now it feels head heavy. why would that be. oh yeah 25g grip too
[/quote]
It's definitely the grip that's affecting your swing weight. Standard rubber grips are usually 48-50 grams, so if you replace that with the 25 gram, the swing weights increase by about 4 points.
[/quote]That's with it measured on a 14" swingweight scale. There is good debate on how much this changes the swingweight that a golfer actually feels because the fulcrum (hands) is now about 4".

[tylernim]

I've got some SM4s I want to get reshafted. Right now they've got X100s. I want to put KBS Wedge shafts in them (10g lighter), and cut them down .25"....

Am I correct in saying the SW will drop 2.5 pts?

[Ozsouthpaw]

I know that with an R1 having the 10 gm weight in the heel is supposed to create a draw and in the toe straight but what is the effect to swing weight by moving the heavy weight to the toe?
I have replaced the 55 gm phenom with a 69 gm UST as well as replacing the 10 gm weight in the heel with a 6 gm weight. As I find by gripping down with this setup I get a great flight I cut the shaft from 45 1/2 to 44 3/4. If I move the six gm weight to the toe will this compensate the lighter swing weight?

[Howard_Jones]

[quote name='Ozsouthpaw' timestamp='1400230620' post='9306727']
I know that with an R1 having the 10 gm weight in the heel is supposed to create a draw and in the toe straight but what is the effect to swing weight by moving the heavy weight to the toe?
I have replaced the 55 gm phenom with a 69 gm UST as well as replacing the 10 gm weight in the heel with a 6 gm weight. As I find by gripping down with this setup I get a great flight I cut the shaft from 45 1/2 to 44 3/4. If I move the six gm weight to the toe will this compensate the lighter swing weight?
[/quote]

Moving 6 grams from heel side to toe side on a 44 long driver makes a change of about 0.5 SW points (nothing)
I just testet with a random club on my SW scale

[Ozsouthpaw]

[quote name='Howard Jones' timestamp='1400401071' post='9317291']
[quote name='Ozsouthpaw' timestamp='1400230620' post='9306727']
I know that with an R1 having the 10 gm weight in the heel is supposed to create a draw and in the toe straight but what is the effect to swing weight by moving the heavy weight to the toe?
I have replaced the 55 gm phenom with a 69 gm UST as well as replacing the 10 gm weight in the heel with a 6 gm weight. As I find by gripping down with this setup I get a great flight I cut the shaft from 45 1/2 to 44 3/4. If I move the six gm weight to the toe will this compensate the lighter swing weight?
[/quote]

Moving 6 grams from heel side to toe side on a 44 long driver makes a change of about 0.5 SW points (nothing)
I just testet with a random club on my SW scale
[/quote]
Thanks for that now I know ,leave it alone or use heavier weights.

[cphrey]

So I am pretty good around a shop and can do most things to golf clubs that need to be done, but I am not sure about proper swing weighting techniques. I just put heavier shafts in my Mini and SLDR 5 wood and now the heads, obviously, feel much lighter. I know to hot melt, if possible, or use lead tape to counter the shafts, but is there a good way to do this or just add some tape, weigh it, repeat until I have it back around D4?

Details: I brought the 5 wood down from 42.75 inches to 42, and went from a 60 gram shaft to an 80. Is there a specific equation I can use here or just add weight to the head until I am at desired SW?

Mini is down to 43 inches from 43.5, and went from a 60 g shaft to a 73 gram shaft. Same question as above.

I haven't yet had a chance to get the new swing weights after I reshafted the clubs so I am not sure how far they are off, but the 5 wood is way off while the Mini may be just at D3 from D5 now...

A little help? I somehow missed this nicely pinned thread and started my own asking the question above. Any advice is appreciated!

[SadTrombone]

So, if my math is right....

I can cut my R11 driver (Standard length 45.75") down to 45.5". I'd lose 1.25" @ 6 SW points per inch, so 7.5 SW points. At 44.5" length, 1.62grams of weight is 1 SW point, so I'd need to add 12.15 grams of weight to bring the swing weight back up?

That's got to be a ridiculous amount of lead tape, no? Somewhere in the range of 12-15-ish inches of the golf smith stuff?

[bullrambler]

Just a few comments that will likely take some readers out to center field. I have always liked and prefer the feel of heavy
clubs. For me it helps in making a deliberate hit on the ball. My irons are built around a 38 inch 5 iron; my addition of swing weight ended up at E-1 for the 5 iron. That's heavy but I make such a good hit on the ball that I wouldn't change it if someone paid me to do it. Oddly my 6 to 9 iron are at D-7, my pw is D-8. That might appear to be a spread of a couple of swing weight
points but I don't want to tamper with them right now because they feel fine right now. My 5 iron distance is about 195 yards
and each club is about 13 yards less of that going down to the PW. Wedges are heavier too.
These irons are older forged MacGregor M85 irons that were remakes (1970) of the same irons that are considered classic /vintageirons from the 1950's. I have midsize grips so that can be considered a backweight of sorts.I had the lofts measured and need
some minor tweaking here and there of + or - a degree over the set so that I can have a 4* difference between each iron.

The set was bent flatter too and it makes me start from a more athletic position that helps me achieve a more deliberate strike on the ball too.
Now the swing weight scale provides a reader with information that is usually based on a 14 inch fulcrum and tells you what the relationship of weight is between the front and back of the club. Keep in mind that it does not give total weight of the club sodon't expect that to happen. And grip weight can have an effect on SW. Some people are so keen to determine what they have to
work with so they will totally disassemble a set and weigh each item - and that requires some calculations to determine how the total of these parts will provide a claculated swing weight number. Measuring before you disassemble is helpful as a starting
point.
In previous decades, before we entered the internet era, the Golfworks and Golfsmith and probably Dynacraft catalogues provided a great deal of information on stuff like this. I wish I kept mine as there was a lot of information on older steel shafts,
persimmon/laminate head and such too. But I poured over them so much that I recall a great deal of that information. I think
that there are a number of shafts that could easily be re-makes of some of the older shafts - but who knows for sure.
Any ways, as a friendly suggestion it's good for guys on WRX to obtain a book or two on club making, assembly, preparation etc which are helpful when one wants to understand how club parts contribute to total weight and swing weight on a finished product.What it all comes down too is find the feel (regardless of Swing weight) that works best. The older club fitters were so good atfiguring this stuff out and were open to experimentation - if you were. If someone suggests that you need D-1 and insists on
that SW for you - he better be able to tell you why. And, you will have to try that out to make sure it is right for you.
Although without a comparison of various Swing weights in assembled clubs it could be hard to tell.

The players from days gone by - were such great ball strikers because they worked from feel, and tinkered until it felt just
right to them. That's why they won so many tournaments, placed so high and played well under pressure. They knew that most
people did not understand this, nor were most people interested in exploring their own requirements to obtain the best fit clubsand would simply buy off the shelves. Also,many did not reveal their prized secrets that were often related to heavy clubs. But you could try an old vintage set of irons and check them out on a SW scale. Most will be about D-4 maybe more but seldom less.
If one is truely interested in finding that special feel then one has to investigate a variety of Swing weight variations, and
the lies of the clubs for themselves.

Getting an older vintage set will be the least expensive way to go. Maybe some lead tape - where SW can be added incrementally, at about 2 SW points at a time. BUt weight and measure them first. Don't be reluctant to take it up to D-4, D-6 or D-8. Keep in mind that the golf muscles will strengthen as one adjusts to the heavier feel and it might be the ticket for improvements and
success.

[bullrambler]

Part Two

Based on everyones comments swingweighting is a delicate and fickle thing to do - isn't it...? I agree but one has to thrive on
self entertainment, fun, pleasure and the joy of learning about something that takes us into unfamiliar territory. Swign-weighting is all of those things and more because it takes us into the mode of DISCOVERY... Captain Kirk said something about Strange New
Worlds... So experimenting with Swing weight is a Strange New World for many, including me.
Nobody has to follow my suggestions but here is how I did it. My first hurdle was overcoming the fact that I had an attractive
set of irons and didn't want to change a thing. And I expected them to work just as they were. Sound familiar - read on.
So I measured for length and they were about 1 inch below todays standard length and weighed them for Swing Weight (SW) which
came out at C-9.
Then I had them flattened because that was my first alteration to see if I could swing a flat lie club and make good contact
with a flat lie. RESULTS - I hit them decently but they weren't heavy enough so I used some 1 inch wide lead tape and cut a 6 inch strip and weighed it. It was 2 Swing weights. So I taped the back of my shaft just above the ferule and the club still looked marvelous. That got the club to D-1. So I went out and tired them. I hit them marginally better and thought I could go and add some more SW. So I blew the grips off and added 3 Swing weight points of tungsten powder down the shafts and added extensions tothe shaft to get them all up to modern shaft lengths. So I ended up with about D-4. I went out and tried them, and figured -
I've used D-6 before so I'll add some more lead tape. This time I had to place the tape on the back of the club head itself, andthis changed the look of the club, but it's not visible unless someone looks closely. I went out and hit them and found some of them felt a bit different. I measured noticed anomaly in the feel so I measured the SW again on the scale. They varied from D-5 to E-1. the Average was D-7 so I added tape to bring up the lighter clubs and brought them to D-7.
One has to be patient and check for the results. I ran out of steel extensions and had to use a plastic piece on the 5 iron so
that is why is came out at E-1. I hit it well so I left it at that.
My last step is to tweak the lofts and lies on some of the irons to get a 4* spread on the lofts and a 1 degree spread on the
lies.
Keep in mind that where you place the tape or tungsten powder can effect the flight of the ball. If most of the added weighting goes down the pipe, then it may promote a draw. If all the lead tape ends up in a low spot on the back of the head it may effect height of flight. In this experiment - I placed it in several places and found that it balanced it out. If your desire is to keep the club looking pretty, don't tape the back of the head - put it down the pipe with a cork jammed down there to keep it
secure.
Lastly, don't be afraid to experiment - but measure all aspects of your changes and try them out before taking the next step.
The shafts were older TT Dynamics in stiff flex.

[malelee21]

Can you confirm this?

18g heavier shafts = -2 SW?

[Howard_Jones]

[quote name='malelee21' timestamp='1404687100' post='9648127']
Can you confirm this?

18g heavier shafts = -2 SW?
[/quote]

IF and only if balance point is equal, then 9 grams is 1 SW point