DIY Driver tune up / DIY fitting

[Goopher]

On 7/3/2023 at 3:00 AM, Mulliganizer said:

Love this thread, so much good information! Went to the dollar store and got some foot spray on the way to the driving range. Placed the inside left foot next to an alignment stick that was pointing at the ball and took 5 hits, each time choking down about 1/2" and yet, got the same result. So my guess is it's more me than the club. Looks like lessons it is. 😞
 

tbh I see exactly this on an almost daily basis and in my opinion it (most of the times) has little to do with club length.

if you are able to hit the same spot every time, there is nothing wrong with the consistency of your swing.

 

a lot of players make reasonably solid contact of the ground or a very low tee, but struggle with hitting it way on the inside off a higher tee

 

of course as everything, this is not a solution for everybody, but for some people it is just the fact that their hand eye coordination brings the clubhead to the ball in a certain way, and as soon as the ball is on a high tee, the perception is off.

 

if you set up to a ball and lift the clubhead in front of you without changing your spine angle, you will struggle to lift the clubhead straight up ... it will be much more natural to move the clubhead up and out ... and for that same reason quite a few players end up with the clubhead in a higher position than at setup (and then more to the outside, hence the inside hits)

 

a good DIY test for this is, if you struggle hitting your driver like above but you are great with a fairwaywood off the tee ... tee up the fairwaywood as high as the driver and see if you are still crushing it ... if you do, it likely is the club length ... if you don't, you might just have to adapt the tee height or adapt to a higher tee (eg. hovering the club with the sweetspot behind the ball, or setting the club down more inside)

[Stuart_G]

On 11/21/2023 at 10:12 AM, Howard_Jones said:

If it gets pinned, i will have to close for comments, thats the balance here.

 

If you want my opinion, I think that would be the better option.   Anyone who has a question can always open a new thread.

[Howard_Jones]

13 minutes ago, Stuart_G said:

 

If you want my opinion, I think that would be the better option.   Anyone who has a question can always open a new thread.

i dont run this forum, so im not in control of this, so if the Marshals think it should be pinned, its up to them, no me. All i know is that the number of readers and questions will go up, and im not able to spend the time needed to answer them all.

[JGGolf95]

Probably a easy question to answer:
I currently play with a standard length 46” (head installed to grip), Hzrdus 6.0 60g. 
i want to lower my shaft length to around 44”. If I order a custom shaft that is 42 (adaptor installed to grip) (driver length is around 2” added) if it’s custom made, should the shaft weight already be correct or will I still need to adjust this on my own?

Driver is Callaway Paradym.  

[Stuart_G]

7 hours ago, JGGolf95 said:

Probably a easy question to answer:
I currently play with a standard length 46” (head installed to grip), Hzrdus 6.0 60g. 
i want to lower my shaft length to around 44”. If I order a custom shaft that is 42 (adaptor installed to grip) (driver length is around 2” added) if it’s custom made, should the shaft weight already be correct or will I still need to adjust this on my own?

Driver is Callaway Paradym.  

 

Yes, very easy to answer.

 

Follow the instructions in the first post. That's the only way to tell if the shaft weight or head weight is correct.   No one here can answer that for you.

[70sinsight]

On 9/16/2013 at 11:28 AM, Howard_Jones said:

Out against the toe mostly - Shaft is to short*

What does the asterisk mean on this portion? Thanks!

[Howard_Jones]

19 minutes ago, 70sinsight said:

What does the asterisk mean on this portion? Thanks!

It seems to have been lost during edit, but there can be many reasons, from a club to light, to the opposite, or simply swing flaws.

A club to light will not go down and out like it should, if the club is too heavy, the player starts to pull it in....
- we have to go trough the weight testing you find in post #8 to know, but most players should be able to judge if its light or heavy, and both can cause toe hit, so its not always because the club is too short, that's mostly a valid point in the short end of a iron set, and the DIY is written with focus on the driver, but valid for all full swing clubs, and that's why its included.

Edited September 2, 2024 by Howard_Jones

[jountr]

I've been following the instructions step by step, tinkering with old shafts (finally sticking with one brand/hosel adapter payed off). I settled down with driver at 44.5", 50g stiff shaft, +18g of lead tape on the head. 

 

I’m hitting the most efficient spot 8/10 times. My MLM2PRO in a good session puts the average smash factor at 1.51, with some shots hitting 1.52 or "--" when the data and quick math (ball speed/club speed) gets to 1.525 or higher, just like @Howard_Jones predicted.

 

The downside:

With this 44.5" + 18g setup, my swing speed has dropped. I’m now averaging 95 mph, down from 101 mph with my previous setup. I suspect the change from C9 - 336g (old setup) to D8 - 361g is part of the issue.

 

So the question is:

- Should I keep tinkering with length/weight to find a lower swing weight and/or total weight that works better for me?

- Or should I hit the gym to muscle up the lost swing speed?

 

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Edited January 19 by jountr

[Howard_Jones]

5 hours ago, jountr said:

I've been following the instructions step by step, tinkering with old shafts (finally sticking with one brand/hosel adapter payed off). I settled down with driver at 44.5", 50g stiff shaft, +18g of lead tape on the head. 

 

I’m hitting the most efficient spot 8/10 times. My MLM2PRO in a good session puts the average smash factor at 1.51, with some shots hitting 1.52 or "--" when the data and quick math (ball speed/club speed) gets to 1.525 or higher, just like @Howard_Jones predicted.

 

The downside:

With this 44.5" + 18g setup, my swing speed has dropped. I’m now averaging 95 mph, down from 101 mph with my previous setup. I suspect the change from C9 - 336g (old setup) to D8 - 361g is part of the issue.

 

So the question is:

- Should I keep tinkering with length/weight to find a lower swing weight and/or total weight that works better for me?

- Or should I hit the gym to muscle up the lost swing speed?

 

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Actual resistance to swing it (MOI), has changed a lot from where you came from, so a drop in club speed is not unusual if that much is needed. Try to remove some weight, and pay attention to how impact trends changes. IF it turns out that you actually need that much weight to make a good impact, you have to live with the drop in club speed. The question in the end is not really club speed, but Ball speed, launch datas, average carry and fairway hits.....but try a little lower weight (head). A few grams makes a huge difference when we are close to our ideal specs.

[is1ander]

5 hours ago, jountr said:

I've been following the instructions step by step, tinkering with old shafts (finally sticking with one brand/hosel adapter payed off). I settled down with driver at 44.5", 50g stiff shaft, +18g of lead tape on the head. 

 

I’m hitting the most efficient spot 8/10 times. My MLM2PRO in a good session puts the average smash factor at 1.51, with some shots hitting 1.52 or "--" when the data and quick math (ball speed/club speed) gets to 1.525 or higher, just like @Howard_Jones predicted.

 

The downside:

With this 44.5" + 18g setup, my swing speed has dropped. I’m now averaging 95 mph, down from 101 mph with my previous setup. I suspect the change from C9 - 336g (old setup) to D8 - 361g is part of the issue.

 

So the question is:

- Should I keep tinkering with length/weight to find a lower swing weight and/or total weight that works better for me?

- Or should I hit the gym to muscle up the lost swing speed?

 

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

I love that setup. D8 is fantastic IMO. I think you should stick with it and your speed will go up a bit as your muscle memory builds. Gym won't hurt but that's just for long term health and general golf athleticism. I will take 8/10 striped drives at 95 mph any day over 101 all over the face going left, right, up and down. Very nice progress indeed.

 

 

[braveheart]

Howard, thank you for providing your knowledge and information for us. I also have learned a lot from all the posters findings and feedback. I am applying all of this to my driver tweaking over this winter.

[bcflyguy1]

On 9/17/2013 at 5:33 AM, Howard_Jones said:

[quote name='@@@' timestamp='1379422358' post='7864713']
Are there any tell tale signs that total weight is too high or too low?
[/quote]

If shaft weight / Total weight is to high, it would be visible at Transition on top of the swing.
- It will look like the club is frozen to something, and has to be "pulled" free, and the player will move his hips and lower back sideways to do that. Its very easy to see that he struggles, even if he say it feels OK.

If the club is to light, his tempo timing will suffer, and become variable from swing to swing.

A club that is too heavy will cause the player to visibly labor to get the swing executed, particularly at transition as you state. The act of hitting the shot starts to look obviously like work, particularly after a handful of swings, and that's not sustainable over the course of a round.

An unmentioned sign that the club is too light that I'm attentive for is club path jumping around from shot to shot, usually because the lightness causes the player to lose sensation of where the club is at (often described as the club seemingly disappearing halfway into the backswing). Path being so hard to control (and therefore matching face up to said unstable path) gets the fitting subject into what I call "player induced oscillations," making compensations from shot to shot that result in a shot scatter pattern that one would never willingly take to the course environment.

[Urb]

Is there a point where getting the SW super high is a signal to go up in shaft weight?

 

I would guess that having weight spread out would feel better than having it way far away on the head?

[Howard_Jones]

5 hours ago, Urb said:

Is there a point where getting the SW super high is a signal to go up in shaft weight?

 

I would guess that having weight spread out would feel better than having it way far away on the head?

Both SW values and shaft wgt is non issues if you follow this DIY, thats why i wrote it, so any player can make this right.

[FirstFlight]

Had the situation over the weekend where we were teed up with a new player to the game, probably at most, around 25 lifetime rounds to his name. He had a completely new all PXG set. I told myself that if others can tolerate my typical game, then I can tolerate what I think we will see from him. Sure enough, his game was new, but he would pick up and move on when it would make sense. Actually a very freindly and considerate new player. I'll only speak about the driving. His shots were all over the map but there is something there. Still, over rotating, over powering, timing, etc... but no loss of temper or tossing the club.

 

I find 11 fairways that day, and my buddies rib me like usual in front of him for how "boring" my tee game is. On hole 18, he pulls and tops one pretty bad for his last drive of the day. So I motion and walk up to him with my driver, and tell him to just try it for grins. I show him its a 15 year old non adjustable head, a 5 year old shaft, lead tape and bag chatter. I hand him a ball and he goes to set up and I tell him as confidently as I can...take a practice swing at 50% power, then another at 75% power, then, in your best judgement hit the ball. He hits it really good and down the middle. Plenty of hoots and golf claps from our group. He hands me back my driver with a thanks, and I hand him back his. Then I ask if I can show him something. So I take his driver and mine, back to back and show him that mine is playing shorter at 44" and weighted at the head like it is a 3W head. I hope the kid lets that sink in and tinkers a bit. I could see a lot of me and my past, in him. 
Cheers

[Jayjay_theweim_guy]

Love this thread.  

@Howard_Jones, QQ:  way back on page 1, to raise impact height once we have shaft length consistent, we need to raise the tee height.  What if the player is already in 3.5" tees or similar?  Do we start adjusting ball position?

 

This is very likely a more appropriate question for the Instruction forum (where their response will be:  "Get a Lesson & Post a Swing,") but I thought I'd try here.

 

Thanks again for everything you've given this forum.

[Howard_Jones]

56 minutes ago, Jayjay_theweim_guy said:

Love this thread.  

@Howard_Jones, QQ:  way back on page 1, to raise impact height once we have shaft length consistent, we need to raise the tee height.  What if the player is already in 3.5" tees or similar?  Do we start adjusting ball position?

 

This is very likely a more appropriate question for the Instruction forum (where their response will be:  "Get a Lesson & Post a Swing,") but I thought I'd try here.

 

Thanks again for everything you've given this forum.

Just like everything else in Golf tech, we have to use "trial and error", in this case both higher and lower tee than we normally use, and movement of ball position, so it all falls in to place, with a impact pattern and ball flight as constant as can be.

Focus on IMPACT POSITION, and you will see how it moves depending on how you change tee height and or ball position.

[mb123]

On 10/10/2013 at 4:00 AM, Howard_Jones said:

Here is an update with a few charts for you.

The first is a chart for un-cut shaft weight of all your clubs.
- This is MY suggestion for shaft weight progression, as we change shaft lenght.
If you have a favorite club that just feels right, find the un cut shaft weight of that club, and locate it in the green fields in the bottom of the chart. In some cases you will find your favorit clubs shaft weight in 3 rows. The middle would be my suggestion for the rest of your bag, based on your favorite club. The row to the left is 5 grams down, the row to the right is 5 grams up.

The chart is based on players ive been doing more than 1 club for, and i found a pattern behind it, who can be explained. In a set of irons with constant weight shafts, both shafts and grips is equal in weight, the only difference is the head. The clubs total weight changes by the same as head weight changes, and thats 7 grams pr. iron.

In Drivers and woods we can use 10 grams pr. club like this
- Driver = 198
- 3W = 208
- 4W = 213
- 5W = 218
- 7W = 228

In woods we go 10 grams pr inch, or compared to irons, only 5 gram pr 0.5 inch, and then we will need some extra weight. If we use 5 grams plus on Shaft Weight pr inch shorter club, the total weight difference would be about 7.5 grams pr 0.5 inch in woods, compared to 7 grams in irons. Then we ends up with a "heft" in all your clubs who makes them more equal than many players got.

[attachment=1907503:Shaft weight progression.PNG]

EDIT - NEW Chart with IMPERIAL WTF added.
[attachment=1908815:Static fitting club length.PNG]

anyone know if the new chart is available? looks like lost from old forum format