A shaft that’s too heavy will cause a “labored golf swing.” A shaft that’s too light will hurt your ability to make solid contact. When you find the right shaft weight, you’ll experience a “high energy swing” with uniform contact.
How important factor is shaft weight in golf clubs?
Jun 22, 2016 · Some players have a strong preference for a heavier or lighter shaft. We have seen in testing that a heavier shaft can promote lower ball flights with more left-to-right trajectory …
Should golf beginners play with a stiff shaft?
Jan 02, 2013 · Lighter shafts decrease swingweight. There is a very nice table just over 1/2 way down the page. The notes under the table (where the above came from) explain how to …
How to properly shift weight in a golf swing?
The mass of the club head including the mass of the first 4 inches of shaft attached to the club head is the only mass that will affect the ball at impact. All other things being are equal, the …
What are the benefits of heavier golf shafts?
Jul 11, 2021 · Several things need to be properly defined here to make sure we're on the same page. Changing to a lighter iron shaft does not lower swing weight unless the balance point of …
Does 10 grams make a difference in golf shaft?
How much does shaft weight affect swing speed?
What happens if my shaft is too heavy?
How heavy should my golf shaft be?
Does heavier shaft increase swing weight?
Does shaft weight matter?
Is a 70 gram driver shaft too heavy?
What shaft weight do the pros use?
Does swing weight matter?
What will a heavier golf shaft do?
What happens if golf shaft is too light?
What is the best swing weight for a driver?
Why is it harder to change weight in golf?
They noted that golfers who play often may have a harder time changing weight because they are more “committed” to their current shaft weight. The occasional player has less sensitivity to weight and can often make a larger change.
How to tell if a shaft is too heavy?
When you find the right shaft weight, you’ll experience a “high energy swing” with uniform contact.
Why are there so many counter balanced shafts?
So why are there so many counter balanced shafts these days? The main driver of this trend is the club head. As Fujikura explains, “High balance point shafts can be matched with heavier heads or longer club lengths to facilitate club builds with [“normal”] swing weights without having to change mass properties of the head. They can be used with standard heads at standard lengths to simply reduce swing weight.”
What is Club Champion's look for?
Club Champion emphasized looking for the best numbers – ball speed, launch, spin, angle of attack, club path, and dynamic loft. This is why their fittings all include Trackman launch monitors – so they can see what produces the best and most consistent numbers.
Is weight important in golf shafts?
The majority of our panel agreed that shaft weight is very important . Club Champion told us that weight is the first thing they look at when fitting a shaft, and Nippon said, “If a golfer can’t feel a shaft that’s properly weighted, the other factors (flex, torque, bend profile) are moot.” Fujikura and MRC agreed that weight needs to be considered along with those other factors to produce a shaft that will perform well.
Is shaft weight more important in woods or wedges?
One question that intrigued me is whether shaft weight is more important in woods or the driver versus irons and wedges. Across the board, the consensus was that weight is equally important in all clubs.
Should slower swingers play lighter or heavier shafts?
One bit of common wisdom is that slower swingers should play lighter shafts and faster swingers should go heavier. This holds up sometimes, but is often wrong. As Fujikura pointed out, a slower swinger will be much better with a heavier shaft if that causes them to have more centered strikes.
How does weight affect golf?
Since swing weight is how heavy or light a club feels to a golfer, it can significantly impact the game. For golfers that are playing with a club that feels too heavy they may start rushing their golf swing and trying to attack the ball in order to get the club to perform.
What does swing weight mean in golf?
The swing weight is essentially how light or how heavy a club feels to a golfer.
Why do you need a golf fitting?
Going for a golf fitting allows you to see immediate results of how one swing speed can change your golf game completely from the next. These are exciting factors and statistics to see.
Why do you need the same weight in all your golf clubs?
There are some people that believe having the same swing weight throughout all of your clubs is going to help you get the consistency that you need in your set.
Why is my golf club so light?
When a golf club is too light, you will have to change your golf swing in order to accommodate a slower and more controlled motion.
What is the most important thing about golf irons?
When it comes to golf irons, swing weight is yet again important. With the golf irons, the most important thing is consistency. Knowing that a golf iron has a certain feel and that feel is repeated among all the irons in the set will help you become a better golfer. Speed is important with the irons, and you will want to make sure ...
How to get more distance in golf swing?
We have learned, especially in recent years, that the best way to get more distance in your golf swing is to increase club head speed. We are even seeing the professional golfers on tour work to increase their swing speed and get the distances that they need.
How far can you disperse a golf shaft?
Even with our best players, we saw distance dispersions (distance between their shortest and longest shots) of 20 or 30 yards with badly fit shafts. With the correct shaft in hand, the gap between the best and worst shot shrunk to less than 10 yards.
How many yards did an iron shaft gain?
On average, our testers gained 12.8 yards of total distance with their best-fit weight compared to their worst-fit, and one tester gained 21 yards!
How far away from the target is the best iron shaft?
Every tester showed significant improvements in accuracy with their best-fit iron shaft. Our testers were anywhere from 4 to 26 yards closer to their target, on average, with their best-fit shaft. That can be the difference between a makable birdie putt and a tricky two-putt or the difference between a GIR and a ball in the water.
How many shafts are in a Nippon NS Pro?
These players ranged in ability from plus handicaps to mid-teens. Each player hit seven shots with each of four different steel shafts – the Nippon NS Pro 850 GH (85 grams), 950 GH (95 grams), 1050 GH (105 grams), and 1150 GH (115 grams) – in the appropriate flex with the same iron head of their choosing. Shafts were tested in a different order by each player. Every shot was captured on Trackman, and no shots were deleted.
Is it one size fits all to pick the right iron shaft?
Additionally, it shows that there are no simple, one-size-fits- all rules for selecting the right shaft. There is no substitute for working with a knowledgeable club fitter and builder to create the tools that will allow you to play your best golf.
Should over the top players have lighter shafts?
1) Over the top players probably should have lighter shafts. They will keep the body from wanting to pull over the top so much.
Is golf a muscle reaction sport?
None that are set in stone, but, Nick Sherburne, Founder of Club Champion and Master Club Fitter/Builder, offered this: Golf is a muscle-reactionary sport, so weight plays into how the muscles react and, in turn, how well you hit the ball. 1) Over the top players probably should have lighter shafts.
How much does a swing weight affect ball speed?
5 of 6 testers lost ball speed when going from D0 to D9, an average loss of 2.2 MPH, however, two players posted their highest ball speeds at swing weights above D0 – one at D6 and one ad D9.
What is the correlation between swing weight and spin?
The correlation between swing weight and higher or lower launch and spin appears to be entirely personal . Three testers had their highest launch at D0, but the other three launched highest at D6 or D9. Similarly, four testers had their lowest spin at D9, but the other two produced the most spin at D9.
What is the difference between a D0 and D1 swing weight?
The difference between two swing weights, D0 and D1 for example, is approximately two grams of weight in the club head.
What is swing weight?
In simple terms, swing weight is how heavy the club head feels when you swing it . More technically, it’s how much the club tips towards the club head when you balance the club on a fulcrum.
How far can you hit your irons?
As they worked through the range of swing weights, our testers saw their median distance change a minimum of 7 yards and a maximum of 39 yards!
Is swing weight a personal thing?
Just as with every other element that we’ve tested to date, swing weight is a personal thing that can’t be fit with simple rules of thumb.
Where is Matt from Plugged In Golf?
He's worked in nearly every job in the golf industry from club fitting to instruction to writing and speaking. Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
What are the challenges of fitting a shaft?
One challenge with fitting is that the player and club do not always behave in a predictable manner. For example, two players who appear quite similar can react differently to changes in shaft characteristics (e.g. stiffness).
How do players alter the way they swing a driver?
All this shows that players may alter the way they swing a driver based on the feel and feedback they receive from the shaft. Ongoing research looks to understand and predict how players react differently to inputs such as shaft stiffness. This again highlights the importance of shaft fitting. There are some general shaft-fitting behaviors that on average hold to be true, but there are always exceptions. Comparing shafts in a fitting environment and examining actual performance data is still the best-case scenario since you may not always get the results you expect.
What is the initial part of the downswing?
Loading: The initial part of the downswing plays a fairly big role in the stiffness profile that is optimal for a given player. Players who exert concentrated, high levels of force and torque during this phase of the downswing typically do better with a shaft that plays a bit stiffer than CHS alone would suggest. Conversely, players who are a bit more gradual in their loading of the shaft typically get along with shafts that are a bit softer. Let’s say our example player loads the shaft gradually, and more along the length of the shaft. This would shift the region upwards and to the right to region B on figure 4.
What is a high balance shaft?
Another shaft term that has become quite common in the fitting environment is counter balanced, or high balance point. One benefit of a high balance point or counter balanced shaft is it allows for more head weight without drastically affecting the swingweight of a club. These types of shafts typically promote a bit of a higher launch angle, and are available as aftermarket options as well as stock in some OEM models.
What is the difference between a heavier shaft and a lighter shaft?
Some players have a strong preference for a heavier or lighter shaft. We have seen in testing that a heavier shaft can promote lower ball flights with more left-to-right trajectory while lighter shafts can promote higher ball flights with more right-to-left trajectories. It should be noted that the easiest way to make something stiffer is to add more material, so in many cases weight and stiffness can trend together.
Why did shaft B perform better than shaft A?
So the next big question is, “Why did shaft B perform better than shaft A for this player?” After evaluating the data produced by the motion-capture system, it was clear the shafts where loading and unloading in a different fashion. The difference in actual dynamic deflection of the shaft during the downswing influences the sensation the player experiences, and can lead to kinetic responses that vary in consistency, timing, and magnitude. Ultimately what I am saying is that players tend to “get along with” different dynamic bending profiles, leading to more-consistent performance and sometimes more-efficient delivery of the club head, a behavior that was also evident in the previous fitting example. This is a great instance of how different shafts can lead to significantly different results, even when the two shafts look similar and have similar flex codes.
How to measure torque on a shaft?
One way to measure torque is to clamp one end of the shaft and apply a constant couple-moment (turning force) to the other end. The more the shaft twists, the higher the torque.
How much does a change in shaft weight of 9 grams yield?
A change in shaft weight of 9 grams will yield a 1-swingweight change in the club. Lighter shafts decrease swingweight.
Does swingweight change?
Depending on the differences in the balance point of the shafts, the swingweight might not even change at all. Or it could increase, or decrease.
Why is swing weight important?
This is because other variables like choosing the right driver head and driver shaft are more primary factors for increasing distance. Swing weight is a secondary factor, but that doesn’t minimize its importance.
How many factors affect golf performance?
This is painstaking work, but there are also a finite number of factors in play. At the moment of impact, there are only four factors that influence performance. The first three factors are talked about frequently in golf instruction and club fitting. But the fourth factor may surprise you.
How to reduce swing weight to D5?
If your driver is heavier than D5, ask your club fitter to add a heavier grip or a counterweight to reduce swing weight to D5.
What is the mass of a club head?
The mass of the club head including the mass of the first 4 inches of shaft attached to the club head is the only mass that will affect the ball at impact. All other things being are equal, the heavier the mass of a clubhead plus the first 4 inches of shaft, the more ball speed (and thus more distance) will be created.
How to optimize distance in golf?
To optimize distance, golfers should aim to increase the weight of their driver head and the first four inches of shaft as much as possible without compromising the other three factors. And this is exactly Sinclair’s goal during a fitting; he wants to add the maximum amount of weight he can during his fittings.
What does increasing driving distance mean?
Increasing average driving distance by just a few yards over the course of a season can mean a sizeable increase in earnings so long as it doesn’t affect accuracy.
Is optimizing swing weight easy?
Most golfers are happy to hear that optimizing swing weight is fast and easy. In most cases, it’s as easy as adding a little lead tape or choosing a different golf grip. P.S.
How long does it take to shorten a golf swing?
Shortening the swing is not easy and can take a lot of time even when the weight is a good fit. Even with good practice habits, drills, and monitoring, it can take months. Personally I normally would not expect that going lighter will make it any easier.
How to test if a lower swing weight will help?
Easiest way to test out if a lower swing weight will help is to simply choke up on the club 1".
Is shortening a swing weight easy?
So the swing weights are still an unknown? Shortening the swing is not easy and can take a lot of time even when the weight is a good fit. Even with good practice habits, drills, and moni
Is the balance point on a DG 95 lower than the 105?
Valtiel: According to True Temper, the balance point on the DG 95’s is slightly lower than on the 105’s and 120’s.
Does changing to a lighter iron shaft lower swing weight?
Several things need to be properly defined here to make sure we're on the same page. Changing to a lighter iron shaft does not lower swing weight unless the balance point of the iron shaft is differen
How does swing weight affect performance?
The swing weight has a big influence on how you can move and accelerate a club during the swing . Among other things, it determines where the club head is at the moment of impact and how it can be controlled. As you can see, these are all important points that have a great influence on performance. But why is the swing weight not right ...
How much weight does a golf shaft have?
The shaft weight itself has the least influence with about 9-10g per swing weight point. If you take the identical setup with a 110g shaft, you increase the swingweight by only one point with a 120g shaft. Always assuming the weight distribution in the shaft is identical - which it rarely is. In this respect, the shaft weight is not a reliable indicator, especially since one rarely knows the exact weight distribution.
How many swing weight points does half an inch of shaft make?
And that is the last thing you want: a set of irons with varying length and swing weight. With the shaft, you can roughly say that half an inch makes up about 3 swing weight points.
What weight swing does Sergio Garcia use?
The wedges are extremely heavy, but the long irons are very light. Sergio Garcia plays with a swing weight of C-8, which is very light. On the other hand, he plays one of the heaviest shafts of all, the Modus 130, and adds some weight to the end of the shaft.
How to make a club head lighter?
To make the club head lighter, the shaft must be removed, the weight removed (drilled out) and the shaft remounted . Both processes are not very simple and require a lot of experience.
What is swing weight?
Swing weight is probably something that only a fraction of all golfers have ever heard of. Every player knows the difference between steel and graphite shaft. Or between stiff and regular. But if you ask a player what swing weight he has in his irons, you'll probably only get questioning looks. And yet, the swing weight is of elementary importance.
How much weight can you adjust a club head?
As a rule of thumb you can say that a change in the club head has the biggest influence on the swing weight with about 2g for a swing weight point. 2g is not much and can be adjusted quickly. So this adjustment is very efficient, but unfortunately mostly only possible in one direction. Unless you build with club heads like Miura's where you can remove weight.
