- Swing-weight is universal, and is based on the comparative weights between the clubhead end of the club to the grip end of the club (D9 will “feel” heavy, while C9 ...
- Swing-weights range from A0 to G9
- D0-D6 are probably the most common swing-weights (anything you buy at a golf store off the rack)
- Swing-weight is not a measurement of total club weight
Full Answer
How to change the swing weight of a golf club?
Using a Swing Weight Scale
- Place the golf club for which you want to measure the swing weight over the swing weight scale.
- Adjust the sliding counterweight until the golf club is perfectly balanced.
- Note the point where the sliding weight gets aligned against the scale. The value at this point specifies the swing weight of your golf club.
How to Swing Golf Club for beginners?
Fundamentals of Swinging an Iron
- Setup. We always emphasize that body positioning is of extreme importance when it comes to where the golf ball will land.
- Takeaway. As you can imagine, how you begin your swing will greatly affect the rest of your swing. ...
- Backswing. There are a couple of points that you should focus on here, as well. ...
- Downswing. ...
- Impact. ...
- Finish. ...
How do you transfer your weight in the golf swing?
Let's take a more detailed look at the correct weight shift sequence:
- Address: Equal weight on both feet, balanced between heels and balls of the feet.
- Takeaway: During the initial 12” of the swing, weight should begin shifting onto the right instep.
- To the top: Continuing the backswing, additional weight should transfer to the right foot. ...
How to properly shift weight in a golf swing?
Proper Weight Transfer in the Golf Swing
- Athletic Base. As he indicates in the video below, it all starts with “an athletic base; weight distribution on the balls of your feet; shoulders a little bit out on ...
- Shift versus Slide. ...
- Hip Moves Up and Behind Back Leg. ...
- Baseball Drill. ...
- Contact John. ...
What is a good swing weight for irons?
The actual swing weight ranges roughly between C-0 and D-8. While C-0 is a swing weight that is recommended for senior women and ladies, D-8 is pretty much the maximum that is played on tour. This swing weight can usually only be achieved with heavy heads, heavy shafts and light grips.
What swing weight should my golf clubs be?
The lightest possible swing weight is A0 while the heaviest possible swing weight is F9. If you pick up a men's golf club off the rack with stock options, the swing weight will generally be between D0 and D2. With women's golf clubs, the standard range will be from C5 to C7.
What is a good swing weight?
But the good news is that a trend around swing weight has developed during Sinclair's thousands of hours of testing TPT shafts with golfers of all abilities. More than 80% of the time, he finds that golfers are creating the best results with a swing weight of D5 with Red Range shafts.
What does swing weight D1 mean?
Swing Weight System Each letter is then subdivided into tenths -- from zero tenths to nine tenths. The greater the letter or number, the heavier the club's swing weight. Therefore, a club with a swing weight of D1 is heaver than a club with a C1 swing weight, and a D4 club has a slightly greater swing weight than a D2.
What does a heavier swing weight do?
Swing weight is the measurement of the head-weight feel of a club. A club with a heavier swing weight will feel heavier to a golfer than one with a lighter swing weight, because its balance point is closer to the club head.
Does swing weight affect distance?
How Much Does Swing Weight Affect Distance? Both swing weight and the total weight of the club are going to affect distance. In order to hit the ball far, you must be swinging at a high rate of speed, and the ball has to be hit in the center of the clubface.
Does a heavier golf club hit the ball farther?
Together, the speed and mass determine the magnitude of the force that is applied to the golf ball. It stands to reason that given the same swing speed, a heavier golf club will apply more force to a golf ball than a lighter one and will, therefore, result in greater distance.
What swing weight do pros use?
The swing weight of irons probably varies between D2 and D5 for 95% of Tour players. Most will be somewhere in this range. Players with high club head speed like Rory McIlroy or Dustin Johnson tend to be around D5-D6. Players with more average tour club head speed are around D3-D4.
What is a good swing weight for a senior golfer?
A swing weight between C-8 and D-1 is the best swing weight for a senior driver, and the shaft should be 55-60 grams. Loft should be 12-13 degrees or higher, and seniors should look for 2-4 degrees of hook in the face or consider an offset driver head to prevent slicing.
What does swing weight C9 mean?
The swingweight scale goes from A-F with ten increments marked 0 to 9 within each letter category hence swingweights such as C9 or D3. The greater the letter and the number the heavier the swingweight. Therefore a swingweight of D2 is heavier than a swingweight of C8.
What swing weight does Tiger use?
D4The swing weights were D4, which Tiger preferred on every club from driver through pitching wedge, with his other wedges a little heavier, around D6. Tiger used a 43.5-inch steel-shafted driver during his time at Titleist.
How do you determine swing weight?
Measure the distance of the balance point of the club from the end of the grip (in inches).Subtract 14" from the result, and multiply it by the club's total weight in ounces or grams.The result is the torque (in inch-grams or inch-ounces) about an axis 14" from the butt, the base definition of swingweight.More items...•
Why is it important to use a heavier swing weight in wedges?
The heavier swing weight in the wedges and short irons can possibly help club and club face awareness for greater precision. It’s important to remember that swing weight and overall weight are mutually exclusive. A heavy club can have a light swing weight and vice versa. That’s because swing weight is merely addressing the balance point ...
What happens if you swing heavy?
A light swing weight can prohibit the golfer from properly feeling where the head is during the swing and cause issues with squaring the face at impact, while a heavy swing weight can cause fatigue and negatively affect performance over time. ADVERTISEMENT.
Is swing weight too heavy?
Finding the proper swing weight for your game is mostly preference-based, but according to Tim Briand, Senior Vice President of GOLF’s sister company True Spec Golf, issues can arise if swing weight is too light or too heavy. A light swing weight can prohibit the golfer from properly feeling where the head is during the swing ...
Why is a heavier swing weight heavier than a lighter swing weight?
A club with a heavier swing weight will feel heavier to a golfer than one with a lighter swing weight, because its balance point is closer to the club head. As with the fitting of the shaft weight, the club fitter also has to evaluate the golfer’s transition force, tempo, strength and any pre-determined feel preference the golfer may have ...
What is shaft weight?
Shaft weight is by far the biggest contributor to the total weight of the club, which is simply a measurement of how heavy a club is. Swing weight is the measurement of the head-weight feel of a club. A club with a heavier swing weight will feel heavier to a golfer than one with a lighter swing weight, because its balance point is closer to ...
What is MOI match?
Matching all clubs in a set to their MOI has become a viable alternative to swing weight matching for many golfers. MOI matching may also be thought of roughly as building the clubs in a set to progressively increase swing weights from long to short irons in the set.
What is the difference between a baseball hitter and a golf swing?
He has to rely on quick eye-hand coordination. In contrast, the golf swing is just that – a swing of the club.
What happens if you don't hold your golf club properly?
Then you learn good posture and setup. If you don’t start in a good position, the body can’t perform the swing motion properly. With a good grip and a sound setup posture, I believe anyone can learn a functional golf swing pretty easily.
How wide is a golf ball?
The ball is 1.68 inches in diameter, and the functional striking area on a golf club is about 1.5-inches wide. If you vary in your setup by even 3/4 inch, you have imposed a serious obstacle to success. If you do nothing else to improve your golf game, learn how to set up the same way every time.
Can a strong tempo golfer fit into a lighter shaft?
It is not uncommon for strong/aggressive transition/faster tempo golfers to end up being better fit into lighter shafts, but with a higher swing weight. While it certainly is less common for weaker/smooth transition/smooth tempo golfers to do better with a heavier shaft, it is not impossible. This is why a very experienced club fitter can be worth ...
How to increase weight of golf club?
Using a lead tape to increase the swing weight. Stick a few lead tape strips on the clubhead of your golf club. Depending on the width of the tape, a 1-inch long strip of tape will increase the weight of the club by 1 gram. Apply the strips on the lower back of the golf club towards its center.
What does shaft weight mean?
As the name indicates, shaft weight refers to the weight of the shaft of your golf club. Shaft weight is an important aspect of any golf club and can have various consequences on your game. Incorrect shaft weight can affect your ball speed, result in wrong shots, lessen your distance and increase your dispersion.
How to adjust golf swing weight?
As a general rule of thumb, increasing the weight of the clubhead by two grams increases its swing weight by one point. Similarly, increasing the length of the golf club by one inch boosts the swing weight by six points.
What are the factors that affect the swing weight of a golf club?
There are four key factors that can have an impact on the swing weight of a golf club: Weight of your club’s grip. Weight of your club’s head. Weight of your club’s shaft. Length of your club. Altering just one of these parameters will modify the swing weight and in turn the feel of your golf club when you use it.
How does the weight of a golf club affect the shaft?
The swing weight of a golf club is often directly proportional to the weight of its head. If the clubhead is heavy, the swing weight will also be heavy. This will result in the shaft playing soft. When the clubhead is light, the shaft will play stiff.
What is swing weight?
Swing weight refers to the weight of a golf club at one-third of its top section (head) and two-thirds of its bottom section (grip). Although swing weight can have a major impact on a golfer’s performance, it can’t be considered as an absolute measurement.
Why is my golf ball fat?
Turf contact. A heavy swing weight may result in hitting the golf ball thin. In contrast, you may be hitting the ball fat because of too light swing weight. Shot contact with the club. If the swing weight is heavy, the shots tend to get hit towards the golf club’s heel.
Answer
Swing weight refers to the amount of weight in the bottom two thirds of a golf club compared to the top third. It matters because it reflects the feel of a golf club to the player, more so than a club's total weight. This is important to match all the clubs within your set.
More about swing weight
Swing weight is measured using a balance scale that was patented by clubmaker Robert Adams in 1934. The scale goes from A0-G9 with the greater the letter and number, the heavier the swing weight. An average men’s golf club would have a swing weight of D2 whilst a ladies club would be C6.
How to increase swing weight from D2 to D4?
To increase swing weight from D2 to D4 you can add about 4 grams of weight to the club head, subtract 10 grams of weight from the grip or lengthen the shaft by 1/3 inch. Altering the swing weight by changing the shaft’s weight is a little trickier, but you will increase the swing weight by approximately one unit for each 9 grams ...
How does a golf club swing affect the weight of the club?
A club’s swing weight is affected by the weight of its three main components -- the head, shaft and grip -- as well as the shaft’s length and balance point. Altering any of these five items will change the club’s swing weight.
How to increase weight of golf club?
A quick and easy way to increase a club’s swing weight is to add lead tape to the club head. Adding tape to the grip will decrease the swing weight. The precise amount of increase or decrease will depend on the club’s overall characteristics.
What is the difference between D4 and D2?
Differences Between the D4 & D2 Swing Weight. If you increase the weight of your club head, you will increase the club's swing weight. A golf club’s swing weight measures its "resistance to being swung in a circle,” according to Leaderboard.com. Swing weight does not measure a club’s total weight, but rather its distribution.
Is a D4 club a heaver?
Therefore, a club with a swing weight of D1 is heaver than a club with a C1 swing weight, and a D4 club has a slightly greater swing weight than a D2. A typical men’s club has a swing weight of about D0, while the standard swing weight for a women’s club is approximately C6.
Who invented the swing weight scale?
The swing weight scale was developed in the 1920s by club maker Robert Adams, although some credit Kenneth Smith, who developed the fulcrum scale used to measure swing weight. While the scale is basically arbitrary, it has survived to become the standard.
Can two golf clubs weigh the same?
Indeed, two clubs that weigh the same may have different swing weights. For example, if one of the identically-weighted clubs has a heavier head, it will have a greater swing weight.
Weight Adjustment Guidelines (Useful reference)
Here are some useful conversions that will help you when swing-weighting your clubs :
About the Author: Zach Gollwitzer
Hey!! I'm Zach, the founder of The DIY Golfer. I created this site in 2015 while playing D1 collegiate golf to help myself understand the game of golf better and improve as a player. Fast forward a few years, and it has become much more than a journal.
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 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 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.
Is a 100g shaft of the same length the same weight?
There is no absolute answer to this and it depends, for example, on how the shaft behaves. Not every 100g shaft of identical length produces the same swing weight. Shafts themselves have different weight distributions. Therefore, shortening a shaft or changing the weight at one end or the other is relative.
Can you make sure the swing weight does not fit you?
On the contrary: by making small changes you can even make sure that the swing weight does not fit you at all. Two short examples: - You buy a new iron but choose a shaft that is 1 inch longer because you are quite tall. The manufacturer makes this club for you by simply adding a longer shaft.
