How to change the swing weight of a golf club?
Apr 11, 2022 · Swing weight, simply put, is how heavy a golf club feels when you swing it. It is not a finite measurement and is not something measured in grams like the weight of a golf club’s shaft or grip. This measurement was invented in the 1920s to describe the dynamic feel of a golf club as the player swings it.
How to Swing Golf Club for beginners?
Mar 31, 2020 · They’re referring to the club’s swing weight. Here’s how it works: the swing weight of a golf club is measured on a 14-inch fulcrum that assesses the balance point of a club, which is displayed on...
How do you transfer your weight in the golf swing?
So, according to this scale, A0 is the lightest swing weight, while G10 is the greatest possible swing weight. If the club is for men’s use, the recommended swing weights should range from D0 to D2. With golf clubs for women, the golden standard for clubs will range from C5 to C7.
How to properly shift weight in a golf swing?
The swing weight of a golf club specifies how heavy the club feels to a player swinging it. Swing weight relates not only to the club’s weight but also to the distribution of the weight. A club...
What is a good swing weight for irons?
Most men's clubs fall in the range of C9 to D8, with D2 being the standard, and ladies' clubs are usually between C4 and D0. One point on the scale is equivalent to a weight difference of . 07 oz. at the club head, about the weight of a penny.
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 swing weight D2?
Swing weight isn't an actual weight. Rather, it's a comparison of the weight distribution between the grip end and the head end of a golf club. It's a measurement intended to help a club maker ensure that all the clubs in a given set feel the same when you swing them.
Does swing weight really matter?
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.Mar 4, 2015
Is D2 swing weight heavier than D3?
The difference between each swing weight measurement is incredibly small. For example, all it takes to make a golf club go from a D2 to a D3 rating is about . 07 ounces in the club head.
Is D5 swing weight too heavy?
If it feels too heavy at D5, you can remove strips of lead tape one by one until it feels right. 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. Get Fitted By A TPT Authorized Fitter.
How do I know my swing weight?
Here's how it works: the swing weight of a golf club is measured on a 14-inch fulcrum that assesses the balance point of a club, which is displayed on an alphanumeric scale. The heavier a club “feels,” the more the club will tilt toward the club head side when balanced on that fulcrum.Mar 31, 2020
How many grams is a swing weight?
Golfers can add one swingweight point (increase from D4 to D5, for example) by adding 2 grams of club head weight. Conversely, decreasing club head weight by 2 grams will deduct one swingweight point. The most common way of adding weight to a club head is by using lead tape.
Should swing weight be the same for all clubs?
All of Your Clubs Should Have the Same Swing Weight Even if you think your clubs are a bit light or heavy for you, all the clubs in your bag should at least be very close to the same swing weight. Using clubs with different swing weights typically leads to poor performance on the course.
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 happens if your swing weight is too heavy?
Swing Weight (Balance From Head to Grip) A club that feels too heavy in the head can cause a golfer to cast or throw the club too early in their swing trying to get the club around.
What swing weight does Tiger use?
The club has a finished length of 42.5 inches with a swing weight of D4. Tiger's old 3-wood had 15 degrees of loft and was fitted with the same shaft. While many pros will pull a 5-wood out of the bag and go with a 2-iron or a driving iron when they play on firm courses or in windy conditions, 3-wood changes are rare.Oct 23, 2020
What is a golf swing?
In contrast, the golf swing is just that – a swing of the club. You have total control over where the ball is going to be so that you can be quite precise in the relationship between your body and the ball and the target line. You can swing when you want to at the pace you find comfortable.
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.
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 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.
Is swing weight measured in grams?
Remember, swing weight is NOT an actual measurement of weight as are grams, ounces or pounds. Swing weight is an arbitrary measurement of the relationship of weight in a golf club about the 14-inch fulcrum point on a swing weight scale.
What is swing weight?
In non-technical terms, swingweight is a measure of how the weight of the club feels when you swing it. It is not the same thing as a club's overall or total weight, and isn't even expressed as a weight measurement (swingweight is expressed through a letter-and-number combination code explained below).
Who is Brent Kelley?
Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism. Swingweight is a factor that casual golfers rarely concern themselves with and serious golfers often concern themselves with.
Is a lighter shaft better for golf?
"Research indicates that lighter shafts are, in general, better for the average golfer. Less weight produces shots of greater distance and accuracy for beginning and intermediate players.
What is swing weight?
Swing weight relates not only to the club’s weight but also to the distribution of the weight. A club with more of its mass concentrated in the club head has a higher swing weight and requires more energy for the golfer to swing it at a specific speed. Golfers should use clubs with the correct swing weight to maximize their potential.
How many ranges are there in swing weights?
Swing weights use a letter-and-number combination that represents the range and the specific reading. There are six ranges, from A through F, and each has 10 values, numbered 0 through 9.
How does a club maker measure swing weight?
Club makers measure swing weight with a special balance that positions the club at the correct fulcrum point and determines the amount of weight required to counterbalance the overhanging portion of the club. The balance may read directly in swing weight, or it may require a chart to convert its readings to swing weight.
When was swing weight invented?
In the 1920s , club manufacturers invented swing weight as a measure of the dynamic feel of the golf club. The value relates to the moment of inertia of the club at a fulcrum point, near the grip end of the club.
When did Don Patton retire?
Don Patton began writing after retiring from an engineering career in 2006. He holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and continued with graduate study in software engineering.
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.
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.
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.
Why is precision important in golf?
The precision is very important because a small error in weight or position of the center of gravity will result in the swing weight point of errors in the final measurement. Measure the balance point distance of the golf club in inches from the end of its grip cap.
What is the best scale to measure swing weight?
This is one of the most common methods of measuring the golf swing weight of your golf club. The 14-inch Lorythmic scale is a popular swing weight scale that has a sliding weight and a fulcrum.
How to get a comfortable feel in golf?
Attach the lead tape near the grip end of the golf club. This will lessen the swing weight of the club while increasing the weight of the grip. This will give you a comfortable feel without affecting the flight of the ball.
Is the Taylormade M4 driver adjustable?
Is the TaylorMade M4 driver adjustable? Yes, the TaylorMade M4 driver is adjustable. It’s possible to have twelve different options for the loft, lie angle and face angle, including the standard...
Weight Adjustment Guidelines (Useful Reference)
Here are some useful conversions that will help you when swing-weighting your clubs :
Finding Your Optimal Swing-Weight
As I’ve said, experimentation is the best way to do this, but I would recommend starting with lead tape until you have determined a swing-weight that you prefer for different clubs. I recommend lead tape because it can be applied and removed quickly without taking apart the entire club.
Measuring Swing-Weight
You can measure the swing-weight of your clubs through a mathematical formula in this Swing-weight DIY Calculator, or you can purchase a scale here.
Methods for Altering Swing-Weight
There are several ways that you can alter the swing-weight of a club. Each of these methods will have corresponding tutorials, so be sure to check them out!
Summary
I know this might seem overwhelming to the newcomer, but I have plenty of tutorials regarding this topic, so work your way through them, and I promise everything will start to make more sense!
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.
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.
Where does Matt live?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Swingweight, Technically Speaking
Swingweight vs. Actual Weight
- Swingweight and the actual weight of the club are different things, and understanding the difference goes a long way toward understanding the role of swingweight. The actual weight of a golf club is expressed in grams. Swingweight is expressed as "C9" or "D1" or some other combination of letter and number (more on that in a moment). Those measurements are taken u…
What Is Swingweight Used For in Golf?
- The key application of swingweight is in matching the clubs within a set. You want all your clubs to feel the same weight during the swing. If you are replacing a club or adding one, you want the new club to match the swingweight of your current clubs. But how important is swingweight, really? Recreational golfers who fancy themselves equipment "experts" might argue that it is ver…
The Swingweight Scale
- Swingweight is expressed with a letter and number; "C9," for example. The letters used are A, B, C, D, E, F and G, and the numerals 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 (G goes up to 10). Each combination of letter and number is known as a "swingweight point," and there are 73 possible swingweight measurements on this scale. A0 is the lightest measurement, progressing up to the heaviest, G1…