Driver Weight

[Waddaplaya]

In the never ending attempt to improve my golf game I find myself going down the rabbit hole. My current idea is this: I tend to hit heavier drivers better. In the last 5 years I have hit 3 different drivers: 

1. Ping G25 - Head Weight 205 g + Shaft Weight 53 g = 258 g (Graphite Regular Flex) 

2. Ping G410 Plus - Head Weight 206 g + Shaft Weight 63 g = 269 g (Mitsubishi Tensei CK Orange 60 Stiff Flex) 

3. Cleveland Launcher HB - Head Weight 206 g + Shaft Weight 55 g = 261 g (Graphite Regular Flex) 

Out of these three drivers I hit #2 by far the best. By the best I mean straighter and longer. It is so forgiving. The other two drivers I tend to vary right and left. With the Ping G25 I hit it erratically left and right. With the Cleveland I could not square the club face hitting a ton of slices. 

So is it that the Ping G410 Plus is an easier driver to hit than the other two? Is it the fact that it is the heaviest of all of the drivers (shaft + head)? Is it that it is the only driver I tried in a stiff flex vs a regular flex? I imagine it is a combination of all of the above. I choke up on all of the drivers so I do know for sure that I need a shorter driver. I am just trying to put some of this data together into a trend. I will eventually go for a fitting but I do want to be armed with some data before I go in. 

Any thoughts or opinions from your experience would be awesome. 

[Adam C]

The head weight is inconsequential since you're only talking about 1g differences. I have heard that the G410 is very forgiving so that could play a big part in it. The other big part is the 10g heavier shaft you use with it. Weight, in my experience is the most important spec in a shaft, and will have the biggest influence on your game. 

[NZ Golfer]

Yes I think the shaft being heavier and stiffer would be a good reason why you hit it better, certainly helped me

[Waddaplaya]

I just butt cut my Ping G25 from 45.75 (Ping standard) to 43.5. It doesn't feel all that different to me right now as far as weight and stiffness. I popped on a new grip after cutting it down. I realize it may be a bit stiffer but I think I could ok with a slightly stiffer shaft anyway. I can't really tell too much with the weight either. If I need to I will put some lead tape on the head if I am losing the weight of the head when I hit it. 

[Grass Destruction]

It would be interesting to know what the swing weight of each club is too. 

You can get a pretty good idea of it by a couple of measurements. You just need a scale (in grams) and a tape measure to measure the balance point. See this website for exact instructions: https://www.hirekogolf.com/golf-club-swingweight-calculator

 

 

[Farangster]

On 6/5/2019 at 12:44 PM, Grass Destruction said:

It would be interesting to know what the swing weight of each club is too. 

You can get a pretty good idea of it by a couple of measurements. You just need a scale (in grams) and a tape measure to measure the balance point. See this website for exact instructions: https://www.hirekogolf.com/golf-club-swingweight-calculator

 

 

Agree, it could be a combination of the total weight, swing weight of the club (assume they all have the same grips as different weighted grips can have a big affect on swing weight) and of course shaft stiffness that is working best with your swing tempo for hitting longer straighter shots with #2.  unfortunately every one is different, some really are affected by swing weight and some are not, same for shaft stiffness and total club weight.  some folks will actually hit it further with shorter shafts in their drivers because they make better contact, more confident and therefore swing the club faster as well but others make great contact no matter the club length and get more distance with long shafts...........you really just need to experiment for yourself to see what works best for you and ignore what everyone else says works great for them because they don't have your swing.  

[arturo28mx]

Shaft weight is much more important to the way a club performs than many people think. For me it is one of the most critical aspects of a good fitting. Irons and woods.