Driver and 3W Swing Weight Changes, Make Sense?

[BananaBomber]

I am currently playing a Cobra Ltdx LS 9 degree driver and Cobra Ltdx LS FW3. Both with Tensei White stock stiff shafts and original weights of 12g (heel) and 3g (toe). My miss is usually a pull fade or sometimes a slice, swing is out to in. Driver swing speed about 112 mph. Grips are stock regular.

Intended change:

Driver:

Switching to Tensei White x-flex one inch shorter which I suppose would be 44,5? Changing heel weight to 18g. Changing grip to Golf Pride Z-grip cord midsize. Change hosel setting to standard draw.

FW3:

Changing heel weight to 16g (apparently not available in FW weights, but supposed to be something called "internal weight" a club builder can add which fits between the weight and the screw?). Change grip to Golf Pride Z-grip cord midsize. Changing hosel setting to standard +1.

The goal is to 1) get better grip since I tend so lose grip in warm and moist conditions with the current grips and 2) mitigate the misses to start more straight with less side spin.

Also considering adding the Cobra Ltdx LS FW5 instead of my old Taylormade R9 and getting 14g heel and 6g toe weights with the same grip as the others and hosel setting standard +1.

 

All of the above is based on conversations with ChatGPT and, as everyone knows, it can come up with pretty much whatever but I spent a few hours asking about different perspectives etc and this was the recommendation.

So, my question is basically, does it make any sense?

 

Thanks.

[boogielicious]

You can try it with some lead tape first to see if it works for you.

[BananaBomber]

20 hours ago, boogielicious said:

You can try it with some lead tape first to see if it works for you.

Considered that and may try before getting weights but interested in if it even makes sense from both club building and miss mitigation perspectives or if everything is just some jibberish from ChatGPT? Heavier grips, one shortened shaft, more club head weight. Seems reasonable but what do I know.

[boogielicious]

Well the first advice I would give is to look at your swing. If you are swing out to in, it may be difficult to fix your misses with club adjustments. They would only be a bandaid.

I use midsize grips because I have long fingers and I feel I have more control with them. I also have tinkered with shaft length and swing weight. But I know when I miss it’s because my swing was off.

[saevel25]

On 12/14/2025 at 8:28 AM, BananaBomber said:

All of the above is based on conversations with ChatGPT and, as everyone knows, it can come up with pretty much whatever but I spent a few hours asking about different perspectives etc and this was the recommendation.

So, my question is basically, does it make any sense?

Going one step stiffer in the golf shaft, of the same make and model will have minor impact on the launch conditions. It can matter, it is a way to dial in some launch conditions if you are a few hundred RPM off or the angle isn't there. Same with moving weights around. A clubhead weights 200-220 grams. You are shifting a fraction of that to move the CG slightly. It can matter, again its more about fine tuning. As for grip size, this is more personal preference. Grip size doesn't have any impact on the swing out of personal preference. 

You are going to spend hundreds of dollars for fine tuning. Which if you want, go for it. I am not sure what your level of play is, or what your goals in golf are. 

In the end, the golf swing matters more than the equipment. If you want to go to that level of detail, go find a good golf club fitter. ChatGPT is going to surface scan reddit, golfwrx, and other popular websites for the answers. Basically, it is all opinionated gibberish at this point. 

 

[BananaBomber]

Thanks for the comments.

I fully understand that these changes won't make any big difference compared to getting a flawless swing but looking to give myself the best chance of success at where I am and hopefully lessons will improve the swing along the way. Can these changes make minor improvements to ball striking and misses then that's fine.

From what I understood about changing the grips, which is to avoid them slipping in warm and humid conditions, is that it will affect the swing weight since midsize are heavier than regular and so therefore adding weight to the club head would be required to avoid a change of feel in the club compared to before? 

Edited December 15, 2025 by BananaBomber

[saevel25]

6 minutes ago, BananaBomber said:

Can these changes make minor improvements to ball striking and misses then that's fine.

In terms of ball striking, not really. Ball striking being how good you are at hitting the center of the clubface with the swing path you want and the loft you want to present at impact. 

In terms of getting better launch conditions for the current swing you have, it is debatable.  It depends on how you swing and what your current launch conditions are at. These are fine tuning mechanisms not significant changes. They might not even be the correct fine tuning you need. I would go spend the $100 to $150 dollars in getting a club fitting over potentially wasting money on changes that ChatGPT gave you. 

14 minutes ago, BananaBomber said:

From what I understood about changing the grips, which is to avoid them slipping in warm and humid conditions, is that it will affect the swing weight since midsize are heavier than regular and so therefore adding weight to the club head would be required to avoid a change of feel in the club compared to before? 

New grips are important. Yes, it can affect swing weight, but it is personal preference. Swing weight is just one component. 

Overall weight effects the feel. The type of golf shaft effects the feel of the club in the swing. Swing weight effects the feel. You can add so much extra weight to get the swing weight correct and it will feel completely different because the total weight went up. Imagine swinging a 5lb stick versus a 15lb stick. They could be balanced the same (swing weight), but one will take substantially more effort to move. 

I would almost say swing weight is an old school way of fitting clubs. Now, with launch monitors, you could just fit the golfer. You could have two golfers with the same swing speed that want completely different swing weight. It is just personal preference. You can only tell that by swinging a golf club. 

 

 

[BananaBomber]

1 hour ago, saevel25 said:

In terms of ball striking, not really. Ball striking being how good you are at hitting the center of the clubface with the swing path you want and the loft you want to present at impact. 

In terms of getting better launch conditions for the current swing you have, it is debatable.  It depends on how you swing and what your current launch conditions are at. These are fine tuning mechanisms not significant changes. They might not even be the correct fine tuning you need. I would go spend the $100 to $150 dollars in getting a club fitting over potentially wasting money on changes that ChatGPT gave you. 

New grips are important. Yes, it can affect swing weight, but it is personal preference. Swing weight is just one component. 

Overall weight effects the feel. The type of golf shaft effects the feel of the club in the swing. Swing weight effects the feel. You can add so much extra weight to get the swing weight correct and it will feel completely different because the total weight went up. Imagine swinging a 5lb stick versus a 15lb stick. They could be balanced the same (swing weight), but one will take substantially more effort to move. 

I would almost say swing weight is an old school way of fitting clubs. Now, with launch monitors, you could just fit the golfer. You could have two golfers with the same swing speed that want completely different swing weight. It is just personal preference. You can only tell that by swinging a golf club. 

 

 

Will not do it by myself, going to the pro shop I usually use after Cristmas for input and actually doing the changes, if any, but wanted to get some thoughts on whether this was worthwhile out of curiosity. 

Edited December 15, 2025 by BananaBomber