Shortening Driver and 3 wood - Lead weights

[andyh]

Just wanted to put my 2 cents forward on this.

About 6 months ago i shortened my Ping G10 Driver from 45.75" to 44". Quite a reduction. Didnt know about swingweight then and the club did feel very "light". Also shortened 3 wood from 43" to 42". I did it to improve consistency which it did.

But of course the shafts (stiff) played extremely stiff because of this shortening. And I could not get rid of a fade. I have been after playing a draw with my longer clubs but for the life of me could not do it. My swing is in good shape. My last lesson with the pro confirmed that everything was in order with my swing.

So a few days ago I put lead weights around the hosel to bring the swingweight up, which made the clubs "feel" much heavier. In actual fact I have only added about 10/12 grams of weight so not a huge increase in weight. The weights around the hosel look a bit ugly and bulge a bit but I don't really care. After hitting a few balls you don't even notice it anymore. More interested in my ball flight and ball striking.

Anyway it really has improved my ball flight. Much straighter with a slight draw also. The weights seem to have had a two fold effect.

1) slowed my swing down. I don't seem to have to try as hard now to hit the shot I want.
2) increased the flex in the shaft. I would guess bringing the shaft flex back to its original "stiff" before I shortened it.

I can highly recommend shortening the driver but don't forget to add the extra weight. There is a lot of conflicting information about this on the web. Some people suggest adding weights to heel for instance to induce a draw but this does seem to be dismissed by many experts as myth. I don't think this is what I needed. Just a slightly more flexible shaft and the extra weight to keep my swing smoother.

So if you have a good swing and are struggling with a slight fade, try adding a few grams of weight to the shaft hosel to increase the flex.

Has worked a treat for me.

[safetrip]

Some people suggest adding weights to heel for instance to induce a draw but this does seem to be dismissed by many experts as myth.

The theory is that by having the toe lighter than heel, the club face will have easier time closing through the impact. I never tried it and don't know any tests that show that's the case but physics does hold. You seemed to have gotten the desired effect by putting the tape on the hosel. That's great. But in theory, the same amount of tape will give more swing weight if you applied it further away from the grip. So you could have used less amount of tape with the same result, if you put it on the bottom of the head. This may also add to higher launch angle and possibly more spin since it will apply more force to the lower parts of the ball at impact. Depending on your current ball flight, this may or may not be a desired effect.

[andyh]

i read alot about that theory (face closing faster) but it seems to have been debunked by many experts.

but i can say for sure that the extra weight adds more flex to the shaft through the swing which in effect does the same thing. and smoothing out my swing is also an extra bonus which i had not anticipated.

I have read that alot of tour players tinker with lead weights and I think I see why now. without having to keep changing shafts you can just add a small piece of weight to the hosel or club head to change the feel of the club and give a slightly different ball flight.

I get a good ball flight with my driver so increasing the height was not necessary.