does Lighter swing weight = Loss in distance?

[itching4scratch]

I had my clubs shortened 1.5" from the butt end, and they feel a lot lighter to swing.  I also had them bent upright 2 degrees (not sure if that's the right combination of adjustments, shortened and upright)... but anyway I was wondering if I would technically lose any distance by shortening them and not fixing the swingweight to where it was before.

The clubs I hit consistently now that I make better contact are...

PW = 125yd

9 iron = 140 yd

8 iron = 155 yd

these are all with 3/4 swings because I haven't been able to control a full swing yet.

[awmgolfer]

If it is too low of a swing weight for your swing speed you can lose the ability to control the clubhead which would result in a loss of distance. Our local golf pro and I are currently experimenting with shortening our 3 and 4 iron to match the length of the 6 iron to help gain a little bit of control but he was being very careful in checking the swing weight to make sure it didn't go down enough to effect being able to control the club. It is mainly on the back swing, if the swing weight goes too low and you have a fast back swing it can cause some issues. Try a full swing and slow down your backswing.

[shades9323]

You will definitely hit the club shorter by lopping off that 1.5". You did drop about 9 sw points. Throw some winn lite grips on there and that will probably get 6 sw points back depending on what grips were on there before.

Originally Posted by itching4scratch

I had my clubs shortened 1.5" from the butt end, and they feel a lot lighter to swing.  I also had them bent upright 2 degrees (not sure if that's the right combination of adjustments, shortened and upright)... but anyway I was wondering if I would technically lose any distance by shortening them and not fixing the swingweight to where it was before.

The clubs I hit consistently now that I make better contact are...

PW = 125yd

9 iron = 140 yd

8 iron = 155 yd

these are all with 3/4 swings because I haven't been able to control a full swing yet.

[Shindig]

You will definitely hit the club shorter by lopping off that 1.5". You did drop about 9 sw points. Throw some winn lite grips on there and that will probably get 6 sw points back depending on what grips were on there before.

Can this be accomplished by adding to the club-head end instead, and if so, how much weight would he add?

[shades9323]

Yes it could be accomplished by adding the the head instead. Approx 18gr of weight would be needed.

Originally Posted by Shindig

Can this be accomplished by adding to the club-head end instead, and if so, how much weight would he add?

[WUTiger]

Quote:

You will definitely hit the club shorter by lopping off that 1.5". ...

For rough planning, 3 -to- 4* loft difference and 1/2 inch in shaft length between irons contributes to about 10 yds. difference in distance. The difference will be a little more or less depending on clubhead speed.

So, the 1.5" trimmed off could lead to a loss of roughly 15 yards for the average golfer. This shortens your swing arc.

A slight trim could improve distance for some persons if the adjustment increased the golfer's control, and number of solid hits.

Also to itching : A three-quarter swing gets it done for a lot of people. Watch the PGA pros on TV, lots of them will make three-quarter swings in tight situations to gain control. The announcers often mention this.

[itching4scratch]

on the other hand, would adding weight to a normal swing weight add distance?

[dbuck]

Originally Posted by itching4scratch

on the other hand, would adding weight to a normal swing weight add distance?

All things being equal, maybe.  E= mv2--sorry can't properly type the exponent. If you mean will adding weight to the clubhead cause the ball to go further, if the weight is delivered at the same angle and with the same velocity, then more energy should be imparted to the ball and it should go further. It won't be because you changed the swingweight, but because you hit the ball with a heavier hammer.However, if you swing slower, you might actually lose distance as velocity is squared vs weight just increased.

Swingweight is a relative and static measurement. You can have a heavy club with a thick stiff shaft with a lower swingweight than a lighter overall club with a light shaft. Loft, length, and total weight have more effect on pure distance than swingweight, but consistent swingweight helps your feel of the club and proper delivery of clubface to ball from club to club.

In your experiment, as others have said, the most important factor in distance as I see is the shaft length. In pure physics, this should reduce arc and therefore velocity and therefore distance, but some of this might be offset if the shorter club gives you better control and your strike is purer.

[The Tin Man]

Moe Norman who had deadly accurate but not known for super long distance (long enough to win)  weighted his entire club with lead, even under the grips.

His reasoning was a heavy club hits harder, and a harder hit goes further. - But, he's Moe Norman.

[dduval08]

If you lose weight in the club, especially in the head it will be harder for you to know where the club is and could affect your timing and therefore lose distance