Swingweight Help

[sharpljp]

I go into a golf store today to grip my driver re-gripped and talk to the employee who seemed to know a lot. I told him that my irons are Taylormade HT Burner Irons. I also told him they felt like toothpicks and I really struggle to feel the club head. I have little to no feel of the club head. I explained how I have hit my friends clubs better/further (although they are blade heads) and they felt a lot heavier which i liked. I'm physically very strong and built that way so flexibility and ROM can be an issue. When I swung my friend's clubs, I felt like I could swing easier and hit it further, like all I said to do was square it up and it would fly.

The employee asked me to grab my 7-iron so I did. He put it on some kind of scale and told me my swingweight was C-5. I've been playing golf for 20 years and have honestly never heard of swingweight. He said, "this is why it feels like a toothpick." He told me that standard stiff-flex irons (he may of meant standard stiff flex 7-irons with a metal shaft) were D-0. He said since my clubs have a rubber (heavy) grips also, that takes even more feel out of my club head. 

So I have a couple questions for you guys..

Could my ultra-light swingweight be the/a reason why I have such a hard time to square the ball up? I ask this because I have zero feel of the club head with my irons. 

Since I have a strong upper body and core, would it make sense for me to get a heavier than normal (D-0) swingweight?

Are there any sets of irons that are known for heavier swingweights?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts and/or advice!!!!!

[Buckeyebowman]

To quote an old Scottish golf pro, the swingweight is the "heft" of the club. In other words, can you feel the clubhead as you swing the club? A C-5 swingweight is usually a woman's swingweight! No wonder you can't feel the clubhead.

That being considered, I'd suggest you check out the flex of your shafts. Did you buy these clubs secondhand? If so, or even if not, I think you may have bought a set of women's clubs!

Get yourself fit for a set of clubs! It will be a revelation!

And I just looked, and your HI is a 9 right now? How you got it there swinging those clubs is kind of amazing. Your best days are in front of you!

Edited October 29, 2017 by Buckeyebowman

[sharpljp]

Thanks Buckeye! My short game can be pretty good at times and can be a life-saver. My game has been pretty frustrating though because I can't replicate the same solid swing all the time (and I play a lot of golf). 

The clubs are Mens HT Burner Irons with stiff flex steel shafts. The golf store employee told me that my grips, which are thick rubber grips, aren't helping my situation. He said the heavy grips make the swingweight even less. I bought them brand new from a Pro. His guess was that they were originally D-0 when I got them but the grips I put on them made the swingweight lighter. There is a chance that they were less than D-0 when i got them but I'd be very letdown by the guy I bought them from if that was the case. But it's possible.

But.. the frustration has been at a high level for me. It has perplexed me as to why I have no feel in the club head for so long. This instance being the first time I've heard of "swingweight" does aggravate me since I haven't felt the club head in a long, long time. 

On top of the "toothpick" feeling clubs.. I'm on the stronger side. I bench well over 350 pds and have a strong upper body. I feel like this fact doesn't help my current swingweight scenario! 

I really hope once I get a heavier swingweight (probably going to first try D-5), I can swing easier and hit it a little bit harder and hopefully straighter. 

[arturo28mx]

Most men’s irons are D2 or D1 swingweight. C5 is too low. My opinion. 

[mvmac]

9 hours ago, sharpljp said:

Could my ultra-light swingweight be the/a reason why I have such a hard time to square the ball up? I ask this because I have zero feel of the club head with my irons. 

Probably not the entire reason but it most likely isn't helping. C-5 is really light.

9 hours ago, sharpljp said:

Are there any sets of irons that are known for heavier swingweights?

You can order whatever swing weight you want with PING irons, they have a weight port in the cavity that's adjustable, I've used D-3 for years. Most irons are in the D-1 or D-2 range.

[sharpljp]

Today I got the rest of my clubs weighed. Also got a new set of half way decent irons. RocketBladez. Didn't get fitted because they were on sale locally for $200 brand new. Here are my swingweights:

5 iron- C7

7 iron- C-6

Pitching Wedge- C8

Sand Wedge- D2

Driver- D2

Three Wood ~D5

Five Wood- D4 

Interestingly, my three wood has always been my best club. By far really. I can hit it as far as my driver and more consistently. I could never really hit my 56 degree sand wedge well either. Usually if I'm 90 yards and up, it's a feel PW. 

I think things are coming together for me. My swingweights really varied. My new irons are all 3.5 from 4 iron to PW. 

Just wondering if it would be a good idea to keep my driver on down to my SW the same swingweight? A local pro who is a friend of mine said his are different. He said his SW is E-1. 

Just wondering the pros and cons. This is all new to me so any advice is greatly appreciated.

[sharpljp]

Played my first 9 holes yesterday afternoon with my newly weighted clubs. I added lead tape to my RocketBladez and now I have a swingweight of 4-4.5 from my SW to my Driver. I wanted to share with you all my observations:

The feel that I had with my sand wedge was very noticeable. I was already pretty good around the greens with my sand wedge before (when it was a D2) but now I'm in control of the club head more. I even chipped one in for birdie. 

My irons (which were all C-6 to C-7) are going higher for sure. I'm not sure what's causing it but I'm fine with it. I'm hitting my irons better, especially my 5 and 6 iron. Before, I would mishit a ball and it would be horrendous; 15 yards short of the green was expected and sometimes was even worse. Yesterday, it seemed like my mishits were either on the fringe or just off of the green. When you don't have to work as hard getting up and down, like I have been doing for the past 8 years, it makes life so much easier and is more enjoyable. I'm sure you all can relate.

My Driver was felt much better in my hands. It was moved from a D2 to D4.5. If I swing easy and square it up, it's an easy 240-250, which isn't a bomb by any means but I'm in the game. I didn't have any real bad misses with it yesterday, or not like my catastrophic misses I would have before. 

So..

I'm not sure where to go from here. I'm definitely sticking with this swingweight. My only concern is should I increase the Driver swingweight even more? From what I've read, it looks like your 3-4 irons, 3-5 woods, and driver should be a higher swingweight. 

Now I've only played 9 holes so these observations aren't set in stone and I will have more to share but there's no doubt I have more feel, and confidence. 

 

[Buckeyebowman]

Seems to me like you've found something. No way a guy who benches 350+ should be swinging a C5! Just keep working at it, and keep an open mind.

[sharpljp]

Buckeye, it is early and I don't want to jinx myself but.. what a difference that it has made! Twice as much feel, twice as much confidence. I'm honestly as little stunned that after the numerous pros I have talked to, none have even mentioned the word, "swingweight."

It kind of baffles me.

[Sclaffer]

If your 3 wood feels best at D5 then, with your strength, you should tape up your driver to D5 and try it.

I don't think you should make any one club way different from the others but... all my sand wedges are about 3 points heavier than the rest of the sets.

If you have an accurate scale you can get a fair estimate of swing weight at home using a table like the attached.

 

sw.xls

[Etzwane]

One potential problem with adding weight is that it changes how the tip of the shaft works around impact (it will have more "kick") so it might change ball trajectories.

I also like more heavier feels for clubs (my 3 wood is steel shafted) and I am testing a driver with a heavier shaft (75g) shortened to under 45 inches that translates into a D6-D7 swingweight and at last I can "feel the club" and "push on it". I'm in no way a good player but it seems that it is what I need to play my best.