Swing weight for Seniors?

[OldFrog75]

What is the appropriate swing weight for senior golfers and how is it determined? Is it based upon individual feel, club head speed, or something else? I'm comfortable with how my clubs feel and how far I hit the ball but when I asked a fitting pro to test the swing weight on my 7 iron he was amazed (not in a good way) about how light it was (C8) and was quite adamant that I "need" to add some lead to my club heads to boost the swing weight. I'm 5'5 1/2" and I hit my 7 iron 140-150 yards with 78 mph club head speed. Seems ok to me.

[scomac2002]

The appropriate swing weight is that which promotes your most consistent swing. If you play Pings, then lighter swing weights are something that you're certainly used to. I wouldn't put too much faith in the fitting pro's recommendation without the reason why he thinks you need to raise it and what that is going to do for you in terms of correcting a swing issue.

[OldFrog75]

> @scomac2002 said:

> The appropriate swing weight is that which promotes your most consistent swing. If you play Pings, then lighter swing weights are something that you're certainly used to. I wouldn't put too much faith in the fitting pro's recommendation without the reason why he thinks you need to raise it and what that is going to do for you in terms of correcting a swing issue.

 

He was heading out for a lesson so no time for a lengthy discussion but his quick response was reminding me that, "Force = Mass times Velocity squared..." BTW, I noticed a link to the 40 minute GolfWRX Radio broadcast, "On Spec: Swing weight is overrated," right after I posted the question.

[Stuart_G]

> @OldFrog75 said:

> > @scomac2002 said:

> > The appropriate swing weight is that which promotes your most consistent swing. If you play Pings, then lighter swing weights are something that you're certainly used to. I wouldn't put too much faith in the fitting pro's recommendation without the reason why he thinks you need to raise it and what that is going to do for you in terms of correcting a swing issue.

>

> He was heading out for a lesson so no time for a lengthy discussion but his quick response was reminding me that, "Force = Mass times Velocity squared..." BTW, I noticed a link to the 40 minute GolfWRX Radio broadcast, "On Spec: Swing weight is overrated," right after I posted the question.

 

It's not really overrated - but there are a lot if misconceptions about it and it's very mis-understood - so there is a lot of specific ideas out there about swing weight that certainly are over rated and just plain wrong. The mass contribution to the force - while not technically wrong is just too narrow of a viewpoint to be useful. And trying to shoot for particular values is usually just as bad an idea because it's also too much of an incomplete viewpoint. e.g. if those C8 irons have jumbo grips or even some counterbalancing, your actual head weights could be no different than a stock D2 iron. But getting the right head weight (note I didn't say getting the right swing weight) is very important in a good fitting set of clubs. It can potentially have a big impact on your rhythm, tempo, release timing, club head delivery, consistency, swing plane and path, grip tension, - and much more.

 

Here's a couple good article on the topic.

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/320652/the-absolute-facts-about-swing-weight/

http://www.golfwrx.com/285239/wishon-what-swing-weight-should-your-clubs-be/

[scomac2002]

> @OldFrog75 said:

> > @scomac2002 said:

> > The appropriate swing weight is that which promotes your most consistent swing. If you play Pings, then lighter swing weights are something that you're certainly used to. I wouldn't put too much faith in the fitting pro's recommendation without the reason why he thinks you need to raise it and what that is going to do for you in terms of correcting a swing issue.

>

> He was heading out for a lesson so no time for a lengthy discussion but his quick response was reminding me that, "Force = Mass times Velocity squared..." BTW, I noticed a link to the 40 minute GolfWRX Radio broadcast, "On Spec: Swing weight is overrated," right after I posted the question.

 

Sounds exactly like the sort of fellow that doesn't really understand what he's talking about throwing a bit of physics into the discussion to appear knowledgeable. The fact that he didn't allow for adequate time for you would lead me to just keep on walking if you're satisfied with the performance of your clubs.

 

I'm far from an expert on the subject, but I do understand that the terminology can be confusing. It is about feel and I know from experience that a club that feels out of sorts to the rest is not going to perform as consistently for you so a certain amount of matching is necessary across the bag for consistency. I've taught myself to do it on my own using lead tape and working towards getting the same feel throughout the bag. It maybe as much for my psyche as my swing.

 

For my own situation as a senior that has lost muscle mass and speed and flexibility that lighter weight clubs are a must, but I always struggled with tempo due to a lack of feel. Upping the swing weight a bit seems to have helped to tame my hit tendencies and improved the quality of contact.

[Stuart_G]

> @scomac2002 said:

> For my own situation as a senior that has lost muscle mass and speed and flexibility that lighter weight clubs are a must, but I always struggled with tempo due to a lack of feel. Upping the swing weight a bit seems to have helped to tame my hit tendencies and improved the quality of contact.

 

Another potential influence in the older golfer is arthritis - particularly in the hands. What might be normal weight for most (either shaft weight or swing weight) can easily lead to an undesirable increase in grip tension sooner than would happen for those w/o the affliction.

 

Everyone has to balance all their needs and limitations to find the best combination for them.

[disco111]

I am currently trying a much lighter club (Ping I3 with 75g "A" Shaft). What I have encountered is a small gain in swing speed, but at the cost of direction. For every shot hit on line, there are 2 either pulled or pushed. It doesn't take very much to alter the swing path coming down, because of lack of feel. Not sure if this will correct itself in time with more play/practice or it will be an exercise in futility and I should go back to my other set and just adjust for lesser distance. It's nice to hit that 7 to 150 again, but if it's not on the green, then it's for naught.

[farmer]

At 68, I think (with no evidence) that static weight is more important than swingweight. In a fit of tinkering a few years ago, I took an old Superquad head, hotmelted it, put in a 90 gm shaft, shortened it, got it to a D2 sw, and couldn't hit it anywhere. It was a very crude experiment, but it felt very heavy and uncomfortable.

[scomac2002]

> @farmer said:

> At 68, I think (with no evidence) that static weight is more important than swingweight. In a fit of tinkering a few years ago, I took an old Superquad head, hotmelted it, put in a 90 gm shaft, shortened it, got it to a D2 sw, and couldn't hit it anywhere. It was a very crude experiment, but it felt very heavy and uncomfortable.

 

Like you I learned the hard way about shortening clubs. I cut down a couple of drivers and couldn't hit them worth a darn afterward even when adding copious amounts of lead tape to the head. Since then, my work around has been to build up the bottom hand of the grip and then choke down an inch or two to get the length comfortable and the lie angle reasonable.

[Buzzkill]

I've always played and preferred C9 swing weight. I'm older now and static weight is important as well - I'm playing 95 gram shafts.

[wkuo3]

Swing weight has to do with "feel" of the club head more than anything else.

There is no preset swing weight points for a senior golfer. If it means anything, the overall static weigt of the golf club for the golfers with slower swing speed should be lighter. A lighter golf club could still have a D0-D3 swing weight without adding a lot of weight to the head ( overall swing weight ).

In fact, I had experienced some lady's golf clubs with D-1 - D-3 swing weight but lighter in overall weight of the whole club.

Like the equipments used in other sports, if you could move the golf club, the baseball bat, the tennis racket...... at th same speed with differenct overall weight, then the havier mass will produce more initial energy /distance.

Senior lack the swing speed for using a heavier golf club, a lighter golf club will recover some of the lost swing speed. However, there is a point of diminishing return for swaping lighter club weight for higher swing speed, it'll be a fun journey to find your own best combination of static weight vs. swing weight.

 

 

[Kirasdad]

Johnny Miller (obviously a senior golfer himself) penned an article a few years ago in a golf magazine saying that he felt senior golfers would be better off, even if you’re using graphite, to go heavier. “There has to be something to swing” something like that and you need to “feel something at the end of the club” alluding seemingly to swingweight. After a year of experimenting with graphite myself I have gone back to 120 something gram steel shafts with quite satisfying results both in classic and modern gear. Some of the graphite irons I messed around with felt like fishing rods, just nothing there, no feel at all. I had a little more speed, but not that much really and the trade off of having no real idea where the club was in my swing just wasn’t worth the occasional 170 yard six iron.

[bl8d]

older players ,whether man or woman, should definitely look into having their irons MOI matched.

[JShaw]

Beauty is as beauty does. Don't be afraid to experiment but also don't be afraid to use what works.

[disco111]

> @disco111 said:

> I am currently trying a much lighter club (Ping I3 with 75g "A" Shaft). What I have encountered is a small gain in swing speed, but at the cost of direction. For every shot hit on line, there are 2 either pulled or pushed. It doesn't take very much to alter the swing path coming down, because of lack of feel. Not sure if this will correct itself in time with more play/practice or it will be an exercise in futility and I should go back to my other set and just adjust for lesser distance. It's nice to hit that 7 to 150 again, but if it's not on the green, then it's for naught.

 

Update on the above...............Went back to my other set, which are at D3 and actually hit them better. Just way more consistent, much better feel where the head is at on the down swing and out of the blue, got the distance back also. The Pings were just to light and at times I felt myself trying to help the swing by attempting to swing faster/harder and there was absolutely no feel as to where the club was at on the down swing. I guess Johnny Miller was right with his assessment.

[LeoLeo99]

> @disco111 said:

> > @disco111 said:

> > I am currently trying a much lighter club (Ping I3 with 75g "A" Shaft). What I have encountered is a small gain in swing speed, but at the cost of direction. For every shot hit on line, there are 2 either pulled or pushed. It doesn't take very much to alter the swing path coming down, because of lack of feel. Not sure if this will correct itself in time with more play/practice or it will be an exercise in futility and I should go back to my other set and just adjust for lesser distance. It's nice to hit that 7 to 150 again, but if it's not on the green, then it's for naught.

>

> Update on the above...............Went back to my other set, which are at D3 and actually hit them better. Just way more consistent, much better feel where the head is at on the down swing and out of the blue, got the distance back also. The Pings were just to light and at times I felt myself trying to help the swing by attempting to swing faster/harder and there was absolutely no feel as to where the club was at on the down swing. I guess Johnny Miller was right with his assessment.

 

I just switched from CF16 with 120 g KBS Tour stiff to G400 with AMT 2.0 Regular. Never hit irons this well in my life. And I've usually played heavy shafts. I don't feel a need to help the swing at all with the lighter swing/static weight. I don't think there is a one size fits all solution.