Hybrid with a graphite iron shaft... building test club

[jmkorting]

Putting graphite iron shaft in G410 6H hybrid.. are my calculations correct

I posted about wanting to try this before, but the hybrid heads I used for my calculations in that post were just to lite for it to work so never did anything. So instead of building off that post with new info and getting confused here we are with a new post.  

I am wanting to build a test club out in which I utilize a graphite iron shaft in a hybrid head and I believe my G410 6H is a perfect opportunity for me to do so.  I utilize this for my 7 iron replacement. I am not looking for distance just for feel, consistent strike location and it to fit a yardage gap. I gravitate towards lighter weight shafts and shorter than standard playing lengths. For this test club I am wanting to build it at 37" or 36.5" inches long. I understand lie angle and SW will be effected. For this post I just want to make sure I am ordering the correct graphite iron shaft and I will address those areas at a later date.

Here is my calculations:

G410 6H head weight - 260g's (this includes a 20G weight in head instead of stock weight)

I own Ping G700 8 and 9 irons. However I don't know the head weight for these. I called Ping but they couldn't provide any as the head screw they insert in the end of the head can vary. So I am basing this off what is the most common head weights others have posted on here. See below. I may pull the heads off the current shafts for the 8 and 9 iron just to weigh them, but haven't decided on that yet.

Common head weights found: 6i - 261 / 7i - 268 / 8i - 275 / 9i - 282 / PW - 289

Based on these head weights above my G410 6H head fits right in at a 6i. So if I wanted it at a 7i (37") or 8i (36.5") length then I would need to add the following to the head - 7i 8g's and 8i 15g's. Am I correct in this calculation?

If correct then I would need to order my shaft, follow trimming instructions for an 7i, and add 8g's to the back of the head (Golf works high density lead tape is what I have available). That will give me a head weight of a 7i in a graphite iron shaft set at a 7 iron length.  

Would adding the 8g's to the head effect the shaft flex of the shaft? Say lesson it from reg to senior flex as an example? What if I decide to go the 8i route and add 15G's to back of head?

Any incite that can be provided would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Z1ggy16]

@Howard_Jones @Stu

[geochitown]

Anecdotally, I can say that I have a Thump 4 iron shaft in my 25* TEE XCG7 Beta hybrid (which they call a 5H). See my signature below.

The setup works well for me, and you can see the length in my sig (I have added weight to the head via lead tape, so I had to play the head heavier to correspond to the shorter IMO "more appropriate iron replacement" playing length

The Thump shaft at a 4 iron you may say is soft-stepped once (I play a 25* club at 38.25" playing length), so it might be more like a 5 iron loft equivalent these days, at standard length +1/2, if you call it a 5 iron 38", or -1/2" and a standard 4 iron at 38.5").

Looks like your Ping G410 6h is 30* of loft, so maybe like a modern 6/7 iron (36.5 or 37" is your desired length), 7 iron standard length is 37" and 6 iron length is 37.5"), so it's like your want to play at 0.5" short to standard (if you're calling it a 7 iron), or 0.5-1.0 short if you're calling it a 6 iron (I don't think you are though).

I would say put in a 6 iron shaft in and you may get it to be slightly soft-stepped, and a 7 iron if you want it to be a little hard-stepped.

 

That is me projecting my experience (not very scientific).

 

Hopefully, HowardJones or others will chime in for you.

 

[Stuart_G]

Basic calculations are OK, except don't forget that the g410 hybrid is adjustable and you need to include the weight of the adapter as part of the head weight - for ping that's typically 5-6 gm for their driver adapter, don't know if the hybrid adapter is the same or not.

However, keep in mind that those head weights you're working with are just typical head weights out of the factory. That's not really the same as target head weight for a particular build. They don't account for personal adjustments needed due to the shaft contribution to the swing weight or personal preference for swing weight/head weight. IF you have a valid target swing weight for that particular length AND shaft, then you really should use a swing weight scale to adjust to get the final swing weight. If you don't have a SW target specific to that combination of length and shaft, then best to first build it a little light, and then go to the range with some lead tape to find the best final head weight. Whether you continue to use the lead tape or go back and replace it with something else is entirely up to you.

 

 

[geochitown]

I might be at 260 g on my 25* head, but not 100% sure.

my hybrids tend to SW out a bit lighter than the rest of my clubs (for my feel preference) c9 range, instead of low D's for irons and mid D's for fwy/driver

 

[jmkorting]

@Stuart_G Thanks for the response and advising of the adapter. I have a spare G410 hybrid adapter that I will weigh tonight. I will then take that into account for my calculations. I don't have a particular SW target in mind for the club. Just building it and going to see how it goes. Overall goal of post was to see if my understand of what I pieced together from other forum posts on this topic was correct or at very least heading in the right direction. And it seems like I am. This will be a fun little experiment. @geochitown thanks for your response with your experience regarding utilizing a graphite iron shaft in your hybrid. I went ahead and ordered a shaft and had it tip prepped for a 7 iron. Cheap shaft through Golfworks. So fairly inexpensive experiment. You are correct in thinking that I look at this club as my 7 iron and will initially play it at 37" and see how it goes.
Appreciate everyone's comments on this. Should be a week or so before I get it all set up. I will post back what the results are once I have a couple range sessions after the build.

[geochitown]

sounds great. What shaft are you using, if you don't mind my asking?

The thump shaft I have is a taper tip shaft, so no tipping was required.

[SmashGolfBall]

I am not sure the "calculation" matters. but i built my hybrid set from 3 to PW by using the the same iron shafts (project 6.0 flighted). So the 3 iron shaft goes into the 3 hybrid, 7 iron shaft goes to the 7 hybrid. And before I put the epoxy, I will check the swing weight and add the weight tip (brass or lead one) into the shaft if necessary.

The added weight tip should have minimum effect to the shaft flex, even though it is graphite one. The head weight may play a factor but you also cut down the graphite shaft quite a bit, which actually makes the shaft stiffer. Unless we put the club on the frequency measure machine, there is no easy way to tell whether the flex is right or not.

 

[jmkorting]

@geochitown the shaft that I am using is the aldila value series graphite iron shaft. Since it is a experiment I went the cheap route on a shaft just to see how it goes. May end up changing the shaft, but for now this is what I am going to try. Should be getting it soon. Had to return an item to Golfworks and exchange it for the shaft. So a bit of a delay in getting it to me. Once I have it and get the club built I will post an update.@SmashGolfBall you built a hybrid set from 3 to PW? What hybrid heads did you use if you don't mind me asking?

[SmashGolfBall]

3-5 hybrids are titliest 915H, 6 hybid is Ping G30, 7-PW hybrids are from Thomas golf (rarely to find hybrids from 7 to PW)

[jmkorting]

@SmashGolfBall nice set up. Right now my hybrids are Ping G410 6H, Callaway Big Bertha 2019 8H, Pinemeadow excel EGI 9 and PW hybrids. Then I go into my Cleveland Smart Sole 4.0 wedges (G, S, and C). I had G410 2, 3, 4, and 5 hybrids at one point, but gravitated away from them and went into fairway woods instead. Have the G410 SFT 3 & 7 along with the standard G410 9 wood. I did find G700 8 and 9 irons online for a cheap price so I have been tinkering with those instead of the pinemeadow hybrids. However, I am not sold on the irons and am looking to reshaft the pinemeadow hybrids and putting them back in the bag. Also thinking of dumping the Big Bertha hybrid and getting a Pinemeadow 8H instead. That will depend on how my experiment goes with the current Pinemeadow hybrids I have.
Update on my experiment. I received my Aldila Value series graphite iron shaft. I managed to get the adapter added and grip put on. I did not do any length adjustment to the shaft. It came pre tipped for a 7 iron from Golfworks so I didn't have to do any tipping either. Length ended up being 37.5 inches. Had my first range session using it last night and I enjoyed the feeling of the club. I was going to boot that club out the bag, but this set up has potential. So the club will remain in the bag for the time being. Will be looking to do this same thing with my Pinemeadow hybrids now once I get a few items sold.

[geochitown]

sounds great. How does the head weight feel?

consider adding some lead tape to see if heavier swing weight feels better?

then could get g410 weight as required if needed.

[jmkorting]

@geochitown The head feels noticeable I guess. I will admit I have always had trouble feeling the head of the club. I am not sure why that is. My senses or feels just don't correlate as to where it is in my swing. I have gravitated recently towards a club that provides me what I call a whip like feeling when I swing it. So nothing stiff or boardy. This whip like sensation as I call it I feel helps me recognize the shaft loading. Which I believe helps me recognize the club head. I could be wrong, but I have come to enjoy swinging clubs that give me this feeling and I will stick to it for the time being. By many I am fairly new to golf. Bout to turn 41 and only been golfing about 5 years now with the last 4 years really getting into golf. So not a whole lot of background with golf. Maybe that is why my senses/feels aren't in tune with being able to tell where the head is with shafts that are more stiff/boardy. That is just my guess I suppose.
Overall the club feels good. I am getting the sensation I like and the early results are promising. I hit a few bombs, well for me bombs..lol, with it last night. A yardage I hadn't reached with the club prior. Even with a longer shaft installed I never hit it that far. Prior to this small experiment I wasn't hitting the club all that well and wasn't getting this new sensation that I like. Which is why it was on verge of being booted. Actually had it up for sale. But like I said I had more than a few good swings with it last night and I took it off the market. Maybe I am in what many call the honeymoon phase with the club. Only time will tell on that one.
I actually have put in a 20G Ping weight instead of the stock 7 or 10g weight that it comes with. This appears to have helped offset the reduction in length, and shaft weight. I have loads of lead tape I can use to try and see if I can dial it in even further, but for now it feels nice and I am looking forward to my next range session with it this weekend.

[geochitown]

Perfect.

I forgot that you were putting in that heavier weight already, that is the most important thing, in my mind, when playing hybrids at the "replaced iron length."

For future info, if you have a chance, you could stop by a golf store and ask them to measure the swingweight on the club, for information purposes.

Congrats, sounds like your experiement has been successful