Adding lead tape to irons - a right or wrong place to put it?

Stuart_G · December 31, 2020

9 minutes ago, ClubBuildRookie said:

For the example, thats more than I hoping to see but it’s easy enough to compensate for at setup knowing approximately how much it shifted. Regardless of skill though, it’s all relative to the diameter or elliptical width size of the sweet spot which begs the next question.

Regarding GI equipment being built today, what would you estimate the typical width size of the sweet spot to be? Respectfully speaking, if typical total sweet spot width is 1/2”, a .098” lateral shift from vertical centerline of the original sweet spot is a pretty significant shift if your goal is to hit the sweet and you don’t know enough to compensate for the shift.

It's an interesting question but difficult to answer because there really is no technical definition of what the sweet spot really is. There are certainly ways that it could be done but I don't think anyone's really made an effort to do it, much less standardize it - at least none that I've ever seen. So it's really much more of a subjective evaluation than something that's determined empirically.

But if the diameter really is 1/2" then I disagree that 0.098" typically would be significant since if you are consistent with impact, you will continue stay in the sweet spot. If you're not very consistent to begin with, then it's a bit of a moot point since the percentage of impacts in the sweet spot vs out would not change significantly.

ClubBuildRookie · December 31, 2020

58 minutes ago, Stuart_G said:

It's an interesting question but difficult to answer because there really is no technical definition of what the sweet spot really is. There are certainly ways that it could be done but I don't think anyone's really made an effort to do it, much less standardize it - at least none that I've ever seen. So it's really much more of a subjective evaluation than something that's determined empirically.

But if the diameter really is 1/2" then I disagree that 0.098" typically would be significant since if you are consistent with impact, you will continue stay in the sweet spot. If you're not very consistent to begin with, then it's a bit of a moot point since the percentage of impacts in the sweet spot vs out would not change significantly.

Just to put some numbers behind area of sweet spot lost or gained on a .098” COG shift I had a buddy do a mock up in SolidWorks assuming (3) different size sweet spot diameters, 1/2”, 3/4” & 1”. If sweet spot is more elliptical than round the numbers below would obviously be different to some degree.

If a players typical average miss from the original sweet spot is more than the .098 shift and hits toward toe, 14g hosel weight would be a reduction of sweet spot hits. Conversely it would be an increase if the players miss is toward the heel.

1/2” Diameter Sweet Spot with .098” Shift it equates to 24.75% reduction or increase of sweet spot area assuming setup doesn’t change.

3/4” Diameter Sweet Spot with a .098” Shift it equates to 16.59% reduction or increase of sweet spot area assuming setup doesn’t change.

1” Diameter Sweet Spot with a.098” Shift it equates to 12.45% reduction or increase of sweet spot area assuming setup doesn’t change.

This might help some put it into perspective a little and the importance of knowing how and why to alter setup if your adding extreme amounts of weight to the hosel or toe area. I’ve asked these questions and work thru this simply because my own build used a combination of 12.8 ferrules and tip weights. Being a little wiser now, I will start altering my setup position a touch simply because my typical miss pattern is toward the toe. I’ll be very mindful of the dreaded shank possibility though...:-)

Stuart_G · December 31, 2020

5 hours ago, ClubBuildRookie said:

Just to put some numbers behind area of sweet spot lost or gained on a .098” COG shift I had a buddy do a mock up in SolidWorks assuming (3) different size sweet spot diameters, 1/2”, 3/4” & 1”. If sweet spot is more elliptical than round the numbers below would obviously be different to some degree.

If a players typical average miss from the original sweet spot is more than the .098 shift and hits toward toe, 14g hosel weight would be a reduction of sweet spot hits. Conversely it would be an increase if the players miss is toward the heel.

1/2” Diameter Sweet Spot with .098” Shift it equates to 24.75% reduction or increase of sweet spot area assuming setup doesn’t change.

3/4” Diameter Sweet Spot with a .098” Shift it equates to 16.59% reduction or increase of sweet spot area assuming setup doesn’t change.

1” Diameter Sweet Spot with a.098” Shift it equates to 12.45% reduction or increase of sweet spot area assuming setup doesn’t change.

This might help some put it into perspective a little and the importance of knowing how and why to alter setup if your adding extreme amounts of weight to the hosel or toe area. I’ve asked these questions and work thru this simply because my own build used a combination of 12.8 ferrules and tip weights. Being a little wiser now, I will start altering my setup position a touch simply because my typical miss pattern is toward the toe. I’ll be very mindful of the dreaded shank possibility though...:-)

That's an interesting approach and I applaud the effort but really not complete enough to be all that meaningful. It's not really a binary or black/white problem. In the sweet spot or not. To get anything useful out of it, you need to be able to translate those 'misses' into the specific deviations in the ball flight characteristics.

Edited December 31, 2020 by Stuart_G