Clubfitters, how to fix iron weights help.

[theothertwo]

So I weighed my graphite shafted irons and they seem to be askew.  I wonder how to fix this and what is the weight progression from PW to 3 irons?  Lead tape on heads in various increments? Thanks.

 

Current total weights in grams:

 

P - 411

9 - 410

8 - 398

7 - 399

6 - 386

5 - 387 

4 - 394

3 - 373

[jvincent]

In a traditionally weighted set the iron heads would have 7g differences between each head.

 

The total club weight progression can be different depending on whether you used constant weight shafts (not sure if those exist in graphite) or single weight shafts that will result in different weights as they get cut to different lengths.

 

Also, there can be variation in grip weights, even for the same model, so unless you weighed those individually it's hard to know what's going on.

[ChristopherMcDonald]

Do you have a swingweight scale? I just got the economy one from GolfWorks and boy was it worth it. knew exactly how much lead tape to add instead of trusting a calculator. Is that your total club weight including shafts and grips or head weights? EDIT: Hoping it's total weight because if not those are the heaviest iron heads I've ever seen lol

 

Edited August 5, 2021 by ChristopherMcDonald

[theothertwo]

46 minutes ago, ChristopherMcDonald said:

Do you have a swingweight scale? I just got the economy one from GolfWorks and boy was it worth it. knew exactly how much lead tape to add instead of trusting a calculator. Is that your total club weight including shafts and grips or head weights? EDIT: Hoping it's total weight because if not those are the heaviest iron heads I've ever seen lol

Thanks, these are total weights (grip, shaft and head) so they are light.  Will look into the swingweight scale, thanks.  I used my wife's kitchen cooking weighing scale, lol.

46 minutes ago, ChristopherMcDonald said:

 

 

[theothertwo]

1 hour ago, jvincent said:

In a traditionally weighted set the iron heads would have 7g differences between each head.

 

The total club weight progression can be different depending on whether you used constant weight shafts (not sure if those exist in graphite) or single weight shafts that will result in different weights as they get cut to different lengths.

 

Also, there can be variation in grip weights, even for the same model, so unless you weighed those individually it's hard to know what's going on.

Thanks, this is helpful information.

[Howard_Jones]

11 hours ago, theothertwo said:

So I weighed my graphite shafted irons and they seem to be askew.  I wonder how to fix this and what is the weight progression from PW to 3 irons?  Lead tape on heads in various increments? Thanks.

 

Current total weights in grams:

 

P - 411

9 - 410

8 - 398

7 - 399

6 - 386

5 - 387 

4 - 394

3 - 373

This is what you get from OEM, and its not much you can do about it, since it has to be done right from the start to make it right.

ALL components has tolerances, and if there was none, a set with Constant wgt shafts should be about 7.0 grams from club to club, a set with descending wgt shaft closer to 6.

The only thing you can do without tearing it all a part is to remove all grips and tape.
Then make sure Loft and lie angles i set right.
Then tune up SW (or MOI) for each club (no grips on)
Weight all new grips, and distribute them to even out total wgt progression by taking advantage of the tolerances there is on grip wgt (plus minus 3.5 grams on grips)

The shafts used seems to have a rather high tolerance on shaft weight, but we cant fix it without removing all shafts. A custom club maker would weight sort the shafts as a starts, its NOT done here, so combined with grips, and maybe a sloppy SW job combined, it becomes like your set.


 

[theothertwo]

10 hours ago, Howard_Jones said:

This is what you get from OEM, and its not much you can do about it, since it has to be done right from the start to make it right.

ALL components has tolerances, and if there was none, a set with Constant wgt shafts should be about 7.0 grams from club to club, a set with descending wgt shaft closer to 6.

The only thing you can do without tearing it all a part is to remove all grips and tape.
Then make sure Loft and lie angles i set right.
Then tune up SW (or MOI) for each club (no grips on)
Weight all new grips, and distribute them to even out total wgt progression by taking advantage of the tolerances there is on grip wgt (plus minus 3.5 grams on grips)

The shafts used seems to have a rather high tolerance on shaft weight, but we cant fix it without removing all shafts. A custom club maker would weight sort the shafts as a starts, its NOT done here, so combined with grips, and maybe a sloppy SW job combined, it becomes like your set.


 

Thanks.  This is very helpful.  

[Noodler]

No matter the build approach (swingweight or MOI matched), there should be an obvious "progression pattern" in the club total weight.  The numbers you posted clearly show that there's a problem with your build (no matter what the swingweight scale might tell you).

Edited August 6, 2021 by Noodler

[theothertwo]

1 hour ago, Noodler said:

No matter the build approach (swingweight or MOI matched), there should be an obvious "progression pattern" in the club total weight.  The numbers you posted clearly show that there's a problem with your build (no matter what the swingweight scale might tell you).

So I also weighed my old Bridgestone J33 CB Irons 3-PW with Nippon NS Pro 950GH steel shafts and they seem more consistent in progression, see below PW to 3 Iron.  The question is, can a mid handicap golfer like me really benefit from properly weighted irons or is it negligible?

 

P - 446
9- 440
8- 431
7 -424
6- 415
5- 408
4-403
3-397

[jvincent]

1 hour ago, theothertwo said:

The question is, can a mid handicap golfer like me really benefit from properly weighted irons or is it negligible?

 

 

Absolutely.

 

Total weight is probably the most important factor. If the total weight is wrong you won't be able to time/sequence your swing correctly.

 

After total weight balance, which is represented by swingweight, is the next most important thing to get right.

[Ger21]

1 hour ago, theothertwo said:

The question is, can a mid handicap golfer like me really benefit from properly weighted irons or is it negligible?

Depends on how sensitive you are to swingweight, and where the weight differences are actually occurring. If they swingweight the same, few people would notice a 3-5 gram weight difference.

If the swingweights vary, it may have an effect.

[Noodler]

18 hours ago, Ger21 said:

Depends on how sensitive you are to swingweight, and where the weight differences are actually occurring. If they swingweight the same, few people would notice a 3-5 gram weight difference.

If the swingweights vary, it may have an effect.

 

Unfortunately it's this "perception" of swingweight that perpetuates exactly what it is not.  It's because the term "swingweight" makes golfers think that it represents the weight of a club when swung when it's nothing of the sort.  It's merely the measurement of the static balance of a club about a 14" fulcrum.  A club of significantly less total weight can be made to be a D9 swingweight, while a club of much more total weight could be made to measure C8.  Trust me that when you swing the C8 club, that it's going to feel a LOT heavier, thus most golfers would think "this has much higher swing weight". 

 

Swingweight is a valid concept (build approach) when constructing a set of clubs that use the same components (heads, shafts, grips), but is not a valid measurement as a comparison between clubs that are unlike each other.

Edited August 7, 2021 by Noodler