Cheap swingweight scale - gives different results

[dlee388]

Hi,

I picked up a free, old, basic golfsmith swingweight scale.  It has a bar with a sliding weight to measure swingweight. I put a hybrid on the scale and marked the scale to match the D1 spec posted on the vendors website.  Then I put a 7W on the swingweight scale and the scale shows that fairway wood to be D5 using the same settings that I used for measuring the D1 hybrid, but the manufacturer’s spec for the 7W is D1.  The 7W is lighter and longer than the hybrid.

 

Does this mean that the scale isn’t able to measure swingweight on an absolute scale.  Meaning, I can’t just have one setting on the scale to measure any club.  That I’m always going to have to have different reference clubs to compare swingweight with this scale.

 

if I buy a $200 swingweight scale from golfworks, will that resolve the different readings that I’m getting with this scale.  Or is what I’m seeing similar for all inexpensive swingweight scales.

 

thanks in advance for any advice.

 

danielle

[Nessism]

What do you mean by "settings"?  Swingweight scales aren't adjustable.  You put the club on, and measure swingweight.  The only variable I know about is that some scales have a feature to allow measuring without a grip, and the scale will compensate.  

[AzRoger]

Not quite clear on what you're trying to do or mean by having one setting for all clubs. With a swing weight scale all cubs are mounted the same and you adjust the weight to measure the swing weight. Comparing what you measured to what the manufacturer states the swing weight should be is not the way to confirm the accuracy of your scale. Maybe take a club to a local club repair shop and have them measure the swing weight then compare that reading to your scale. If it's correct for one club I would feel comfortable that the scale would also be accurate for other clubs.

Maybe post a picture of your scale, I'm sure someone here has seen and used it before.

Edited March 15 by AzRoger

[Nessism]

This is what I was referring to earlier; a feature which allows measuring swingweight either with, or without a grip.  You push the plastic plug, if you want to measure clubs without a grip, and the scale will compensate.

 

And for what it's worth, swingweight scales are commonly off calibration.  Measure swingweight with different scales, and expect different results.  Most likely that 7W truly has a heavier swingweight than you expect.  This is why I build all my own clubs...

 

 

 

[taki27]

A couple of important things to remember, foremost of which is that the actual club specs - loft, lie, swingweight ALL have variances.  A D1 listing could be C9-D3.  Don’t even get started with different weight grips and different length endcaps.  Also, your scale will only be as accurate as it is level.   Someone said to take a club to a Repair Shop and ask them to take a swingweight measurement and compare that to your scale.

[Anser3]

Buy this:   https://swingw.com/shop/p/protouch-ckajd

Great scale for the money.  Consistent readings.

 

They also accept paypal which will allow you to split your payment up over 4 interest-free payments. 

Edited March 16 by Anser3

[Jayjay_theweim_guy]

As someone who found his swingweight scale in an antiques shop, (Really, and for like $20 too.) I don't rely upon it for absolute measurements.  I do rely upon it for relative measurements between two clubs.  In other words, it's precise, but not necessarily accurate.  (It's actually not off by much, assuming the club I bought from Titleist is actually D3.  Still not a suitable reference though.)

 

We and you have no idea if your 7W is actually D1 or not.  Whatever the manufacturer claims.  Get a scale, calibrate that, then input those values into an online swingweight calculator and I think you'd be "close enough."

[PJE]

I’ve got a Golfworks “ Economy” level scale and it’s actually pretty accurate; right around 1/2 point. I bought this thing during the pandemic and the “standard” model was out of stock. So, I was pleasantly surprised regarding the accuracy. 
But:

a) You have to put the scale on a level surface. 
b) Make sure the grip cap is fully inserted against the end of the scale holder. You will get false readings if the grip cap not touching the scale holder. 

 

[Socrates]

8 hours ago, dlee388 said:

Hi,

I picked up a free, old, basic golfsmith swingweight scale.  It has a bar with a sliding weight to measure swingweight. I put a hybrid on the scale and marked the scale to match the D1 spec posted on the vendors website.  Then I put a 7W on the swingweight scale and the scale shows that fairway wood to be D5 using the same settings that I used for measuring the D1 hybrid, but the manufacturer’s spec for the 7W is D1.  The 7W is lighter and longer than the hybrid.

 

Does this mean that the scale isn’t able to measure swingweight on an absolute scale.  Meaning, I can’t just have one setting on the scale to measure any club.  That I’m always going to have to have different reference clubs to compare swingweight with this scale.

 

if I buy a $200 swingweight scale from golfworks, will that resolve the different readings that I’m getting with this scale.  Or is what I’m seeing similar for all inexpensive swingweight scales.

 

thanks in advance for any advice.

 

danielle

Your problem likely lies in using a hybrid that you have no idea what the SW really is.  Using the information of what the vendor says it should be is not likely accurate.  Basing any readings using that as your "calibration" is likely where your inaccuracies come from.  

 

Some of the old (and I mean old) SW scales had charts for irons and charts for woods.  Which also could be a problem.

[Streuner]

To my understanding, the SW scale is a kind of balance thing. If the swing weight scale is out of spec, it is always the same amount out of spec. Which means the the scale measure all your clubs in the same, not correct way. The scale will not tell you a correct result with one club and an incorrect result with another. If you only want to balance out all of your clubs, it does not matter, if the scale is correct or not. But if you truly want to controlling you need to calibrate your tools 

[Stuart_G]

13 hours ago, dlee388 said:

if I buy a $200 swingweight scale from golfworks, will that resolve the different readings that I’m getting with this scale. 

 

No need to spend any money.

 

Take a short video of you using the scale on one of the clubs and post it.  That will let us help you by

1)  making sure you're using it correctly and

2) give us an opportunity to visually inspect the scale.

 

Or at a minimum - take some still pics of the scale with the club on it after you get the measurement and post them.

 

And as some others have said - forget using published stock swing weight values as measure of how accurate the scale might be.   Only check against another known to be good swing weight scale  (or one of the online calculators).  And even then +/- a couple of swing weight points isn't unusual.   It's extremely rare for people to bother periodically checking the calibration of their scales.

 

Unless there is something seriously wrong with that scale - there is no need to buy another one.   Even if it does have problems with accuracy, that's usually something that's easily fixed with a little bit of lead tape.

[RSLP]

Also, recommend you learn to calculate it manually….google “how to calculate swing weight”.  It is easy to do.

[sheepdawg]

All a swingweight scale does is determine the clubs balance point. The physics of one are so basic that it can't be screwed up. While the numbers could be off it will always determine the balance point of two clubs accurately.

[Mike412]

15 hours ago, Nessism said:

Most likely that 7W truly has a heavier swingweight than you expect.  This is why I build all my own clubs...

 

 

Yep, just got in a TM hybrid that was supposed to be D3 and it was D4.5 on my scale which has always been dead on. Luckily I wanted it closer to D2 and a little shorter so it worked out.

[Stuart_G]

1 hour ago, sheepdawg said:

All a swingweight scale does is determine the clubs balance point. The physics of one are so basic that it can't be screwed up. While the numbers could be off it will always determine the balance point of two clubs accurately.

 

Actually it doesn't compute the balance point - it computes the first moment of the club around a specific axis.   Balance point alone will never be able to give you a swing weight value.    But yes, even still the physics are pretty simple - but the potential for user error still exists.

 

[Pepperturbo]

Accurate swing weighting clubs is user-dependent.  If the unit is set on an unstable table, or is at all nonchalant about measuring, a $200 unit is no more accurate than a cheaper unit.  

 

I don't have one, but my club builder has a really nice unit, mounted on his heavy metal workbench.  Like with loft & lie units, two guys could have the same unit, yet one's not properly mounted, while the other is, and one user is causal about readings, two different numbers result.

[Golf Pig]

4 hours ago, RSLP said:

Also, recommend you learn to calculate it manually….google “how to calculate swing weight”.  It is easy to do.

 

This is a good idea and will help verify your scale's swing weight results. You need a decent weigh scale and the ability to measure the balance point accurately. Enter those values in one of the online calculators and compare that to your scale.

 

https://www.hirekogolf.com/golf-clubfitting-assembled-swingweight-calculator

Edited March 16 by Golf Pig

[dlee388]

Here’s a picture of the scale.  I assume that you move the weight until the scale is in a balanced position and it tells you the swingweight.  But the numbers on the scale never make sense compared to manufacturers specs and comparing clubs that are supposed to be similar swing weights.  
 

From everyone’s comments, I’ve concluded this scale doesn’t work and I need to buy another one.  Thanks for all the advice.

[Golf Pig]

Is the wall it's sitting on level?

[Socrates]

10 minutes ago, dlee388 said:

Here’s a picture of the scale.  I assume that you move the weight until the scale is in a balanced position and it tells you the swingweight.  But the numbers on the scale never make sense compared to manufacturers specs and comparing clubs that are supposed to be similar swing weights.  
 

From everyone’s comments, I’ve concluded this scale doesn’t work and I need to buy another one.  Thanks for all the advice.

This scale can easily produce erratic results if the surface it is on is not level on both the x and Y axis.  Also, it relies on an internal weight which can be easily put in the wrong place or even lost.  

 

Once the device is on a level surface, you should be able to move the weight to one end and the scale should be at 0.  If it is not, you need to add or subtract weight to get it to read 0.

[Nessism]

The scale is fine.  Your clubs are off spec.

[Stuart_G]

14 hours ago, dlee388 said:

But the numbers on the scale never make sense compared to manufacturers specs and comparing clubs that are supposed to be similar swing weights. 

 

 

Pardon me for being a bit blunt - but apparently you really are not listening to the comments very well.   You're still judging the quality of the readings based on assumptions about what you think the swing weights should be for those clubs - not on any kind of reliable source to what the swing weights really are. e.g. another swing weight scale or results obtained from online swing weight calculators.

 

Make sure the scale swings freely on the pivot without any sticking (a bit of lube never hurts).   And use it on a level surface.   If you  do those two things, it's impossible to break that scale as long as there is no obvious damage to it or missing parts.

Edited March 17 by Stuart_G

[joostin]

22 hours ago, RSLP said:

Also, recommend you learn to calculate it manually….google “how to calculate swing weight”.  It is easy to do.

 

17 hours ago, Golf Pig said:

 

This is a good idea and will help verify your scale's swing weight results. You need a decent weigh scale and the ability to measure the balance point accurately. Enter those values in one of the online calculators and compare that to your scale.

 

https://www.hirekogolf.com/golf-clubfitting-assembled-swingweight-calculator

I also advocate the manual / online / Excel calculator method (comes out identical to Hireko's).  The caveat is you have to be precise.  Since it's based on swingweight math, which is pretty simple, it's something that's always "calibrated". Just measure precisely, otherwise you could be off by 1 point if you're off by 1/8" for example.  Here's the DIY:

 

[Nessism]

Swingweight can be calculated, but the results will depend on the accuracy of the measurements taken.  One mm error in the balance point measurement equates to .3 swingweight points error.  Yardsticks or a tape measure won't be properly accurate for this task.  And when balancing the club, a reference line on the wall will be helpful to help judge if the club is properly balanced (not tilting down one way or another.)  Measuring the weight should be accurate also, because 1 gram of error equates to .3 swingweight points too.  Doing all this is very possible, but it's very fiddly, and requires some accurate equipment.

[charliebrown]

On 3/15/2024 at 4:34 PM, Nessism said:

This is what I was referring to earlier; a feature which allows measuring swingweight either with, or without a grip.  You push the plastic plug, if you want to measure clubs without a grip, and the scale will compensate.

 

And for what it's worth, swingweight scales are commonly off calibration.  Measure swingweight with different scales, and expect different results.  Most likely that 7W truly has a heavier swingweight than you expect.  This is why I build all my own clubs...

 

 

 

 

+1.  I've used both the Golfworks economy scale and their more expensive model. Very similar results from both - within half a point. I'm not saying my method of club building is the model to be followed, but I build all of my clubs with a 50 gram grip.  For me, that eliminates the grip "fooling the scale". Yeah, I do weigh grips I'm installing but don't do nuts over one  gram + or -.  I've also checked the build specs (by serial number) on Ping irons I've owned and own on the Ping website. They measure to within half a point of what Ping said they were built at. Kinda surprising, but nice. And yes, building/rebuilding your own clubs let's you know what you really have. 

[charliebrown]

On 3/16/2024 at 5:56 PM, Nessism said:

The scale is fine.  Your clubs are off spec.

Bingo. Correct. 

[st1800e]

Unfortunately the OP @dlee388, hasn’t been on here since March 20.  Another example of asking a question, not agreeing with the advice given and ghosting everyone who made an effort to help out.   
 

Might be a good reason for not coming back, but that’s rarely the case.  

[Stuart_G]

19 hours ago, st1800e said:

Unfortunately the OP @dlee388, hasn’t been on here since March 20.  Another example of asking a question, not agreeing with the advice given and ghosting everyone who made an effort to help out.   
 

Might be a good reason for not coming back, but that’s rarely the case.  

 

So negative?  😄

 

Yes, that's certainly one possibility but there are many other reasons that could be the result of us actually getting the point through to him. 

 

Looking at his history it's clear to see that the OP certainly isn't very chatty.   The OP's started 4 threads in 16 years and this is actually the first one they came back and made a second post in.  And he/she has never posted in anyone else's threads.   So I don't think not coming back is really any kind of indication of how he/she processed the answers - it's just his/her norm.

Edited April 17 by Stuart_G

[st1800e]

4 minutes ago, Stuart_G said:

So negative? 🙃  

 

That's certainly one possibility

Not sure what your point is..

 

I was simply making an observation.   

[Stuart_G]

8 minutes ago, st1800e said:

Not sure what your point is..

 

I was simply making an observation.   

 

Sorry if it came across wrong.    It was supposed to be just a light hearted way to say take it easy on the OP.  

 

Maybe it wasn't intended but your post seemed to me to be more than just an observation.  It had a "judgey" vib to it.

 

But whatever, I wasn't trying to make any kind of big deal out of it.

Edited April 17 by Stuart_G