Changing Weights in Driver

[RichA]

I appreciate the suggestion, but it feels like a cop-out. I want to get the most I can out of my driver really as I already don't hit it a long way. I hit 3 wood on three of our shorter par 4s where driver isn't needed, so it's just nine holes where I'm hitting driver because I feel like I need that distance. I have played driver at 12 and 11 degrees in the past, and it certainly does hit more fairways, but leaves me a lot longer into the greens.

I'm an old and weak mid-teen handicapper. My most regular pp is an early-30s SF gym specimen.
It does his head in that I mostly hit my Stealth 2HD on a 3-wood shaft as far as he hits his proper driver.
Middle of the face on a 43" shaft goes further than off-centre on a 45.5" shaft.
At least give it a try. What have you got to lose?

 

[Orikoru]

I'm an old and weak mid-teen handicapper. My most regular pp is an early-30s SF gym specimen.
It does his head in that I mostly hit my Stealth 2HD on a 3-wood shaft as far as he hits his proper driver.
Middle of the face on a 43" shaft goes further than off-centre on a 45.5" shaft.
At least give it a try. What have you got to lose?

I know I can hit good drives though, it's in there somewhere. Your solution will be on the back-burner for the day I give up on that idea completely.

 

[RichA]

I know I can hit good drives though, it's in there somewhere. Your solution will be on the back-burner for the day I give up on that idea completely.

For what it's worth, a 43.5" driver shaft was good enough for Tiger and others, apparently...

What Is The Optimum Driver Shaft Length?

Does a longer shaft necessarily mean longer drives?

www.golfmonthly.com

 

[MACM85]

For what it's worth, a 43.5" driver shaft was good enough for Tiger and others, apparently...

What Is The Optimum Driver Shaft Length?

Does a longer shaft necessarily mean longer drives?

www.golfmonthly.com

I back the mini driver/3 wood shaft length. Being in play 100% of the time is worth the loss of a few yards.

If you don't want to try a shorter shaft but willing to go up some swing weights in hope of a fix surely the next step are lessons and practicing what you're told are the faults and go from there?

 

[Orikoru]

For what it's worth, a 43.5" driver shaft was good enough for Tiger and others, apparently...

What Is The Optimum Driver Shaft Length?

Does a longer shaft necessarily mean longer drives?

www.golfmonthly.com

In fairness, I don't want to dabble with the shaft because I was fitted for my driver, which includes the non-standard shaft that he put in. So I have some faith that the shaft isn't the problem. I can always grip down it an inch and see if that helps.

 

[RichA]

And @sjw described gear effect correctly. The twist of the driver face during impulse, the fraction of a second that the club face and ball are connected, imparts spin in the opposite direction.

 

[clubchamp98]

If you put more weight in the head it’s going to have an effect on how the shaft performs.
The kick point in the shaft might be delayed by a fraction of a second that’s all it takes to miss by 20yds.
If the heads to heavy it won’t close the face as the head is left behind .

This was explained to me this way.” Put the head of the driver on the skirting board in your house in a doorway.
Push your hands forward The more pressure you put on the head = (weight ) the more the face is open relative to your hands.”

Swingweight in standard clubs are hit and miss as they probably don’t suit lots of players but will suit some ,hence club fitting.

The weights in ping drivers will change the flight on a robot but most of us it won’t do anything.

The shaft is the engine of the club if you change the head weight it changes the way the shaft loads.

Try it on the range with no weight in you never know you may need a lighter swingweight.

 

[Orikoru]

I back the mini driver/3 wood shaft length. Being in play 100% of the time is worth the loss of a few yards.

If you don't want to try a shorter shaft but willing to go up some swing weights in hope of a fix surely the next step are lessons and practicing what you're told are the faults and go from there?

I think I have a good understanding of what I do wrong now already. The struggle is how to change it. The extra weight is kind of a failsafe to try and prevent the really bad shot from being round-destroying when I do get it wrong.

And @sjw described gear effect correctly. The twist of the driver face during impulse, the fraction of a second that the club face and ball are connected, imparts spin in the opposite direction.

Fair enough - two sides of the same coin perhaps, but obviously my understanding had some gaps in it. Even Ping don't seem to state why it works anywhere, only that it does work.

 

[jim8flog]

Stick the 3-wood shaft in your driver at max +loft adjustment. Give it a try, at least for a weekend. It's my go to fix when the driver is being an arse and it always works for me. And it costs nothing.

Is the adapter in a Ping fairway wood the same as the adapter in a driver?

 

[tsped83]

This extra weight is not a silver bullet. 6g will increase the swing weight and make it feel a little head heavier but that won’t necessarily translate to miracle path fixes. If the SFT as it is isn’t doing it for you, the answer is not equipment but practice and/or lessons. I appreciate that’s a glib answer but it’s the harsh reality.

If you add the extra weight and it doesn’t work, then what? You’ve got to address the root cause. Not suggesting for a second you learn how to hit a draw or whatever, but changing club path is doable with a little work. I had the same problem as you a couple of years ago, saw a pro, worked on one thing (coming more from the inside) and after a few months of practice, it improved dramatically, demonstrably so as I reached single figures having been hovering 12/13 for years.

…and I use a G425 SFT driver…(unmolested)

 

[tsped83]

This

 

[RichA]

Just watched your swing video from a week or so ago. On your practice swings your right elbow is ok but when you swing at the ball it wings way out from your body. I do this if I really chase the big drive and it always turns into a slice. Try feeling like your right elbow stays tucked into your body until you hit it.
Caveat: I'm not an expert. I shouldn't even be looking at this thread, never mind posting on it.
And try a 3-wood shaft.

 

[Springveldt]

This extra weight is not a silver bullet. 6g will increase the swing weight and make it feel a little head heavier but that won’t necessarily translate to miracle path fixes. If the SFT as it is isn’t doing it for you, the answer is not equipment but practice and/or lessons. I appreciate that’s a glib answer but it’s the harsh reality.

If you add the extra weight and it doesn’t work, then what? You’ve got to address the root cause. Not suggesting for a second you learn how to hit a draw or whatever, but changing club path is doable with a little work. I had the same problem as you a couple of years ago, saw a pro, worked on one thing (coming more from the inside) and after a few months of practice, it improved dramatically, demonstrably so as I reached single figures having been hovering 12/13 for years.

…and I use a G425 SFT driver…(unmolested)

It's not so much club path but more club face he needs to control. Just get it a few more degrees closed and it becomes a playable fade. No point putting in a lot of work to move the path back to neutral if the face is wide open, that's just going to send you even more right. If anything the answer will probably be in his wrist angles.

 

[Orikoru]

This extra weight is not a silver bullet. 6g will increase the swing weight and make it feel a little head heavier but that won’t necessarily translate to miracle path fixes. If the SFT as it is isn’t doing it for you, the answer is not equipment but practice and/or lessons. I appreciate that’s a glib answer but it’s the harsh reality.

If you add the extra weight and it doesn’t work, then what? You’ve got to address the root cause. Not suggesting for a second you learn how to hit a draw or whatever, but changing club path is doable with a little work. I had the same problem as you a couple of years ago, saw a pro, worked on one thing (coming more from the inside) and after a few months of practice, it improved dramatically, demonstrably so as I reached single figures having been hovering 12/13 for years.

…and I use a G425 SFT driver…(unmolested)

As I've said, I am working on my swing every week but I can only really practise once a week and it's very hard to change club path significantly. If the extra weight keeps my ball in the golf course in the meantime then happy days. If it doesn't, I'm no worse off than I was before.

 

[VVega]

I can't find anything online that explains the science behind 'SFT' or why Ping say that it work

Here you go. From a review, when they first introduced it back in 2014:

So what does “SF Tec” really mean? Essentially, it’s a slightly shifted center of gravity (CoG). Where the G30 has a sweet spot that’s right in the middle of the face, the G30 SF Tec slides the CoG/sweet spot slightly towards the heel. Here’s why that will help you: when you hit a ball on the toe of the club, it wants to draw/hook more. By sliding the CoG towards the heel, PING essentially makes more of the club act like the toe, thus promoting a draw.

 

[sjw]

Here you go. From a review, when they first introduced it back in 2014:

Gear effect

 

[Orikoru]

Gear effect

Hmmm they didn't say it was gear effect though.

 

[London424]

Your brain is really clever at figuring out how to adjust things in your swing to achieve your goal. Lots of slicers usually start aiming further and further left to allow for the slice but the brain will tell your hands that the only way to get the ball to go straight is to open the face…which makes things worse.

You’ve got to get the face matched up before your body will let you adjust swing path, because if you keep swinging with a wide open club face, coming over the top is the only way to get the ball anywhere close to where you want it to go.

 

[SteveW86]

I appreciate the suggestion, but it feels like a cop-out. I want to get the most I can out of my driver really as I already don't hit it a long way. I hit 3 wood on three of our shorter par 4s where driver isn't needed, so it's just nine holes where I'm hitting driver because I feel like I need that distance. I have played driver at 12 and 11 degrees in the past, and it certainly does hit more fairways, but leaves me a lot longer into the greens.

Everything other than lessons and working on the cause is a cop out really.

 

[Teebs]

I've ordered a new Titleist Driver that is -4g from standard (4g instead of 8g)

(Front weight in a GT3)