Shaft straightening and swingweight questions

cglynn · April 29, 2016

Having been in the mood to play club tech this evening, it dawned on me that I never bothered to check the swing weight of my irons. So I got out the scale and ruler and used the nifty calculator on the Hireko website. I got some interesting numbers, which I will post below. But before I do that, I will mention that I noticed a bend in the shaft of my 5 and 6 irons, pretty much right near the hosel. It looks like someone hit a bad shot and slammed the toe of the clubs into the ground. The bends basically make the lies a bit flat. The 5i is livable, and I don't hit that club poorly. My 6 iron however is a bit more severe. That said, I have gamed these clubs for a while without much problem, though my 6i is one I often hit poorly. It may be me, but it might be that bend too. Is there anyway to straighten that bend without ruining the shaft, and without reshafting? Normally, reshafting wouldnt bother me, but the clubs in question are a set of Ping Eye2+ with the ZZ Lite shafts, and I happen to really like them.

If I did have to reshaft, any reccomendations as to a good replacement that isn't $40 a shaft, as I would most likely replace the shafts in all of my irons, and don't want to spend a small fortune to do it.

Now, on to the original mission for the evening, swing weighting my clubs. Here are the numbers I got. Again, these are based on weight and length to balance point from the Hireko website.

Driver 10.5*, C 2.4

3W 15*, C 4.9

3H 20*, C 7.8

4i C 7.4

5i C 7.3

6i C 7.9

7i C 9.2

8i C 7.7

9i C 9.3

PW D 1.6

GW D 1.8

SW D 3.4

LW D 3.7

I am thinking about playing with the swing weights to get a progressive set, as close to MOI matched as possible. Good news, all of the clubs are what could probably be considered light so I won't have to grind them, but rather add weight. I hit my 7 and 9 irons really well and like the feel, but may try to bring the 9 into the low D's, as the PW feels pretty good when I swing it. Any suggestions as to a decent starting point for the lead tape, or would a trip the range and some experimentation be the best way to proceed? Assuming I find a swing weight I like in the 7i for example, is lead tape the best way to adjust the weight of the set, or is there another way to go so I don't have gobs of lead all over my clubs (I so see a re shaft in my future as heavier shafts would easily up the swing weights)

So at this point, any and all suggestions, tips, advice, or anything else is welcome.

Thanks

Chris

Stuart_G · April 30, 2016

Despite their age, I would contact Ping about the bent shafts. It's very possible they still might fix them for free. If they do, you might be better off sending the whole set to get the SW's matched while they are at it. That part may cost you some for the clubs where the shafts are not bent, but i've heard it's a reasonable cost.

For the swing weight question, first of all, realize that those online estimators can be very sensitive to the input numbers and you have to be pretty accurate, especially with the balance point measurement. Just 1/10 of an inch off in the measurement can be a full swing weight point.

Ideally, you would want to go the range and do some experimentation with lead tape to find the best base value and then adjust the rest of the clubs from there. But if the 7 iron feels good and performs well, that's not really a bad approach either.

IF you do end up reshafting, keep in mind that a change in shaft can potentially change what the 'ideal' swing weight is for you, especially if you go to a different shaft weight so you might want to hold off going through the process until after the shaft change.

As far as the end results go, how you add weight wont really matter other than maybe the asthetics but other methods for adding head weight:

1) lead tape on the heads

2) tip weights - but require the heads be pulled to install

3) (for steel shafts) Tungsten or lead powder down the shaft and corked. May require removal and re-installation of the grips.