Head weight affecting ball speed ??

[rwhitlock]

I was wondering if adjusting the head weight of a driver - say going several grams lighter to lower the swing weight - would make any measurable difference in ball speed (distance)?   Assuming the clubhead speed stays the same. 

 

Thanks in advance,   Rod

[Valtiel]

If the speed stays the same, no it won't make a measurable difference. Generally the differences when dropping weight come from increased speed, and if the weight change is better for your swing, increased contact quality/consistency. All things being equal though it takes a LOT of weight to create a difference in ball speed if speed doesn't change, generally more than you'd ever add/subtract from a club, and there are so many other more potent variables when it comes to ball speed manipulation (club head speed, strike location, delivered loft) that it isn't worth exploring for anything other than feel purposes. 

[rwhitlock]

thanks for the info!  I was hoping this would be the case.  I like the feel of a bit lighter head and feel that I can swing it better.  Am going to do some on course testing tomorrow and see how this works when it matters 🙂

 

Thanks again,  Rod

[juststeve]

The kinetic energy of the club head is given by mass times velocity squared.  That means a lighter club head swung at the same speed will have less kinetic energy than the heavier head although the change will be slight.

 

Steve

[Valtiel]

23 minutes ago, juststeve said:

The kinetic energy of the club head is given by mass times velocity squared.  That means a lighter club head swung at the same speed will have less kinetic energy than the heavier head although the change will be slight.

 

Steve

Correct, but it takes more weight then we typically change to even begin to notice this difference. I believe either @Howard_Jones or @Stuart_G posted something at some point breaking down what the actual numbers and expected outcomes would be. 

[skraly]

With no changes of another parameters, a 2 gm. decrease in driver head weight, assuming a starting head weight of 300 gms., will yield approx. a 1.5 yd. increase in carry on a drive of 250 yds. carry.  Numbers for driver head weight and carry are random but represent a common average for many amateur golfers.  All but the best amateur and professional golfers will be unable to realize any improvement at all due to inconsistencies, mainly in contact, but also due to swing inconsistency. 

[Stuart_G]

3 hours ago, skraly said:

 assuming a starting head weight of 300 gms.,

 

Driver head standard is 200 gm, not 300 gm

 

3 hours ago, skraly said:

All but the best amateur and professional golfers will be unable to realize any improvement at all due to inconsistencies, mainly in contact, but also due to swing inconsistency. 

 

True.  But a better way to say it is that a better fit for swing weight (regardless of the ability level) will generally provide better swing speeds and more consistent center face contact (better smash factor), better face control, and therefore better and more consistent ball speed and distance.

 

The effect of the head weight on the swing is generally much more influential to the results than the effect of the mass of the head is on the impact and transfer of energy to the ball.

 

3 hours ago, Valtiel said:

Correct, but it takes more weight then we typically change to even begin to notice this difference. I believe either @Howard_Jones or @Stuart_G posted something at some point breaking down what the actual numbers and expected outcomes would be. 

 

Taking away that effect on the swing and looking purely at perfect collisions:

 

For a 100 mph club head speed, an increase in head mass from 200 gm to 210 gm = an increase in ball speed of 1.3 mph.  And that's assuming 0* loft, so the actual increase will be likely more like 1mph ball speed for 10 gm of head weight added.    That's a big change in the swing weight - it's a bad idea to assume that the swing will be unchanged as a result of that head weight increase.   You'd be better off (although not by much) trying to get another 1-2 mph out of the club head speed.

 

So it's best just to forget the idea of increasing the head mass thinking one will get more distance from it.

Edited October 6, 2021 by Stuart_G

[chipa]

4 hours ago, rwhitlock said:

I was wondering if adjusting the head weight of a driver - say going several grams lighter to lower the swing weight - would make any measurable difference in ball speed (distance)?   Assuming the clubhead speed stays the same. 

 

Thanks in advance,   Rod

 

I did something similar when I decided to build a long driver and based on my research looking at long drive equipment and reading what others had done before it seems that head weights less than 185 grams generate less ball speed in spite of any increase in clubhead speed due to the lighter weight.

 

A way to pick up speed is to extend the shaft, for every 1" you should see 3-4 mph more or less. My long driver had 192 grams(I removed a couple of weights) at 47" with a 65 gram shaft and 44 gram grip. I damaged the head so my next one will be 46" long with a 200 gram head and the same shaft and grip. 

[Justsomeguy]

As Steve noted above, more mass (all things being equal) means more energy. That having been said, less mass can mean more speed for some people, which contradicts the all things equal idea. This is just one contradictory value (more exist, like spin and others).

It's not linear, bc there are multiple dependent variables that are also interdependent of different (f)unctions.

[Howard_Jones]

6 hours ago, Valtiel said:

Correct, but it takes more weight then we typically change to even begin to notice this difference. I believe either @Howard_Jones or @Stuart_G posted something at some point breaking down what the actual numbers and expected outcomes would be. 

The charts i had made for this, said that 10 grams added on a 200 gram driver head would deliver 4 yards more carry "all else equal", so the question is if the player can handle that. My charts was made to isolate head weight as a factor when going shorter, and the player was able to maintain the same club speed.

[daveob]

Thanks for this, I came to same conclusion through experimentation adding 20 grams then backing down in 5 gram increments. Find the weight that feels best and the placement in the three portals on my driver.