Trimming from 3 wood to 5 wood

DunbarKen · July 9

I got a really nice Qi10 5 wood with a Red Velocore TR shaft. However the shaft is 43” and I’d really like it a bit shorter. Any thoughts on what impacts trimming the shaft (butt end I’m assuming) will have on playability. I read somewhere that 1” will reduce swing weight by 6. That does not seem credible. This is an expensive shaft I don’t want to muck it up.

Stuart_G · July 10

21 hours ago, DunbarKen said:

I got a really nice Qi10 5 wood with a Red Velocore TR shaft. However the shaft is 43” and I’d really like it a bit shorter. Any thoughts on what impacts trimming the shaft (butt end I’m assuming) will have on playability. I read somewhere that 1” will reduce swing weight by 6. That does not seem credible. This is an expensive shaft I don’t want to muck it up.

Yes, 1" really does reduce swing weight by 6 pts and 1/2" is 3 pts. What you may not understand is what that quantitative change in swing weight actually means in terms of a feel change. Or maybe that when we change playing length, we don't necessarily want or need to "fix" the swing weight by getting it back to where it was.

The good news is there is no need to be hasty with any permanent decisions. Do some testing choking up to the desired playing length. That's exactly the same thing you're going to feel after cutting down - except for maybe the grip will be slightly smaller when choking up. Then if you feel the need, go ahead and play around with some lead tape on the head to see if adding back some weight will help with the heft/weight feel. You only need to add in ~2 gm increments to start.

Then after all that testing, you can make the decision on whether to go ahead with cutting it down or changing out any lead tape for a different head weight (if it has any aftermarket replaceable head weights available).

Edited July 10 by Stuart_G

DunbarKen · July 11

Well I loved the club on the LM and subsequently bought it. I then changed the stock TaylorMade grip for an MMC Plus 4 which was an additional 5 g so that had a direct impact on swing weight. Maybe explains why my first outing on the course was not as good as expected. If I trim 1” from the butt that is 1.5g less and if I change to a CP2 grip I’m probably back to where I started. However the balance point of the club moves maybe 1/3” (not 1/2” because shaft is tapered). You’re right though, I should just choke down 1” and see what happens but also maybe change the grip.

Stuart_G · July 11

8 hours ago, DunbarKen said:

I then changed the stock TaylorMade grip for an MMC Plus 4 which was an additional 5 g so that had a direct impact on swing weight. Maybe explains why my first outing on the course was not as good as expected.

It's not impossible but that wouldn't normally be much of a problem. First of all, the swing weight system wasn't really designed to manage grip weight so changing grip weight doesn't effect the MOI of the club. Grip weight is more about the change to the static weight weight of the club than it is about swing weight (or really MOI). Second, even if you wanted to believe the scale (which is a bad idea), 5 gm of grip weight is only 1 swing weight point. Not an amount that would usually mess with someone's swing.

But the most important point, don't use the swing weight scale or "rules" to try to compensate for a grip weight change. The only good way to do that is to just go to the range with lead tape to refit the head weight. And don't assume you have to go up, you may have to go down to get a better fit. Test heavier head weight with lead tape and if there is not any kind of removable weight, you can test lighter head weight (swing weight) by simply choking up 1/4" increments.

Second, I wouldn't make any decisions just based off a single round.

When testing on an LM, it's easy to groove a swing when making multiple swings with the same club over and over. That's not going to be representative of performance on the course when you're coming from swinging other clubs and now only have one shot with the new club. When testing - or going to the range to adjust a club - no more than 2 swings with the club before switching back to some other control club - to "reset" the swing. In this case, maybe a mid iron or wedge. So even if there is something off about the club, don't jump to conclusions on what the problem is.

Changing grips for the sake of swing weight more often than not just a wild goose chase. It's usually much more important to pick the grip just based on size, feel, and general comfort. If it really does throw off the feel, you should look at other adjustments first - head weight and/or shaft weight. That's why it's usually a good idea to fit grip first before shaft.

ShortGolfer · July 11

I don't notice a difference between stock Callaway ladies grips and ladies dri tacs when swinging a club. The Callaways weigh 50g and the dri tacs weigh 36, a huge difference of 14 grams.

Edited July 11 by ShortGolfer

DunbarKen · July 13

Of course I’m not really drastically changing the playability of the club (42” is standard for a 5 wood) I’m just restoring it to the factory spec. TM build for a 42” shaft and the 5 wood will be heavier than a 3. So likely I don’t have to add extra weight unless I don’t like the feel of the out of the box swingweight.

DunbarKen · July 13

So I might be mistaken. One source tells me that TM now builds the 5W and the 3W to 43.25” and a D3 swingweight.

Stuart_G · July 13

3 hours ago, DunbarKen said:

So I might be mistaken. One source tells me that TM now builds the 5W and the 3W to 43.25” and a D3 swingweight.

There is nothing magic or special about stock lengths or swing weights. In fact, they are usually pretty bad for most ams. Find and play what works best for you.