Equipment

Charl Schwartzel’s drilled-out Miura irons: A builder’s perspective

Published

4 years ago

Feb 5, 2020

We see plenty of cavity back irons on the PGA Tour. Most of these irons have been strategically designed to position weight and center of gravity to maximize performance. Spotted this week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: a nonconventional set of “cavity backs” in the form of Charl Schwartzel’s drilled-out Miura MB-001 blade irons.

As first reported by Golf.com’s Andrew Tursky, Charl, an equipment free-agent, bought the irons online, and after tinkering with them (obviously, Charl is a true gear nut), he felt the irons were just a bit too heavy at D6 swing weight and wanted to bring them down to around D3. These number will seem quite arbitrary to some, so to help explain swing weight, we have a short video below

Now, the question comes down to why would he drill out the irons instead of just having the clubs built to his desired spec?

In the case of Miura irons, a company founded in Japan. The iron head weights are heavier than others on the market because Japan spec irons are generally built to shorter lengths than their North American counterparts. The clubheads are noticeably heavier in the shorter irons and wedges (see chart below), which is why we see more holes in the pitching wedge vs. the longer irons.

Since the MB-001’s are a solid muscle design with no badges or weight ports in the head, there is no other way to remove the mass needed to hit a lighter swing weight for Charl—unless Miura was to produce a set heads at a lighter weights by grinding off mass during the final production steps before final finishing.

Head weight specs 3-PW starting at 245g at the 3-iron.

As a result, when built with heavier tour weight shafts (anything 110g or above) and at a standard North American length (37″ – 7 iron, or longer), the clubs will end up being heavier than what would be considered standard swing weight (usually between D1-D4). Let me please point out that in the golf club manufacturing world there are very few standard practices or measurements beyond the USGA ruler and swing weight scale. Although the phrase “standard clubs” is still common nomenclature, it applies very little to the custom club building world.

Beyond adding mass to the grip end of the club to counteract the heavier weight of the heads, a practice known as counterbalancing, the only other option is to drill mass out of the clubhead (see full video above for further explanation). Charl reportedly did the drilling himself when fine-tuning the clubs and after a few holes got them right where he likes them.

Based on the thickness of the iron muscle and the amount of mass removed from each head (roughly six grams), these holes have no effect on the performance of the irons (but have probably killed any potential resale value on the open market—bearing in mind that last part is tongue in cheek). If Charl wins another major with these, who knows what they would be worth.

Other examples

This process of drilling out mass has also been referred to as “porting,” and club builders have been doing it for a long time. In the case of wedges, porting not only helps reduce clubhead weight, but can also help (in a very, very small way) remove mass from lower in the head to raise the CG. It’s the exact reason Callaway introduced this design feature in the original PM Grind and continues with the design philosophy today in the JAWS MD5.

With Bryson’s wedges being more than 1″ over standard length, weight had to be removed from the head.

We don’t recommend you start drilling holes in your irons and wedges just yet and suggest seeing a professional club builder to help you sort out your specs and get you dialed in. For more pictures of the clubs Charl Schwartzel is using this week, head to the GolfWRX forum: Charl Schwartzel – WITB 2020 AT&T Pebble Beach

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Ryan Barath

Ryan Barath is a club-fitter & master club builder with more than 17 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. He is the former Build Shop Manager & Social Media Coordinator for Modern Golf. He now works independently from his home shop and is a member of advisory panels to a select number of golf equipment manufacturers. You can find Ryan on Twitter and Instagram where he's always willing to chat golf, and share his passion for club building, course architecture and wedge grinding.

21 Comments

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craig adams

Mar 12, 2020 at 12:42 am

Charles golf game has holes in it. He’s out of the top 200? A golfer as talented as he is shouldn’t have to tinker with clubs. Manufacturers should be throwing their clubs at him. Did his game go sour since moving to PXG? Why do golfers change a winning combination? Look at Westwood and Jiminez; been playing with Pings all their career.

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Eldrick

Feb 20, 2020 at 3:38 am

Looks like his Gapr low is a glued non adjustable one.

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Nack Jicklaus

Feb 12, 2020 at 1:02 am

He should have just drilled all the way through the faces like the old “Hammer” driver. Boom!!!!!!!!!!

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Ima Fitter

Feb 10, 2020 at 5:02 pm

Love it! You don’t need to spend a ton of money on a new set of irons. As long as they are forged and you like the appearance, pre-owned irons can be fit to your swing. Change the loft & lie, change the shaft, change the grips…any qualified club builder can make them work for you.

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Benny

Feb 8, 2020 at 8:02 pm

Great catch Wrx and article. Charl left PXG a while ago. But truly suprised he couldn’t get a set directly and have them custom grinded. Anyways great details and love the comments fellas.

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bob stelben

Feb 8, 2020 at 3:01 am

Good video on swing weights. Can you explain tipping of the shaft and the reasons or advantages/disadvantages?

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Steve

Feb 7, 2020 at 3:23 pm

I thought Schwartzel was a PXG guy? Guess I am mixing up who Parson’s friends are. And I agree….drilling holes in Miura irons is like adding your own touch up paint to the Mona Lisa. To each his own, I guess.

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- Funkaholic
  
  Feb 7, 2020 at 4:55 pm
  
  I doubt a pro is bagging those Miuras for status, he is going to play the grooves off of those babies, appearance is for weekend hackers.
  
  Reply Report comment
Donn Rutkoff

Feb 6, 2020 at 3:17 pm

Palmer probably drilled out hundreds of clubs. Tinkering was common. To suit your own swing.

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Fergie

Feb 6, 2020 at 12:33 pm

Drilling Miuras like that is, well, blasphemy. He should just get it over with and get CB’s.

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- Funkaholic
  
  Feb 7, 2020 at 4:53 pm
  
  CB’s are not the same idea at all, he is reducing swing weight, a CB redistributes weigh to lower in the head making raising MOI and them easier to launch.
  
  Reply Report comment
Mike Cleland

Feb 6, 2020 at 10:32 am

I grew up playing D5 S/W clubs with standard lengths. Does any manufacturers make heavy headed clubs or do they just shove weight down the shaft & change the center of gravity. All my clubs are covered with lead tape. Any suggestions?
PS: I really enjoy your blogs

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jgpl001

Feb 6, 2020 at 3:50 am

Nasty workmanship on a quality blade

He appears to be missing the drilled effect of hs old pig’s……

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Dennis

Feb 6, 2020 at 1:28 am

Do all the pros go for swingweight instead of MOI-Matching?

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Gurn

Feb 6, 2020 at 12:19 am

Those Miuras need that treatment like a hole in the head

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bill bourne

Feb 5, 2020 at 8:01 pm

Does drilling out the backs affect the overall thickness spec?

Reply Report comment
- JP
  
  Feb 6, 2020 at 8:32 am
  
  Huh? Overall thickness spec? What is that?
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Tim Armington
    
    Feb 7, 2020 at 7:54 am
    
    You dont know what a thickness spec is??? Wow.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Funkaholic
      
      Feb 7, 2020 at 4:56 pm
      
      Ha! This guy doesn’t know what thickness spec is!
      
      Reply Report comment
      - maroon
        
        Feb 8, 2020 at 4:32 am
        
        I know but it has nothing to do with golf 😉
        
        Reply Report comment

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/13/24): Full set of ‘Tiger Slam’ clubs

Published

5 hours ago

May 13, 2024

Gianni Magliocco

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a full set of ‘Tiger Slam’ clubs.

From the seller: (@CaymanS): “During the year of recovery from leg surgery that never quite healed, I was bored. One thing led to another, and I ended up gradually building/acquiring the individual pieces to complete a set of “Tiger Slam” clubs. They are what Tiger played to win 4 consecutive majors, which nobody has ever done. This is not an exact replica of course, but something close that fit me to play a few times per year and experience what Tiger did. But my bad leg, 4 shoulder tears, and age prevents me from the ball-striking needed to enjoy these to their fullest. They may not be everyone’s cup of tea, especially since the driver and fairway shafts are regular flex and most players good enough to play these will need to change them, but it’s not a perfect world. I am not a historian on this stuff, but my research indicates these are the same models Tiger used, with slightly different specs to fit me.

Full set $1,600, or…

…a donation for a Pro Kids fundraiser, or…

Driver: $70

Fairway: $250

Irons: $1,100

Wedges: $100

Putter: $350″

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Full set of ‘Tiger Slam’ clubs

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Whats in the Bag

Rory McIlroy’s winning WITB: 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

Published

19 hours ago

May 12, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X

Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s WITB in the forums.

5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 X

Irons: TaylorMade Proto (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9) Buy here.
Shaft: Project X 7.0 (4-9)

Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s WITB in the forums.

Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB) Buy here, Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (58-K @59) Buy here.
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X3 Buy here.
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol Tour

Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s WITB in the forums.

Ball: 2024 TaylorMade TP5x Buy here.

(Photo courtesy of TaylorMade)

Grips: Golf Pride MCC

Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s WITB in the forums.

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A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

The winning WITB is presented by 2nd Swing Golf. 2nd Swing has more than 100,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.

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Whats in the Bag

Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)

Published

3 days ago

May 10, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.

Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX

Check out more in-hand photos of Kevin Tway’s clubs here.

5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX

Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)

Check out more in-hand photos of Kevin Tway’s clubs here.

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)