8 replies to this topic

[ragweed10]

I built me a 3 wood over the weekend, taylormade burner 08 model with Hotmelt. I put a Speeder 757 in it and it swing weights at D8, no weight has been added and I would like to get this somewhere near D3 if possible. How can I do this?

[Stuart G.]

Is it at it's final length?

Hotmelt does add weight so good chance that's why it  is on the heavy side.  Don't think there is any way to undo that.  Shortening can bring it down.  The only other possibility is counter-weighting but I wouldn't recommend it because you'll be adding to the static weight quite a bit and (my personal opinion) that counter-weighting doesn't really make the club feel any lighter.

[Howard Jones]

Hot melt IS weight, so there is only 2 ways out of it.
- If you can play it shorter, you "loose" 3 sw point for every 0.5 inch shorter
- You must remove some hot melt from the head - a messy job

If you plan to remove some hot melt, its done by heating up the head to make the hot melt "fluid" and poor it out of the hosel

[bobcat]

The easiest solution is to simply go with a heavier grip to decrease the swingweight.  That can make a huge difference.  Another solution is to install a counter balance weight in the butt end.  (See your clubmaker for that option).

[ragweed10]

Finished length is 43.5, I would like to keep that length. How much distance would I loose buy cutting .5 off?

[bobcat]

Cutting it to 43" would reduce the swingweight by 3 points, making it a D5 which is a very good swingweight for a fairway wood!

[bluedot]

bobcat, on 05 November 2012 - 10:47 AM, said:

The easiest solution is to simply go with a heavier grip to decrease the swingweight.  That can make a huge difference.  Another solution is to install a counter balance weight in the butt end.  (See your clubmaker for that option).

A grip change will change the measured swingweight on a scale.  It won't change the way the club "feels" during the swing.

[Stuart G.]

ragweed10, on 05 November 2012 - 11:17 AM, said:

Finished length is 43.5, I would like to keep that length. How much distance would I loose buy cutting .5 off?

The only way to know for sure is to try it - you can do this by choking down.  Some people might loose a little distance, some might actually gain some due to more consistent contact on the sweet spot, and some might not see any change in distance.

bluedot, on 05 November 2012 - 11:47 AM, said:

A grip change will change the measured swingweight on a scale.  It won't change the way the club "feels" during the swing.

grip changes are usually +/- 5-10 gms max so you're not far off.  However, general counterbalencing, in this case would require about 25gms of weight added to the butt.  That usually will change how the club feels BUT the important thing is that for the OP - for most folks - D3 w/ +25 gms at the butt will not feel the same as getting D3 by shortening and neither will feel the same if he could get D3 by removing head weight (if even possible since we don't know how much hot-melt was added to the head).

What we feel is a combination of both static weight and weight distribution and the SW scale is a very imperfect way of measuring the last.   Which is best for the OP? - trying and comparing is the only way to tell.

Edited by Stuart G., 05 November 2012 - 07:11 PM.

[Howard Jones]

ragweed10, on 05 November 2012 - 11:17 AM, said:

Finished length is 43.5, I would like to keep that length. How much distance would I loose buy cutting .5 off?

By theory we use 2 mph club speed for every 0.5 inch shorter, BUT ONLY if your smash factor is maximized
For every mph club speed a PGA player gets 2,4 yards carry, so on paper you might loose 4-5 yards, but in most cases you will improve, not loose.

Take a white board pen and make a dot on the ball and face it against sweet spot at adress. Hit the ball and look for the impact mark on the face. If its heel side, go shorter, if its toe side, DONT. In the middle of the face = perfect shaft length.

If you play standard length irons, you will fit to play a driver between 43.50 to 44 and your 3W should be 1 inch shorter than your driver.

Counterweight is good for some, bad for others. It DO influence on the feel of head weight, but in this case it will take 25 grams grip side, and that will off cause influence on feel of total weight.