Thanks Dan and Paul, some great testing. I did it with my PING driver and found the optimum point with a 4 gram lighter weight. Best of both worlds for extra distance and accuracy. Thank you. Looking forward to a great new year!
Hello Dan and Paul. Just a quick summary of the physics behind. Rather than using gross argument such as "hammer effect". As mentioned in the comment, the kinetic energy transfered to the ball (resulting ultimately in ball speed) is (1/2)*m*v^2. All the reasoning below is purely theoric, assuming you hit each time the center of the face. So if you note CHS for Club Head Speed, DHW for driver head weight, to reach break-even you need to have : CHSnew=CHSstd*sqrt(DHWstd/DHWnew) Application (according to numbers from your video): DHWstd=193g total (with 8g weight) and CHSstd=106.1 (according to your trackman data). So when you switch to the 14g weight, to be worth it, your new sing speed shoud be >= 106.1*sqrt(193/199)=104.49mph and when you switch to 0 weight, your new swing speed should be >= 106.1*sqrt(193/185)=108.37mph. Regards. Matthieu from Paris (France)
I think Dan summed it up perfectly at the end. The adjustable weights have a forgiveness aspect to where they are / can be placed. To remove them completely requires quality striking every time to get the benefit. I imagine going lighter in the grip and the shaft will benefit the majority. Happy New Year guys!
Happy New Year lads. Try backweighting as well. That will will get you a lighter SW without losing mass in the head, which may help stop the clubhead from turning over too much. That mass helps with stability and feel, and will produce a better smash factor.
I love it Paul Dechambeau. Hendriksen! I'm almost 71 and love experimenting Bryson is my hero using science and love that Paul is using it also! Great job guys!
Happy New Year to all of the DHG gang! I’ve missed seeing videos last week and Sunday hope you all had some rest and looking forward to another year of quality entertainment
Thank you for the great video. I think I've seen every video Paul has ever been featured in. The combination I would have him experiment with is one I have never seen him test. I do not fit for a living, but because of my experience do it upon request for elite level and competitive golfers. I do have the support and am trained by multiple shaft and equipment manufacturers. That being said, I would have Paul testing in a heavier head and high balance point-- light weight shaft. It would likely swing weight in the high C's and low D's depending on shaft. He obviously likes the old "whiteboard" profile and their are a few shafts that fit that bill and are still regularly used on tour. This would allow him the efficiency of the heavier head, higher MOI, but with the feeling , swing weight, and speed of the lighter. An inexpensive way to test this would be to purchase an older Tensei Pro Orange in a 50 or 60 stiff or Xstiff and an Aldila Rogue white or silver 130MSI in the same. The Aldila is very counter balanced and the Tensei Pro Orange just slightly. Both of these shafts have updated materials compared to the "whiteboard" and will likely have better stability. I would at least run these ideas past Joe the Pro for his thoughts, if you haven't already. I have over 60 shafts in my matrix and would just send these to you, if I didn't live in the States. Rooting for Paul in 2024!
Archery uses a formula for kinetic energy which is (speed) fps of the arrow (math) and the weight of the arrow. This is important to create enough energy to make an arrow effective. So a slower speed with a heavier weight at some point is equal to a faster speed with a lighter arrow. Same applies to the power formula your working thru.
Happy New Year all. What strikes me watching Paul is how much effort he puts in to get his ball speed compared to others at his level on yours and others channels. Is the answer technical for Paul rather than the stick he is wielding. However he is so straight that his loss vs longer hitters may over time prove to be strokes gained?
Happy New Year, good to see you back posting videos. I found this very interesting and it prompted me to dismantle my Callaway Rogue ST max LS driver and weight as many of the components that I could. I have recently replaced the grips with oversized align grips so that is making the butt end heavier and I have the Shotscope tag (2g) in the end. What I found is the head (minus the screw and washers) weighs 190g, the screw and washers weigh 5g and the shaft complete weighs 132g, giving a total of 327g. I’m thinking that having a glued shaft is interesting when looking at the total weight and swing weight. Unfortunately I could not dismantle the tungsten weight at the rear of the driver as it requires a special adapter. I’m considering replacing the oversized grip with a lightweight one but have extra layers of tape to increase the size, this should reduce overall weight and bring the swing weight back to a normal range. BTW the shaft is a Ventus TR 5-R.
Happy New Year Dan and team! Loved the new intro to the video. Just a little thing to possibly consider, the DHG branding, logo's, colours & visual identity etc might benefit from a little refresh. I'm sure Jordan and the team are more than capable of it. But I think it might help give the channel a nice update for 2024 and beyond. I think someone like Pete Finch & team have done this very well recently, especially with their podcast work. Just an idea to ponder over in the new year. Best of luck this year!
Happy New Year to DHG Media and all of it's staff. Looking forward to your videos in 2024. Enjoyed the experiment, I increased the weight of my driver from D1-2 to D5-6, and it has helped me quite a bit. The lighter Swing weight made me not be able to feel the head of the club, so I never knew where it was. Now I can feel the clubhead and make better strikes. Cheers
As an older golfer with a history of golf related elbow issues and large hands I play with non tapering midsize grips on XS shafts which makes the club weight greater but reduces swing weight. I find that this does make it harder to gain speed against lighter clubs. I have hit ladies clubs on the range whilst there with a friend and my swing speed was appreciably faster.
Happy New Year 🙂 I tried to use my Epic Flash without the weight while I was waiting for a new one (the screw sheared!) and it was so much less forgiving and felt half the weight!
Great vid again guys..love it when yourself and Paul go down the rabbit hole..has Paul gone down the rabbit hole of reverse engineering the weight system and adding 20..30 or 40g to the butt section of the shaft to get more ball speed..might make a good vid. Happy New Year to your channel.
I didn't realise you could get lighter grips... I will be doing that. Very interesting discussion. Thanks, oh and happy new year to you and all on the channel.
Happy new year to you all at DHG. Nice vid to start the new year, very interesting how what seems like a small amount of weight has such an impact overall.
VA nemsys shaft really high counter balance shaft which will allow Paul to keep the hammer heavy but feel like he swinging the much lighter driver and can also go longer 😉😉😉
This just shows one of the potential ways that pros will use to defeat the ball roll back to be implemented in the next few years. It won’t be long before distance will once again be a topic of discussion for the PGA and R&A.
I experimented with weights before in a titiest driver some years ago it’s amazing how much those small weights make the club \shaft feel .prefer a more standard factory weight now with a 60/65 blue Mitsubishi shaft 45.5 length and try to practice more .great video Dan happy new year .
Happy New Year and best wishes to all involved with DHG. Does anyone remember when golf club manufacturers experimented with aluminum shafts, to try changing the weight of the clubs. I seem to remember my dad and his golfing cronies talk about it in the early 1970's. Cheers from Texas.
I just purchased a Mizuno STX driver with a 39 gram shaft. I was using a 57 gram driver shaft. It increased my carry yardage with driver by over 10 yards.
My new PXG gen 5 driver felt too light to me, so I put about 8 grams of lead tape (which I then sealed with clear coat) on the heel of the club. Set at standard 9 degrees, I can get a higher launch with about 2600 rpm back spin. My next change will be a light weight senior flex 46 inch driver shaft, which should weigh in at about 100 grams with the grip, but will immediately deliver higher club head speed because the of the length increase of at least an inch. AT my age and physique, every MPH of club head speed means improved yardage off the tee to a greater effect than when I was 40 and running around at 210# (I'm 72 and 160# these days). Even if it doesn't work, I'll have fun fiddling with it.
Interesting piece, chaps. Sorry if I’m repeating a comment below, but a Japanese market-biased XXiO lightweight driver or a Honma TW XP-1 may be worth a go…
Happy New Year guys and great video with some great info. Going to order some interchangeable weights for my TS2 and see what the difference makes. Hope you both have a great year guys and good golfing to all. Cheers.
Happy New Year. I have recently been playing with my G410 driver head weight by adding an extra weight in the back of the club. I struggle with face control when I speed up and the extra head weight has massively helped. I had lead tape on my old Callaway Rogue. I now need to go to a fitter to find how the extra weight changes the swing weight and whether I can hit the same swing weight (and feel and control) by dropping shaft and grip weight rather than increasing head weight.
Interesting but frustrating at the same time …. I guarantee you’d optimise driver set ups for both of you with a visit to an elite fitting company. Precision Golf in Surrey fit the likes of Todd Adcock, Lewis Sparrow, Monty and a whole bunch of elite amateurs. The fitters there are as good as it gets and would take out all of this guesswork (fun though it is). Club deadweights are far less important than swing weights and it is the latter that will ultimately allow you to optimise your efficiency. I was highly sceptical about fitting until the last year and have seen what the like of Precision bring to the party. I strongly recommend you looking them up on RU-vid 👍
I prefer the length of the fairway woods from the early 2000's so I cut 1/2 inch off my Tsi2 4 wood and 7 wood and changed the weight plug at the back to +4g in both. They both ended up about the same swing weight ,just over D2 swing weight and play 42 and 41 inches...a lot easier to get quality strikes even though it is only 1/2 inch difference and the extra weight in the head feels more solid to me
Hi Dan and Paul what a really interesting video,it’s amazing to think with all the changes you can make with these clubs now days. If you think about things logically it’s going to make a difference but how much is the real question. I know when I had my fitting with titleist I now have a lighter shaft in my driver as I had lost swing speed. Ideally I’m looking to get some strength back in me so that’s my aim this year,but you also have too look at tempo and control as that will make a massive difference. Control is a big factor but also if there not a lot of weight in the head the smash factor would change too I would think. I not sure if fitters think along these lines when fitting you for a club or clubs
I have a cobra Ltd -la @ 201 grams, have 2 - 10 gram on head, with a vanquish 40 game stiff tipped 1 inch @ 44 inches, it's a absolute bomber , high launching and low spin , It is a unicorn !!!!!
Awesome… this is where my brain goes when I’m trying to maximize my distance. I’ve tried all the weight combos and ended up with X flex and standard weights in my cobra Ltdx LS 🤣🤦🏽♂️… I struggle with hitting up with driver , I can generate 170 mph ball speed but only get 240 -260m driving distance, and when I work hard at hitting up I then struggle to hit down with irons 🤦🏽♂️
Interesting experiment. Have you thought of testing a counterbalanced shaft? It would feel lighter and maybe Paul could swinge the club faster with more weight in the head and keep control
You havent factored ball compression in, the softer the compression the lighter the "hammer" so possibly the SIM set up with a lower compression ball may see higher ball speed and higher smash
I went to a 50 gram and had to go X stiff. I also had to loft up and was hooking the ball. I went back to a 60 gram stiff and I found more consistency. I won't be getting any faster without strength training and fitness. I think it's called the law of diminishing returns.
I am about to experiment with a Ping G425. I have the 40g shaft and bought 13g weights. This is contrast to what I game being 58g shaft and 26g weight. I also will be using the rypstick to increase speed.
I think the grip manufacturers need to look at making lighter grips so that head weight can be reduced by a few points. I use midsize grips and they require you to increase head weight to keep swing weight the same. If they could make midsize grips at the same weight as standard grips that would really help the average golfer.
Glad your data shows Newton was correct in 1687 in his second law of motion F=ma..... Otherwise NASA would have to recalculate all their rockets...... Happy new year,
Love the tinkering and using your equipment to the full, BUT, to hit it longer just change your technique and free your mind from fairway fairway fairway finding. Look at any of the long drive guys if you want speed, not 2 or 3 grams on equipment changes. Paul looks relatively fit and in decent shape but cant get more than 160 ball speed? You can see your being held back by thinking accuracy.
OK lads, some basic physics. Kinetic energy increases by the square of the velocity (1/2mv^2), so faster you can swing, the more energy is available to be transferred to the ball. This is why the longest hitters have the highest swing speeds ... I know, obvious, right? I think what your testing showed is that there isn't that much you can gain by playing with the weight if you look at the % gained whereas increasing swing speed by 10-15 will dramatically change the results The flow on from increasing your speed includes every other club potentially going further, so driver 5 iron could be driver 8 iron into a par 5 What speed is Paul swinging his 7 iron? What speed is Rory or Min-Woo swinging a 7 iron? Just thinking big picture that you should want gains across the whole bag
Happy New Year Dan and team! I wonder if club fitters would allow me to toy around with swing weight, also considering the usually limited amount of time reserved for a fitting slot with them, to find the optimal SW for drivers and irons (and surely also considering my own stamina limitations to hit many shots consistently 😁). Great insight anyway 🎄⛳
I actually went out and purchased "lead" tape to fiddle around with my driver performance. I tried different amounts and locations and finally found one that worked, 2" of tape between the heel and middle ( under the club) on a 45 deg angle enables the head to close slightly quicker and gave me the launch I wanted, Last years longest carry distance was about 265 onto a par 4 green (and yes I three putted ) against a slight breeze. but the overall performance of my Driving was vastly improved. Happy New Year DHG , looking forward to more great content.
The wording of "heavy swing weight" just makes it confusing, it is simply a higher or lower balance point, D8 can be at 270g total weight or 370g and still D8.
V interesting. Definitely going to have a play with this (22g standard weight in the back of my Ping G430). Any thoughts on doing the same with fairways and hybrids?
@@DanHendriksenGolf I guess spin is the potential killer for TSR1 and I don't know the head weights for TSR1 v TSR3, likewise is TSR4 not lighter as it is slightly smaller?
Was with you until you pulled a completely different club and compared numbers. Had to NEG this vid for that reason. Why, if you knew you were going to use the super light comparison, didnt you use it for the whole vid? You could have at least had him hit it with standard weight so that could be compared with the standard of the original club and then hit the super light. Poor form Dan, this is not one of your best.