Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: A discussion of swingweight (Part 1: History)

Published

6 years ago

Jul 8, 2020

Image via Golfworks

For the twenty-five plus years, I’ve been in the equipment business, one of the most commonly-asked-about subjects is that of swingweight. It mostly comes up when a golfer is requesting over-length clubs or is contemplating changing to graphite shafts. So, I’m going to direct a discussion of this topic. Please chime in to let me know your thoughts and input.

The concept of swingweight was developed by custom clubmaker Kenneth Smith about 60 years ago. He was trying to figure out how to “match” clubs, and settled on balance point as a way to do so. His swingweight scale had a “hook” to hold the grip end of the club, and a fulcrum 14 inches from the butt. He created an arbitrary scale of measure that consisted of letters A-F, each letter divided into ten segments, i.e. D1, D2, D3, etc. When he measured the clubs of the day, he found most of them to be in the D2 range, so that became recognized as the “standard” for men’s woods and irons.

The golf club industry quickly adopted this method of “matching” clubs…well, because they had no other way! Because the longer the shaft, the heavier the head feels, clubheads increase in weight as the shaft gets shorter, so that the swingweight will stay the same. The theory then, and now, is that if the swingweight is the same, the clubs will feel essentially the same in the golfer’s hands.

But let’s look at what has happened since Kenneth Smith invented the swingweight scale.

Shafts have gotten longer by at least an inch. In the 1940s, a “standard” driver was only 42-43” long – now most are 45” if not more.
Shafts have gotten much lighter. Those old steel shafts weighed 150 grams or more, compared to modern graphite driver shafts in the 55-75 gram range.
Golfers have gotten stronger while clubs have gotten much lighter overall, but swingweights have always adhered to that D2 “standard.”

You must understand two very important factors about swingweight.

First, a “point” of swingweight–such as D2 to D3–is NOT a unit of measure like an ounce or gram. It takes much less weight to shift a driver one point, for example, than it does a wedge, because the shaft length is such an influence on this measure. Generally, the weight of a single dollar bill is a swingweight point on a driver—not much, huh?

And secondly, the overall weight of the club is at least as important as swingweight. Jack Nicklaus was noted for playing a driver in his prime that was 13.25 oz in overall weight–very heavy even for that time (most are about 10.5 oz now!), while his swingweight was only C9, considered very light. S

Swingweight by itself is a rather worthless piece of information!

So, that should get this discussion going. I’ll give you a few days to toss out your questions and comments on this subject, and then I’ll begin to address my own theories on swingweight for YOUR clubs.

Sound off, readers!

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Terry Koehler

Terry Koehler is a fourth generation Texan and a graduate of Texas A&M University. Over his 40-year career in the golf industry, he has created over 100 putter designs and dozens of wedges. In 2014, he put together the team that reintroduced the Ben Hogan brand to the golf equipment industry with his TK 15 wedges and Ft. Worth 15 iron designs. Since receiving a U.S. Patent for his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” in the wedge category. In addition to inspiring multiple companies to emulate this sole technology, the performance of his wedge designs have stimulated all other companies to reposition some mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges. Terry is retired from his role as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf, and remains active in the industry as an independent designer and consultant. But his most compelling work is in the wedge category. Since he first patented his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” reflected in ‘tour design’ wedges. The performance of his wedge designs have stimulated other companies to move slightly more mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges, but none approach the dramatic design of his Edison Forged wedges, which have been robotically proven to significantly raise the bar for wedge performance. Terry serves as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf – check it out at www.EdisonWedges.com.

14 Comments

Stuart

Oct 29, 2023 at 5:24 am

Based on what I’ve read – Kenneth Smith did not design the swing weight scale. The scale was originally designed by R.W. Adams, who got the patent in 1934. As I understand it, Kennith Smith bought the rights to use Adam’s invention in 1945 and started producing them with both 14″ and 12″ fulcrum points.

Also, they certainly did have ways to match the clubs before the scale – but the calculations were tedious. Adam’s wanted to find an easier way.

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Bob Pegram

Jul 13, 2020 at 5:00 am

The reason Nicklaus’ clubs were heavy, but with a light swing weight is that they were backweighted which simultaneously makes the clubs heavier, but reduces the swing weight.
My clubs are MOI weighted. The irons are 1-1/2 inches overlength and have graphite X shafts to keep the swing weight down. Also, 2 inches longer length is a whole flex difference. In other words they flex only a little stiffer than S flex. The cheating way to do MOI matching is to make each higher numbered club 0.65 swing weight higher for each 1/2 inch shorter it is (or 1.3 swing weights heaver per 1 inch shorter). They are easier to hit consistently with MOI weighting.

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- Bob Pegram
  
  Jul 13, 2020 at 5:04 am
  
  Forgot to mention: All of my wedges (PW, 54, 60) are the same length (37 inches), but each one gets heaver by approximately 0.65 swing weight. The Lob is a little heavier than that. All have the same graphite shafts as the other irons.
  
  Reply Report comment
Grey

Jul 10, 2020 at 1:01 am

I’ve just received my custom built wedges. TM MG2 52, 56, 60 all .5” over standard. The swing weights are coming in at D10, E0, E1. I notice pretty small changes in the feel of equipment. I feel like I’m swinging a garden hoe. Shafts are Nippon Modus 120 S. Is there something about the balance or kickpoint making the swingweight so high? I’ve always thought .5” adds 3 SW points.

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- joro
  
  Jul 10, 2020 at 11:56 am
  
  The sad part is that the big club companies do not care. They take a head and shaft and put it together with a grip and call it a custom. I bought a couple of Vokey Wedges and specified what I wanted. The Two Wedges came and they were two different models and not even close to what I had ordered. I had to rebuild them myself to get them right.
  
  Reply Report comment
BD

Jul 8, 2020 at 3:30 pm

I laugh when people are so concerned about swingweight. I can make a telephone pole D2 if I wanted to.

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Regardt van Rooyen

Jul 8, 2020 at 2:28 pm

100% agree with William Terry. My clubs have been MOI’d for over 10 years now. It’s all about feel weight and not swing weight. Like you’ve explained, you can have a VERY heavy golf club but have a light swingweight.

A simple way to MOI your irons without a Swing Weight machine is to build your 7i light and go through a specific swing weight test. Keep adding weight until you find your desired feel. Measure that 7i, let’s say it comes out at D2 then follow the next clubs up and down with a half a swing weight, for example:

3i – D0
4i – D0.5
5i – D1
6i – D1.5
7i – D2
8i – D2.5
9i – D3
PW – D3.5

This will get you VERY close to the same MOI (feel kr how much force it takes to move your club) in your irons

Reply Report comment
- Regardt van Rooyen
  
  Jul 8, 2020 at 2:31 pm
  
  Correction, “to MOI your irons without a MOI Machine”
  
  Reply Report comment
William Terry

Jul 8, 2020 at 12:02 pm

Do you think people would be better off matching MOI instead of swing weight?

Reply Report comment
- Hurley
  
  Jul 8, 2020 at 4:59 pm
  
  Yes – to a degree – but the important thing is to get a baseline. And that takes trial and error to find that starting point. I’ve noticed for me and many others, there’s definitely a small range where things feel good. Way above or below this, and it’s no good. So you have to MOI a test club then break out the lead tape and get to work.
  
  Other thing to note is MOI matching really shouldn’t be for an entire bag – same as SW. You should generally break it down to woods, irons, and wedges – and most will prefer woods and wedges higher than irons. Also, here’s another consideration, courtesy of @howard_jones – even though SW isn’t a unit of measure, it can still come in handy. Let’s say there’s a test club built – a 9i – and we get an MOI measurement. Now we take that same 9i and take the SW value on it. Now you have baseline SW and MOI. Think of these as the two “extremes” and the rest of the set may fall somewhere in between. If you SW match a 4i, the MOI will be very different than the MOI matched value. The individual can hit both and see how they each feel, or do the same thing as the test club – break out the lead tape and build it up until it feels right. At the end, you’ll find some people may perform better with MOI match (progressive SW), some with SW match (progressive MOI), and some will fall somewhere in between. It’s crucial to get the measurements of a short and long test club and then draw the slope to find out where the rest of them may fall.
  
  The advantage of MOI over SW is 1) it’s a measurement and 2) it’s transferable across clubs. SW is not – it’s only valid when the components are all the same (heads, shafts, ferrules, grips, etc). So if you get a new set of irons, you CAN say, “my MOI is 2800” and have them built to that and unless head or shaft weights are WAY different, they’ll feel the same. What you CAN’T do is say “I want them at D3” and expect them to be the same. For this reason alone, MOI is way more valuable.
  
  All in all, in club building there is no shortcut. I think length and total weight are most important. It’s a combination of art and science to get it right.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - drkviol801
    
    Jul 9, 2020 at 8:10 am
    
    You guys have no idea what you’re talking about. If you don’t play for a living your opinion is meaningless.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - 51TJesx
      
      Jul 9, 2020 at 1:50 pm
      
      Dumbest comment on here in awhile. Newsflash – pros get paid to play and don’t work on their clubs. That’s why they have tour vans and those guys are paid to build clubs, not paid to play.
      
      Go try to refute a single thing that was stated – you can’t.
      
      You likely don’t get paid much for anything.
      
      Reply Report comment
    - joro
      
      Jul 10, 2020 at 10:45 am
      
      Let me tell you that the “ones that play for a living” aren’t that aware, and that is why they have a club maker in the Tour Dept. to do it for them. I made a lot of clubs for Tour Pros and most had no clue, it mot have felt right but they did not know how to correct. Leave it to the pro club makers who know what to do.
      
      Like one poster said, yoo can lighten a telephone pole to the B range or make a Graphite shaft into the F range by where you put the weight, that is simple and also applies to the completed club… There is a danger to all that though, one is length if you cut or extend the shaft, and the other can by overall weight. So I say, if there is a problem look up a competent club maker and not a person who plays for a living. They know their specs and so does the guy that makes their clubs.
      
      Reply Report comment
  - Ted Noel
    
    Jul 11, 2020 at 5:11 pm
    
    I agree that MOI is a great improvement over SW. I build clubs (hobbyist) and if I MOI match clubs, they will work well as a set. Note that MOI integrates weight distribution, elements of flex, and more. It’s a dynamic measurement that approximates how clubs feel in the hand.
    
    Of key importance, MOI measured from the butt cap is not what you feel MOI measured from 3 1/2- 4 1/2 inches down from the butt cap is much better, and if done properly, works from Drivers through wedges. Unfortunately, the only available MOI machine is set up to measure from the butt cap only, so masking tape kluges come into play.
    
    Perfect MOI matching is one reason that equal length irons play better for many people. (A single swing is the other, but that’s a different discussion.)
    
    Reply Report comment

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