How to Calculate Swingweight

A golfer in his followthrough at a driving range might wonder why the ball travels different distances if he struck it the same.

Consistency, consistency, consistency: Any golf pro will tell you consistency is the key to playing golf successfully. Same motion, same back swing, same follow through, every time. While most duffers understand this, they don't have sufficient skill to execute it or notice the differences in swingweight. Pros can. Most simply stated, swingweight is the feel or balance of the club in your hand. More technically, swingweight is the percentage of clubhead weight to the club's total weight or its balance. The higher the head weight proportional to the club's total weight, the higher the swingweight. This is significant at all levels of play, because if you've achieved the cardinal rule of consistency, the results should consistently be the same. They aren't when the swingweight is different between clubs.

Things You'll Need

• Golf clubs
• Tape measure
• Flat digital scale
• Angle iron
• Swingweight calculator or formula

Instructions

1. Balance the golf club to determine its fulcrum by placing it on an angle iron that comes to a point, like this: /\. Lay the club on the point, shifting it until equally balanced. It should lay horizontal to the surface.

2. Measure the distance between the balance point and the grip end of the shaft.

3. Determine the weight of the entire club. Most analog flat surface scales can accomplish this. Make certain if you measured the club in inches, you weigh the club in ounces. Conversely, if you measured the club using the metric system, measure the weight in grams.

4. Enter the figures in an online calculator and it will calculate the swingweight for you, or you can plug the variables into a swingweight algorithm if you prefer to do the math on your own. For the recreational golfer, the numbers are close enough to tell you whether or not your golf clubs are within a close approximation of similar or the same swingweight. Ideally, they should all be the same.

Tips & Warnings

• If the swingweight numbers vary considerably, the golf set you are using hasn't been calibrated to similar swingweight guidelines. You may be shooting well above par, but it may not be due to your swing. Erratic play can result from widely varying swingweights. Sometimes used golf sets are pieced together from different sets and can have widely varying swingweights.

• You can change a club's swingweight by changing one of the variables. You have choices. If all your clubs have the same swingweight but one, for example, you can can either increase or decrease the swingweight by changing the weight on the grip, shortening or lengthening the club shaft or adding weight to the club head. If you're an experienced golfer and comfortable toying with these variables, you can fix the swingweight on your own. Otherwise, take the club to a pro golf shop and allow them to make the adjustments for you.

• Swingweight is most often associated with golf and golf clubs, but applies to tennis rackets and baseball bats as well.

References

• Leaderboard: On-Line Swing Weight Calculator
• Advancedballstriking: Swing Weight for Golf Clubs
• Kettering University: Acoustics and Swing Weights of Bats, a Study in Applied Physics at Kettering University.
• Golftips: A Resources for a Wide Range of Golf Tips
• Waggleweight: An Interesting Counterpoint to the Significance of Swingweight