Question

1.58K viewsSeptember 12, 2024

Cobrajet 14 September 11, 2024 0 Comments

Hello

I went to the GolfWorks school in 2012 (taught by Jim Y) and since that time I’ve tweaked and built thousands of clubs.

I have customers who are huge fans of counter-balancing. The best results I’ve found was to add 1/2″ to the butt end of the shaft, put the weight in that 1/2″ space so it’s behind your hands and grip 1/2″ down. Putting the weight behind your hands seems to give the maximum effect for this tweak.

My question is this. . .

Will the weight of the counter-balance alter the shaft kick point or the shaft flex? After all, you are getting more mph and changing the entire dynamics of the shaft. I have suspected this for some time but had no evidence to support it. Should I have my customers go to a stiffer / different shaft?

Thanks

Britt Lindsey Answered question September 12, 2024

1 Answer

Answer 1 · 2024-09-13T06:37:54+00:00

The counter balancing of the shaft will not alter the kick point or the shaft flex. this assumes there is no altering of the head weight to accommodate the extra length. If the head weight changes, the shaft flex could change. We have no data sowing how much mph a player may get based on a counter balanced club like you described. I have personally done some testing and can tell you my speed did not increase. doesn’t mean it would not for others, but that was my experience. Obviously the results would be different for every player. I suppose if a players clubhead speed increased significantly, it could move them from, for example, an R flex to an S flex if the ball flight data and swing speed data indicated it. Again, I have seen that kind of move in swing speed comparing a traditional weighted club to a counter balanced club.

Britt Lindsey

Hi Britt. Thanks for the straight answer. 50 gram back-weighting (nearly 2 oz) for this client has certainly helped dispersion, but they have only gained 2-5 MPH. Lead tape on the head was a bust however, and we abandoned that experiment immediately. I was able to align the spine perfectly, and without issue.

The most significant change I’ve seen is in their ball flight. What used to be a lower ball flight on their driver has gone much higher. This really had me scratching my head about a possible kick point change. Could the added weight to the back of the shaft have changed something else? Overall they were very happy – but I was a little puzzled.