Will Golf Driver Head Weight Be Tailored to Player Talent?


Will Driver Heads Come in Different Weights? - Research from Ping Might Suggest So 

Stephen Smith - 'The Fairway Physician' Investigates 

The world of golf is awash with stories of all the latest product releases after the annual product jamboree that is the PGA show in Florida.

As tired and emotional golf hacks return to their natural habitat their heads are full of the ideas that they have come across - and can still actually remember - from the show. Not that I would dare to suggest the odd libation was enjoyed of an evening.

However, one really interesting piece of scientific research by the engineers at Ping may have got drowned out by all the Orlando hoo ha.

Just before the show they released some very interesting research on the impact that driver head mass - weight -  has on swing speed and distance.

A standard 95 mph swing speed was optimised at the industry standard driver head weight of 206 grams but those with faster swing speeds (115mph) were optimised at a head weight of 226g.

Plus the study suggested that heavier head weights could also suit players with slower swing speeds - but only if they are good enough to cope with the greater head mass- they did not define how that would be measured 

This suggests that club fittings should offer driver heads in different weights for different players.

Is this the next step in club fitting for amateurs? It certainly seems reasonable but will the big manufacturers see a return on their investment in creating a wider range of offerings?

One scientific criticism of the study was that it only used players with handicap indexes of -4 to 9 which would suggest they are likely to be at the faster end of swing speed and natural talent spectrum. If that is the case it would be interesting to see if lighter than average heads work better for those of us with higher handicaps and slower swing speeds- which could explain why some people see very little difference in distance between their driver and their lighter 3 wood 

Email Info@psyenz.org



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