Butt weighted grips are starting to become fairly popular, in part because Jack Nicklaus has been featured on commercials endorsing them. Ron Kriete is interested in getting a set and asked me to give my opinion on this type of grip.
I was actually given a couple of these grips to try a while ago, so I have first hand experience with them. But, the question is: would I recommend them to the Surge Nation?
Surge,
Do you or your club fitters have any comment on the claims that a butt weighted grip will increase distance and accuracy? I notice Jack Nicklaus endorses it.
Ron Kriete
Ft Lauderdale
Honestly, the best advice I can offer is to try them yourself if you're that interested. I personally didn't like them because I felt like it slowed my hands down too much. It might have been a different story if I was a little younger, but at my age I want to get all the speed I can.
So, I'm not going to condemn this product, nor am I going to endorse it. Nevertheless, if you really want to give them a try I see no harm in trying. The only thing I would suggest is that if you've had your clubs built by one of our custom fitters, first check with them because those clubs were already designed specifically to your swing. Adding weight to the grip might affect your game negatively.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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Comments
Weighted tape
You mentioned you used lead tape on your clubs. How did you determine how much tape to use and where did you actually put it? I've been following your tips and have many of your Digital lessons. I've used PPG for many years.
Thanks for all your help. George Cordeiro 72 years old and plays to low 80's to high 70's from Senior tees. Still looking for high 60's. Had a 67 when I turned 64.
adding lead tape
George, congrats on some great play on your part. We have discussed adding lead tape, what Surge calls "magic dust" many times. I will leave you a couple of articles (dailies) to consider. As far as how much and where it depends on what you are wanting to accomplish. More weight toward the heel can assist in drawing the ball and more toward the toe helps fade or slice. More weight can make a shaft feel softer. Surge said he has a "fit" set of clubs from Doc and another set that he continues to fool with the tape and head weights. Actually I guess in today's daily he said he also tweaked his latest fit set too with a bit of lead tape. There are other ways weight can be added such as with lead powder in the shaft and tip weights that can be added before the head is attached. One train of thought too is that you can add lead tape bit by bit while you also have impact tape on the club face to see if you are hitting the center better or worse with added tape. This plus the visible results of our shots is how we know if it helps or not. Likely most of this talk and approach makes professional fitters cringe but hey many of us like to tinker and try different things that may help.
Here are some to watch
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/171044325806?lpid=82
Here's the original from 2009
https://www.swingsurgeon.com/daily-video-tips/magic-dust-golf
Sample of impact tape
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/171044325806?lpid=82
BTW, impact tape is good to find what length is best for our clubs such as the driver. Keep choking down 1/4 inch at a time until you are getting center strikes, mark it and cut it there. Or just mark it there with a rubber band and continue to choke down to that spot when you set up to swing. Cutting it and re-gripping may require you then add weight to the head as swing weight is effected.
Adding lead tape
Hi Robert,
After watching today's video I went for an extended swing session on the front yard driving range mat. About an hour and a half in the end. I had a canvas collapsible chair on the deck. After each set of 3 clubs I would take a very short break before the next 3clubs. In the end I used 15 clubs. While taking one short break I thought about grip butt weighting. On one of my infamous whims, I tried something. Background: The clubs I mainly used were fitted to me, when I bought them in England a few years ago. To keep the butt ends of the grip getting from becoming wet, if it rained, I had pushed a short tee into the butt end of each club, in the hope that would stop any water entering the butt hole in the grip should any water be trapped in the bottom of the golf bag. Then I balanced the shaft of club on the top of my forefinger, moving it until it was perfectly balanced. A quick dab with a whiteboard marker to mark that spot. Then I removed the very short red plastic tee from the grip end and repeated the process. I was very surprised to note a difference of over a 1/4". I repeated this on every club after the swing session. By that time I had already swung with half of the clubs after removing the tees. My question is Robert: Noting that you suggest choking down 1/4" when experimenting with weight changes, in your opinion would my teensy-weensy bit over a 1/4" make any difference at all?
I intend to play without the tees in situ next time out [when the rain stops], to see if there is any noticeable difference.
Will now check out your links : - ) Thanks and keep on with YOUR distances DH
Choking down
The choking down aspect that I mentioned was in relation to finding the optimal length not weight. Cindy and I have been here in Florida for 3 days with her son Kory for another medical school interview. (which seemed to go well). Yesterday why he was at his appointment we played 18 at the Davie country club in Fort Lauderdale. We rented our clubs. The Speedline Adams clubs were okay but much too long and I found I needed to choke up at least two inches to hit the driver well. Did so with the 5 wood with some good shots too. Irons only an inch did the trick. Though the grips were way too tiny and I had no glove it was a fun day. At one point it rained really hard for 20 minutes. We were soaked and never did seek cover. Loads of laughs and fun. The sun then came out and play on we did.
Back to the desert today,
Robert
What ever works
From today's video we are reminded that the only thing that really stays the same about us and our swing speed and abilities is well, not much. We are constantly changing be it subtle or a major physical trauma. So that being the case even with fit clubs which I have and highly recommend we may want to continue to make adjustments or gradual changes to our equipment as we age or change physically. It may mean new shafts and or more loft and perhaps larger gaps between our clubs (5 degrees rather than 3-4 degrees). You know how you could always hit a certain club (or clubs) and now you can't as well?
So we are open to new ideas and clubs seeing if it may help us play better golf.
I switched to Jumbo Max grips a few years back and love 'em. They are much heavier than average and bigger, much bigger. I have the med-large which are 113gr ea. which is a bit of back weighting as average grips are more like 70gr. We have talked about a new putter many of us are trying out, the L2 which is heavier than the 'heavy' putter made by Boccieri that has a total weight of around 800 grams and the L2 at about 950 gr. Most putters are less than half that.
What ever works is the right choice.
EDIT; Off subject but I thought some would enjoy the reminders found in this article.
http://golfstateofmind.com/the-7-habits-of-highly-successful-golfers/
Thank You Surge + Nation
All - just finished playing a round on a difficult course in our area (SE PA - Broad Run - formally Tattersall) and drove the ball well for the first time. Plenty of distance (260-310) and generally down the middle. Out drove my younger brother for the first time and out-scored him as well.
BUT - the best part was ... On the 18th tee - another player in the foursome asked - "How do you get so much power? You only take a three-quarter backswing ..." ; )
I smiled and calmly informed him that I am accelerating through the hitting zone whereas before I was decelerating with the longer swing. Also told him to check out swingsurgeon.com for more info on a better and easier way to play.
Thanks again all for the advice and encouragement - down the middle!
Jon
Great
Great to hear, Jon! I find that my biggest power killer is when I try to take too big a backswing, yes. The ability to really accelerate through the ball with the PPGS is a major key to club head speed and better distance with better control.
Better control
Thanks Robert - better control is the name of the game. The distance means nothing and I wish I had more control with the mid-irons right now. Oh well - something always needs work - at least I have an idea on how to get the irons back.
Butt weighting
A few years back, I received personalized, identification buttons that stick into the hole in the grip. Not having a gram scale, I'm not sure how much they weigh and have no idea how they have affected my swing in the interim. Since I can't take full swings yet, I can't compare shots with and without the buttons. I guess I have something else to experiment with in the future.
Topping the ball
Having problem topping. Ball with longer clubs. Ball position?
Could be
A lot of things could be causing you to top the ball. Ball position is one big one. Another is the possibility that you're actually pulling your upper body away from the ball in your FUS and the shift is more pronounced with the longer clubs when the ball is a bit further forward in your stance.
Driver conversation
Conversation with a guy I was playing golf with today.
Him: Let me hit your driver one time.
Me: OK
Him: Man this thing is short!
Me: Yep.
Him: Why do you have it so short?
Me: I hit it better that way.
Him: Longer?
Me: Yep.
Him: That's against the laws of physics.
Me: Yep.
Then he hits a tee shot 20 yards farther than the one he hit with his driver.
Him: I may have to get out a hack saw when I get home.
Heh
Clearly he was thinking of the wrong laws of physics.