I’ve gone down the rabbit hole about swing weight during the last two weeks. Your videos have been an essential part of that. Keep up the excellent work.

As always… super valuable Golf fitting content. Thank You!

Best video on this subject I have ever seen. So happy to see and hear someone clearing up widely broadcast myths. I have always found that a heavier iron shaft provided me with much better results than lighter shafts. The heavier shaft helps me maintain a smooth tempo, and it is not so easily manipulated. Thanks for posting this!

Great video thoroughly debunking a myth. I was certainly in that group that thought lighter was faster. So much so I was using my kitchen scale weighing clubs and shafts trying to match a driver shaft to a particular head thinking it was going to be faster. I was perplexed as to why it didn't perform as my hypothesis suggested. Now I have a better understanding

I'm getting so much information from your channel. So, thanks for that. In the past 2 months I have replaced all my iron shafts. I took a chance and went from 90 gram steel, to 60-65 gram graphite. I cut the graphite .750 inches longer than standard for a more upright swing and to help with the swing weight. I went from approximately D2 to about C9 swing weight. I must have done something right. I went from a hook miss to a straighter shot or draw. I'm also getting more height and distance. At 71 years old, I love my old AP1 irons again!

Man what cool info I've been following you for a long time and man you've helped me with my own club craft, always some new trick to learn from you thanks!😅

Thanks for posting this. I just picked up a set of clubs that have Oban Ct 125 shafts( I don’t know the flex) but I have found the heavier shaft for me helps with feeling where the club is for me.

Your videos always show how important it is to have a club fitting when getting new clubs. Brilliant watchable and knowledgeable.

So I instead went with the Brava shaft on my Stealth plus driver and added weight to the head. It worked out well. The swing weight didn’t hurt my club speed and it helped straighten out my tee shots. Finding more fairways and the ball gets out there further than I was hitting it without the extra weight. I watched your videos on those two topics except instead of using the lead tape I just added an additional sliding weight which I put into the draw position and left the original weight in the center position. I think those clubs had a tendency to fade originally and the newer models just added more weight to the club to help them stay straighter. So I came up with this solution and your videos helped me come to that conclusion. I am no club fitter and I may be all wrong but I know it’s working for me 😅 thanks for your help.👍

Thank u for the tips. Well presented.

Hey AJ. Nice expose. I especially like your second point. I've not heard anyone else mention that particular effect before, but it makes a lot of sense. I recently fitted myself for my new shafts and did the light vs heavy swing speed comparison. As a senior golfer, I've lost speed and was looking for a way to recover some of it. But I got the same result as you - virtually no chs difference. I tried a 95g and 106g (R and S) and 120g from the same family/model and compared them to my current 130g shafts and a 120g one from the same family/model. With the 95g shaft I just couldn't find the centre of the club face, so it was eliminated quickly. Both 120g shafts didn't feel any different to 130g ones so I eventually settled on the 106g shafts. That 22g made a big difference. With the new shafts, I got rid of my tendency to get my hands stuck behind me, and lost my right-side bias. My timing and strike improved, although dispersion is roughly the same, just more left. I also saw a big change in how tired I was feeling by the closing holes. With the lighter shaft, I now feel I am swinging the same on the 18th as I was on the 3rd. With the old shafts, the last few holes started to feel like an effort and the swing suffered. Once I settled on the 106g I tried stiff (106.5g) and regular flex (103g). I liked the feel of the R but preferred the weight of the S so settled on soft-stepping a set of the S flex. What I gained is a lower effort swing with improved direction and consistency, and 2 strokes off my handicap. I didn't gain any speed or distance but hey, we can't have everything. Can we? Thanks for putting out such great content. I've learned a lot from you over the past years. Cheers.

thanks for this video. It is very helpful indeed!

Informative and helpful video. The lead tape trick is something I may try. Thanks.

Totally agree. Tried to play KBS tour x 105 didn’t know where the club head was. Love the KBS Tour x 130. Feel is beautiful imo

Very timely. Thank you. Heading off in the next few weeks to work out what I want in some new clubs/shafts. Moving away from game improvement And very light shafts to more of a players distance combo set.

Good info. I recently switched from steel 120g to graphite 90g in my irons. Arm and elbow was getting too sore from the steel shafts, that was my main consideration. I have been very pleased with the switch, and there has been zero performance impact, and my arm isn’t aching anymore. I like to fit by tinkering, buy a club off eBay or a used site and test it out for myself. Most would say the change I made was massive…but for myself, there was almost no adjustment. I think most folks quickly get used to whatever they are using.

Best video I've seen on the subject

Very good channel with solid, scientific knowledge.

Great vid and I could not agree with you more and I've always questioned the light = clubhead speed = goodness mantra. Thank you. I love the tape and choke methods, but I did have some feedback about applying tape. With the introduction of tape, the shaft is no longer symmetric, it's drag coefficient has increased and ultimately it will slow down the shaft. Also, depending on the exact position of the tape relative to swing path, an introduction of the Bernoulli effect could introduce lift to the shaft and make it nearly impossible to make a downswing that actually makes contact with the ball. At least that's what the guy that wanted to sell me a new set of light shafts told me. :) Always appreciate your content.

Great video again! I’m curious to see stepping in shafts and the differences. Stepped down v standard v stepped up I’d like to understand the peak height difference, dec angle and distance between each of them.

So true. I struggled with side to side dispersion for over 10 years+ due to playing with lighter shafted irons believing that as I got older I needed to lighten up. I always suspected that my iron shafts were too light since all of my wedge shafts have always been DG X100 130g and I had little to no dispersion issues with these clubs. At 62, I recently switched to heavier shafts in my irons and my accuracy and smash factor (consistent ball striking) have improved tremendously. My accuracy is back on par to what I experienced in my younger days. Of course, the youthful distance is not there, but since switching, I've gained some distance along with the better accuracy. My playing partner has also done the same and has experienced a noticeable improvement as well.

Great content as ever, AJ. Thanks. I recently finished reading Tom Wishon's The Search for the Perfect Golf Club (well worth a read for everyone out there) and he mentioned that a drop of 25g in shaft weight would only yield about at most a 1mph increase in swing speed. Your test backs that up.

Recently I had the fun time of diagnosing what to do with a set of iron heads that were about 10grams under weight after refinishing. This lead me to begin with adding 10g of tip weight (hated it) with the original 130 gram shafts to 115 gram shafts and tip wieght (this was ok but not great) to now the (closer to 100 gram) Nippon NS 950 Neo shafts and adding weight directly behind the sweet spot on the back side of the iron heads. Now the clubs feel right again.😊

Thanks for this info. I've been wondering about shaft weight in my set. Based on what you've posted here I really shouldn't be worrying much about it. I get good ball flight. I had wondered if a lighter shaft would yield more club head speed. Doesn't seem that is likely to be the case. I have tried lighter shafts in a second hand golf shop and definitely had more two-way misses. At some point the shaft gets light enough that I turn the club over too easily. My take away is to play more golf and do less worrying about gear.

Having played DG S300/S400 growing up (way too heavy) discovered custom fitting in 2008 and have alway fallen into the 105g region and D3 swing weight for irons. Got fitted for Modus 120 soft stepped for some T20 wedges a few years ago and it was a stroke of genius from the fitter!

I like heavier shafts because they slow down my tempo and help my swing stay in sync because I can get quick.

That is really cool trick to try heavier shafts

Can you do a video on driver shaft weight? And for purposes of having more videos, a separate one for woods shaft weights, wedges, other videos on misconceptions between the flexes of shafts relationship to weight and swing speed (i.e. everyone with 90mph swing speed must use stiff flex and certain shaft weight), and how these factors can affect the ball flight. Maybe even a live club fitting - video for each (driver/woods, irons, wedges, putter)

Great video, very informative as always. Although IMO "Play the lightest shaft you can control" is a valid concept for everyone. When you suggest to go to a heavier shaft then is simply because the lighter shaft was not the lightest one you can control

50yo old 15hc here. I was fitted last year and was surprised to find that I hit heavier shafts and swing weights better. Distance, dispersion, consistency, feel we're all better. I ended up with Cobra King Tour pw-4i and RTX wedges with stiff D.G. S400 TI at swing weight D-7. Have played about 15-20 rounds so far, and I really like these new clubs.

Interesting video. I'd be interested in adding the nuances of graphite vs. steel iron shafts in this analysis. As we "boomers" age and like me, are afflicted by arthritic hands and elbows, graphite is a necessary or tempting transition to make. Since many OEMs are primarily offering light (60-70 grams, max) weighted graphite shafts, many of us need to customize through a fitting. And as another poster mentioned, swing tempo is a crucial ingredient in this as well.

Very interesting video. Absolutely agree. Light shafts are trap and a recipe for inconsistent shot making.

Tempo and transition will have a huge influence on what weight works best. The faster the transition the heavier weight usually suits the golfer, As always there are exceptions and no absolutes. Fitting is always key. Good video.

What about flex, I was fitted into a light shaft but stiff flex to stop it ballooning. Excellent video

best as always!

That was worth watching. (again).

Great info. I have a driver shaft that is 8 grams heavier than the Venus shaft I have. Will the heavier shaft slow down my swing speed

The heavier shaft also does wonders to compensate for imperfections in the shaft.

For me personally, I went to lighter shafts to help when I have back problems (130 to 120 in irons and 68 to 58 in driver. The lighter shafts help me to be able to move the club decently when my back isn’t super healthy and also energy up when later in the round.

I think it really depends on the golfer prefer feel and body limitations. I prefer a lightweight shaft, I came to that conclusion when I went to my local 2nd swing store, grab a bunch of different used set with various shaft configuration and headed to the trackman bay. The set up with the heavier shaft didn't correspond well for me and I only swung a 7 iron in the low 70mph. On the other hand, the best feeling used set I was able to hit without putting stress on my body was a set of Mizuno Hot metal 923 HL with Senior ESX recoil 460 in the high 70's club head speed. These shafts are roughly 60g according to the manufacturer website, but didn't want to spend $7-900 on this set, so I got myself a set of Maltby TS3 (6-P) built with fujikura vista pro 50i shaft. for less than $500 new. With this set, I can swing my 7 iron around 76-78 mph according to my lunch monitor.

I recently as an experiment went with a 15 gram lighter shaft in my new irons. I have come to the two following observations. 1. I have to consciously swing smoother and try not to race my downswing because I can definitely tell the shaft is lighter. 2. As pointed out in the video, my slight swing faults become more apparent which has literally FORCED be to concentrate more and possibly improved my actual golf game.

Great Science !!

I've been playing the same muscle back clubs for 25 years. However, as I age I have been re-shafting to lighter and lighter shafts. I have found that it's the "overall" weight of the club that has the biggest bearing. I used to play DGS300s, then X100s, then Project X 5.0s, then Nippon 950GB, and now well past my 60's, I have re-shafted with Zelos steel shafts that are actually lighter than most graphite shafts. The key to making this work? Consistent swing weight. Every set of shafts were brought to D1 with proper weight adjustments. That method has been working for me very well, I don't get tired as the round goes on, and they feel great. I hope this helps someone.

I recently added some lead tape to my driver after shortening the shaft by a full 2". The good news is I'm hitting it straighter than ever with only a ~20 yard loss of distance (285 carry to 265 carry), but I'm wondering if you have any tips on how to improve the durability of the lead tape, or possibly something to coat it in so I don't feel like I'm getting lead all over my hands every time I pull the driver out of the bag. Thanks.

Amazing video.. learnt a lot. Thank you.. Please guide, am 60 yrs, 14hcp using mizuno mp 60 irons(mb, forged) dyna gold true temper steel shaft( dont know the shaft weight). Should i shift to graphite shaft or go for lighter steel shafts? TIA

Hey ELITE FIT GOLF , I just watched your video and I must say that it was really informative and well-made. I was wondering if I could help you edit your videos and repurpose your long videos into highly engaging shorts? I can also make high CTR thumbnails for your channel

Nice channel, I play the Apex 2019 irons with the aerotech fc 90. My 7 iron club head speed is 70-75 these seam to be working, also trying to improve my golf any suggestions I might try. Cheers...

Very interesting.

Excellent video. Question - my friend (77 y/o) is convinced that switching from his regular flex PXG driver to a lighter senior flex will help his chronic slicing and add more distance. He has a good swing and used to be a single digit handicap. I'm telling him that if he solves his slice, his distance will increase.

Good video. When adding lead tape to the shaft, I would find the balance point and then put the tape half above and half below. That would have the smallest impact on swing weight.

On my irons have gone from regular steel 110g nippon mizuno mp20's hmb to graphite Mitsubishi MMT 70g Pxg's and i have never been happier with the weight and ease to get the ball in the air, specially from 150-210 yards out which are my 8,7,6,5 and 4 irons... Misses are still misses with both but my enjoyment of the game has changed for the better

Great insights on shaft weight. This applies to graphite shaft too I assume?

I use a 90g KBS shaft. Need the ball height. It’s stable in my hands too

I have hit Reg shafts my entire life. Was given a set of stiff shafts last week. Holy cow! My ball flight is now lower and my 8i hits, hops, stops. Previously it would come in much steeper, fly higher, hop and roll a few feet. Am changing balls for even more spin.

It would be nice to know what the swing weight was for each club iron as that can make the club feel heavier or lighter

I'm 60 and swing 130 g shafts. Tried lighter and lost feel of the clubhead and control of ball flight. Will swing heavy until I can't

I've never been fitted for clubs. Mainly as I doubt I could afford a new set of premium clubs let alone a new set being custom fitted for me. I' ve always bought used clubs and pretty much used them as is. I like to feel a slight flex on my down swing. I think it helps me keep my hands ahead of the club. (Don't know whether it does or if it's psychological) I've never been that serious about golf, I enjoy the frustration of not hitting it exactly how you wanted and the exitement of hitting one far better than you thought you could. I also recognized early on that I was never going to be good enough to play to a competative level my desire is to play enjoyable golf and win, lose or draw know it was the best I could have played on that day

I've played the X100 but not going to Nippon Pro 950GH which is 115g and saves 15 grams of swing weight from my body/back. The Nippong Pro 950GH is a very stable shaft and it fits me and l am just playing the S, not the X.

Pitching and chipping is more accurate and “feel” is better with the heavy. Also light shafts need heavier head to maintain C or D range swingweight range.

As I’m a little older I thought a lighter shaft would help. Bad dispersion and decreased distance. Back to my 120 gram shafts.

Excellent video. I had a golf lesson and it was suggested that I got lighter shafts. I went for a fitting and the shafts weight recommended was 105g. I ended up selling my clubs and buying a new set of irons, which I really enjoy. Having said that, I’ve got a set of Mizuno MP-59’s with Dynamic Gold S300 shafts, which I bought years ago and hardly used. I have started using these as my practice clubs and really get on well with them but agree I do feel I get tired quicker. Aside from the tiredness, is it wrong to practise with heavy shafted clubs and play with a lighter shaft?

Great video. Very interesting.

This is a good vid and you make a lot of points I never thought of before. But I have one minor issue. You said you can tell that a shaft is too heavy if after several shots you get tired. I think if you get tired you lose club head speed over the round. If thats true and for me it is then how can you say that shaft weight has no effect on club-head speed? If your right about this then you might want to ask PING about the High Launch G430s who promise more speed for slower club-head speed swingers. The only difference between the HL model and the regular ones is the club is lighter.

Went from 90 to 120 Hit great but get heavy after 4x a week. Thought adding weight at the balance point would be better to keep similar SW.

Love to see this for Driver and fairway woods

Best tips and advice on shaft Flex based on age swing speed please and thank you.

120 I always left the club face open. I was fitted for those and bought 105s off eBay and it changed everything

✳️ I use NS850 reg ✳️ Rose Zhang a LPGA player is using the same shaft ✳️ very surprising..

It even more pronounced with driver shafts. Lighter shafts in drivers are disaster - heavier shafts are "smoothing" the swing and prevent rapid and uncontrollable transition from the backswing into the downswing. I have noticed that with lighter shafts it is much easier to cut across the line ending in a typical slice. A great vlog!

Thanks for your videos..I play with Dynamic Gold 120 s300 1/2 inch longer..Does that mean they are like 10/20g heavier than a standard length,particularly in the long irons?

Is there anything to be said for slightly lighter shafts in the longer irons. To help with higher launch on long irons. Ie lighter than the shirt irons.

Great stuff, as usual. However, I would respectfully disagree with your default to a heavier shaft when fitting…a fitting is done hitting a few shots (10, 20, maybe 30)….however, over the course of a round of golf, the weight of the shaft does have an effect on you…for someone a little older, or who has some physical limitations or ailments (most of us), a lighter shaft would be better off. I used 120g shafts for the longest time. In testing, I hit that shaft very similar to my current shaft over a 20 ball test. But, now 55 with both hips replaced, back issues, and shoulder surgery from a lifetime of ice hockey, I now find hitting a 105g shaft to suit me better over the course of 18 holes. I wound up testing this by buying the different shafts and using each for a range session of 75 balls (though I usually shoot in the low 80s so wouldn’t hit 75 shots with irons/woods when putts are considered…closer to 50 shots). Again, this is all premised on your initial position that if the two shafts give you similar results…with a younger golfer with no issues, I would then agree with you that heavier might be the better way to go….

Swinging your mid iron around 90mph will be better with more mass on the club so 120+ grams will help. For short hitters definitely recommend light shafts + go try them out. Each manufacturer has different kick points and one might just be light bulb moment

I have a question about fittings. I have a range close by that i can get fittings at but they use range balls, them there are indoor places to get fit that use a launch monitor and i can bring the balls i use use. Which would be a more valuable option to ise? Thanks! Enjoy your content

would like to have in swinweight equivalent in the equation... 80 gr with the same head modify the game a lot...

Have a friend that went to 'Big Custom Fitters' that recently popped up everywhere. Got talked into light senior flex shafts in his way too expensive 'custom fitted' iron set. He hits the ball all over. Left left left... Right..back to left again. He's always always always asking me how I swing and what I use and this and that... Yet never uses that advice. Always gets talked into crap he doesn't need. I just shake my head. I use a set of USED Hogan PTx Pros with 120 gram extra stiff shafts. Why, because that's is what was in them when I bought them. They feel and hit great! I pick up his feather weight clubs and try to hit a ball and it goes all over the place. I can't control them one bit. Moral... Don't get talked into crap you don't need at these fancy places that hire used car salesmen. Listen to A.J. here. P.S. I'm 65 years old...

Makes sense...Mass and momentum make for better consistency. This proved true in my Son's recent fitting.

Very educational. Although the swing speeds are the same, how about the ball speed? Shouldn't heavier club generate higher ball speed?

I assume this holds the flex constant across weights, as that will surely affect dispersion.

Today i test taylor Qi with stiff ventus blue i hit 145 carry , with regular 155 and with A ( senior ) 165…….I am still trying to understand !!!!! I am 8.5 index with swing with iron 7 around 78 mph. I appriciate some opinions.

I've often thought of filling my shafts with sand just to feel the difference of heavier swings.

How do you determine shaft flex?

What about flex, how do you figure that into this?

Weighted grips help as well

Can you address ball flight? My understanding is a lighter shaft can help increase peak height and land angle

Hi, really enjoyed and found this interesting. I play a links course and am looking to put a lower launching shaft in my 2 iron. I currently play Project X IO 110g 6.0 stiff shafts in my irons, but have a Project X HZRDUS 90g graphite 6.0 stiff in my 2 iron. So I was looking for ideas? Many thanks, Richard

What about grip weight. Does that even effect club speed.

I'm trying a 20 gram lighter shaft in a Maltby 7 iron. My old shaft is 117 grams and the new one I'm trying is around 97 grams. Both sterl shafts. I am 70 years old. Slower tempo.

Less than +/- 1 oz distributed over the length of a shaft just doesn't matter that much--as evidenced by swing speed. I agree go heavier when in doubt. It's other characteristics of the shaft that cause issues...they just happen to correlate with weight in a lot of shafts. Swing each shaft with no clubhead and you can feel how trivial the difference is-- from a weight perspective.

I have a question concerning grips; which sidze grip is better standard, medium or large?

I think the misconception is from shaft weight vs club weight, they probably mean(or should say) you should play the lightest club weight you can control.

swing weight is more important than shaft weight in terms of rhythm and feel for the golfer

HI AJ, I hope you can help me. I have a son, he is a good player +2. his Ping hybrid is spinning too much as he is getting stronger. I am looking at a Graphite Design shaft for him, but they are .370 diameter, Ping says it is a .355 diameter. Is there a good way to make this fit? Thanks for your help.

Adding lead tape weight to the shaft to make it heavier will only affect the feel and not stiffness and flight characteristics of a heavier shaft. A heavier shaft will be a stiffer shaft and be harder to square the club face if the player doesn’t have enough swing speed. All in all I think a lighter more flexible shaft is better for amateurs. I once tried to swing a friends forged blade 4 iron with a dynamic gold s300 130 gram shaft. It was like swinging a telephone pole. Lost 30 yards of distance and everything went right. Then I swung a 80 gram stiff graphite shaft. I had effortless power and much better distance and dispersion

My shafts are heavy. I like it that way. I’m a strong guy. I need to learn more about this. After listening, I’m good.

I also think the strength of the person helps determine the weight of the shaft. I am becoming weaker as I age and have found I need lighter shafts. Right now I am playing 70g R flex in my irons and 40g L flex in my driver and fairway wood. This seems to work best for me at 77 years old.

depends on how fast you swing and how accurate you swing.

Question what graphite shaft would you choose to replace a modus 120 s (soft stepped)? Love the profile and weight but need something similar in graphite due to tendinitis.

What about potential injury differences caused by additional weight?

I’m a tall golfer +1 inch on all my irons. Would you suggest going to a lighter shaft to balance out the extra weight if that +1?