Jen, I've been building long drivers for senior women since 1996. And, frankly, 45" isn't really a long driver. Shoot, if I were you, I wouldn't mess around with 45", but go straight to 46"...that could be worth 20 extra yards. If you are fairly strong and can muscle a D8 swingweight square at impact, try 47"...that could be worth 30 yards.
I have several women 5' 1" to 5' 3" playing 47" drivers very well (one over retirement age made the 3rd flight in the women's state amateur last year), and one 72 year-old woman 5'4" hitting a 48" Bang-O-Matic with a swingweight of D8 and total weight of 302 grams. Her name is Margaret and she's pretty much an arm-swinger with very little wrist release, so not a long hitter. Arm-swingers don't have to worry about swingweight very much...a heavy swingweight is more difficult to accelerate and get the face square at impact, so most players with a late release hit huge slices with almost any swingweight over D6, until they learn to time the club. Margaret was playing a 45" TM women's driver and hit it a good trajectory with a nice little draw every shot...very consistent swing, but the ball only went 150 yards. Good player, though, with very good short game. Told me she was "tired of everybody driving by her." Tried more loft at 45" and she got nothing. At 46" she gained a few yards. My 47" demo had too high a CG, but she handled the club OK. So, I got out my 48", E0, 10° Integra Super 450/Pure Energy A (tipped 1")/Winn and she clocked it the first shot...same nice little draw and 185 yards...a 35 yard gain. She wanted me to make her one just like that...but the S450s are too heavy (198 grams and up) now for a reasonable swingweight (under E0). Used a 194 gram B-O-M instead with a PE-A (untipped) and a 50 gram grip, which got the swingweight about D8. Total weight is just as important as swingweight. If the long club is as light or lighter than a shorter club, it's as easy to swing and control. I've found that 290-295 grams is very good for most women. And, most women c an handle swingweights to D6 OK in a driver. If you find a shaft in the mid-50 gram range, a head at 191-195 grams and use a Winn grip (43 grams), you get a light, easy-to-control 295 gram club with a swingweight about D3 at 46". No problem releasing that. You can figure about 10 extra yards for every extra inch when you hit it well. Also, it helps to use a head with a face closed 1° to 2°. This assists in getting the face square at impact with a swingweight higher than normal. A Beta Ti SP700, trampoline face with volume over 350cc adds a few more yards. Bernie Writeto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jen Kuntz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2004 7:18 PM Subject: ShopTalk: Swingweight with longer drivers > Hi there, > > I searched the archives to see if something like this was discussed but > came up with few results. > > When you are building longer drivers, is there a rule of thumb for > swingweight? What I mean is if my "target" swingweight on a 44" driver > would be D2, would the target swingweight be incrementally higher based > simply on the additional length or would the swingweight target still be > in the D2 range? > > I've been trying a couple of 45" drivers for myself and while that isn't > that much longer than what may be typical, I am struggling to find an > appropriate swingweight as nothing feels quite right. Granted... this > may be that I just can't hit a driver that long but I'd like to pretend > I could if I find the right combination!!! ; ) > > Just curious... > > Jen > >
