The Relevance of Balance

It is no secret that the greatest concentration in the mass of a golf club is found in the club head, as little as 200 grams or so in a driver to well over 300 grams in a putter. With shafts ranging anywhere from 30 to 40" or longer it is easy to see where the image of golf club as pendulum came from.

But, what about control? What has been done to enhance the player's control over the swinging club head? Of course, with longer clubs the player is looking for speed. Can a club's balance point affect a player's ability to create speed? And if so, how? And has the effect be studied or quantified?

Before 3D video, before launch monitors and even before the swing weight scale there were real club makers. They were professionals who made money from building and maintaining golf clubs. This was the work of artisans, men who could understand a club's usefulness and create exclusively by feel. Oh sure, there were scales to weigh clubs with but for the most part clubs were matched by this largely subjective method.

The clubs of Bobby Jones had been selected by him, one at a time, by hand. Only years after he stopped playing competitively did he find that he had assembled a set that was nearly perfectly matched, all but one. Upon learning this, he confided that the mismatched clubs had always felt a bit off.

As interesting as this story is, there is yet another question. What is a matched set of clubs? Most people know that, through the set, there is generally a one half inch difference in length from one club to the next in the series. So, it is logical that the club head of each longer clubs will be lighter than the shorter club but some X-Factor value. But, before we consider that question we need to talk about how a club's feeling of heft (different than its static mass) is measured.

We all owe thanks to a now long forgotten inventor named, R.W. Adams who patented the first, and still widely used, Swing Weight Scale in the early 1930s. The Adams Scale, along with the advent of steel shafts, brought about a quiet revolution in golf clubs. Adams' scale allowed club builders to assign an alphanumeric designation that conveys the club's swing weight, which is essentially its comparative heft as derived from a fulcrum set 14" from the end of the grip. So, now it was quite simple to create complete sets of clubs that all shared a matched swing weight, or feeling of heft.


Now, I have no quarrel with the swing weight scale and in fact I am pretty much of a stickler for my irons to be well matched in that regard. The question for me is whether there is any relevance to swing weight for clubs outside of the sequenced irons? I am coming to believe that the answer is a resounding no and I may have found an ally in Balance Certified Golf. They have created a weighting system that is designed to optimize the weight balance of golf clubs.

The BC system is very easy to use. Just cut a hole in the end of the club's grip using their handy-dandy tool and drop in the appropriate weight. But, wait a second; How do you know which weight to use? OK, this is where things get a little bit more tricky. At the BC web site they say, "Positioning mass above the hands counter-balances the head of the putter. This balance gives golfers the ultimate feel while putting. The best balance requires the correct amount of weight in exactly the right places. Optimizing these weights to achieve the proper feel and balance is what balancing putters is all about."

Now, that may sound simple enough but it is not. Since there is apparently no formula to rely on, BC believes in fitting players to determine this most elusive balance point. It would be an relatively easy matter to totally top load a club, situating nearly all of its mass in the grip, or even above. There is a longstanding presumption that there's an advantage to having a sense of mass in the club head (a pendulum ceases to be a pendulum if all of its mass were to be found at its pivot). I am not questioning the efficacy of the BC products but their lack of a stated criteria for determining specific weight values is a bit vague. I am hoping that they will expound on this in their reply to this article.

Swing weight, while relevant, becomes far less so when you're talking about clubs like the putter and the driver, and maybe even the short game wedges. Why? In the case of the putter swing weight is totally meaningless. Really, I cannot imagine anything that could matter less. Putting is an alchemy and the more that some try to make it into a science the more mysterious it becomes. One of my colleagues recently worked with Jim Furyk and found that he aimed no less than 5" right on a 10' putt. Do you truly think that he will act to correct his faulty aim if he believes that he'll make putts with it?

The reality is that the weight of the putter, the swing weight of the putter and even the weight of the golfer are all swamped by the myriad of variables that are quite simply beyond us. How about the fact that the ball is rolling on living grass? How about the fact that the grass is seldom level, or even cut at a consistent height? How about the fact that the golfer had an extra cup of coffee, missed his coffee or went to bed late the night before?

Putting is an odd blend of optics, balance, confidence and control of one's nerves. Nothing can change any of that, but I have found that BC inserts can serve to almost balance the sense of mass in my putters that may be slightly longer or shorter, lighter or heavier and this is a critical advantage to me. It allows me to move from putter to putter and to maintain a continuity of feeling that makes me more likely to make putts. Best of all, I can change the change, if you will. My hands don't feel the same on my clubs from day to day so the BC inserts let me adapt more readily but then again, I know my stroke and not everyone does.

I have yet to evaluate the other products from Balance Certified but I am very much looking forward trying their inserts in my strong sand and lob wedge since those are very much feel clubs like the putter. Anything that enhances feel has the potential to enhance results. Balance Certified has enabled me to improve the most feel-centric club in my bag. It's an improvement that only takes a minute and last forever. Do yourself a favor and visit the BC website, or give them a call, to learn more.

Manufacturer's Comment:

My intent for blogging on this subject is to add clarity to the information presented about Balance-Certified and its back weighting system. My 9 years in the golf business has taught me at least a few things and one of them being to clarify definitions. What the golf industry in general says about technical things is often steeped in golf folklore, opinions of golfers, and lots of “sizzle” but little “steak” not scientific experimentation and results. Our goal at Balance-Certified Golf is to use the laws of physics and quality manufacturing to the golf swing and equipment.

John Cranston
Balance Certified Golf