Benefits Of Counter Balanced Golf Shafts – Find Out Why The Pros Are Using Them

Benefits Of Counter Balanced Golf Shafts – Find Out Why The Pros Are Using Them

Every few years, the idea of counterbalancing golf clubs comes up again, and people start to wonder if this is something they need with their golf clubs. This is not a new technology. If you can believe it, Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan even counterbalanced their golf shafts. All that has changed is the ability and access to custom fit golf clubs to suit your needs. In this guide, we will discuss counterbalanced golf shafts, how they can have an impact on your game, and whether or not this is something you should consider the next time you purchase some golf clubs.

What Are Counterbalanced Golf Shafts?

Every golf club in your bag has a balance point. This is where you can balance the golf club on your finger and see where it can lie perfectly straight. It is mostly going to be the balance point between the head of the club and the butt end of the club.

If the balance point of the golf club is much closer to the butt end of the golf club, this would be considered a counterbalanced golf club. The counterbalancing adds more weight to the butt end of the club instead of leaving it in the head where it would have traditionally been located.

Since the balance point of the club is so high, the head of the club will feel much lighter. Some players feel as though this helps them to swing the club faster. There are actually quite a few benefits to counterbalancing your golf clubs, and we will get into that next.

 

What Are The Advantages To Doing It?

So there are quite a few things that could be considered advantages when it comes to counterbalancing your golf shafts. We will break down each one to help you understand a bit better.

Stability

Putting more weight near the hands of a player can really help to give you more stability in your swing. As you come into the impact position, there is always some movement that takes place. The clubhead will twist just a bit, and for strong players swinging quite fast, this little bit of twist can result in an ugly shot. With counterbalanced golf shafts, you will be able to keep things stable at impact.

Control

When you can feel the weight in your hands, and the club head of the club feels night and light, you will naturally feel in control of the club. This sense of control will allow you the ability to hit a variety of shots and have some confidence as you get to impact.

Extension

Being able to feel the weight in your hands as you swing the club will help you feel as though you can extend the club further. When the club head feels nice and light, you can keep it out away from you and nice and high at the top of your golf swing.

Steady Hands

Do you tend to shake a bit? Do you think this has an effect on your golf game? Holding some extra weight towards the butt end of the club will absolutely help to keep your hands more steady. This really comes into play when you get to the putting green, yes, counter balancing exists even with putters!

Workability: Do you like to manipulate the face of the club when you get to impact. Do you want to hit draws and fades intentionally by trying to hold the clubface a little open or closed? You can do this much easier with a counterbalanced shaft because of the added control that you have over the golf club.

What is a high balance point shaft?

Sometimes you will hear of a high balance point shaft. This is really the same thing as saying that a shaft is counter balanced. You can think of it as the grip end of the club being weighted to make up for the weight of the club head.

Benefits Of Using A Counter Balanced Driver

Now that you understand the advantages of using a counter balanced shaft, you may be wondering if you can hit the golf ball further as well as straighter. Technically speaking, the majority of counter balanced golf shafts are heavier to make up for the club head weight. Since the club is heavier, you should technically be able to hit it further.

We say that technically you should be able to get more distance because if you are not swinging the club fast enough (or are not strong enough) a counter balanced shaft could actually cause you to lose distance. If you swing a heavier object at a higher speed, the impact should result in more yards.

Professional golfers like the counter balanced shafts because they have the swing speeds needed to get the full effect of hitting one of these shafts accurately. If you try and give a slow swing senior golfer a counter balanced heavy golf shaft, they will struggle to get the same kind of feel and distance that the pros will.

What About Counter Balanced Putters?

Yes, putters can be counterbalanced. A popular trend in golf putters is a counterbalanced golf grip. This is simply a heavier grip that helps counteract the weight of the clubhead and gives more control and stability in the hands. This can work for some players, but others may struggle with the club head feeling more light. Many golfers want to feel the weight in the club head of a putter, unlike a driver.

What is a Back Weighted Club?

Back weighting and counterbalancing are essentially the same thing. In the past, counterbalancing a club was called back weighting because lead tape or weight would be put on the back end (butt end) of the golf club to help to make the balance point on the shaft higher.

Does Swing Weight Affect Swing Speed?

Many golfers think that swing weight is how heavy a golf club is. This is not really the case. The total weight of the golf club would be how heavy a golf club is. Swing weight is the head-weight feel of the golf club. If a club has a heavy swing weight, it will feel heavier to a golfer than one with a light swing weight. As far as a balance point is concerned, a club with a lighter swing weight has a balance point that is closer to the butt end of the golf club.

This makes it possible to have a rather heavy golf club that does not feel heavy. This is exactly what a pro is looking for in their golf game. They want the most mass in their hands to get the most distance, while still feeling like they can swing it hard.

So swing weight can affect swing speed if a golf club feels (or is) too heavy for you. You always want to swing with the heaviest club you can, for your swing speed. If you start swinging with a club that is too heavy for you, not only will you lose accuracy but distance as well.

How Can I Tell My Swing Speed?

Most of the time, when you go for a fitting and get on a launch monitor, you can see what your swing speed is. There are also some cool GPS gadget watches that will give you your swing speed and lots of other information about your golf game. It is important to know your swing speed as most shafts have a general swing speed range where they will perform the highest. Although it is good to have an idea of both your iron and driver swing speed, most of the numbers needed to determine correct shaft flex comes from the speed of your driver.

How Can A Shaft Be Balanced?

If you already own a fantastic set of golf clubs and don’t want to have to go out and order a bunch of counter balanced golf shafts to replace them, you do have some alternatives. Local club fitters have swing scales and weights, and they can help to counter balance your golf clubs for you. This is not a very difficult process, it may cost you some new grips, but it is perfectly legal to do. Even with all the regulations out there on golf clubs when they are produced, adding weights to counter balance has been generally accepted as a legal process in the game of golf. One simple way that players used to counter balance their clubs was to put heavy tape under the grips of the club.

What Are Some Counterbalanced Driver Shafts?

If you are in the market for a new counterbalanced driver shaft, here are a few to consider.

Accra New Tour Z 85 Counter Balanced CB Driver Shaft + Adapter & Grip

Check Out Some Reviews Here:

MCA-Golf New Mitsubishi Tensei CK PRO Orange 70 Stiff Flex Driver Graphite Shaft

Check Out Some Reviews Here:

Mitsubishi Rayon Kuro Kage Black HBP 2nd Gen 50.335 Graphite Wood Driver Shaft – Regular Flex – 57g

Check Out Some Reviews Here:

What Swing Weight Should I Use?

Without going for a complete golf fitting, it is challenging to say what swing weight your shafts should be. There are several factors that will go into swing weight fitting, and each needs to be tested and carefully considered before finding the exact swing weight for your game.

The most important things to consider are the transitions into impact, tempo, and strength. When you consider all of these factors and get on a launch monitor, only then can you correctly determine which swing weight is best for you.

If you are a robust person that has a faster tempo, a heavier shaft is going to be what you need. If, however, you are a weaker golfer with slightly slower swing speed, you will need a lighter shaft. This is why you see many of the female golf clubs and senior golf clubs made with a graphite shaft. This lighter shaft helps get swing speed higher for these players.

What Does Adding Weight To A Driver Head Do?

If you add weight to the head of your driver, you are doing the opposite of counterbalancing. When this happens, you will feel more weight in the head of the club, and the overall weight of the club will feel more substantial as well. Some golfers like the ability to feel the clubhead being heavy. You see this more in iron play than with drivers. A bit of lead tape on the head of an iron or a wedge can give players the feeling they need to stay down and through the golf ball on all shots.

Does Counter Weighting Golf Clubs Work?

Counter weighting golf clubs absolutely works to move the balance point on the club up towards the grip. However, counter balancing does not work for every golfer. It is not a given that counter balancing will make you a better golfer; it is a feel thing that some players will benefit from.

Conclusion – Who Would We Recommend It For?

Counterbalancing is basically a fancy way of talking about proper club fitting and feel. If you go for a custom club fitting the feel of the club head relative to your strength and your swing speed will all be taken into consideration. If counter balancing a shaft gives you more of the feel you need, it will absolutely be considered. We really feel as though lower handicaps, strong players will benefit the most from counter balancing. If you feel as though you are losing power and that you can swing it faster if you had more control, counterbalancing your golf clubs could be a brilliant choice to make.