MOI - moment of inertia matching

[markTHEblake]

Golf club guru Dave Tutelman has released a new article on his MOI experiences. (http://www.tutelman.com/golf/clubs/MOImatchRecent.php?ref=) which began over 10 years ago.

Interesting reading if you are thinking of, or have ever gone down this path.


It isn't enough to MOI-match the clubs; they must be MOI-matched to the golfer.

BTW, if you have never read any of Dave's articles, its a must read. he is the mythbuster of golf clubs :-)

[Daves]

Bumping this old thread.

Thanks for the Tutelman link Blakey, it answered a few questions, including how I could build a MOI Matched set without spending big bucks on an Analyser straight up. MOI Matching seems to me to be a logical next step from my Heavy and Hefty experimenting, which has worked very well so far.

Any one using MOI matched clubs?, or better still building them themselves? I am pretty sure Blakey has his clubs MOI Matched by Gary Tozer at Aussie Custom Golf.

Here is a Wishon video on the subject;


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJM59fJJs6E

[markTHEblake]

Yep, I am on my 2nd set of MOI sticks, this time with the nunchuk iron shafts

[Daves]

Here a a couple of more links worth reading for anyone interested in MOI matching;

Dave Tutelman's earlier articles on the subject;

http://www.tutelman.com/golf/clubs/MOImatchRecent.php?ref=

A WRX thread on the subject, with plenty of posts from Tom Wishon. Tom basically confirms Tutelman's method of building with progessive SWs increases from long to short irons as being a valid approximation.
http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/123479-building-moi-matching-iron-sets/

All of the articles talk about adding weight to the head to adjust swing weight, and/or adjusting club length increments. I am wondering if back-weighting is also a valid build method?, e.g. where SW needs to be decreased (say in an existing set), or is it like playing with grip weights, just a way to fool the SW measurement??

Some other interesting aspects/insights I have gleaned;

Tutelman found that MOI matched clubs work better if you hit the ball from the same spot in your stance (he calls it the Nicklaus method), vs moving the ball progressively forward in your stance as the club gets longer (The Snead method). Tutelman says that SW matched clubs work better with this method. The reason that MOI and the same ball position work better, is that MOI matching is about making each iron feel the same, hence you need to swing each club the same. Tutleman found he topped his longer irons if he tried to use the Snead method with MOI matched clubs.

The effect of shaft flex variances doesn't appear to be a hugely significant issue in the MOI build, within reason. It is commonly thought that you need to frequency match (more correctly frequency step) the shafts, to get the same feel. A potential nightmare for the hobby builder! particularly using Taper tipped shafts like DGs. Headweight seems to be a much greater factor in getting it right.

[Daves]

One other thing which is not yet totally clear, but seems to be the case from what I have read so far. The individual's ideal MOI(s) seems to be a common number across sets .i.e. the same ideal MOI applies within each club class i.e. across Iron sets, across Drivers etc. So MOI for Irons vs Drivers varies (it would seem because of 1. length, and 2. the swing needed is different) but within club classes e.g. Drivers, it should be the same.

[Daves]

All of the articles talk about adding weight to the head to adjust swing weight, and/or adjusting club length increments. I am wondering if back-weighting is also a valid build method?, e.g. where SW needs to be decreased (say in an existing set), or is it like playing with grip weights, just a way to fool the SW measurement??



I found a Tutelman article that answers this question, and the short is No. Changing grip weight, or adding backweights to the butt end do not change MOI.

http://www.tutelman.com/golf/design/swingwt5.php

This says that for an existing set, you would have to vary built length, or use lead tape using the 1.3 method.

[benno_r]

I found a Tutelman article that answers this question, and the short is No. Changing grip weight, or adding backweights to the butt end do not change MOI.

http://www.tutelman.com/golf/design/swingwt5.php

This says that for an existing set, you would have to vary built length, or use lead tape using the 1.3 method.
I have always found that "fooling" the sw scale may lead to a big change in swingweight, but no real actual change in the way it plays.

[markTHEblake]

I remember ToZe saying that he picks one club, maybe 6/7 iron and gets that right, then builds the others with that's as the benchmark

Also because heads are not always consistent with weight, he has to find the lightest one and work from there. Because it's easy to add weight to the head.

For that reason last time I bought the heads I paid extra for handpicking the heads to be at spec or lighter.

[Matt 3 Jab]

Same method for matching weight / swingweight with tennis frames.

Very light hairpins and build them up because you can add weight but you cant remove weight (easily)