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Golf Clubmaking: What is Counter Weighting?

Last Updated: Nov 04, 2023

Golf Clubmaking: What is Counter Weighting?

It is easy to add swing weight to a golf club, but how do you REMOVE swing weight? In this post, I'll show you a tool for doing this.

Written By: Zach Gollwitzer

Posted in: DIY Clubmaking

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Counter-weighting is a less common swing-weighting technique, but is important to know how to do. Before I begin the actual tutorial, I want to explain what counter-weighting is, and how it can be used to your advantage.

What is Counter-Weighting?

Counter-weighting is when you add weight to the "butt end" aka grip end of the golf club. It can be done in several ways, but I have demonstrated my favorite method in this tutorial. When you add weight to the grip end of a golf club, you essentially decrease the overall swing-weight of the club (Ex: If you add a 10 gram counter-weight to a club that plays at a D4 swing-weight, you will be lowering this swing-weight to D2. If you don't understand this, check out my swing-weighting 101 page.)

Chances are, you probably won't want to lower the swing-weight of a golf club, as most golf clubs have a fairly low swing-weight to start with (in my opinion). In the past, what I have used counter-weighting for is aimed more towards making the entire club heavier than decreasing swing-weight.

Here is a scenario that might help you understand this better:

Suppose I have a 3-wood with a 65 gram shaft in it, playing at a swing-weight of D3 with no lead tape or counter-weights on it. I take it to the range, and notice that the overall weight of the club is really light, and at impact, I'm not feeling much force (notice I didn't say that the clubhead felt light, but the overall weight of the club... Very important to understand this distinction in swing-weighting). I want to make the club heavier without changing the "feel" of it, because I like playing my 3-wood at D3 swing-weight.

Initially, I add 10 grams of lead tape to the clubhead. I take it back to the range and swing it, but notice that the clubhead feels way too heavy in proportion with the rest of the club. In order to balance this out, I must add a 10 gram counter-weight to the club. Now, the club is back to its original "feel" but delivers a much more powerful blow to the ball at impact, because the overall weight of the club is greater.

In this scenario, I took a 3-wood that was at a D3 swing-weight, increased the overall weight of the club by 20 grams, and still maintained that D3 swing-weight. This is a great idea for anyone who wants to develop their golf muscles, or for anyone who is stronger than most.

This is what counter-weighting can accomplish.

Now that you understand the concept, here is my tutorial on how to counter-weight a golf club!

Materials Needed

About the author: Zach Gollwitzer

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Hey, I‘m Zach, the founder of The DIY Golfer! I created this site while playing D1 collegiate golf with a simple mission—I wanted to learn the golf swing and get better at golf myself.

Fast forward a few years, and my “journal“, The DIY Golfer, has been viewed by millions of golfers worldwide looking to do the same with their games. my mission is to make golfers more consistent in just a few hours a week through advanced practice strategies and timeless, first-principle golf instruction.