Light Vs Heavy Driver Head– How Important is Weight?
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Patrick Corley
- 07/01/2023
Do you gain confidence when you know that the driver in your bag is going to perform consistently for your game? Depending on your golf swing, club speed, and dispersion you may want to consider a lighter or heavier driver head.
Tell Me More Golf and our team of golf experts are excited to bring you a results-driven guide to help you gain more distance and accuracy with your driver, making the game more fun while you drive it past your friends.
Heavier Vs Lighter Driver Head Performance
Tell Me More Golf has tested various driver heads with different weighting to bring you data that will help determine if your current driver head weight is ideal. With so many different factors out there like club head speed, swing weight, ball speed, and more, we know it can be a lot to consider in terms of light vs heavy driver head weight. We will lay out the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of the various clubhead profiles.
Heavier Head
A heavier head in the driver reacts differently to the golf ball than a lighter head. A heavier head is going to produce a higher spin rate, while a light driver head is going to decrease spin. The heavier head will increase the spin rate, which could be a good thing if you are trying to launch your driver higher. With that added weight could come additional torque in the clubhead. This is because the weight of the head could cause it to rotate more on the downswing and at impact.
What we found in our research and testing was that a lighter shaft does not always work well with the heavier head. The launch monitor data showed that the clubface opened more with the light shaft/heavy head. When we installed the heaviest shaft into the heavy driver head, we saw better accuracy and low spin rates, but only with those players that could swing above 100 MPH. Those players with slower swing speeds saw a dramatic drop in ball speed and overall distance.
Because a heavier head has more mass behind it, in most cases the ball would go farther just based on the physics alone. Assuming you can swing hard enough, you could see some gains (think Bryson DeChambeau). Overall, a heavy driver head pairs best with a mid-heavy weight shaft (70+ grams).
Lighter Head
Most golfers would benefit from playing with a lighter driver head.
The lighter head will help produce a faster swing because the lighter weight alone is going to help the club travel faster. A full study was done on the effect of driver head weight on performance. The end results were interesting because the data showed that a lighter head (170-190 grams) performed very well. The spin rates were lower and the launch angle was higher which creates a combination for maximum distance.
The caution here would be not to go too light with the clubhead because the result could be a much lower spin rate. This would decrease the overall performance of the club. The driver will go further and straighter when you look to increase ball speed and increase the angle of attack. In other words, find the club that helps you hit up on the ball with the most speed. This will instantly increase accuracy and distance.
Recommendations:
Club manufacturers are able to build clubs that offer many different weighting options for their drivers. We recommend that you look for a clubhead between 170-190 grams with adjustability. For example, Mizuno has come out with a trio of drivers with different weights that offer several different head weight options. A lighter club head with the ideal shaft flex is going to give you the best chance for success. Callaway, Taylormade, and Ping have been the highest premium-standard in drivers for a long time and also offer many different head weights.
If you currently have a driver that is adjustable, it likely came with the factory weight. Golfers can choose to add lead tape because it allows them to customize the weight to their desired ball flight.
For those looking for a new driver, find the lightest clubhead combined with a shaft weight that makes the total weight feel balanced to you. That means that you can consistently control the club and hit more fairways. The right clubhead weight combined with the right shaft will add distance and accuracy to your game.
Golf Driver Head Weight Comparison
Research has been done to find out what driver’s head weight is going to be ideal for most golfers. As someone who has spent time around PGA Tour players, I can offer insight into what the best players in the world think about and you can apply those same thoughts to your game.
Tour players want a club that allows them to hit the ball on the sweet spot of the driver with the most clubhead speed possible. They focus on the smash factor, which is a ratio of ball speed to clubhead speed. In order to maximize smash factor on their tee shots, pros look for the lightest driver head with the right shaft and then adjust upwards and add weight when needed.
When you are comparing drivers, look for one with adjustability so that you can reduce or add weight to get your desired result. An informed PGA professional or local club-fitter will be able to assess what will help improve your overall driver performance.
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How Important Is Driver Head Weight In A Driver
The right driver weight is going to give you greater consistency, which means longer drives and more fairways. Data shows that lighter clubheads in the driver are more beneficial for most golfers. Driver head weight is very important and is also the reason that club companies offer so much adjustability.
With adjustability, golfers can get to the weight that lets them maximize the moment of inertia (MOI). This is a measure of how often they hit the sweet spot. Hitting the center of the clubface creates higher ball speeds and reduces dispersion.
Taylormade Driver Head Weight
Taylormade has been developing new technologies to make driver heads more aerodynamic, lighter, and stronger. Taylormade’s new drivers have adjustability in their head weights. In addition, the company has been using different materials and moving weight around in the face to create a larger sweet spot.
The head weight of Taylormade’s drivers, in combination with their shaft options, has made them one of the best choices for most players. A club fitter can always help you find the best combo for you. When you are testing new drivers, make sure to test a Taylormade because it is likely that there is a driver setup that will increase your clubhead speed and also provide you with more control.
Frequently Asked Questions: Weight
What does a heavier driver head do?
A heavier driver increases the spin rate and can decrease the launch angle. If you are a golfer that has a very low spin rate, you would want to consider adding weight or lead tape to your driver. If you decide to add lead tape, make sure you ask someone for help as the location of the tape on the head can affect performance.
What weight should a driver head be?
The average driver’s head weight is about 200 grams. Data shows that 180-200 gram driver heads are the best range for most golfers. Focus on what allows you to hit the center of the clubface and has a comfortable weight; not too heavy or light feeling.
Do heavier drivers hit the ball farther?
No, heavier drivers do not necessarily hit the ball further. Because the face of a driver has limitations on how much it can cause the golf ball to rebound, a heavier driver is going to hit the ball higher. For golfers that need to add vertical height to their tee shots, a heavier driver would help.
What happens if your driver head is too light?
A driver head that is too light will create more clubhead speed, but reduce the smash factor and ultimately reduce ball speed. A driver that is too light will also create much less spin which could reduce the overall distance of a tee shot.
Conclusion: Research by Tellmemoregolf.com
Driver head weight has shown to be an important factor in getting optimal performance out of your club. Tell Me More Golf has researched the data, and our team has tested drivers to be able to bring our readers the most comprehensive guide to help them maximize distance and accuracy.
Overall, the best driver is going to be the lightest that you can control and hit in the center of the clubhead. If the spin is too low, you can add weights or lead tape, but we recommend adding the manufacturer’s weights first before you experiment with lead tape.
Reach out to our team for more guidance as we are equipped with the data and expertise to have you driving it straiter and longer, which will lead to lower scores.
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