Lead Tape...questions and myths answered

[Rockford35]

A Realistic Look at Lead Tape

By Jeff Jackson



A look in to the bags of many tour pros and top amateurs will find the back of their clubs covered with lead tape. The tape may be in thick layers or thin, on the heel or toe, or even on the top or the bottom of the clubs. There is a good chance these players will tell you that the lead tape helped them to draw or fade their shots or allowed them to hit the ball higher or lower or in some other manner changed the performance of the club for the better. If the player believes this, that’s fine – after all golf is a highly mental game. But, in reality, the addition of the amount of lead tape that is usually put on a golf club has little, if any, noticeable effect on ball trajectory or direction.

Tour professionals are using lead tape to weight their clubs to obtain a specific feel. Any addition of weight (or reduction in weight) will change feel somewhat. Every 2-gram weight addition or reduction equates to an approximate 1 swingweight change. Most players cannot feel a single swingweight, but most can feel a change in 3 points. If you looked carefully in the pro's bags, you might have noticed also that some will drill holes in the backs or soles of their clubs, particularly the wedges, to reduce weight. Depending upon how much weight is either added or removed, there may be some minor effect on playability. But in most instances, this is not the case.

Golf club heads are designed to function at a certain weight. Each is cast or forged to that specific weight, give or take a few grams. To alter the function of the head, a comparatively large weight change must occur. Lead tape generally is available in 1/2" wide strips. It takes 4 1/2" of this tape to add approximately 1 swingweight to the head. The location of this lead tape, while it may have an effect on feel, does little to effect playability. From a feel perspective, a difference between 2 swingweight points can be detected by only the best players, swingweight differences of 1 point are virtually imperceptible to any player.

To test your own feel, tape a dime on the back of one of your clubs and compare it to another club. Are you honestly and consistently able to tell which one is heavier? The dime weighs approximately 2 grams; in effect you have increased the swingweight of the club a single point. Now try the same experiment with a quarter taped to the back of the club. The quarter weighs in at close to six grams (3 swingweight points). You will probably be able to tell which club is heavier now. What effect will this have on the playability of the club? Probably not much…but if the club feels better, the player may be more comfortable with it and, as a result, make more consistent swings – and this can only help the player on his way to lower scores.

Many players will claim that adding lead tape to the heel of the club might make it close faster at impact creating straighter shots and curing slices. The converse would be true by adding lead to the toe of the club for players who hook the ball. Even this positioning has been disputed for some time, but the sure thing is that adding a strip or two of lead tape will have virtually no effect on shot direction.

Similarly, the idea of adding lead tape lower on the club to produce higher shots by lowering the club's center of gravity and adding it high on the club head to produce lower shots has been prevalent for years. If a large amount of weight, say 10 grams or more could be redistributed somewhere on the club head, then, perhaps some playability differences could be found.

But if adding this much weight via lead tape, the swingweight of the club would become prohibitively heavy. (Remember 2 grams is equal to approximately 1 swingweight.) If some weight were removed by grinding or drilling somewhere on the head and then large amounts of tape added, some playability differences could certainly be noticed, but such changes actually alter the club's design and are not simply a result of applying lead tape to the club head.

While it will be uniformly agreed that the application of lead tape will cause a feel difference, there will be virtually no playability difference. The 10 grams of lead mentioned in the preceding paragraph, moves the club’s center of gravity less than a millimeter and a half. This is a minute amount for even the best players in the world; for the average golfer (19 handicap male & 26 handicap female according to 2004 statistics) the difference would be completely inconsequential.

So is lead useless on golf clubs? Not necessarily. If a player is looking for a heavier club, lead tape application may permit the club to feel better to the player, thus producing seemingly better shots. As far as the tape actually moving the center of gravity, sweet spot, center of percussion, etc., any discernible differencejust does not happen. The difference is feel is a direct function of the additional weight and not any playability effects.

The pro's use of lead tape related to actual playability is to add weight to their clubs – nothing else. Some will tell you they can maneuver the ball better or hit it straighter as a result of the tape. If that is what they want to believe, then who is to argue with them. After all, what's wrong with a little psychological boost to a player’s game? Should one of your customers want to try to fine tune his or her clubs with lead tape, be sure to explain how much tape adds what amount of weight. Let the golfer experiment with the tape - very seldom will he add so much as to harm the club's playability. (It will feel way too heavy long before this happens.) If after tape application the player claims the club performs better than before, just smile and nod, for who are you to argue with perception?

The simple fact is – despite what players or certain magazine articles may tell you – lead tape, used in reasonable quantity, adds weight only and has little effect on playability. Try it yourself. Add some tape to the toe of your club; you will find that you do not all of a sudden fade the ball; if you add a strip of tape to the heel, it will not magically induce the draw you have been seeking. What it will do is change the feel of the club, making it heavier. This may be a good thing, especially if you prefer a heavier club – the added weight may also help to slow down a fast swing ever so slightly. Lead tape – experiment with it, see if it changes the feel of your clubs – but don’t look for it to have a noticeable effect on ball flight no matter where on the club it is placed.


Pretty straight forward.

R35

[ezra76]

Hit an R7 quad, move the weights around and tell me it doesn't make a difference. There is a very noticible difference in my driver with just the one strip. I hit it further out on center due to the swingweight change and hit draws easier because the weight helps close the face through impact. I think 2g's is a lot when concentrated in one area rather than distributed evenly. As far as telling a weight differece, I loaded my hybrid up with 4g's, couldn't hit it worth a $hit but felt twice as heavy.

[Rockford35]

Hey dude, I'm just posting the science behind it. I was a believer, but the more I read about it, the more it seems bunk.

Kinda the same thing with Pured graphite shafts.

R35

[LyleG]

Tape on the shaft is a completely differant animal, and in 10 gram increments (sp) can make huge differances.

[chemboy2]

Originally Posted by ezra76

Hit an R7 quad, move the weights around and tell me it doesn't make a difference. There is a very noticible difference in my driver with just the one strip. I hit it further out on center due to the swingweight change and hit draws easier because the weight helps close the face through impact. I think 2g's is a lot when concentrated in one area rather than distributed evenly. As far as telling a weight differece, I loaded my hybrid up with 4g's, couldn't hit it worth a $hit but felt twice as heavy.

Moving weights on the R7 does make a difference on ball flight because you're moving weight but remember, you're not adding any weight and thus changing the swing weight.

If I take my 2gr weight from the heel and swap it with a 10g from the toe then I'm moving a considerable amount of weight. Heel/toe difference between config 1 and config 2 would be 16gr. To get that kind of delta using tape you would need to really load up the heel and you would certainly feel the 8 swingweights that were just added.

For the record, I'm an R7 user and swear by the ball flight thru weight configuration. I'm also only days away from playing with lead tape on my putter...

[Youngun5]

i don't use an R7, but my driver has the weight system as well in 10 gram weights and 2 gram weights.

i have moved them around and the only thing that happens is a tendency to pull when more weight is on the heel and a tendency to push when the weight is on the toe side.

i've searched for extra weights on ebay but haven't been able to find any, so i won't be able to make it any heavier yet, also just thought of perhaps leaving weights out completely, which i might just have to try, but i'm worried about the threads getting wet and rusting...so that might not happen.

like the article said, major changes would need to be made to make a real difference.

i atribute most of the "its a miracle cure" hype to the placebo effect.

i was reading an article on Tiger, and when he was at the Nike testing facility trying out identical drivers... when done he said "i like the heavy one best" the tour van guys were shocked to find that this "identical" driver was 1/2 gram heavier than the other drivers.....now that's feel right there.

[bames]

Rock - AKA Mythbuster. Well done.

[warbirdlover]

Youngun5,

Leaving the weights out won't cause rust since the head is titanium. It will let dirt and water into the club head if the threaded holes go through to the center. And the dirt in the threads would need to be cleaned out so you don't strip the threads trying to put a screw into them.

[BigJim13]

Originally Posted by LyleG

Tape on the shaft is a completely differant animal, and in 10 gram increments (sp) can make huge differances.

I have been telling everyone about this for ahile now. Im glad some people are trying it now, i will admit it wasnt my idea though. I stole it from a GD article about Tiger when he switched to a graphite shaft. I love it, I added 9gr and it made my Graf Blue a much better shaft "IN MY MIND."

[Rockford35]

Gun,

Try hitting your driver without the weights. You'll quickly put them back. You need some weight to put an effect on the ball in terms of the amount of mass that's there. Without it, you have no internal weighting and therefore just an empty shell.

Ever hit a baseball with one of those plastic bats kids have? Same thing...

R35

[dave.]

Golf is full of snake oil,and it doesn't matter,if the placebo works it works,end of story.Adding tape to a shaft is bonkers imo,but its just my own opinion,and I am sure many of you get a benefit,but if I had a problem that needed such a remedy I would either diagnose a huge swing problem and work on it,or buy another shaft

[BigJim13]

Originally Posted by dave.

Golf is full of snake oil,and it doesn't matter,if the placebo works it works,end of story.Adding tape to a shaft is bonkers imo,but its just my own opinion,and I am sure many of you get a benefit,but if I had a problem that needed such a remedy I would either diagnose a huge swing problem and work on it,or buy another shaft

Normally I would agree with you, however my wife and I just bought our first house and have our first child on the way. Needless to say money is best spent elsewhere and buying the shaft that i want, UST V2, is out of my price range. That being said, if i found a good deal on a driver with the UST V2 i might just have to pull the trigger...life is full of tough decisions

[dave.]

Well Jim,I hope you like it.Personally I don't liek the 905,I tried it again yesterday.With the UST it feels hard and dead,lifeless almost.Really not a club for me.The 983 was and is a great club,the E is a beast,the 905 just doesn't do it for me yet I was a huge fan of the 983.Maybe its the UST V2,which I find just awful.

[dave.]

ps I hope that doesn't sound like I am dissing another guys club.This is always worse than calling a guys wife a fat pig munter,this is easy to deal with,but critize his driver......................

[JoshinWA]

My 2 cents, for what they are worth - I completely agree with the article in terms of the physics of what the club is capable of. You are talking about adding 2g, when a normal Ti club head weighs around 200g. So that is a 1% increase in weight. If this were tested in an Iron Byron, you would probably see very little change, if any, as the metal robot will not notice the weight difference.

Put this club in a HUMAN's hands, though, and you will find a difference. It is likely that the "change" will result from the change in torque applied to the grip in your hands. If you try to hold a fishing rod with no weights on the line, then add a small pinch-on BB, you will notice a difference in your hands that is likely "more" than you would expect. This is because the increased weight at the end of a long shaft increases the torque.

Or something like that.

So Ez, when you hit the ball slightly more on center, it is not that the weight is physically changing the head, more that it is changing how your body reacts to swinging that additional weight (and hence torque) at the end of the shaft.

Regardless of how it happens, if it makes you hit the ball better or differently, then great!

As for the R7-type clubs, you are physically changing the distribution of more weights, as was previously mentioned, so this will have a much greater impact to the physics of the swing than just the addition or subtraction of a few grams of weight.

That is my opinion, based on years of high-school and college physics (though it was some years ago )
Josh