I have a 35" Stroke Lab putter and I want it to be 34". Can I remove the grip and cut an inch off the shaft? Any issues with that?
Can I shorten a Stroke Lab shaft
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One of the heads of Odyssey did a Live Chat yesterday in the forum, perfect chance haha.
The answer is yes. It will however change the swing weight and possible balance. 1 inch off the butt end is easily fixable though with a plug.
The answer is yes. It will however change the swing weight and possible balance. 1 inch off the butt end is easily fixable though with a plug.
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No, a weight to make up for how much is lost. Some grips offer this. Otherwise there are other ways to achieve it.
No. You don't need that. The plug is already in the butt end of the shaft and the weight you would lose would only be a gram or two. You just have to pull the plug weight with a little heat and replace it once cut. As far as head weight goes, if you find it's too light, you can switch out the screw weights in the bottom for heavier or lead tape it. Don't assume that just because it was at a certain weight feel before, that will still be right for you. Try it at length and then add weight back as needed. May want to start with tape to figure out how much weight if necessary and then buy the appropriate screws if you're concerned about lead tape on your putter.
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A full inch will be more than 1 gram, but not a ton more. Closer to 3-4. Some people will feel a difference, others won't. I took an inch off of mine and needed to adjust. Others will not.
The gram weight loss (2 grams) per inch is not what people are feeling as you are losing less than 1% of the putters total weight. It's the fulcrum length that causes the "weight change" feel. Adding those couple grams back won't make it feel like it did previously, will take much more weight.
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i understand what is being lost. I said everybody will feel differently, which is what I did when o shortened.
min my instance, I added 10 grams and it brought back my feel that I was used to. I’m never a fan of just saying chop it off, without offering solutions for people if change occurs, was my point.
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2 grams per inch is from the tip end. It’s closer to 5 grams or 3 swing weight points from the grip end.
If you are not comfortable playing around with plugs much easier to get some lead tape and experiment with that to get the feel you like.
Think we are getting confused. First not sure why anyone is "tipping" a putter however. If we cut 1 inch off the butt end of the stroke lab shaft, it removes a couple grams of material. 34 inch stroke lab shaft (length in a 35 inch putter) weighs around 75g. Divide that out and you get about 2 grams per inch. Of course it's actually probably less as the lower steel section of the shaft will have the greater proportion of weight compared to the carbon fiber middle and butt end.
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It isn’t a constant circumference. It is larger at the butt end than the end that inserts into the steel portion. Given its light weight and design it may be less than a typical shaft, but the rough rule of 5 grams/3 swing weight points the grip end is almost universal.
We know that the shaft itself, not including the weight plug is 75g, assuming that they weigh it from a finished length and not a raw length (whatever that might be, I don't know) so we will just assume 34 inches (35 inch putter would have a 34 inch shaft in it give or take). According to your math, if every inch of that shaft weighed 5g, then at 34 inches we would be at a total weight of 170g. This also assumes that the shaft is balance neutral, but in fact it's tip heavy I am almost certain since it has 6 inches of steel at the tip though I have never weighed one out in raw form full disclosure. All this is to say that the total weight loss would be far less than 5g.
Also a side note, the swing weight scale does not apply correctly to putters so the rules tied up with swing weight should not be used.
radeon962
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I can’t find the pictures from when I did mine but there was a bullet weight in the butt end of the shaft.
If I remember correctly the grip weighed around 65 grams and the weight/plug that was in the end of the shaft was 40 grams.
The oversized grip and the pistol grip are different weights so the bullet weight is 30g or 40g depending on the grip.
In any case, the stroke lab counterbalance is right around 100g.
I shortened my Stroke Lab and replaced the grip with a Superstroke Traxion 2.0 grip that weighs 55g and used a Superstroke 50g back weight to get back to around the same weight.
There are pictures on one of the other sites showing the bullet weight removed and the grip weight.
If I remember correctly the grip weighed around 65 grams and the weight/plug that was in the end of the shaft was 40 grams.
The oversized grip and the pistol grip are different weights so the bullet weight is 30g or 40g depending on the grip.
In any case, the stroke lab counterbalance is right around 100g.
I shortened my Stroke Lab and replaced the grip with a Superstroke Traxion 2.0 grip that weighs 55g and used a Superstroke 50g back weight to get back to around the same weight.
There are pictures on one of the other sites showing the bullet weight removed and the grip weight.
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Everything with the shaft and head is designed to work together to get the desired effect of the Stroke Lab setup so I guess it's up to you if you want to keep that or if you are alright with potentially losing some of the effectiveness of the Stroke Lab setup. It may not bother you at all. You could also just find a grip that makes up for the difference.
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Why would you say that? I have a scale and the rules do apply. I’ve built numerous for my son to varying lengths as he’s grown and it’s always been 2 grams at the head to increase just like any other club, and roughly 5 to make a change at the grip end.
There are even studies on what the optimal SW for a putter is. It’s a starting point but Rife says D7.
Differentiating SW in putters is very difficult for most people. I don't know the exact reason, personally think it's based on the lie angle being so upright that it minimizes the feel of the SW change. SW was created as a way to match up clubs in a set of a similar type, ie iron to iron, putters are their own category. In any case putters should be treated differently.
Al Czervik III
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I’m thinking of cutting my 10 Two Ball down from 35 to 33. Like you, I just can’t see how cutting 2 inches off a graphite shaft could significantly alter the feel. Your math is especially compelling in refuting the argument that 1 inch would be 5 grams.
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Swing weight is a measure of balance, that is how the club feels when swung. As much or more so swing weight is as relevant for the putter as is it is for any club within the bag.
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Al Czervik III
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So, I cut 2 inches off the stroke lab shaft and weighed the oversized grip and counter weight. Here are the results.
I wouldn’t think that 4 grams (2 inch piece of graphite) would radically change the swing weight.
I’m putting on a 73 gram garsen grip and a 30 gram counter weight to keep the counterbalance on the grip end at around 100 grams. I don’t mind it if the head feels just a tad heavier with a difference of 9 grams between the old set-up and the new. Or I could keep the 40 gram weight in and be at 1 gram more in the grip end?
I wouldn’t think that 4 grams (2 inch piece of graphite) would radically change the swing weight.
I’m putting on a 73 gram garsen grip and a 30 gram counter weight to keep the counterbalance on the grip end at around 100 grams. I don’t mind it if the head feels just a tad heavier with a difference of 9 grams between the old set-up and the new. Or I could keep the 40 gram weight in and be at 1 gram more in the grip end?
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I appreciate you proving my earlier posts with your measurement of the graphite piece. Happy to see I can do simple math still!
Be aware that swing weight is impacted significantly by length changes. The standard rule would say that cutting 2 inches would be dropping the swing weight around 10 SWPs based on your lengths and assuming no other changes. However the feel from that change will be different with a putter than with any other club, as you don't swing it more than 18 inches either direction and from the more upright lie angle.
Technically speaking the club was not counter balanced 100g because you would not consider the grip weight of 67g as additional weight. That is just standard putter grip weight. Only the 40g plug would be counterbalancing. Regardless, you will notice the head feels lighter b/c of the shaft trimming. If you put the 40g plug back vs the 30, it will measure out lighter still, at least on a SW scale.
Just as an example Scotty Cameron putters would add 10g of head weight in their stock putters when using a 34in shaft vs. 35in.
Al Czervik III
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Thank you for the swing weight info- very formative and useful.
I’ve decided to go with the 30 gram weight as it will make the head feel heavier- I prefer heavier over lighter.
So if I’m understanding correctly I’ve decreased SW by 12 by cutting it down 2", and increased by 4.5 by using a 9g heavier grip end set-up for a net of 7.5 SW decrease? Or are my calculations off?
Will that feel significantly different?