Golf Swing Weight Chart: A0 to F9, Men's and Women's Ranges

Swing weight is a letter and a number that says how head-heavy a club feels. The scale runs from A0 (lightest) to F9 (heaviest), and each step up adds 1.75 ounce-inches. Hireko and a clubmaking guide both put most men's clubs between C9 and D3, and women's clubs run lower: PING lists its G Le3 irons from C1 to C6. Half an inch of length is worth about 3 points, 2 grams in the head about 1 point, and 5 grams more in the grip takes about 1 point off.

The ChartThe swing weight scale, A0 to F9

Read it like a ruler. The letter is the band, the number is the step inside it, and D0 comes one step after C9. A swing weight scale balances the club on a point 14 inches from the end of the grip, and the reading is how hard the club pulls on that lever. Hireko's chart gives each reading in ounce-inches and in gram-inches.

Ounce-inches

Gram-inches

Typical RangesTypical swing weights for men's and women's clubs

Each maker sets its own, so the published ranges overlap and disagree at the edges. Here they are side by side.

Ranges quoted by clubmakers and retailers

What PING prints on its spec pages

PING lists a swing weight for each club. Its G440 and G730 irons sit in the D band. The G Le3 sits in the C band from the hybrids to the sand wedge, and PING describes the G Le3 driver as built for slower-swing-speed women golfers.

PING adds two notes. Standard swing weights for graphite-shafted G440 and G730 irons are 2 to 3 points lighter than shown, depending on shaft flex. On the G440 Max driver, the standard swing weight with a Project X Denali Red 60 shaft is 1 point higher than standard, and with a Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Black 65 it is 2 points higher.

Wedges run heavier

Hireko lists what to expect from off-the-rack wedges. The sand and lob wedges are listed at D4 to D5, above the D2 to D3 of the pitching and gap wedges.

Hireko and GolfWorks give the same reason: wedges are played from thick grass and sand and are swung slower, so extra head weight helps them get through. Britt Lindsey on RalphMaltby.com says a traditionally built iron set should hold one swing weight within about 1 point, and that wedges built to normal lengths usually land a few points higher. For a driver he gives D2 as about average: 45 in long with a 60 g shaft, a 50 g grip and a 200 g head.

What Moves ItWhat changes swing weight, and by how much

Head, grip, length, shaft weight and shaft balance point all move the number. The makers' rules of thumb are close but not identical, so where two sources differ, both are shown.

Some sources use 4 g per point for the grip instead of 5; the grip weight chart lays out both rules. The 2 g head figure is also a shortcut. The guide says a club 38 3/4 in long needs 2 g for a point, longer clubs a little less and shorter clubs a little more.

A worked example: driver shaft weight and balance point

Hireko ran one driver through a range of shaft weights: a 200 g head, a 50 g grip and a 45 in length. The first column of results assumes the shaft balances in the middle. The next three show what happens when the balance point sits nearer the tip (48%), in the usual spot (52%) or nearer the butt (56%).

Hireko's own reading: a 45 g shaft takes three points off the mid-shaft D1 example, and a 105 g shaft takes it to D7. In the upper-60 g range, which is the most popular driver shaft weight, moving the balance point alone makes nearly a 5 point difference.

Using ItHow to use the chart

Get your number. A swing weight scale reads it straight off the club; GolfWorks sells one that reads C8, D2 and so on, and a club builder or fitter with a scale can read yours. Without a scale, Hireko's free assembled-club calculator needs the club's total weight and its balance point measured from the butt end.

Find it on the scale. Look up your reading in the chart above and in the ranges table. Remember that the step below D0 is C9.

Plan a change from the table. Hireko's example is a 78 g jumbo grip against a 50 g standard grip, which comes to about 5 points lower. Going the other way, Winn's Dri-Tac Lite is about 25 g lighter than the standard Dri-Tac, and Hireko puts that at about 5 points higher. The grip weight chart lists the published grip weights by maker.

Use length when weight will not do it. In Hireko's driver example a 190 g head reads C4 at 45 in and D0 at 46 in, and a 210 g head reads D6 at 45 in and D0 at 44 in. This is why standard lengths exist: GolfWorks says its standard lengths are set so swing weights land in normal ranges at standard head weights. See the club length chart for those lengths.

Do not chase one point. The guide compares a point to a dime sitting on the clubhead and says it is nearly imperceptible. An accomplished player can feel 2 points, and most average players start to notice 3. Britt Lindsey on RalphMaltby.com says he does not care what the number is as long as the head feel and overall weight feel right to the player, and that keeping the irons consistent matters more than matching the driver to them.

Players pick their own. Ralph Maltby, answering on the GolfWorks FAQ, says most tour pros play about 2 or 3 swing weights more than most golfers. He says he does not like driver swing weights under D0 and that many work best at D1 or D2. Hireko's 210 g example, D6, is one it says some players will find too head-heavy.

Watch forCommon mistakes

Treating swing weight as the club's weight. Mitchell Golf Equipment points out that a graphite-shafted club at 290 g total and a steel-shafted club at 420 g total can have the same swing weight. Hireko lists the club's overall weight and its swing weight as separate measurements.

Getting the grip backwards. A heavier grip lowers swing weight, and a lighter one raises it. The weight sits on the butt side of the 14 inch point.

Expecting a lighter shaft to make the club head-heavy. Hireko says the opposite happens: with the same length and balance point, a lighter shaft lowers swing weight, which is why the fixes Hireko lists after a re-shaft are more length or more head weight.

Carrying one maker's number to another. Hireko says each maker has its own chart, and PING says its graphite-shafted irons run 2 to 3 points lighter than the figures on its page. Compare a number only with the same kind of club, shaft and length.

Trusting a calculator to the point. Britt Lindsey calls the calculator he uses an estimator that could be off by a swing weight or two, and suggests dry fitting the parts and reading the scale before epoxy goes in.

FAQQuick answers