Frequently Asked Questions

All my shafts measure 999cpms, what's wrong with the machine?

Put a weight on the end of the shaft. A tip weight or a club head.

How is a tip weight used?

A tip weight is only used to sort out your shafts and check them for consistency. It is not used to match a set of clubs. The actual club head is used for that purpose. The actual weight of the tip weight is not critical since it is very unlikely that the frequency when using a tip weight and a club head will match even if the weights are the same. The center of gravity of the two is very unlikely to match. The cg location determines beam length and beam length has a larger influence on frequency than weight. A 255 gram tip weight is available for use with irons just to get a more representative frequency when checking iron shafts but a 205 can be used just as well. You just have to realize you get a higher number with the 205 weight. It can still be used to check your shafts for consistency.

Why is your tip weight 205 grams? Most drivers are less than 200.

I have no idea how the 205 came about but it seems to be a somewhat de-facto standard these days. My guess is that when Brunswick started this they used a 3/8" chuck from Sears (I still have one) that weighed 205 grams.

How does your fitting chart compare to FM's?

There are a number of frequency charts out there. Mine is based on a combination of Dynacraft and Golfsmith data. It is based on ungripped clubs with a 5" clamping length. I don't know what FM's charts are based on. Originally their charts were based on gripped clubs. I believe that's no longer the case. The terms X, S, R, etc. are undefined in the industry. When building a set of clubs it's the clubmaker's job to figure out the best frequency for the golfer and decide on s slope and build to that. Whether it's called S or R or 5.5 is immaterial.

My analyzer gives very low readings or and E1 is displayed.

If you turn on any Club Scout and you get three dashes it means everything internally is working fine. A low reading or and E1 display (and exceptional low frequency has been measured) means the sensors are not picking up every oscillation of the shaft. It therefore takes longer to get the number of pulses it's looking for and computes a lower value for frequency. In the case of the CSII, III, or IV it is most often due to a misalignment of the two sensors in the U shaped sensor board. The pink device is and infrared light source and the black device is a phototransistor. The oscillating shaft interrupts the beam between the two. They have a narrow field of view and can get bent out of the plane of the board. Visually see if they are pointed at one another. If not gently bend them in and out of the plane of the board until you get appropriate readings. If you have a dc voltmeter between the two lower pins on the board you should have about 5 volts. Lower than 3.5 will cause problems. A problem can also occur if there is too much outside light hitting the phototransistor. It will saturate and not turn off when the shaft is blocking the IR light source. The unit is best used indoors or else some form of shielding from out side light might be required. This is more of a problem with the Jr. Club Scout.

The Jr. Club Scout uses a reflective sensing approach to detect the oscillations of the shaft. A good reflection is needed from the shaft. This is accomplished by placing reflective tape on the shaft. Aluminum heating duct tape works very well as does 3M reflective tape. In addition it is important not to place the unit too far away from the shaft. One to two inches is about right.