[EdZ]

No doubt that the longer lever is generally a bigger advantage than more mass, however I would indeed be curious to see data on same speed, center contact by two 'machines' with different mass.

If you were somehow to assume that resistence to deceleration at impact were always the same given a club of the same mass, then it would be the case that they would produce similar shots.

However if you took a club and tied it to a string and were somehow able to swing it at the same speed as a club connected to a steel rod, the steel rod would provide more resistence to deceleration. I suppose the actual speed here would also be a big factor, a slower moving club not resisting decel as much as a faster moving one. At a slow speed it could literally 'bounce' off the ball.

Again, it would be nice to see some data from Ping or similar on just how much difference mass can make in real world golf swings.

I wonder if it boils down to 'arm weight', as a 'heavier lever'.