Laughable, but we never talked about grips this season.  Ironically, it’s a good time.  With lots of shop credit hanging out there, a fresh re-grip could give another season to an older set, and add some $$ to your pocket.  Why should a player buy another shirt with his credit?  Give him something he can use every time he plays.  Plus, you make money on the labor here – a double win for you.  I’d consider a marketing campaign to get a bunch of these lined up.  

We get as many questions about grips as anything else when we are at fitting events.  Usually, It’s “What grip is best for me?”, but a lot of “What is the best size grips for me?” as well.  I’m sure you get the same.  The answer is generally “whatever you like”, but you should have some understanding here.

When it comes to the TYPE of grip, I tell people that grips are like pillows – you like what you like.  Certain grips are better at certain things, but if a player likes something, we try to match the best we can.  When it comes to grip SIZE, there are a few things to consider.  First, are there any issues with joint pain, arthritis, etc., for the player?  If so, jumping up a size and/or going softer (Winn), may be beneficial to a player.  If not, I ask about what he’s playing now.  If it’s oversize and in the ballpark, I stick with it.  If it’s way too big or way too small, I show the player where it should be and let him decide.

So, where should the grip fit in the hand?  In the fingers!!  We know this as Golf Professionals, but players (especially players with smaller hands/ shorter fingers), tend to have the club up too far in the palm.  Essentially, the grip should fit under the heel pad on the pinky side of the top hand (left hand for a RH player).  It should extend down through the “square” in the pointer finger of the lower hand – you know, when you fully collapse the pointer finger and then relax it a little, it makes 3 sides of a square.  I see you doing it right now.  🙂  Haha.  If these two points are used for reference, the rest of the grip will fall into place.  If the grip is too big, it will not fit under or in either of these spots, and it will force the club up too far in the palm.  A grip that is up too far in the palm will be very difficult to release correctly at impact.  Ironically, if the grip is too small, the fingers will swallow it up and generally shove the club back up into the palm.  There is definitely a sweet spot when fitting for grip size. 

Ladies, juniors and players who wear smaller cadet sized gloves typically play grips that are too large and the grip rides too high in the palm. 

When talking about the club in the palm and how it works (or doesn’t), I picture a person hammering a nail.  Much like a golf swing, there is a technique.  If you ever watch a carpenter swing a hammer, he drives the nail with effortless power.  If you look at how he holds the hammer, it’s more in his fingers.  This allows his wrist to hinge and release.  If you watch a typical homeowner try it, the hammer is in the palm.  There is no power.  The hammer hits the nail with a “tap” instead of a “BANG”.  Try doing some framing for an afternoon with the wrong hammer grip… Your forearm will let you know you’re doing something wrong.

All this is great, but you know this, so let’s get into the nuts and bolts.  Does the grip have an effect on the feel of a golf club?  YES!!!  Changing the grip can change the swingweight of the club, and we often forget about this.  As a refresher, Swingweight is a measure of balance of a golf club.  Essentially, we balance the club just under the grip and see how heavy the head end feels.  What this really means is we are weighing the top end vs. the bottom end of the club.  If we make the bottom end heavier (add weight to the head or add length), the swingweight gets heavier.  But… guess what?  If you put on a heavier grip, it will make the swingweight lighter.  I hear you…  “Yeah, but by how much?  It’s not really that big of a deal.”  Think again.  For every 4 grams heavier you go in the grip, it will reduce swingweight by 1 point.  Say you remove the standard Tour Velvet grip that came on those Apex Irons and install a Multi Compound grip.  Good move here (from a balance standpoint).  The new MCC Grips are lighter and weigh about the same (low 50 grams) as the stock velvet grips.  Let’s say, however, you want to change to a Midsize grip from a STD size – still in Tour Velvet.  This will add about 3 grams, so he will lose about one swingweight point.  How about to an MCC plus 4 midsize?  This grip is 16 grams heavier than our stock grip.  That’s 4 swingweight points.  D3 to C9.  Just on a grip change.  If they are built that way at the factory, this will be accounted for, but if we change it in the field, it will not.  God forbid if he wants an 82 gram MCC Plus 4 jumbo…  My advice to you is to not get too far off from what the player currently plays.  This is the safest and will provide the best overall balance and feel.  The new grips will provide a nice refresh and will keep the feel the same if you can keep the gram weight of the new grips similar to the old ones.  

A brief word about putter grips.  Everything that we talked about in the last paragraph applies to putters as well.  Putter grips can get VERY heavy.  Stock putter grips tend to be VERY LIGHT.  Changing a stock putter grip to just about anything else WILL change the feel dramatically.  In my opinion, especially if it’s a Stroke Lab shaft, you are better off with an older, worn grip that you clean than changing it to something new.  A typical rubber putter grip (like a Lamkin Deep Etch) will weigh in the 65 gram range.  The Stroke lab grips are a hollow core and weigh as little as 40 Grams.  Consider that there is also a counterbalanced weight in the butt end of the putter (30-40 grams), the Grip NEEDS to be lighter.  Adding a 25 gram heavier grip to a putter with a 40 gram weight plug is WAAAAAAYYY to heavy.  The head will feel so light that there will literally be no head feel.  It will be very difficult to keep the putter head square.

Hope this helps. Until next time – happy fitting!!