Do you want a complete guide about the Grip on Golf Clubs? In this article that I have prepared for you, you can find everything you need to know about it. In Handmade Custom Clubs we are specialists in Custom Golf Clubs.
What are grips in golf?
The grip is the part that is in contact with the player's hands during the swing and what transmits the sensation at impact and facilitates better hand action in the swing.
Incorrect or inappropriate grip for the player can cause the club or set of clubs, despite having an excellent setup, to give the player such an unpleasant feeling that he cannot be comfortable with the club as a result.
Importance of choosing the right grip on a Golf Club
Choosing a grip that is appropriate to the player's sensation, hand sweating, sensitivity in the short and long game. But what you must take into account is that size does matter when it comes to having an adequate golf grip, since the hands in the rise and fall of the club at impact make a turn that generates the final speed with which the club will arrive at impact.
In addition to favoring a less tense lag and therefore a much higher transmission of wrist speed, it will generate extra distance.
In order to talk about the grip, the first thing we must be clear about are the parts that make up a grip, which I will explain below.
GRIP ANATOMY
- GRIP MOUTH: It is the small opening at the beginning of the grip, we will find different types and sizes.
- GRIP BODY : It is the part where the hand actually comes into contact with it, and it is found in different types of materials, sizes, and densities.
- GRIP HEAD: It is the final part of the grip that has the effect of stopping and protecting the shaft when storing the clubs in the golf bag.
Types of Grips for Golf Clubs
The grips, in addition to the different sizes that we can find, also as there are many manufacturers, we can find them with many materials and many levels of sensation that the player feels when picking up the club.
Next I will detail and explain what types of materials we are talking about when buying and selecting a grip:
- BLACK FULL RUBBER: It is usually a basic grip that each of the manufacturers on the market have, they are the purest rubber and therefore the ones with the greatest resistance over time.
- MULTI COMPOUND: They are grips that are composed of rubber to the highest degree and also rope, which gives the grip extra hardness. They tend to be less resistant over time and we usually find them in different colors and sizes.
- FULL ROPE: Perhaps together with the classic rubber grip it is the most resistant over time but it has two cons, it makes the club a little harder since the string stiffens the shaft 2-4 cpm and then the gloves tend to suffer a lot and do not they last a long time.
- TACKI OR ADHESIVE FINISH: It is a type of grip that manufacturers have but you don't usually find a lot of variety. They are usually grips intended for people who play without a glove or who like the grip to hold extra when it rains. Both in brands such as Pure Grips, how Golf Pride, Lamkin and Superstroke we can find models that are tacky.
- JAPANESE ELASTOMERS: Grips with this type of compound, in addition to having a material that absorbs vibration and is very soft and comfortable, are available in many colors and have a slightly shorter duration than a conventional grip if you play the same game. On our website we have a brand like NO1 Grips that are made exclusively in Japan and have a very large number of colors.
How do you know what grip size to use in golf?
The feeling that when we take the club with our fingers and close both palms we feel that we have the grip safely and without tension in the forearms and we can have completely loose wrists.
Normally when making a fitting there are two ways to select the right grip for each player:
- Grip Size Chart: there is a tool that many shops and fitting centers have and even some brands where the player puts his hand and gives him the size of the grip.
- Objective and subjective analysis of the player's hand: Will you tell yourself what I want to tell you with this analysis? I'll explain it to you, the size of the hand is really important but within this size is the length of the fingers and the length of the palm, with this, as you will know when you take the grip with both hands, the size of the left hand is one and the one in the right hand on the grip is another.
What do I mean by this? The issue is that the fact of putting a grip on a person who has a small palm and then long fingers can lead to us putting a .600 grip but when putting the tape in order for the adjustment is complete and the tension that reaches the hands is the same in both arms, it is very likely that we will have to put a strap on the part of the left hand, in a right-handed player and most likely 2 or 3 extra straps in the area of the grip that the player will hold with the right hand. But this adjustment, believe it or not, will also have an impact on the player's club, affecting the swingweight, so an adjustment must be made.
Recommendations when choosing the grip for your golf clubs
Choosing or selecting a grip is not something that we should do randomly, since it is something that always has to make us feel comfortable. Have you ever wondered why professional players tend to play the same grip model and always with the same size?
Next I am going to explain some things that you should know in order to have the right grip and the consequences that you can suffer in your clubs if you make an incorrect grip change.
THE FEELING
The feeling that when we take the club with our fingers and close both palms we feel that we have the grip safely and without tension in the forearms and we can have completely loose wrists.
And now that you know more about the grip...
How about we complicate it a bit?
I tell you this as a professional clubmaker and clubfitter:
did you know…..?
- The inappropriate grips They can cause the imbalance of the swingweight of your clubs without your knowing it...
- What happens if you ride lighter grips? The problem is that the club will have a higher swingweight and MOI and therefore the shaft will be softer and will work at impact in another plane, therefore your control of the club and trajectory will be more limited.
- What happens if you ride heavier grips? The problem will also be in the swingweight and lower MOI and therefore the shaft will be a little harder and will work at impact in another plane, therefore your trajectory will be lower and the control of the club will be a little higher but it will be you will appreciate a slight loss of distance.
THE TECHNICAL PROBLEMS THAT CAN ARRIVE DUE TO THE SIZE.
GRIP TOO THIN.
The player has the feeling of not really knowing where to hold the club to feel comfortable, generating higher tension in the forearms and not allowing the wrists to work with the proper ease
Do you know what problem it generates on impact?
The wrists and hands will have excessive action and therefore the face will have a tendency to come shut on impact. The player will generate an effect from right to left (Draw, Pull, Hook or Pull Hook).
GRIP TOO THICK
In this case, what the player will feel is something completely opposite to the fine grip, that is, difficulty in being able to close the hand, therefore, the movement of despinning will be weak and coarse, since the wrists will not be able to despin freely, being able to cause injury to the wrists and elbows.
The problem we will have at impact will always be a failure related to arriving with the face of the club open at impact and consequently an effect from left to right (Fade, Push, Push Slice, Push Hook).
At Handmade Custom Clubs we help you create your perfect golf club
When we make a golf fittings Either a player comes to our workshop or by phone, in addition to advising and locating the grip model that he likes, we make sure that the grip model that the player puts on with the necessary tapes is the one that adapts in weight to what the player initially had how the clubs were made.
If you want personalized and direct advice, you just have to write to our website on the WhatsApp phone number that we have available, or through the email info@handmadecustomclubs.com.
