Quick grip Q? (Thickness)

[RGDave]

Am I right in thinking that thicker grips tend to slow the hands down through impact/release?
If so, would it be fair to expect a club fitted with a noticeably thick grip to cause the odd problem slicing, or is it too subtle a thing?
I had a great range session today but couldn't seem to get one particular club going straight.....it's my new 3 wood and it feels massive in my left hand....
Maybe I'll put the same grip on it as the rest of my clubs....worth a try?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I was always of a similar opinion that too thick a grip caused problems squaring the face and would lead to a slice but I seem to remember that idea was disputed a few months back so I'm no longer sure its the case. However I do think that any club that feels a little different to the remainder is never going to inspire confidence and will always plant seeds of doubt on the tee

 

[RGDave]

.....I seem to remember that idea was disputed a few months back so I'm no longer sure its the case.

Damn.....

Every time I pick this club up, it feels like a cricket bat!

It seems a shame to cut off a new grip and Nike themselves have made quite a big deal of the grip.....personally, it feels well odd compared to my New Decades.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Only going by what some of the wiser forum sages said. Strangely its a view I've had since my teens when I first became interested in equipment and tinkering with stuff and my game. If the grip is too big I was led to believe that it was harder to square the club and that it came into impact open. Not too bad coming from and inside path as it will block straight right, but coming in on a square or worse still an out to in line and it'll put left to right spin on the shot.

Like I say only what I've been led to believe and I'm more than happy to be proved wrong

 

[USER1999]

When I had my c/f session at Titleist, we worked our way through grips starting with one layer of tape, two, three, with each one feeling better, and me hitting a good ball flight. We got to 4 layers, and everything went right. Just couldn't square the club at all. So for me, I would change the grip on your club for the same as the rest.

 

[RGDave]

When I had my c/f session at Titleist, we worked our way through grips starting with one layer of tape, two, three, with each one feeling better, and me hitting a good ball flight. We got to 4 layers, and everything went right. Just couldn't square the club at all. So for me, I would change the grip on your club for the same as the rest.

Doing it now....(literally).

 

[Ethan]

The traditional view that too thick a grip hinders release (and the converse for too thin) has not changed, at least not in any of the golf fora or magazines that I look at. Common sense suggests it remains true.

 

[viscount17]

So is there a fix for this other than changing the grip?
I have mid-size fitted to all my irons and my driver although I have small hands. I have tendonitis in both hands and find them much more comfortable than smaller grips.

 

[Ethan]

Thick grips slow release because they engage the forearm muscles more. If this results in slicing or pushing, you need to correct this through something in the swing, perhaps more hand action.

The standard 'release' drill is the short swing with a 7 iron which takes the club to parallel on the backswing (only a quarter swing back), at which point the club should be parallel to the target line too and the toe pointing up, and swing through to the mirror position on the through swing. At this point the club should likewise be parallel to the target line and the toe pointing up but the face pointing back. You will only hit the ball about 30 or 40 yards like this probably, but it should go straight and may even draw slightly. once you are comfortable, speed it up a bit and start to slowly lengthen the swing, making sure you go through those two positions.

 

[RGDave]

Rather oddly, my pro reckons to leave the grip be. He measured it with a special tool and said it was no thicker than the rest of my clubs....which is odd....but there is definitely something going on with the feel of it. He recommended I just gripped it a little "stronger".....

 

[RGDave]

Thick grips slow release because they engage the forearm muscles more. If this results in slicing or pushing, you need to correct this through something in the swing, perhaps more hand action.

The standard 'release' drill is the short swing with a 7 iron which takes the club to parallel on the backswing (only a quarter swing back), at which point the club should be parallel to the target line too and the toe pointing up, and swing through to the mirror position on the through swing. At this point the club should likewise be parallel to the target line and the toe pointing up but the face pointing back. You will only hit the ball about 30 or 40 yards like this probably, but it should go straight and may even draw slightly. once you are comfortable, speed it up a bit and start to slowly lengthen the swing, making sure you go through those two positions.

I've been doing lots of this drill recently, it seems to help me loads. And some split-hands drill also. Sadly, as I didn't manage a slice with either my 5 wood or driver, I got to thinking there was something up with the grip....but clearly there wasn't, so that's that.

 

[sawtooth]

First of all you dont need to cut off any grips anymore. Using compressed air you can shoot down the end of the shaft and the grip comes of in 1 piece.

I have re-engineered my grip this past year so have researched the subject quite a bit. Grip size is very important if you "you tube" the subject "golf grip" you will find many valuable clips.

You can get a quick measure on the grip size by the golf glove size that you use. If thats small/medium then a standard grip with 1 layer of tape should be fine. Fingers of left hand when gripped on the club gently press into the palm. Fingers digging in too much or not touching at all indicates that you need a different size grip. That can be a standard size with extra layers of tape or a mid size grip with 1 layer.

I'm buying myself a vice so I can start fitting these things at home, it looks ridiculously easy and you can experiment till the cows come home.

 

[surefire]

In response to the above, yes you can use compressed air, but depending on how the grip has been fitted, it can just inflate and explode like a balloon, so be careful!

It is a pretty easy thing to do, but if you have never done it before, try it with an old grip and club if possible just to get used to it.

As for sizing, I wouldn't go with glove size. My hands are pretty skinny, but I have long fingers. I only wear a medium glove, but I currently have 3 wraps of tape under my grips, which is about perfect.
Trial and error is the best way to work it out, but to estimate, online there are many charts that use hand and finger length to get you started.

 

[Imurg]

My driver has a midsize grip and everything else is standard. I can feel a difference but the "test" of having the fingers just touching the palm works with both size grips. So there can't be much difference between the 2 can there? Would it make a difference?

 

[scottyfan]

Hi, I've had this problem. My hands are small and I wear a small glove. I'd been told many times that standard grips are correct for me. Frankly this was a load of rubbish!
worst of all a Ping fitter told me standard was right. Later using my hand measurement overall to fingers and using the Ping website web fit it says undersize!
Everyone's hands are different shapes with different length fingers and you wear the best fitting glove for you. However it is not a definitive on what size grip you need.
In my case I need undersize grips to enable the club to sit properly across the base of my fingers of the left hand and for me to wrap my fingers correctly and get the butt sitting sealed against my left palm and my thumb at the correct position ( no too flat on the shaft)to enable correct wrist hinge without over swing.
A tendency I noticed is that when the grip is too large in the downswing you want to tighten your grip as you don't feel you have the club nicely seated in your hand. Of course this extra tension inhibits your wrist movement and I definitely would not be trying to grip tighter as that's the last thing i want.

As said elsewhere there are very good videos on you tube and one on the golf channel. Plus even though I use undersize I still went through the same as above add one tape ok add two tapes too much!

scottyfan

 

[sawtooth]

I found this clip very useful, about half way through the chap talks about grip pressure.

I've stopped wearing holes in gloves now that my grip is pretty good. The club did use to move in my hand slightly at the top of my backswing - not anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFGrmHocmjM

 

[RGDave]

First of all you dont need to cut off any grips anymore. Using compressed air you can shoot down the end of the shaft and the grip comes of in 1 piece.

I've seen this in action....it's very impressive. I had my original Ping grip "saved" when I had my G5 cut down.

As for grip sizes, I have quite small hands and I showed the pro my iron grips and he thought they were probably a bit thick, but they are extended 1/2" so would that make them a bit thicker?
I've certainly never asked for tape. In an ideal world I'd happily use thin grips, they seem to work for me.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

For me I'm much happier cutting the old grip off and enjoying the feeling of a new grip on the club rather than trying to protect and take the old one off wit air

 

[RGDave]

For me I'm much happier cutting the old grip off and enjoying the feeling of a new grip on the club rather than trying to protect and take the old one off with air

Yes...well in the case of my 4 iron (old ebay buy) I asked them to bin the rubbish grip and fit a new new decade.

I wonder if I can get it before I play tomorrow....

I need it for one par 3 and 2 par 4s