Every club has three major parts: the head, the shaft and the grip. The only one of those which is directly connected to the golfer is the grip. So, needless to say, the kind of grip a player chooses can have a tremendous impact over the feel and comfort of every shot played. This doesn’t even factor in that certain design characteristics of grips can drastically alter the way the club plays in different conditions, as well as the way the club is built.
At True Spec, grip selection is an important factor in custom fitting a set of clubs. Most players believe that personal preference is the major determinant when selecting the correct grip. While preference is very important, True Spec will help a player select the correct grip to help maximize not only feel, but performance, too.
Consider Your Hands
Selecting a golf grip starts with your hands. Beginning with size, a custom fitting for golf grips assesses whether an undersize, midsize, or oversize grip is best for your clubs. Grips should be proportionate to hand size to accommodate for hand movement in your swing. If a grip is too small, for instance, the hand is more prone to over rotate through impact, resulting in shots which stray from the target. Similarly, if a grip is too large, the club will become more difficult to handle, once again changing a player’s hand movement pattern through impact, also resulting in stray shots. Further customizations to grip sizing can be altered with grip tape to fine tune the fit. A properly sized grip will allow for just the right control on the club, allowing for more consistency and accuracy.
Another important factor to consider is moisture. Whether sweating under the pressure of the game or wet from climate conditions where you’re playing, moisture can be difficult to control, but the right grip can help. A very hot, humid, potentially rainy environment may dictate using material designed to mitigate the grip slipping in the player’s hands during a swing. The grip’s texture, a combination of material and surface design, can alter clubs for a more secure hold on the club, keeping the club in control throughout the swing.
Choose Your Materials
Grip texture is not only for correcting your handle on the club in wet weather. The tack and traction of the golf grip are also important factors determined by texture. Golf grips are generally made of rubber, silicon, elastomer, and plastic, and sometimes leather. This selection, apart from leather, is always changing as new industry technologies reshape and innovate the materials used to build better golf grips. Rubber, silicone, and elastomer all offer a natural tacky texture. The tack of the grip affects how it feels in your hand and how comfortably you’re able to hold the club. The choice of grip material also affects the weight of the club, which alters the club’s balance point and allows for a better perception of where the club is during the swing by the player..
Materials also determine how the grip can be shaped. Rubber, the most commonly used material for golf grips, is malleable, durable, and easily customized. Grips can be shaped to better fit the contour of your hand and surface design can alter grip texture for improved traction.
The result is better comfort and a more tactile hold for better control in practice and play.
Although sometimes overlooked, a well-fit golf grip when selecting custom clubs greatly impacts the way you play. Custom fit clubs perform their best when properly fit from head to shaft to grip, supporting your best game on the course.
