If you’re trying to improve your game it can be beneficial to take a look at your grips. Changing grips if you’re using the wrong ones can have a bigger impact than you would think. Let’s look into the possibilities.
Standard and midsize golf grips both come with inner diameters or 0.580″ or 0.600″ and the outer diameter varies depending on manufacturer. This is because there is usually around 4 grip tape layers in between the sizes – which corresponds to circa 0.024″.
Let’s get into some more details on how changing from a standard grip to a midsize grip can improve your game.
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Should I Use Standard or Midsize Golf Grips?
There are a few ways to determine whether you need to go up or down in grip size. One way to do it is simply by judging by feel.
If you feel like something is off in your swing mechanics, maybe an increased grip pressure or lack of distance, then you it may be playing the wrong size grip.
It is far from all golfers who have the same delicate feel for what is wrong or right, so let’s look into some other ways of finding the right size golf grip for you.
Determine grip size by looking at your golf glove size
A nice and simple way to find your grip size i by looking at the size of your golf glove. It can give the ballpark estimate on a grip size, but there will still be room for optimization.
Recommended grip size from glove size:
Men’s small / Women’s small to medium: Undersized grips
Men’s medium to Medium Large / Women’s Large: Standard grips
Men’s Large: Midsize grips
Men’s Xtra Large or 2XL: Midsize or Jumbo grips
The above are general guidelines but as stated above, it may require some trial and error to find the correct size.
Determine grip size by measuring your hand
If you want to set yourself up for a little more success it will be beneficial to know your exact hand size.
To do this you need a tape measure and with that you will measure a direct line from your wrist crease to the tip of your middle finger.
You will be able to translate your measurement to a corresponding grip size from the below golf grip size chart courtesy of Golf Pride.
Measurement – Grip size
<5″ – Junior grips
5″ – 6.5″ – Undersized grips
6.6″ – 7.5″ – Standard grips
7.6″ – 9″ – Midsize grips
9.1″ – 10″ – Jumbo size grips
Of course there are also room for adjustment with this method and to perfect the grip size a few extra wraps of grip tape can help you get the correct thickness.
One other thing to note is also that some manufacturer’s add extra thickness to the grip itself. As an example take the Golf Pride Plus 4 grips, where they have added what translates to four extra layers of grip tape in only the lower section of the grip.
Adding four layers of grip tape under any size golf grip will take it up one size. This means that an undersized grip with four layers of tape will then be a standard grip and so on.
Importance of Proper Grip Size
A proper golf grip size have several upsides. For one it will be more comfortable to play with, because you can apply the right grip pressure and don’t have to strain your muscles in the hand to grip harder.
Another upside is the performance that you get out of it. It may not be apparent when looking at your shot pattern from a day to day basis. But if you could compare before and after a grip change you would see a difference.
Most golfers just play golf and don’t mind tweaking those small things, but it can really make a huge difference in the end.
The Benefits of Midsize Golf Grips
If you are playing a standard grip, but your hand size allows you to switch to a midsize grip, the main benefits would be reduced grip pressure.
Your hands would simply have more circumference to grip on, allowing you to relax more while maintaining the same grasp on the club.
For the average golfer this means that you are able to swing the club more freely and engaging more of the muscles that power your distance, instead of using strength to hold on to the club.
Of course midsize golf grips will not have any benefits if you’re in fact a candidate for using a thicker grip.
How Much Bigger Are Midsize Golf Grips
There are two aspects to look into when answering this question. Inner diameter and outer dimensions of the midsize golf grip.
When looking at the outer diameter you can usually count on a midsize grip being around 1/16th” larger than a standard grip.
This of course varies and it is not a given that a Golf Pride will be the same as a Lamkin grip. Definitely not when looking at all the different models available.
In general both standard golf grips and midsize golf grips comes to match 0.580″ and 0.600″ shafts. The choice of this inner diameter will have an effect on the end result as putting a 0.580″ grip on a 0.600″ shaft will make for a slightly larger grip and vice versa.
So if you’re changing from standard golf grips to midsize golf grips you should pay attention to the grip core size and the shaft core size. Putting a 0.580″ midsize grip on a 0.600″ shaft will make the grip smaller and may not give you the desired result.
Does Grip Size Affect Ball Flight
In short – yes it does. And how is that you will probably ask?
Well if you’re playing a smaller grip than you should, you will have to apply more pressure to hold on to the club and you wrists are able to move more freely. This will result in decreased swing speed and a risk of hooking the ball due to a closed clubface.
On the other hand the grip could be too big and have the opposite effect. Less grip pressure and wrists that are too locked – results in a tendency to open the clubface and slice the ball.
Are My Golf Grips Too Big?
One way of checking if your golf clubs have too large grips is to use the method mentioned above and measure your hand or take a look at the golf glove comparison chart.
When you hit shots normally the focus is not on grip size and the small challenges that comes with a wrong size. You can look for indicators of a too big golf grip by doing these measurements as explained.
Are My Golf Grips Too Small?
The same goes for a situation where your golf grip is too small.
An obvious and easy way to see this is by checking the fingers on your hand closest to your body.
If the index and ring finger digs into your palm then your grip is too small.
Do Larger Golf Grips Make a Difference?
Everything should be done in moderation. Even changing to larger golf grips. Consider carefully whether it should be a midsize grip or jumbo grips will better fit you.
A midsize golf grip compared to a standard golf grip will help your fingers relax a bit more. For golfers in the higher handicap range it can have the added benefit of dampening the impact on mishits.
Most of us have tried a mishit that sends shock-waves of pain up through the shaft and into our hands. More rubber in the grip will help alleviate this.
If your hands are a size bigger than the median of golfers you should consider larger grips.
It really can improve your golf game to try out different grips and don’t be afraid to jump up to a slightly larger size if you feel like it.
Should I Use The Same Grip Size on All My Clubs?
The size of the grip matters as we have concluded in this post, so using the recommended grip size for each individual club is a very good idea.
This means that if you feel like using an oversize grip on the driver, but want a standard size grip on your irons you can totally go for it.
The single most important thing is to get the correct grip pressure and mobility in the wrists for the given club.
A lot of professional golfers will use midsize golf grips on their longer clubs and irons to help stabilize the wrist movement and improve on accuracy.
That’s why grip sizes on the shorter golf clubs will mostly be standard golf grips.
Paired with some strategically places grip tape the pros dial in their grip sizes to fit them perfectly.
FAQ
Which Grip Size Is Best For Golf?
The single best grip size for you is the one or more that fits your physique and preferences. That is why a little experimentation once in a while will pay itself back tenfold in terms of performance.
Figure out your golf grip size early and it will help you on your quest to lower your handicap.
Do Any PGA Tour Players Use Midsize Grips?
PGA Tour Pros use midsize grips to a large extent. To name a few; Tony Finau, Phil Mickelson, Paul Casey and the list goes on.
Midsize grips are widely used like it is in the amateur world alike. But the things that differs are the pro’s endless quest for perfection using grip tape to make a standard grip and oversized golf grip to fit their needs.
With the variation in thickness and the possibility to get corded grips and pure rubber grips the possibilities for customization are endless.
Which Size Putter Grip is Best?
You are also able to get oversized grips for a putter. Switching to a larger putter grip can have great benefits from standard size grips since it will do the same and lock your wrists and improve accuracy on your putting strokes. Some go for slightly larger grips on their putters while some even will fit a jumbo grip to fully take wrist action out of the equation.
With putters the grip size is more up to preference, so if a standard golf grip doesn’t feel good on the putter, go with an oversized grip to begin with.
Final Thoughts
Getting the right grip on all your clubs is important to your game. If your clubs came with standard sized grips it is not a given that they will fit your game and preferences.
Looking into oversized grips can help alleviate some of the flaws in your game and improving your striking of the golf ball by just a few percent will give you more than you realize in along the way.
The proper size grip can in many cases actually be one that is larger than a standard golf grip. Especially on the longer clubs where you want to lock your wrists a bit.
So going with thicker grips and mounting a midsize golf grip on your driver to begin with is definitely a recommendation from here.
