Are you able to find your way around all the different types of golf grips out there? It’s a jungle.
Read on, and we’ll educate you to make the clever choice to enhance your game.
Golf grips have evolved so much through the years. A LOT has happened since the first sheep farmers of Scotland gripped their homemade wooden sticks with leather wraps as grips.
R&D are on the top of every grip manufacturers agenda, and they heavily promote it.
Lamkin with their Genesis Material and Fingerprint Technology.
Winn with their Hybrid Grip and WinnLite Technologies.
Golf Pride with their ALIGN and Control Core Technologies.
Durability, performance and comfort are the main priorities and the manufacturers who nail this combo, wins the golfers hearts.
Even though the modern day golf grips are superior to the grips of the old days, it is still important to choose the right one for your game.
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The Importance of Choosing the Right Golf Grip
With the vast amount of different grips on the market it can be tough to choose.
We’re convinced at GolfersHacks that of these three main attributes, you can choose two.
So do you want durability and performance, then you will lack the comfort. If you want comfort and performance, you’ll lack durability. That’s why it is so important to choose the right grip for your game.
Let’s take a tour through the different types of grips available. Read on to learn more.
Rubber
Rubber golf grips isn’t just rubber these days. A lot of innovation goes into the modern grips we grasp many times each round.
Many manufacturers are experimenting with blends of different rubber and polymer compounds. This leads to even tackier grips than we’ve seen in the past.
The benefits of rubber grips are
- Great durability
- Responsive feel
- Tacky in dry weather
The downsides to rubber grips are their tack properties in wet weather. Most rubber grips become slippery when wet, so that’s something to take into consideration.
When exposed to the elements, some lesser quality rubber have a tendency to harden. But as written above, modern grips are enhanced in many ways. One thing they get more and more resistant to, is UV rays from the sun. UV rays can damage golf grips heavily and make them go hard.
Corded
Corded golf grips are the weapon of choice for many golfers. This because of their superior all weather control.
Cord is embedded in the surface of the grip, to enhance friction between the golfers hand or glove and the grip itself.
Given the natural friction of the cord, this friction persists, even through wet weather.
All manufacturers have corded grip versions and many are variations of their most popular rubber grips.
The benefits of corded grips are
- Great durability
- All weather control
There are usually no tack in corded grips, because of the rough surface. Because of this, they can be hard on your hands, despite all the benefits. That’s why a lot of golfers prefer hybrid grips. See next section.
Hybrid
Most golfers recognize the Golf Pride Multicompound grips. When they came out they revolutionized the industry, since they offered the best of both worlds.
Since then, many different types of hybrid grips have emerged. Every one of the big manufacturers have a hybrid grip with strategically placed rubber and cord areas.
Essentially a hybrid grip is formed by different zones of rubber and cord. These zones are different from brand to brand and each one preaches their own solution.
Essentially the cord section is there to offer all weather performance, while the rubber section will add comfort and the possibility of lowered grip pressure in the short game.
Wrap Style
Moving over to the more old school solutions, the wrap style golf grip is a throwback to the old days when leather strip were spun around the shaft to form the grip.
Nowadays wrap style grips come in many variations and most manufacturers make them to get a hold of that segment of golfers who prefer nostalgia.
While these types of grips are pretty simple they usually offer great value. Price per grip tend to be in the low/middle range.
With the advancement in material types, the increased tack of rubber and polymer blends can make wrapped grips an interesting choice.
Leather
Another historic variant of golf grips. Made from animal hides. Leather grips have quite a distinctive feel.
Not a lot of well known brands make leather grips anymore, as they are really of thing of the past.
They simply don’t match the performance of modern day grips.
Leather golf grips are reserved to the small amount of really nostalgic and old school players who prefer the feel and look of leather.
After all, real leather is a mark of quality, so it can’t be all bad.
At GolfersHacks we have only tried leather putter grips, but that is a different conversation. The same performance level as ordinary grips are not needed with the putter. Feel is of more importance here.
Lightweight
As golf equipment evolves, club heads on woods tend to get lighter and lighter in order to maximize swing speeds.
With normal or even oversized golf grips, the swing weight will go towards the butt end of the shaft.
This is not ideal, and will result in decreased swing weight and thus decreased distance.
Mounting a lighter grip on your lightweight wood will still keep the mass of the club towards the club head, improving distance further.
Light weight golf grips are not that common, so finding the one that will match your club might be a little work.
But it is well worth the effort if it’s able to aid you on your long shots.
Light grips are usually only put on the woods or maybe the longest irons, since it is only on long shots that swing weight really comes into play.
Ribbed
Have you struggled with consistently placing your hands? Ever heard of ribbed golf grips, or reminder golf grips?
These types of grips are cleverly manufactured, with a rib running all along the grip lengthwise. The rib is there for muscle memory and easy remembering how you place your hands.
If you place your hands on the same object that is all round, you will have no reference point. With this added “spine” along the grip, you’ll have a reference point.
This make you more likely to place the hands the same way every time you grab your clubs.
Even though ribbed grips are not spoken of so much, a lot of tour players use them. As Michael Breed says in below video, a good percentage of tour players use ribbed golf grips!
Oversize Golf Grips
Oversize golf grips pros and cons are something that is massively debated in the golf community.
Most golfers have been taught about the importance of the right grip size, from their club pro.
This still has tremendous value.
Oversize golf grips has its distinct benefits though. But it all depends on what you struggle with in your game.
Maybe you’re seeing inconsistent accuracy, or you’re struggling with sore wrists from playing a full round.
In these cases, you should have a better look at oversize golf grips.
The way bigger grips will help is by minimizing unwanted wrist movement.
This makes for a more consistent impact angle, and promotes less flicking of the wrists.
In turn this puts less stress on your wrists and can eliminate some pain if you have trouble with that.
Oversize golf grips comes in many variations, and bigger sizes can also be achieved with more layers of grip tape under standard size grips.
There are countless solutions, so it’s all about starting to experiment, to find what’s best for you.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
What Size Golf Grips Should I Use?
A lot of factors should impact your choice. What’s your hand size, do you struggle with inconsistent wrist action, and what are your preferences?
Those are just a few questions that come to mind. If you’re ready to learn more, take a look at our guide on the subject.
What Are The Best Golf Club Grips?
In the world of golf grips there are endless to choose from. Be sure to read this exact post from the beginning for some great insights in the different grip types.
You can also check out our ultimate guide to the best golf grips.
We review the best overall, best quality and best budget grips.
How Often Should You Replace Golf Grips?
Depends a lot on how much you play. A good rule of thumb is every 40 rounds or 12 months.
Most manufacturers recommend this maintenance range.
Depending on your grip type, a little wipe down with a damp cloth after every round will prolong the life of the grip.
If you play 100 rounds a year in full sunlight and dry conditions, you might look at up to 3 grip changes per year.
Photo by Court Cook on Unsplash
