Grips: Get Your Hands on These

EQUIPMENT
Grips
Get Your Hands on These
By SCOTT KRAMER
A person has to be resourceful in a tough economy. And when it comes to golf, you can get the feel of a new set of clubs without laying out hundreds of dollars for the actual clubs. How? By re-gripping them instead. Because you’ll get better traction holding and swinging your clubs, you won’t have to squeeze them as hard. And that absence of hand tension helps you take a more fluid swing and hit more consistent shots. And, of course, it’ll cost you a fraction of the price of new clubs.
So how do you go about buying new grips? Pick up a few different models in a golf store. Hold them with your normal grip pressure and wear a glove if you typically do when you play. Pay attention to the grip size, as it can directly affect your ball flight. If it’s undersized (allows your hands to overlap too much while holding it), you might wind up using too much of your hands in the swing, resulting in pulled shots. If it’s too large of a grip for your hands, it winds up limiting your wrist turn during the swing and will cause your shots to go short and perhaps to the right. A mis-sized grip can also create hand tension throughout the round. Ultimately, you’re trying to find a grip that you can hold comfortably without squeezing.
You have a great selection this year, too. Lamkin is really high on its new 3GEN synthetic rubber that’s gracing two of its new models. Both grips – N-DUR and Performance Plus – are a striking bright white in color, but don’t get them confused with other new white grips on the market. With Lamkin’s, you just wipe them down with a wet cloth, and when they dry, they’re as tacky as they were the day you bought them.
If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, then you’ll love the new models from PURE Grips. They don’t stick to your club with chemical solvents or adhesives, but rather through simple air pressure. Just attach PURE’s special plastic receptacle to an air compressor, slip in the grip, then slide it onto the club as you press the trigger. It takes seconds and the grip is guaranteed not to slip – and not to get slick for a year.
These types of innovations are all around grips in 2010. Here’s a sampling of what’s new:
Six To Try
Lamkin’s N-DUR for woods and irons feature new 3GEN, a soft and tacky synthetic rubber. It absorbs impact vibration to soften shots, and is durable, fade-resistant and low in torque. Wipe dry and tackiness reactivates. ($8.99)
Tiger Shark’s latest SuperStroke oversized putter grip, the Fatso Lite, measures 1.67 inches in diameter and weighs just 85 grams. It is non-taper, has a multi-material construction and a new slip-on design. Best of all, it takes wrist action out of your putts. ($24.99)
PURE Grip’s all-weather, synthetic rubber Pure Wrap installs quickly with just air pressure – no solvents or tapes. And it won’t slip. Its tackiness feels great, while the perforated wrap offers medium firmness and moderate shock absorption. ($5.50)
Winn’s WinnLiteFirm dons a proprietary, durable and comfortable V17-PolyCord material. It’s significantly lightweight – tipping scales at half of a typical rubber grip – to help golfers increase clubhead speed and distance. ($8.49)
Softspikes expands from its popular cleats this year with Black Widow Signature grips. This 46-gram model has a firm dual-compound composition for enhanced feel, while an anti-slip backside surface helps create more hand contact. ($9.39)
Golf Pride’s Tour Wrap 2G is a 20-year-old classic, one-piece, simulated wrap grip. This year, its synthetic rubber has been slightly altered to bring out its tackiness and softness. It combines the look and feel of luxury leather with the durability and performance of high-tack rubber. ($3.50)