Grip Size is Often Overlooked

At the opposite end from the club head is the grip. It is no less important in achieving consistent swing results than the proper lie angle and shaft length. A grip that is too large for your hands can cause a sluggish or unresponsive turnover, meaning that you will tend to slice even if most aspects of your swing are correct. A grip that is too small for your hands can cause a hyper-responsive turnover, resulting in inconsistent shots - some will go right, some will go left, and some will go straight. As you will see in the video below, a professional fitting is best, but you can check the grips on your own clubs to see if they fit your hands appropriately.

The Basics of Fit

Take up your club and set up as you do at address. Try to get the grip pressure to match what you actually apply when hitting a shot. Then remove your right hand (for right-handed golfers). Continuing to hold the club in your left hand, turn the hand over and take a look at your fingers.

If there more than one-eighth of an inch of space between your middle two fingers and your hand, the grip is probably too big for you. If your fingers are mashed into the flesh of your palm, the grip is likely too small.

At the same time, if you are an experienced golfer, you should take into account “feel” and your actual results. You can deviate from the guidelines above if you find that having a smaller or larger grip feels better and gives you better results.

Age of the Grips

Another point made in the video at left is that grips that are too old can get hard, crumbly, or sticky. The general guideline is that grips should last two years, but usually not more than three.

Types of Grips

Generally speaking, there are two types of modern grips - corded and rubber. A third type, rarely used by modern professionals, is leather or calfskin. These are expensive, but give a soft, pliable feel. Corded grips are harder, and rubber grips are softer. Corded grips give more feeling of security in the hands, but are harder on the hands because of the cord.