Best Golf Grip: Buyer’s Guide

Choosing the appropriate golf grip is one of the most crucial components of your game and one that you can control. The significance of this decision cannot be overstated!

Today’s grips can be made from an almost infinite number of different shapes, sizes, materials, and technologies. It’s easy to add 4-5 strokes to your rounds by using grips that aren’t a good fit for your hands and preferences.

While a good grip can reduce the number of strokes taken, it can also make the instrument more comfortable to play and more enjoyable overall. The good news is that you’ve come upon our comprehensive golf grip buyer’s guide to assist you to select the best golf grips for your game.

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.

Golf Grip Size

Today’s market offers a wide range of sizes. The following are ordered from smallest to largest, starting with the smallest:

Sizes range from: 

• Junior
• Undersize
• Standard
• Midsize
• Oversize

Your next grip size is not a certain conclusion. You may want to use the usual grip if you’re a junior with huge hands, and so on.

Take a look at our comprehensive guide to help you select the right size.

Note that not all grips are available in all of the aforementioned dimensions. Even though most major brands offer a wide range of choices, this isn’t always the case.

Finding the Right Size

There are a variety of methods for determining a person’s grip size. It’s likely that each fitter has a different perspective on the process.

In this article, we’ll go through two approaches: one that’s straightforward and the other that’s more involved.

But don’t forget to ask your local PGA Professional for guidance on the matter, as well.

Simple Method

Finding an approximation of your grip size can be done in a very straightforward manner. It’s probably not the ideal size for you, but it’s near enough.

Gripping your club and keeping an eye on your forearm is all it takes (i.e. the one closest to your body).

Keeping an eye on your middle and ring fingers when grasping the club is essential. Is the palm of your hand in contact with those two fingers?

• If the fingers touch the palm excessively, The grip is too small.

• The grip is too big if the fingers are far away from the palm.

• Two fingers lightly touching the palm is an indication that it is an excellent fit.

You’re looking at a good grip fit if they don’t go all the way up to your palms. Having a gap between the fingers and palm suggests a grasp that is too large and the other way around.

Extensive Method

The procedure outlined above is straightforward, but like with any other subject, you can delve deeper into the specifics. To determine the correct grip size, several manufacturer grip sizing tools need you to measure various things.

PING provides an excellent method.

Color-coded grips make it easy to distinguish between different sizes. Things will be compared to you:

A: the length of your hands 

B: total length of  your longest finger

From the dominant crease on your wrist to the tip of your middle finger, you’ll measure your hand length. Get the total length of your longest finger, and you’ll know how far it extends. The junction of these two measures on the PING chart is what determines the size of your grip.

Compared to the simple way, this method may give you a somewhat more precise grip size. As a matter of fact, it’s not that long.

vel of Comfortability

When you swing a club, you exert a great deal of force because of your grip pressure, which can be reduced by using a larger grip.

This is logical, and you may experience the advantages of bigger golf grips right away!! Try to choose a one-inch-diameter stick that isn’t too thick. Alternatively, you may grasp one of your clubs by the shaft and swing it around.

You’ll need a lot of force to keep it in place, especially if you’re swinging it around. Now, look for something with a bit more heft to it, like something two inches thick. You might have a baseball bat or any other yard item lying around.

Your grip pressure will be greatly reduced, and you’ll feel more in control than with the one-inch version. There is, of course, a limit to how thick you can go with the grip.

Improved Accuracy 

In terms of accuracy, thicker golf grips can have a big impact. The involuntary wrist movement reduces as the grip diameter increases. The experiment described in the previous section would also show this. Extra wrist movement is sometimes cited as a cause of excessive ball-pulling or an overall decrease in distance.

Types Of Golf Grips 

Many various types of golf grips are available nowadays, and each person has their own opinion about which one is the finest. All current grips have a fair amount of technology incorporated into them.

Companies like Winn, for example, devote considerable resources to developing new materials for their grips. Others choose to focus on improving the non-slip properties of surfaces by altering the surface pattern. In this post, you will see it in the individual review sections.

Rubber Golf Grip

Rubber is the most used material for golf grips. Because of its suppleness and stickiness, rubber is a popular choice among consumers. Rubber grips have several advantages, but they also have some drawbacks. They can get slick in damp weather or with moist hands.

Rubber grips, on the other hand, tend to harden as they age. This happens sooner rather than later if the grips are of poor quality. Rubber golf grips also need to be cleaned and sanitized on a regular basis with a wet cloth.

Pros: comfortable and soft, tacky in dry weather

Cons: prone to slipping in damp conditions; quality affects how hard it becomes.

Corded Golf Grips

Rubber grips with a corded weave incorporated in them are what corded golf grips are all about in a nutshell. As a result, they’re a popular choice for golfers looking for extra grip, whether it’s a personal preference or because they’re dealing with humid weather.

Corded grips are available from all grip manufacturers, so you should be able to locate one that meets your demands. Those who find corded grips too difficult on their hands can use hybrid grips, which combine the best of both worlds.

Hybrid Golf Grips

What do you do if you prefer the corded grips’ firmness and tackiness over rubber grips’ suppleness and tactility? You put them all together in one hand!

Corded sections are frequently found on the upper half. Give your left-hand tremendous traction (for right-handed players). To increase grip on long shots, especially in wet conditions, this method is used.

Using a softer pure rubber substance, the lower portion provides a more comfortable grip for your right hand. This helps you improve your short game and shot accuracy. This grip is a good compromise between rubber and cable if you aren’t sure which direction to go.

Wrap Style Golf Grips

To be honest, wrap-style golf grips aren’t all that different from standard rubber grips in terms of design. They are a reminder of a time when golf was less technologically advanced than it is today.

The grip of the club was traditionally made of leather strips that were wrapped around the shaft of the club.

Wrap-style grips remain popular among some golfers, but new rubber blends provide a more technologically advanced alternative. Wrap-style golf grips are no better or worse than rubber grips in terms of performance.

Leather Golf Grips

This is the tried-and-true option. There is a soft leather version available for golfers looking for a throwback to their youth. Leather golf grips offer some fantastic attributes, but they aren’t something that every golfer uses on their clubs.

The natural feel of the grip can’t be reproduced, no matter how much technology is put into it. Even in damp weather, they might be tacky. To say that they’re “all-weather” could be a bit of an exaggeration.

Leather grips tend to be more expensive, and if performance is taken into consideration, they will lose out to modern grips.

Lightweight Golf Grip 

Lighter golf clubs, particularly woods, have been developed over time. This necessitates thinner grips in order to maintain a proper swing weight distribution toward the clubhead.

After that, we’ll go into further detail. Irons are usually not used with lightweight golf grips. However, it is up to the individual to utilize them on putters. It’s purely a matter of personal preference, and it will only help your putting if it matches your game.

Firm Vs. Soft Golf Grips

Soft golf grips have an allure all their own. They’re soft and supple, and they’re a pleasure to hold. However, there are drawbacks and other factors to take into account in order to improve performance.

For golfers with powerful swings and fast swing speeds, stronger grips are recommended. Torsion control is great when ripping through the swing with these gloves on. As you’re more closely connected to the club with a firmer grip, you get better feedback from the club itself.

Slower swing speeds necessitate softer grips. Comfort is more important than torsion when swinging. Many novices, seniors, and golfers with arthritis choose softer grips because they are more comfortable.

Soft grips should be used with extreme caution due to the potential for increased grip pressure due to the material’s suppleness. Because you’re so tense, you’ll feel discomfort and lose precision if you put too much pressure on your grip.

Ribbed Vs. Round Golf Grips

Round and tapered grips are the most common. Then there are all of the other possibilities that we’ll go over in this post as well. The ribbed grip is a version of a golf grip that we haven’t yet discussed. A particular feature makes it easier to place your hands when addressing a club.

The underside of the grip has a rib, earning it the nickname “reminder grip.” This rib encourages consistent hand placement, which improves muscle memory.

When you’re just starting out, ribbed golf grips can be useful. However, as a golfer’s handicap decreases, they tend to use more traditional round grips. There are more options to choose from now.

The Grip’s Weight

Most golf “nerds” don’t pay attention to swing weight. It has to do with the disparity in weight between the club’s head and grip end.

To put it another way, a club’s swing weight can be evenly distributed between the clubhead and the grip. To put it another way, this has nothing to do with the actual weight of the club.

“What swing weight do I need?” you might ask yourself. This might not be easy to answer because your swing’s tempo and force will have to come into play. It is important to consider both your general physical and mental capabilities, as well as your specific preferences.

In other words, a club fitter will try to get you to swing as heavy as possible while yet making you comfortable.

The fitter will apply lead tape to the clubhead and have you hit a few balls on the range to see whether you are ready for this. As long as you don’t complain about the clubhead getting too heavy, he’ll keep adding tape in modest amounts.

When you’re ready, he’ll take off a few strips of tape, have you hit a few more balls, and then mark that as your ideal swing weight.

While keeping a healthy weight, provides maximum distance while allowing you to manage the club.

Golf Grips for All Weather

If you live in a wet climate, you’ll need to be extra careful when shopping for new grips.

Cord grips used to be the standard choice for musicians playing in wet situations. However, manufacturers are now claiming that their non-cord grips are “tacky while wet.” Check out our top picks farther down if you’re interested in any of these.

Keeping your grip and glove as dry as possible is the most important consideration when playing golf in the rain. A good grip and a few dry towels are all you need for a successful round in the rain.

Regrip Golf Club Shafts

Regripping your own golf clubs may be a fantastic choice for budget-conscious golfers (we all know that our sport is pricey).

Learning how to make your own grips isn’t as difficult as it might appear at first, and it will allow you to experiment with new grips more easily than traveling to a local shop for new ones.

Instead of paying full price plus a regripping fee at the store, you can get a better deal by shopping around on the internet.

How Do You Know When To Regrip?

On the golf course, the weather has an impact on both you and your equipment. Wear and tear is inevitable when it comes to your grips, whether it is from the heat, the sand trap, or your own perspiration. You may ask if it’s time to re-grip after all these consequences.

Regripping your entire set every year or every 40 rounds is recommended by most manufacturers.

Everything hinges on a handful of variables. How often do you play? How much time do you devote to training?

This is something to keep in mind, and when you’re practicing, make sure to use all of your clubs. This is to keep the other grips fresh while preventing the wear and tear of the same one. 

Advice from GolfingGPS: Don’t change your grips all at once; instead, make gradual adjustments to your grip. If you’re happy with the grip on your putter, you don’t need to update it every year. If you spend a lot of time honing your short game, you may find that your wedges require regular grip changes.

Cost To Regrip

Some places charge much more if you go to a professional. The regripping fee is included in this cost. In addition, there is the price of the grip itself.

From $5 to $15, grips are available. The expense of re-gripping every club in your bag might run into hundreds of dollars, depending on the type of grips you use.

With these figures in mind, it’s easy to see why learning this skill on your own might be beneficial.

Removing Golf Grips

To begin, learn how to remove the old golf grips from the shaft. In order to remove the golf grip, the simplest method is to use a golf grip removal tool.

An ordinary blade knife can be used, but it’s also feasible to buy a hook-bladed knife specifically designed for the task. 

Once you’ve finished that, the real challenge begins. Getting rid of the old tapes. Although a blade knife can be used, there are also specialized instruments for removing golf grip tape on the market. 

How To Regrip

Once the old grips and tape have been removed, you’ll need additional equipment and materials. In our post on regripping, we go through everything in great detail.

If you want to regrip your golf clubs quickly and easily, you can get a golf club regripping kit.

Except for the grips, they have everything you’ll need to get the job done. However, some grip sets include solvent and grip tape, as well as a vice clamp, as well.

All in all, the process of regripping can be completed in seven simple steps:

1. Discard the previous golf grip.
2. Get rid of the old grip tape.
3. Measure and apply the fresh and new tape.
4. Add solvent.
5. Put the new grip on.
6. Make sure the new grip is properly aligned.
7. Repeat for the rest of the clubs.

How to Maintain Tacky Golf Grips

Tackiness can be restored using the manner outlined above. To keep the grip in tip-top shape, this procedure must be repeated on a regular basis. It is possible to experiment with different approaches if you feel that tactility would be preferable.

A few passes with extra-fine sandpaper smoothed off the grip’s rough edges. Old oils and other impurities will be removed from your hands as a result of using this technique.  If you don’t see results after a few attempts, don’t be afraid to discard the grips.

Manufacturers of Golf Grip Handles

Three of the best golf grip manufacturers will not be able to be evaded. They’ve been in the business for a long time and have a lot of experience to back it up. Golf grip research and development is approached differently by each of these companies.

Golf Pride

According to the company’s origins, Thomas L. Fawick, a golf fanatic, started Golf Pride in 1949. Inventions made by Fawick, an engineering genius, have had a significant impact on the mechanical sector.

He had the brilliant idea to replace the leather grips on golf clubs with rubber ones. His plans got underway as soon as he joined forces with a group of rubber experts.

With their well-engineered grips, Golf Pride grips now account for almost 80% of all golf clubs used on the professional circuit.

Golf Pride Selector

Golf Pride provides a grip selector on their website to make it easy for you to select the proper grip. There are two ways to get started in the choosing process, which is nice. A glove sizing tool and a hand measurement tool are both available. The final choice is the most exacting.

Choosing your first option prompts a question about the conditions under which you’d like to play. The third thing to consider is whether you perspire through your fingers. The choice of soft vs hard in the fourth option is entirely up to you.

Finally, what kind of surface design appeals to you the most? Afterward, you’re given a choice, and it’s reasonable to say that you have a lot of control. This makes it more probable that you’ll reach the sweet spot with your grip choice.

Lamkin

Illinois-based company Lamkin Golf Grips was founded in 1925. Elver B. Lamkin, the company’s creator, was a pioneer in the field of golf grips in the United States. This was the beginning of a successful family business that he started making leather golf grips in the garage of his house.

He has been CEO since 2001; Robert J. Lamkin is the third generation to hold the position. On the company’s YouTube channel, he frequently appears in interviews with golf stars like Justin Rose.

It’s clear that Lamkin has strong convictions and has done a lot of charitable work as well. You may learn more about the company’s healthy ideals on their website.

Lamkin Grip Selector 

To begin, you need to determine the grip’s dimensions. Your hand can be measured in a variety of ways, and if you have an idea, you can enter that information into the form.

Step 2 involves determining the types of weather you wish to target. Plain and straightforward, there are three ways to go. 3rd step is surface texture. Again, there isn’t a lot of fluff and only three options to choose from.

It’s now time for step 4 and the stiffness or softness of the grip material. Again, it’s a simple checkbox exercise with three options. 

Winn

A lot of information is available about Winn’s past. Dr. Ben Huang, the company’s creator, was an aerospace engineer who helped build the Saturn V Rocket that flew Neil Armstrong and his crew to the moon in 1969.

Doctor Huang begins work on the design of tennis balls in 1973. Tennis strings and grips follow, and in 1996, golf grips are introduced as a further evolution. Throughout the years, Winn has put a lot of effort into researching new materials. Opening in 2001, Winn’s third factory features cutting-edge production equipment and R&D facilities.

Winn has a strong interest in the current affairs of the world. A customized stars and stripes putter grip was produced with donations to the families of those who lost their lives on September 11th.

Winn also created a special camouflage grip in honor of the courageous American soldiers, which he donated to the Troops First Foundation. At the end of the day, it’s an exciting firm that does a lot to help the golf community as well as many other important causes.

Others

The market is flooded with a slew of other producers who either copy the work of others or create new products of their own. At GolfingGPS, we suggest sticking with some of the most well-known names in the industry.

Until recently, there was just one type of putter grip that dominated them all. The Pingman Putter Grip is a simple one.

Tiger Woods has used this grip exclusively since the 1997 Masters when he played with a different one for the first time. Feeling nostalgic or just want to feel some Tiger-putting-magic? Then this grip might be right up your alley.

Final Thoughts

It is our goal in this post to help you select the best grips for your needs. When in doubt, choose two options that appeal to you the most and then flip a coin to see which one you attempt first. You can always try out a different coin toss once your original one has worn out. If you don’t try new things, you will never know what grip suits you best.

Enjoy your day, and good luck with your grip purchases!

Frequently Asked Questions

Which grip is best for the woods?

You’ll want something to keep your hands steady for the woods, especially the driver. Some players use a slightly larger grip or apply an additional layer of tape. There is a fine line between too much and too little wrist-locking. The Golf Pride New Decade MultiCompound Plus4 grip takes this into account.

As you may have seen, the grip’s lower portion appears to be thicker than the rest. It encourages a more relaxed grip, which reduces hand stress and boosts power. If you prefer to pull the ball, you’ll be less inclined to do so if the wrist action is matched. Golfers Hacks likes these grips for their drivers and woods, but we prefer regular tapered grips for the rest of our clubs.

Which grip is best for the putter?

This is a VERY individualized issue, to say the least. In comparison to the whole golf swing, the putting stroke is less of a technical and standardized stroke 

You can experiment with the putter to discover what works best for you. Both shortening your shaft to 30 inches and using a really thick grip, or going long-shafted with a massively heavy putter head, are excellent options for improving your game.