Comments on: Golf Club Specs: Little Things that Count, Part One

By: Dennis

Dennis — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 22:54:03 +0000

I need to regrip my Nicklaus air bears with a Vapor Ultralight graphite .82 butt dia. Orginals are Golf Pride Tour Wrap. I would prefer to install a little softer grip w/ 1/16" oversize. What replacement grip(s) should I use. I have tried to figure it out and am more confused than ever.

By: Golf Club Specs: Little Things that Count, Part Two | The Sand Trap

Golf Club Specs: Little Things that Count, Part Two | The Sand Trap — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 13:00:07 +0000

[...] the absence of such juicy fodder, however, I'll continue where we left off last week with some of the things I've seen, heard, and read over many years playing the game. None of this [...]

By: Chuck Hancock

Chuck Hancock — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 23:46:59 +0000

ANYONE contemplating being custom fitted should read up about Tom Wishon Golf Technology. He's a highly respected component club maker (NOT clones or knockoffs). He was various fitters he works with throughout the country. You can be fitted without buying his clubs. BUT, you may want too.

By: tglover44

tglover44 — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 02:55:48 +0000

Jack,

Your articles are very informational. I am saving up to get custom fit for a whole new set this fall and I'm trying to get as much info about every...and I mean every little thing that goes into getting properly fit. I've had two bad experiences with custom fitting in the past, and thanks in part to articles like these it won't happen again.

By: Jack Waddell

Jack Waddell — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 00:28:38 +0000

Jay,

Ah, a man after my own heart who can feel the difference in grips. You are absolutely correct, a grip gauge (fairly cheap at GolfWorks or Golfsmith) is the way to go if you're uncertain about grip bore and butt diameter).

And you are spot on correct... stretching them does make them firmer.

Thanks for contributing!

By: Jay W

Jay W — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 22:33:18 +0000

Great point on the grip size. There is a Golfsmith article from last year that helped me get my grip sizes consistent, when I noticed that the different graphite shafts (Aldila NV, Grafalloy Blue) on my woods and hybrids and my steel iron shafts had different butt diameters. A grip gauge helps a lot, if you are doing yourself.

I have a small/medium hand and wish the grip makers would make a 1/64" undersize to fit 0.600" plus shafts. I don't like stretching grips because they get harder.

By: Jack Waddell

Jack Waddell — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 19:03:30 +0000

JP,

You make an excellent point on the Winn grips. Which brings to mind another grip trick. Rubber grips like Tour Velvets and Crosslines can be stretched down the shaft in installation, then taped off until they dry. It's an easy way to get a thinner grip. I believe Davis Love III, among others, does this with his putter grips. But it doesn't work so well with cord grips... or at all with Winn's as you pointed out.

Jack

By: JP Bouffard

JP Bouffard — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 18:45:11 +0000

Great article, Jack. You sure know equipment.

I had a set of 3 Cleveland 588 wedges once, and couldn't get over how well I hit them--more consistently than I'd ever hit wedges. I asked a Cleveland rep about it and he said that they used taper tip shafts in those wedges.

You also mentioned Winn grips. My impression--and I may be wrong--is that some of the Winn grips, being a multi-layer, engineered products as opposed to the simple rubber compound cylinder of "old fashioned" grips, don't really have the same capacity for stretching as the old grips did, and so you have to use a core size that matches the butt diameter. I know Winn's new line of grips are the single material, stretchable kind, but I don't know if they offer different core diameters. I guess if they didn't, you can build up the shaft with a layer of tape first, and check the final product with a grip guage...

Some of the new grips are great in terms of the feel of the materials, the "groove" patterns, etc., but I stay away from any grip where I can't "size" them by knowing the core diameter and creating the precise grip size I want in this manner. I stick mainly with the old standard Lamkin Crossline.