Do grips really affect play?

[Gioguy21]

i fear this thread may no longer be about grips... i'm sorry, what kind of irons did you say they were? and also, why not dynamic golds? if they're good enough for tiger then they ought to be good enough for the rest of us. and they are the third the cost of project x

were you referring to me?...I have 1997 Ping ISI-K White dot with Cushin JZ Stiff shafts 3-SW (don't use all of them, only 4-PW)

[Pinseeker81]

Man, I know exactly what you're going through, and it pretty much sucks! I'm in the exact same situation, and it seems like there's a much smaller selection of midsize grips than standard grips. After calling 2 different Nevada Bob's and a Edwin Watts, none of them have much of a selection besides the Crosslines or the Tour Velvets. I don't know about you, but I'd really hate to have them order something for me, and then I don't like them.

I'm thinking about getting one Crossline midsize, one Oversize, and one Winn DCi polymer/cord combo and just going to the range. I'm going to have to do it soon, cause now that I know they're too small it's messing with my head when I hit balls.

Yeah, that's me. Candid pic my sister shot at the airshow last year. I've had those glasses for 3 years or so now. Never leave home without them on my head. Even at night, lol.

[ControlJunkie]

I'm thinking about getting one Crossline midsize, one Oversize, and one Winn DCi polymer/cord combo and just going to the range. I'm going to have to do it soon, cause now that I know they're too small it's messing with my head when I hit balls.

I've almost talked myself into the midsize Golf Pride New Decade for my irons and maybe the GP DD2's for my driver. I've read quite a few people saying that the New Decades are awesome. I still keep leaning towards the Lamkin Crossline or the Crossline tour though. As far as the Winns go, they feel incredible, but I have quite a few friends that had them and said they were great, but they wore out very quickly compared to the Golf Prides.

I think what you said is a good idea (to get a couple different ones put on, and then go to the range with them and see how they feel. And that's hilarious about the sunglasses, I'm the exact same way with mine. I feel pretty much naked without them and my watch. lol

[Pinseeker81]

Well after a good hour of playing around with grips at the store, I've absolutely convinced myself that I need +1/8. Of which, they had about 3 choices. Winn XI7 at $7.99 a pop, Winn PCI(I think it was) poly/cord combo at $8.99 a pop, or Lamkin Crosslines at under $4 each.

I couldn't bring myself to spend $100 on just the grips alone, and I couldn't get over how ugly the Crosslines were, so I got nothing. Well, that's not true. I got a Clickgear 2.0, but that hardly solves the grip problem.

Those crosslines look like one of those optical illusions you're supposed to stare at to see spots in places there aren't any.

[ControlJunkie]

I got a few clubs done today. Unfortunately, that's about the only positive thing that happened. I went to Edwin Watts, as I had them order a Slingshot HL 3 Hybrid for me about 3-4 weeks ago, and they called and said it was ready to pick up. For some reason, they didnt have the headcover with it. I wasnt really happy about that.

Anyway, I ended up having them put the Golf Pride DD2 on my SuMo 5000, a Golf Pride Tour Velvet on my 56° Vokey, and a Winn PCi Hybrid Cord (6PCHY-BBL) on my 5 iron. I really wanted to try the GP New Decade Multi-Compound, but they didnt have any in midsize. It sucks because that was the one I wanted to try the most.

I left the store, completely pumped up to go to the range and feel the difference between them. By the time I got there, the range had closed! So now, I'm weighing the pro's and cons of getting up extra early in the morning to go to the range to try them out before I go to the Zurich Classic (free tix and VIP passes baby!!!).

I'll say this - I've hit a few wiffle balls and foam balls with each, and I love the feel of the Winn, but I know they wear out a good bit quicker than the rest do. That's really making the decision tough. They're slightly softer than the other two and have a good bit more tack to them. I could almost see me swinging these things with no glove and being comfortable.

The GP DD2 is probably is going to stay on my driver, I like the way it feels as well. I'll probably have another one put on my 3W. It's just not quite as soft as the Winn was. As an added bonus, the black/yellow look cool with my Sumo 5000.

There was nothing really wrong with the GP Tour Velvet, but I expected a little more tack to it. They didnt have the cord version in, and that was one I was wanting to try as well.

I definitely agree with your comment about the crosslines, that's one reason I didnt even try those. To me, they just didnt feel as good as the 3 I tried. From pictures on their website, the crossline tours, and the crossline tour stingfree looks slightly better.

As for what you were saying about needing the jumbo sized grips, after getting these midsizes, I could see myself getting 3-4 wraps of tape under them and they would feel just about perfect. Maybe look into that. The guy at Edwin Watts told me that going about 4-5 wraps of tape will cause anything to wear a good bit faster. Also, do you use a glove? If so, did you consider that the midsize wont feel quite as small with the glove on?

Still a very tough call, even after having these 3. I may continue to wait until they get some of the midsize GP New Decades in before I make a final decision.

[Grndslmhttr3]

My grips are still pretty damn tacky after being heavily used coming into my second year of using them.

[Pinseeker81]

As for what you were saying about needing the jumbo sized grips, after getting these midsizes, I could see myself getting 3-4 wraps of tape under them and they would feel just about perfect. Maybe look into that. The guy at Edwin Watts told me that going about 4-5 wraps of tape will cause anything to wear a good bit faster. Also, do you use a glove? If so, did you consider that the midsize wont feel quite as small with the glove on?

Yes I do, and no I didn't. I probably should have taken my glove with me, lol.

Still a very tough call, even after having these 3. I may continue to wait until they get some of the midsize GP New Decades in before I make a final decision.

Those felt pretty good. I like the feel of the ones with the cord exposed. One of the Winn cord hybrids had no visible cord and just looked and felt like a polymer.

[dmband8985]

Yes I do, and no I didn't. I probably should have taken my glove with me, lol.

Also, what is your shaft diameter? if its a .600 then gripping them with .580 grips will increase your grip size by about 1/64th if you are between grip sizes. if you're a .580 shaft than you'd have to go with extra tape underneath. are you regripping yourself? you could save some money that way assuming you already have a few basic tools and materials...a hooked blade, double sided tape, and some sort of solvent

[Pinseeker81]

Also, what is your shaft diameter? if its a .600 then gripping them with .580 grips will increase your grip size by about 1/64th if you are between grip sizes. if you're a .580 shaft than you'd have to go with extra tape underneath. are you regripping yourself? you could save some money that way assuming you already have a few basic tools and materials...a hooked blade, double sided tape, and some sort of solvent

Umm....42? I have no Idea. Whatever the stock shafts are on the stuff in my sig.

Now I'm starting to think mids with a couple extra wraps of tape. I just hate having to spend the money and do it before I really know how it feels. It's funny though, I didn't even know there was anything wrong with the size before the other day, and now I'm obsessed with getting it exact down to the number of tape rolls. Frickin' golf.

[ControlJunkie]

Sorry it took me a while to get back on. Early this morning I finally got out to the range before I went to the Zurich Classic. To answer the OP's question, I now totally believe that grips can affect play if you're not using the right size. This morning, having the correct size grip let me concentrate on other things in my swing, whereas before, I had to squeeze the club a little harder than I liked for fear of the club slipping in my hand and turning. Also, I feel like I was getting much better release because I didnt have the tension in my forearms that comes with squeezing the grip too hard. Does that make any sense at all????

As for preference, I'm sticking with the GP DD2 on my driver and I'm going to have one put on my 3W and my 3 hybrid. I'm sold there, no doubt. Irons and wedges are a different story. If I had to decide between the Tour Velvets and the Winn PCi's, I'd pick the Winns. I'm gonna hold out and try the New Decades before I make a final call though. The Winns really are nice, soft, and tacky. I liked the feel of them this morning.

I will also say that after trying them all out this morning, on my irons, I'm probably going to go with 3-4 wraps of tape under the left hand (top) of the grip, and maybe one or two under the right hand. That should be about perfect.

[Thaddy]

I'll add my thoughts to new grips affecting play.

I recently regripped my irons and wedges with the Lamkin Crossline Midsize. I've always had great confidence in my irons and short game around the green, but would have issues once in a while mishitting my irons/wedges. These larger grips have pegged my confidence meter no matter what my lie looks like.

Next step is to figure out if I want to regrip my driver and fairway woods...

[ControlJunkie]

Man, I say do it!

I know for me, it felt much more natural not to have to squeeze the grip as much. I'll say this - I have the midsize DD2 on my driver and the stock grip on my 3W. After going back and forth between the 2 off of the tee, I walked away wishing I had the midsize on the 3W as well. I'll be getting that taken care of this week! I'm not sure how to explain it, it just felt better and more natural and my swing felt looser and more relaxed.

[Thaddy]

Man, I say do it!

I'll most likely get it done soon, but I'm nervous. I used to have major issues slicing my driver, but I'm just starting to consistently hit it straight so I'm worries about changing grips. Hell, one of the problems I tend to slice my driver is probably because of the skinny ass stock grip

[ControlJunkie]

I guess the good thing about it is that the money invested in a couple grips isnt so much that you couldnt try it out, and if you had problems adjusting, you could go back to a standard size and only be out $15-20. That's kinda how I looked at it going in.

On the other hand, I'm always one to say if something is working for you, dont change it!

[Fusion]

Ok, to start. I've been hitting straight with standard grips on my callaways. But 3 years later, they are worn out and i'm finally getting the regripping thing. Was set on GP tour velvet cord. They didn't have any. He convinced me to get jumbo lamkins even though my hands are only medium in size. After I left my clubs there and went home, I changed my mind and asked not to put the jumbos on. He had already finished regripping. So, I went to the range right away to test them out. Even though there was a fairly strong left to right breeze, I think these damn jumbos are inducing a fade/slice by not letting my wrists release.

Going to try on the range in the morning to make final decision but i'm doubtful.