blisters

[sean_miller]

I think in general a blister is a sign that you're doing something incorrectly.

Blisters are caused by repetitive exposure to friction and pressure. That kind of sounds like a guy learning the golf swing to me.

When someone gets a blister the first time they wear sandals or flip flops does that mean they're not walking correctly? Like you said, he'll earn the calluses and move on.

[pittpanther]

Blisters are caused by repetitive exposure to friction and pressure. That kind of sounds like a guy learning the golf swing to me.

I can't discount your or the OP's experiences, but blisters (versus calluses) I don't see as a necessary introduction to golf. Instead I would interpret blisters as a sign of a problem - the club is twisting around in his hands, coupled with a too-tight grip, equals the blisters. Everyone is telling him to tape up so the blisters can heal. But as soon as he takes off the tape, he will just rip open some new blisters - if he doesn't change something about his grip.

Blisters do not equal Calluses. And if I got blisters from sandals, I would curse myself for buying shoes that don't fit. Again, I don't see blisters as a necessary part of wearing summer shoes.

[Gaviao]

So I bought some tape and it helped, but I am interested in the several post referring to my grip being too tight/wrong. When I first started hitting I had a BAD tendency to slice. So my cousin suggested that my grip might be too soft therefore the club was sliding in my hands opening the club face.

So what's the fix? Is it a not too tight but not too soft thing? OR should I seriously take a look at getting better grips? And if I end up getting better grips is putting them on something I can do or do I need to take them to a pro shop?

[saevel25]

Wrong, A tighter grip will cause your muscles to tighten up and will leave the clubface open. A looser grip will lighten the tension and allow the hands to close faster.

Slicing is not caused by the club slipping in the hands. Blisters are caused by worn grips, i never get blisters with new grips.

[Gaviao]

Gotcha... so what I'm hearing is loosen the grip a bit AND get new grips on my clubs. So I come back to are new grips something I can replace by myself or do I need to take them to a pro shop? Also what grips might you recommend? Here is a site that I was looking at for grips:

http://www.golfsmith.com/display/category/cm/grips

Thoughts?

[sean_miller]

Wrong, A tighter grip will cause your muscles to tighten up and will leave the clubface open. A looser grip will lighten the tension and allow the hands to close faster.

Good for you. Some people do.

[jamo]

Gotcha... so what I'm hearing is loosen the grip a bit AND get new grips on my clubs. So I come back to are new grips something I can replace by myself or do I need to take them to a pro shop? Also what grips might you recommend? Here is a site that I was looking at for grips:

If you have the equipment go do it yourself, but if you've never done it before (which is what it seems given your asking) it is usually well worth the $2 per grip to have them installed.

As for which grips it is a matter of personal preference. I personally like the harder rubber grips by Golf Pride (Lamkin also makes similar grips) with cord. my favorites are the Golf Price Tour Velvet Cord and the Golf Pride New Decade Multi Compound . Those are around $8 a grip though, where the plain Golf Pride Tour Velvet is about $3 a grip. Some people prefer the softer, tackier feel of Winn grips. Also before you buy grips you should get your hands measured to see how many layers of tape you need and if you need midsize or jumbo grips (as opposed to the smaller standard size).

[saevel25]

I would go with Tour Velvet to start out with, its the all around best grip.

[Gaviao]

So I went out this morning with my future brother-in-law and we went through 3 large bags together... and NO BLISTERS!

I used a little tap and that seems to help. Also I think I might have figured out what the problem might have been... of course I'm guessing here. But I think that when my cousin told me to tighten my grip, I tightened my right hand instead of letting the glove on my left hand do it's job... if that makes sense. Also I think that I was trying to push the ball with my arms as opposed to pulling the club with my hips... again if that makes sense

[saevel25]

I play with no gloves at all and get no blisters. Golf doesn't have to be played with a glove on. If you have proper grip pressure and good condition grips you shouldn't be having blister issues.

[The Recreational Golfer]

I hit balls every day, and wear no glove and have NO callouses. I just have Softie grips and don't grip the club that hard.

[johnny_14424]

I use athletic tape on areas where I tend to get blisters. Helps me a lot.

[WUTiger]

If you need to replace the grips, do it.

Then, read up in a golf instruction book about grip pressure in the L and R hands. Most books cover this.

[mdbuschsr]

Replacing your grips is brain-dead easy. If the current grips are really old it may take some time to get the old tape off, but other than that... Go into a local golf shop, most have a display with different size grips. Grab hold of each just like you would a club on the range/course and see which one fits. Then go over to the rack of grips and feel all of the different grips in stock. Go home and search Youtube, tons of videos to show you how to regrip.