New grips = lower score?

[Golf Yokel]

So, I decided to give myself a Christmas present and had my clubs re-gripped last week.

My old grips were Golf Pride Tour Wraps. It's not that I disliked them per-se... but they were old and worn, you could tell they had been left wet a few times, and they had that gritty outer-layer that sort-of rubs off in your hand... yeah, that stuff.

So after wandering around Golfsmith for a few hours carrying around various clubs and demo handles, I picked out the Lamkin Crossline Tour grips. They felt soft enough that I could hold the club without squeezing the handle, but they didn't feel squishy like the Winn wraps I was looking at.

(*Note* Small story ahead... if you want to skip it and simply help answer my question, just scan down for the asterisks )

Anyways, I play the same course almost every day. Literally. It's free, but there are no golf carts... you have to wheel your bag behind you (I like walking anyways).

Monday I went to my usual course, and now I seem to have lessened a very bad left slice that I have been battling with my driver. My ball still gradually curls a few yards to the left, but it is nothing like it used to be. On average I score around a 48 on the par 31 nine-hole course, but this day I had my lowest score ever of 41. I chalk it up to luck, and do the happy-dance from the clubhouse to my car.

Yesterday, being Christmas, all the Memphis courses were closed... and therefore it was open season for free golf So I grab my new-used golf bag that my friend gave me, a sleave of balls (another present to myself... while at Golfsmith I found a clearance box of 15 Wilson Ultras for $5), my pen and notebook for recording stats and random notes, my newly-gripped clubs, and set-out at 9:00am for my holiday adventure.

The course is an 18-hole par 35. As a matter of fact... http://www.thelinksataudubon.com/main.htm : there's the course I didn't do so hot my first time around the front-nine. Well, I guess a 52 on a 35 isn't bad... but I hit a few shots I wasn't very happy with (like a wedge shot I caught wrong and laser-beamed 40-feet past the green).

The back nine is longer than the front, but I actually did much better. I still scored a 50, but it's better than my average and this is a longer course than I am used to.

So I decide to play one more time through, this time scoring a 46 on the front-nine, and a 48 on the back. I do believe this is my best round of golf to-date. At least to me a 94 on a par-70 course isn't bad. I might be averaging a double-bogey on every hole... but as I always tell my friend, I'm just happy when my scores have names. It feels alot better saying "bogey" than "eight", heh

(On another side-note... after carrying my clubs for 36-holes... I now have a new respect for caddies...)

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So anyways, after a few rounds now, I'm wondering if re-gripping my clubs didn't help me a little. There are only two reasons I can think of...

1) I'm not holding the club with as much hand pressure as I used to, and it's making me shoot straighter.

2) I'm horrible at eye-balling the lie/angle of a club, and perhaps since these grips are aligned properly with the club-head, I'm actually lining the club up better.

Think it's all in my head?

[elchene]

Think it's all in my head?

Somewhat. Having new grips can help reduce grip pressure because the club doesn't feel like it's going to fly out of your hands. Also, since your hands are the only things aligning the clubface, it would only be normal for properly aligned grips to help with your alignment. The mental part of this is that new grips make you feel fresh and rejuvenated. Not only do they look great, they feel great as well.

[Gapwedge]

If you sized them correctly they could help. My hands require an extra wrap of tape to make the normal .60 grip slightly bigger. This gives me more control and also allows me to grip the club without a death grip. So, yes they can help. You will like the Lamkin Crosslines.

[golf_junkie27]

Playing with dirty grips or grips that need replacing are not going to do you any favors. Both will result in you leaving shots out on the course. Depending on how often you play, you should have your grips replaced every season. You should also clean your grips after every round. (I imagine you clean your irons after every round)

[Everardo]

The grips are the only part of the club that you touch so yes they're very important :)

[TourSpoon]

If you needed new grips then they help you.

Since you changed styles they probably gave you a new feel which makes you more sensitive to feeling the club. This feel will wear off but hopefully the saved strokes won't.

[Golf Yokel]

If the feeling I get now from the clubs "wears off", I'm switching grips again

Thank you for the answers everyone. Oh, and I play on average 5 rounds of golf per week... how long (considering proper cleaning) do you think a set of grips should last me?

[TourSpoon]

If the feeling I get now from the clubs "wears off", I'm switching grips again

I would say to check them in 3-4 months. That is a lot of golf.

[blkdiamond]

I have read that if you play 18-holes once a week you should change your grips every year. Using that as a guide, every 50+ rounds you should consider replacing your grips.

I received a set of the Golf Pride DD2 grips for Christmas to replace my old Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips on my irons. I put them on the other day and love the way they feel. As far as whether or not they improved my score I won't know until we get a nice day in Colorado and I can get out and play.

[Arathel-bwcc]

Well, to me grips improve your game.

I was using Golf Pride Tour Velvet and switched to the Golf Pride Multi-Compound. In the end I am hitting the ball much FURTHER and STRAIGHTER.

[Golf Yokel]

I appreciate all the info and advice. I never knew you should re-grip your clubs so often.

Thanks for the input everyone.

[TourSpoon]

I just regripped from tour wraps back to tour wraps. Those things last forever. Just knowing they are new gives me a little mental boost.