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The Palmbird Putter Grip - Quick Review


GolfSpy Dave

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The Palmbird Putter Grip

PalmbirdGrip-04.jpg

 

Variety is the spice of life, right? Who wants to go to the store and only be able to purchase one type of soup? Not me, and likely not you too. There'd be a soup uprising! One size of soup does not fit all. Tomato soup is delicious, unless one can't digest fruits and vegetables from the nightshade family (FYI, that's the Solanacae family, end botany lesson).

 

One soup does not work for all. That's why we have lots of soups.

 

Obviously, I am making this silly soup soliloquy to make a point about putter grips. Are there a ton of them in the market? You bet there are. Is there room in the market for more? Totally, the more the better.

 

Why Dave? Why would we possibly need more putter grips?

 

Basically, it's because you are allergic to corn chowder. You can't eat it comfortably, and your performance after eating it is something you would like to avoid. #evacuation

 

We need a large variety of putter grips, because we have a large variety of golfers. I know you have demoed a grip and said I can't put with this grip. We all have, and then we find the one we like and the magic happens, ignoring the occasional 3-Jack that we blame on the grain.

 

Enter The Palmbird

PalmbirdQuad.jpg

 

For variety to actually be variety, you need to have variety. Meaning, tomato soup is different from lobster bisque because they are not the same. Differences create diversity. When we look at the grip I have for you today, The Palmbird Putter Grip, you can see right away that it is different.

 

 

Palmbird Putter Grip: The Specs

  • Width:  1.07 inches
  • Height:  1.65 inches
  • Length: 11.5 inches
  • Weight:  169 grams

PalmbirdGrip-12.jpg

 

The Palmbird Putter Grip: The Claims

  • Conforms with USGA rules and proudly made in the U.S.A.

  • Putter grip and putting teaching aid all in one

  • Provides counter-balancing, giving you greater control of the putter head

  • Improves your ability to keep the putter head square at impact and throughout the stroke

  • Non-tapered grip body, allowing balanced grip pressure in both hands

  • The convex front and crescent shape fits naturally in your hands, helps to reduce stroke arc, resulting in a steadier stroke. 

  • Promotes a smooth and rhythmic tempo

  • The PalmBird's design, covers a larger surface area in your palms, resulting in lighter grip pressure and decreased tension in your forearms, thumbs and fingers reducing the “yips”.

  • Stabilizes the wrists and hands for proper positioning, reducing wrist break or roll.

  • Made of weather resistant Thermal Plastic Rubber which provides durability, comfort, and traction

So, that's what the Palmbird is, and  what Palmbird claims it can do for the golfer. That's quite a list!

 

Let's look at the physical aspects of the Palmbird grip first.

PalmbirdGrip-09.jpg

 

I do not recall any other putter grip that looks and feels like the Palmbird. That's probably my greatest recommendation and commendation for the grip. It's different from the others. That means, the golfer who has tried the other grips, and is still searching, now has an additional option. As all golfers know, the next option could be the one.

 

PalmbirdGrip-01.jpg

PalmbirdGrip-02.jpg

PalmbirdGrip-03.jpg

 

I pulled the Pure grip off of a Bellum Winmore 707 and replaced it with the Palmbird. You can see the huge difference in shape. You can't see the weight difference, but the Pure weighs about 100 grams less. That's not insignificant.

 

Even before you get to the geometry differences, you are very aware of the weight change. It's significant enough that the feel of the stroke changes. Conventional wisdom says heavier=smoother, but again, this is difficult to quantify.

 

PalmbirdGrip-10.jpg

 

Geometry is the big difference with the Palmbird. There is an overall teardrop architecture to the shape. Maybe knife-like is a better description. Rounded on the back, with a sharp taper to the fingers. And it's a wide-sided grip. There are some other large grips out there, but none with this shape.

 

PalmbirdGrip-11.jpg

 

As for the list of claims, most of those are a bit lofty, and actually difficult to quantify as many of them are fairly subjective in nature. As such, I'll just give you my 2¢ from my experiences. 

 

I mentioned the weight difference. It definitely affects feel, and for me, distance control. This was not a good or bad thing in my experience, just something that needs to be accounted for. There is some adjustment that needs to be made when you switch the grip from a lighter one.

 

I think that there is definitely something to the flat sides of the Palmbird helping with face awareness. It's an interesting take to go flat-sided rather than flat-topped like many of the grips out there.

 

As for long-term impact and that kind of analysis, we will revisit that after I've had more time to play with the grip.

 

At $20, It Could Be Worth A Shot

If you are looking for something different on the putter, I think that the Palmbird is a solid $20 experiment. I don't have any real way to test their claims, and frankly, I'm a bit leery when I see a "No More 3 Putts" video at the bottom of their home page. Seriously, no more three putts?

 

That being said, The Palmbird is different, and that difference could be welcome for some golfers. For you? Maybe, but you know what you like better than I do.

 

The Palmbird grip is available at a few US retail locations (LINK), and they also offer a conditional guarantee if you don't like it and/or see any putting improvements.

 

PalmbirdGrip-13.jpg

 

If you are looking for something totally new, and different, try the Palmbird.

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Very interesting, does it come in any colors or only black?

Driver: :taylormade-small: SLDR w/ Fujikura Ventus Black

3w: :taylormade-small:'16 M2 hl w/ Diamana D+ 82

5w: :cleveland-small: Launcher HB w/ HZRDUS Yellow

Hybrid: :cleveland-small: 22 deg. Launcher HB w/ HZRDUS Black

Irons: :cleveland-small: 5i - gap Launcher CBX w/ Nippon Modus 3 125

Wedges: :cleveland-small: 54 CBX & 58 Zipcore w/ Nippon Modus 3 125

Putter: :odyssey-small: Red 7s

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I've had this grip for about 1 year now.  I had it installed on a new Plop putter I bought.  The Plop is heavy at about 370g, so I wanted to try this for both the unique shape and the counterbalancing effect.

 

My thoughts are:  

***feels comfortable and easy to get used to.

***really locks in the left wrist, so there is no "hit" with the putt.  

***this point above does require some long distance control adjustments.  I noticed I needed a longer backswing to get the distance I needed.

***promotes more of a straight back/thru stroke. 

 

Overall, I like the grip.  I switch putters/grips/weights pretty much weekly, so I haven't used the Palmbird/Plop combo in awhile.  I'll take it back out to the course in the next week or so.

Driver: Callaway Optiforce 440 9.5* with Diamama Blue S+ 62g Stiff shaft

3 and 5 wood: Callaway Big Bertha with Fubuki Z65 Stiff

Hybrid: Wilson FG Tour 4 hybrid

Irons: 5 iron: Cleveland Altitude Stiff; 6 -PW Callaway Apex Pro, KBS Tour-V Stff

Wedges: 51*, 55* and 58* SCORE with Genius Stiff

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how does it compare to other big grips? For instance, it doesn't look like the KJ Choi grip with the flat edge, but less thick than the biglite grips. Only reason I ask is I had a big lite grip, and loved that, but hated the super stroke. 

 

As a person who likes big grips, perhaps this would replace my current one if it played similar to the biglite.

 Driver:   :callaway-small:  Epic Flash 12 Degree

Wood: :callaway-small:  GBB 3 Wood
Hybrid: :callaway-small: Razr 4 hybriid stiff stock shaft.
Irons: :callaway-small: X2 Hot 4 iron (pro version) 5 iron - Gap Wedge (non pro version).  KBS 120g Shaft stiff cut 1/2  inch bent 1°upright
Wedges: :vokey-small: 52° 56° and 60°.
All grips are Golf pride grips midsized
Putter (lefty):  Odyssey Metal-X #8 34", stock shaft bent 2° Superstroke grip
Golf Balls:   :titelist-small: 2018-9 Pro-V1x and Prov1s
Shoes:  :footjoy-small:  Dryjoy tours

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It's interesting, I didn't care for the Super Stroke grips but most putter grips don't really "fill" my hands well, so I sometimes get "wristy."

What's In the Bag

Driver - :callaway-small: GBB 

Hybrids  :cleveland-small: Halo XL Halo 18* & :cobra-small: T-Rail 20*

Irons  :cobra-small: T-Rail 2.0

Wedges :ping-small: 60* TS / SCOR 48* 53* 58*

Putter     :scotty-small:

Ball :callaway-logo-1:

Bag Datrek DG Lite  

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  • 3 weeks later...

I bought my palmbird grip over a year ago. I had a hard time adjusting to it and was ready to give up, but then a friend suggested I put the broad end at the bottom. I flipped it and I have been in love with it ever since. With the broader end at the bottom it fits in my palm perfectly.

 

I highly recommend this grip.

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I bought my palmbird grip over a year ago. I had a hard time adjusting to it and was ready to give up, but then a friend suggested I put the broad end at the bottom. I flipped it and I have been in love with it ever since. With the broader end at the bottom it fits in my palm perfectly.

 

I highly recommend this grip.

That is what I have been talking about for years on here especially putting. Do what feels confortable to you. Sounds like you and your friend have hit on a good combo for you. Good Luck

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

 G

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