Garsen Putter Grip - Quad Tour - 2023 Forum Review

[GolfSpy_APH]

Testers Announced! Quad Tour Grip by Garsen
"Tradition that Fits"

The Garsen Quad Tour line features a unique parallelogram design fitting perfectly into most traditional golf grips. The Quad Tour also works great for claw, and saw style putting grips. With a flat topline and bottom, players can easy square up the putter face with complete consistency every time.

The QUAD TOUR grip gives you the benefits of the EDGE and MAX but places your hands in a traditional position.

Please welcome and congratulate our testers for the Quad Tour Grip!
@Siamese Moose
@sglj3
@ACalling
@Christof

These testers will be receiving all 3 putter grips from Garsen, but will be doing their main review on this grip!

Can't wait to get you all started and see what your thoughts are!

[Siamese Moose]

Garsen Quad Tour putter grip – Official MGS Forum Review by Siamese Moose

Introductions:

I go by Siamese Moose, from my cat, Moose, who is Siamese. I am 63, live in Cincinnati on a golf course (Pebble Creek GC), and started playing about the time I graduated from college. I started being more serious after I turned 30, and have been fairly serious about golf since I got into my 40s. Around the time I was 50 I got my handicap down to 2. Unfortunately, I have truly become a "senior" golfer due to back issues, and with my loss of distance I now place most of my practice emphasis on short game and putting because that's where I score. My current index is 6.7. Putting is the strongest part of my game. I take regular lessons, and my instructor looked at my putting, and told me, "Don't let anybody ever change a thing!" 

I strongly believe in getting fitted for my putter. My first putter fitting was in 2004 by the late Dana Upshaw (I know there are a few people on here who knew him). That was a La Jolla slant neck blade, and the difference in my putting was shocking. I went from 33 down to 28 putts per round immediately. Last year during a slump I got fitted again, this time into a Mizuno OMIO 1, also a slant neck blade that is nearly identical in specs to the La Jolla, but with adjustable weights (that I rarely change for different green types). I changed the stock grip to a Lamkin, because I'm picky about that (which is why I'm interested in the Garsen).

I'll be honest that I'd never heard of Garsen before this test came up, but now I see the name everywhere. The guy who did my putter fitting has left golf, so I had a different fitter today (for a hybrid) with the guy who was the other one's boss, and I asked him about Garsen. Turns out he uses a Quad Tour tapered, and informed me that they sell quite a few of them there (Miles of Golf).  He praised it highly, so I'm more hyped than ever to get started. I am very happy with the Lamkin grip I'm currently using, and will do everything in my skill set to remove it without damage in case the Garsen isn't an improvement. I chose the Quad Tour (non-tapered) because it's the most similar to what I've been using. I'm a little afraid to make a bold change and mess up a good thing. The strongest part of my putting is getting my putts on line, and I'm a bit weaker in speed control, and struggle with long lags. I don't know if a grip can affect my speed control, but that will be a point of emphasis in my testing. 

My current putter before changing the grip:

Unboxing/Installation

I got a package today! Woo-hoo! Not much to show in unboxing (opening an envelope): three grips, two stickers and a letter:

My review is focused on the Quad Tour, but Garsen sent me all three of their models. Fortunately, I have three putters of near-identical specs (though different makes), so they're all now installed (I did that myself). The Quad Tour is on my Mizuno OMOI 1. I dearly wish I had the laser alignment jig that I saw Dana Upshaw built, but in it's absence I use a level to make sure the face is square, and then to make sure the grip is square as well. I do not trust "eyeballing" it! The face of the grip is ever so slightly rounded, so I had to do my best with the level, but I'm happy with it. Getting it on was quite difficult. I did not measure the shaft diameter before starting the install, so it's possible the shaft butt is larger than standard. Getting the grip started onto the shaft and then pushed all the way down took a fair bit of force, by far more than I've ever needed on any grip except the old "bubble" grips of by-gone days. After having this trouble I checked the shaft spec, and the diameter at the end of the grip is 0.580", so it's probably just a really tight grip. Garsen's spec for the grip is 0.600", so I don't understand why it was so tight, but I'm not pulling it off just to measure it now that it's on. FWIW, installing the other two grips was a breeze, exactly the same as anything I've done in the past.

First Impressions:

This grip has a wonderful tacky feel. I am not at all a fan of the PU grips that feel like a sponge, and this one avoids that problem. There's a pleasant firmness to it. (Garsen calls it "medium-firm".) Granted that one month is too short a time to comment on durability, but I haven't noticed any change in the feel. (I can't say that about other PU grips I've tried, which is a reason I've given up on some brands.)There's a light texturing to the grip that nicely enhances how it feels. It hasn't rained on me, but with mildly sweaty hands I didn't have any issues with control. I like that at 55 grams it is much lighter than most other PU grips (especially the big ones). That's a big deal for this Mizuno putter model, which originally came with an ultra lightweight grip to give the feel of a heavier head (OMOI means "heavy"). The original grip for my putter had to be removed to cut the length down (Mizuno won't cut shorter than 33", and I wanted 32.5", and yes, that difference is important to me), and we couldn't save it. The Lamkin rubber grip I was then using is a lot heavier (120g), and that messed with the intended feel of this putter. 

When I grip my putter, even with a short (32.5") putter, my hands are toward the bottom of the grip (which is why I chose the non-tapered, so there is still some diameter on my lower hand):

I like to place my index finger just below the grip onto the shaft. The length of this grip is a perfect fit for the way I like to grip the putter. I included a couple of gifs of my stroke. Yes, I am standing slightly closed. It's a compensation for the fact that my eyes are not directly over the ball, they're a little inside. This stance lets my arms hang freely and the shaft angle is a near perfect match for my arm hang. Getting my eyes over the ball requires me to bend more, and my oft-repaired lower back does not like that. So, lets get to some numbers:

Aesthetics: 10 out of 10

While it's also available in red and blue, I am a fan of a simple, classic look, I don't care for flashy. (I would never even consider any grip that only comes in white.) The black has a slight sheen to it, but not truly shiny. A true matte finish always looks dirty to me, so I think this finish nails my preference. I like that the logo is in white, and not a bright color, though I might prefer a slightly grayer hue. Not really important, to be honest. It's a nice, traditionally classic look. I guess you could say I prefer a restrained look. (I really dislike the huge logo that Super Stroke uses.)

Fit and Feel: 20 out of 20

I've only recently become a Shotscope user (you might notice the Shotscope tag in my pics), and I don't have any data from my old grip, so unfortunately I don't have any objective performance numbers. During my test I went through the full range of personal performance, starting with putting great with great confidence, screwing things up and losing my confidence, to getting back to good performance. When I started this test I was putting as well as I ever have. In trying to fully test this, I did some drills I don't normally do. In particular, long lags are my biggest weakness, so I spent some time doing Butch Harmon's "fringe to fringe" drill, where you putt from one side of the practice green to the other, trying to stop the ball just on the far fringe. Unfortunately, I chose too long of a putt, and it screwed me up. My on-the-course feel for distances longer than 10 feet was nearly destroyed, and I started blowing putts by. I had about 36 holes of total crap putting. I was able to get in two practice sessions of about 15 minutes each (my back won't allow much longer) where I focussed on 10 to 15 feet, and I got my control mostly back. In terms of getting my putts on line, that never left. I can't say that the Garsen grip made me straighter than before, but there is certainly no loss there. I really like getting the heavier feel back that got me to buy this putter in the first place, and on the faster greens I've been able to play I am confident that my distance control has improved. I can certainly get the ball on the line I intend, though I wish there was some magic pixie dust Garsen could include to improve my reads, and make sure the line I choose is the right line. 

On the Course: 15 out of 20

Since I chose the black color, my friends didn't notice the grip change until I asked their opinions. I'm not sure how many people would ever notice when a partner changed a putting grip, so unless it's flashy, no one is likely to comment. I did ask the guys in my league for their input, as well as the other groups I play with. Those opinions pretty much paralled the grip market. Everyone liked the feel, and the "medium-firm" tackiness was a big hit. One person thought it was too big, and many thought the size was just right, but the majority thought it was too small. I understand that it's tough to offer a bunch of different sizes, but Garsen has a big disadvantage compared to SuperStroke without those myriad size options. (I know they have the MAX model at 1.5", but it's only available tapered.) As it is,this model is a great size for me, but so many guys commenting that it's too small is why I took off 5 points.

The way I grip the putter is pretty traditional. Going into this test I was planning to test the grip using some other methods, left hand low, claw, etc. After how I screwed myself up with the fringe-to-fringe drill, I chickened out. I was afraid to do something that might further screw me up. If you grip the putter another way, I apologize, I've got no input for you.

The Good, the Bad, and the Inbetween: 17 out of 20

Let's start with the good: the size (diameter and length), non-tapered shape, medium-firm feel, medium tackiness, and textured finish are all perfect for me. I cannot find any fault with the way this grip feels and performs. Garsen was great in getting this to me much faster than I expected, and allowing us to get samples of all three of their styles, even if I was only reviewing one, was a nice bonus.

It's a stretch to say this is truly bad, as opposed to just annoying, but putting this grip on was a ******. I've been gripping clubs for over 30 years, and I've never had a more difficult installation. I know other testers experienced the same problem. I won't pull it off to measure the ID, but it should have been easy to put a 0.600" core grip on a 0.580" shaft. Getting it on was tough enough, but then getting it perfectly square without any twist was also tough. I would love to get my hands on a new one and measure the ID. FWIW, the other two models went on like a breeze. Another minor point is that the retail price of $35 is $5-$15 more than the competition. The $35 price point would not dissuade me, but it did cause some of my friends to say they would not consider it at that price.

For general looks, I like black, and simple. Some of the guys I asked wanted it flashier (a la Super Stroke). I could tell them that it's available in red and blue. and the response was always, "I'd have to see it." And that's the issue: nobody in my area stocks it (I checked five stores, all of different chains). My preferred store (Miles of Golf) pushes it, especially their chief fitter (who uses the Quad Tour tapered), but they have to special order it. I think that's just the reality of a smaller company having to go up against bigger, established cvompetitors. Since starting this test I've seen Garsen ads (especially right after Tony Finau won with it), but I never noticed one before. I've worked for some small companies, so I sympathize with the difficulty, and wish Garsen luck with getting better penetration.

Play It or Trade It: 20 out of 20

If I had to replace my grip today, or got a new putter for some reason (e.g. this one doesn't float), I would get this grip without hesitation. In any purchase, I will always see if there are new options, but from what I know right now, this is the one! I don't think "Trade It" is an option for a grip, but I would happily recommend it. I am sure there is some price hesitancy, but if you can afford to play golf I suspect $35 isn't breaking the bank

Conclusion

I'd never heard of Garsen before. When this test was offered I looked into them, and was intrigued enough to apply. The combination of feel, shape, weight, and looks turns out to be spectacularly successful for my preferences. Apparently they're well known enough that my fitter, my instructor, and the guy behind the counter at the course know about them. Since I quit clubmaking I guess I'm out of touch with the market. I'm not sure where you will find one to see and feel, but if you can, I strongly recommend giving it more than a passing look.

Finally, thank you to Garsen and MGS for giving me the opportunity to participate in this test. I hope my review lives up to your expectations, and I hope people get usable information from it.

Final Score:  82 out of 90

[sglj3]

Now introducing:

My name is Stan Johnson. I live in the Pacific Northwest of USA in the state of Oregon. I picked up the game in my early 20s through a friend. I wish I had played golf in high school but I ran Cross County and Track. I am 56, nearly 57 and looking to retire at 60. My present overall golf goal is to get my game in shape for retirement, I plan to play at least 3-5 days a week. I had some time off in my 40s as my best friend moved to SLC and my kids were both in sports so much of my free time was spent going to their events. I really started playing more about 6 years ago when my son decided he wanted to play. He played one year in high school and got a college scholarship for golf, that was fun to see his quick progress.

My golf game. Well I am presently a 10hcp I have moved from a 22 when I started keeping track a couple years ago. Last year I dropped 3 strokes and am hoping to do the same this year. I had some hip repair (not a replacement) in January so May is when I can start playing again and I am SO looking forward to it. Living in Oregon we can play pretty much year round except for the occasional snow but we do get a lot of rain! So I play rain or shine. I practice in my backyard everyday as 2 years ago we ripped up our yard and installed turf and a putting green.

Putting has always been one of my strengths and I continue to work on pace. Since adding the putting green 3 putting has nearly gone away and I work on my chipping so my over short game is dramatically improving. I actually have heard of Garsen and have one of their grips on a putter I won. I am testing the quad tour and will be comparing it to an OEM grip on a MOD1 putter and to an old superstroke grip. I am excited for the opportunity to test 3 different models to see which I feel most comfortable with and just feels right. I rotate between 3 different putters so I will not be installing these with tape so I more easily move them between different putters.

I am very honored to be chosen for this opportunity and look forward to sending updates to the MGS family. Please let me know if you have any questions along my journey.

=================================

First Impressions 10/10 (separate post)

Aesthetics (10 out of 10) 

To me the grip has a very nice classic look. It is a one that clearly states quality but in an almost understated way. Garsen is really making quality grips that suit various grips and styles.

The Fit and Feel (15 out of 20)

As I have mentioned in my previous updates and initial impression I personally prefer a larger putter grip. I wanted to try this one to see how a smaller grip would work for me. I chose the tapered so it is even smaller than the standard tour grip but not in a bad way. It is very comfortable to use and I did not experience any issues with sweat or moisture causing slippage. Confidence is important when putting and the grip definitely fits that bill even for a smaller grip. I was able to install each grip on a putter so I could use them interchangeably throughout the testing period. I would consider the grip to medium to medium-firm in density with appropriate softness without squishiness. I did not give it full marks just due to the size.

On The Course (20 out of 20)

I was surprised at my confidence in using this grip. I had no problems with alignment or consistency in grip. I was definitely able to gather enough feedback from the club to keep my putts speed accurate. I did not keep any before and after stats as I feel the review of a grip is more about personal impression. That said I only had 2-3 3 putts during the whole time of using the grip so that is a positive. I experimented with many different grip styles during the test and I was able to comfortably use the Tour with all of them. I grip my putter with both thumbs straight down and no overlap so the flat front worked well with that.

I did not install it with tape as at the beginning of the test I thought I would move all of the grips around to different putters but alas I did not move them. I am still confident in my views with regards to connection to the putter and the feel of the ball strike.

The Good, the bad, the in between (15 out of 20)

Ok bad news first. I struggled getting this grip on. Yes I was just using air but the other two went on easily but the tour felt like I was trying to squeeze my size 11 feet into size 9 cowboy boots. I am guessing you can imagine how long that would take! Second, the butt end of my putter has a little imperfection on it so it sliced a bit of rubber leading edge. It was small so I just trimmed off all the way around and no one would even notice. I don’t know if this was because of how tight the grip fits or the thin rubber at the end compared with the others.

For the middle of the road, the grip is all black except for lettering and I personally like to have some style and uniqueness in my putter grip. I chose red for the Ultimate and that is much more my personal style.

What’s awesome about the grip. Let’s start with customer service! I think from the day we submitted our color selections to arrival was just a few days. I did have a question about installation and they were very prompt in reply. 

Play it or Trade it? (10 out of 20)

For me it would be trade but not because it is not a quality grip it is the size. If you prefer a quality smaller grip and one that wins on tour then it is a great grip to get. Garsen in general is a company I have been following and am excited to have participated in this test. As for the Ultimate it is a keeper! 

Conclusion

Garsen has been making bigtime inroads on all levels of tour events with over 50 wins. All three grips use the same texture and the quality appears to be consistently great. I think the tour is a very nice grip, comfortable and durable. It is great for those wanting a more traditional size and look. I do not hesitate in recommending any of them including the Tour.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Final Score (80 out of 100) including my initial impressions review

 

[ACalling]

Introductions:

Hello everyone, this will be my first official review for the forum so wanted to start off with a little background information about myself to give some context. I am a WFH Sales guy by day and love getting out to the course as much as possible when the weather permits it in CT. I was always a decent golfer, I started playing much younger in my life, around 9-10yrs old. I played a lot of sports growing up and would consider myself pretty naturally athletic. Although, golf was never my main sport, I never played organized or competitively so any progress in my game from the start was just all on-course, no lessons, no real practice or thoughts about how to lower scores. That started to change when I was in college. My competitive basketball career was coming to a close and I had a summer job working at the course closest to my parents’ place in NC, so I was playing A LOT of golf. This was also my first time playing with golfers who took it much more serious than me. I was learning a lot and enjoyed playing with better golfers than me, but… I also didn't like losing all. the. time....I needed to get better. Fast forward to a couple of years later when the pandemic started and I went back down to NC to wait out the "2-week" lockdown (remember when we thought that?), I was still able to get out on that same course for free and was back to playing A LOT of golf again, as there really wasn't much else to do. Those 3 months ended up being the big leap in my game where I went from probably a 18ish hcp a few years ago to around a 12-13.

Today, my index is 10.7 and the short game has the most room for improvement. On the greens I went from an older Odyssey White Hot Marxman Blade with a Winn Jumbo Lite grip to my current putter that I bought last year, a Cleveland Frontline 8.0 with the stock Lamkin Sink Fit Pistol grip.

I am excited to try out the Garsen Quad Tour, and see how the difference in shape feels, and if the claims of the grip helping with alignment end up being true. Right now, I would say that starting putts on line is not a huge strength, especially on short putts with some break in them. I also have big hands, and will report back on how the Garsen feels with that. I am hoping that the Quad Tour can provide me with a little extra confidence and feel with the putter, and that it will earn its way to staying in the bag.

My plan is to find a way to remove the grips without damaging them, so I can use my same putter in an effort to keep everything other than the grips a constant. 

 

ACALLINGS FINAL REVIEW

First Impressions (10/10)

Right away you can tell that the Quad Tour is a high-quality grip. The feel of it has great tackiness but no give, or “squishiness” to it. In my experience I believe that will help in the long run as grips that are too soft tend to show wear much faster. The design is nice and understated, just the Garsen logo on the front and the Quad Tour name on the sides at the bottom of the grip. I went on their website to see how Garsen describes the grip, and to put myself in the shoes of someone wanting to order one online. It’s described as a medium firmness, semi-tacky and high shock absorption. To me, that is an accurate assessment, they really hit the “just right” for me on how it feels. Not slick, but also doesn’t feel like its covered in tree sap.

 

Aesthetics (10/10)

This might be just a personal choice for me, but I really like the simplicity of the design. I feel that Garsen is putting all the focus on the shape of the grip to let it stand out. It comes in three color options, I chose the all black, but the red and blue are also just one solid color. Almost a refreshing feel where everything from shirts, to gloves, headcovers and now even grips are getting very loud designs often playing to some sort of golf stereotype almost to the point of self-parody at this point. Garsen, if you’re reading this, you can hold off on making the grip with the orange and black tiger stripes.  

 

The Fit and Feel (15/20)

I am just not sure why there isn’t an option for a more oversized grip. The Quad Tour is truly a midsize grip in the non-tapered version. I put up a video during my testing that even though I have large hands and prefer a larger grip that it was still able to perform as intended, but over time I felt that I was just wanting to have it be just a little bit larger. Something more along the profile of their other two grips, the Ultimate and the Max, would have been perfect. Otherwise, I still enjoyed using it, and felt that it helped my putting almost instantly. The shape of it helps keep get the club aligned and helps keep it squared throughout the stroke. On the hottest days and with sweaty hands it can get a bit slippery. Depending on where you play, and if you do get sweaty hands and don’t feel like wiping the grip down you might have slight issues here. It never reached the point where I thought I was losing the club during the stroke, but it was something I noted.

 

On the Course (20/20)

The results speak for themselves. I have had some of my best putting rounds recently since attaching this grip. If you boil down putting to two simple things, alignment, and pace, it’s hard to think that you can get a better fix for one of them so easily and at such a small cost investment. Obviously, its not a magical grip to always hit the perfect line…it doesn’t prohibit any motion that may push or pull a shot, but it does make it so that at the start of the stroke your club is right where it needs to be. Over the testing period I easily shaved off 1-3 putts per round. Because of the advantages that the Quad Tour provides, I feel as if that the alignment part is something I don’t need to think about as much and it have provided a sort of halo effect to my distance control. I made it to some practice putting rounds and found that a gate drill was the most effective for testing this grip. On straight putts, a tee gate varying from 3-5 feet away from me, and getting as tight as just slightly larger than a golf ball. At the furthest and tightest putts, I was able to get 7 out of 10 balls through the gate. I was very impressed with my consistency on start line, and even the 3 misses were only slightly off. I replaced the grip on my gamer for the Quad Tour, and only have the one putter so unfortunately couldn’t get a live side-by-side comparison but just in the couple weeks of playing I hit more putts from greater distances than I can ever remember hitting, let alone in such a small timeframe. The flat stick is hot!!

(This is was all putts from about 25ft out)

The Good, The Bad, The Inbetween (19/20)

Not once did someone I was playing with ask me about my grip. People I play with regularly before and after changing didn’t even notice the new one. If you are someone who likes talking about your equipment, and enjoys a bit of flashiness, then this might not be for you. Maybe the Blue or Red will help out with that. This would be a purchase I would make if I was looking for something a little different, and wanted to see if a bit of a shake up to my putter could spark some change. As I noted above, for $34.99, it would be hard to think of something that could have more of an effect for me.

 

Play It or Trade It (18/20)

I definitely have had a positive overall experience with the grip so far, and for that reason it will be staying on the club and the club in my bag. I have dinged two points off this score because of my doubts that I can keep a non-oversized grip for a real long-term amount of time. I am hoping that the results can continue to beat out my personal preferences. I will also get some testing done with the other grips, and have just put the Ultimate on a new (to me) putter that I recently purchased. I wanted to do this one next because it is larger, and a more traditional round grip so I can see if just the size increase is something I prefer more.

 

Conclusions:

I wanted to keep this review as isolated as possible to the grip, which has provided some difficulty because the grip is attached to the club, and the club is in the hands of a person and for better or worse, that person is me. I also want to keep it in perspective, it’s a grip, and its not infused with a Space Jam-esque Tiger, Seve and Spieth’s talents either no matter how much I would’ve liked it to be the case. That being said, it’s a great grip. If you feel like trying something new, take a look at Garsen, if you have the fortune of having a local shop that carries them, you’ll see the difference right away just placing your hands around them, and I hope they lead you to some lower scores!

 

Overall: 92/100

 

Just want to end this with a thank you to Garsen, and a thank you to MGS for allowing me to participate in the review process. Stay tuned for long-term updates

Edited June 11, 2023 by ACalling

[Josh Ross]

Congrats guys, enjoy this opportunity!

[sirchunksalot]

Congratulations testers! It'll be fun to see if the new grip helps improve your putting. 

[Triple_Putt]

Congratulations testers! Eagerly looking forward to all of your thoughts! 

[cojobro77]

5 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Testers Announced! Quad Tour Grip by Garsen
"Tradition that Fits"

The Garsen Quad Tour line features a unique parallelogram design fitting perfectly into most traditional golf grips. The Quad Tour also works great for claw, and saw style putting grips. With a flat topline and bottom, players can easy square up the putter face with complete consistency every time.

The QUAD TOUR grip gives you the benefits of the EDGE and MAX but places your hands in a traditional position.

Please welcome and congratulate our testers for the Quad Tour Grip!
@Siamese Moose
@sglj3
@ACalling
@Christof

These testers will be receiving all 3 putter grips from Garsen, but will be doing their main review on this grip!

Can't wait to get you all started and see what your thoughts are!

Congrats!

[GolfSpy_KFT]

Congrats testers! Can’t wait to hear what you think of the grips and how they compare to what you currently game!

[xOldBenKenobiX]

5 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Testers Announced! Quad Tour Grip by Garsen
"Tradition that Fits"

The Garsen Quad Tour line features a unique parallelogram design fitting perfectly into most traditional golf grips. The Quad Tour also works great for claw, and saw style putting grips. With a flat topline and bottom, players can easy square up the putter face with complete consistency every time.

The QUAD TOUR grip gives you the benefits of the EDGE and MAX but places your hands in a traditional position.

Please welcome and congratulate our testers for the Quad Tour Grip!
@Siamese Moose
@sglj3
@ACalling
@Christof

These testers will be receiving all 3 putter grips from Garsen, but will be doing their main review on this grip!

Can't wait to get you all started and see what your thoughts are!

Congrats testers 

[GolfSpy TCB]

Congratulation testers!!

@Siamese Moose
@sglj3
@ACalling
@Christof

Great group and a great test.

Thanks to Garsen Grips for partnering with MGS Forum for this test opportunity.

[MDGolfHacker]

Congratulations testers!

[GolfSpy_BEN]

Congrats on selection! I gave serious thought to applying for the Quad Tour before opting for the Max, so I will be following along with keen interest.

[tdroma98]

Congratulations Testers!! Awesome! 

[TylorJudd]

Congrats to all testers, it will be an uphill battle for garsen against the likes of superstroke, but very interesting to see market disruption! 

[sglj3]

I feel so privileged to be a part of this test. I am excited to test all 3 and see which is the best fit for me. I do think they are up against the well known name(s) but hey Tony won in Mexico!

[Berg Ryman]

Probably out of the three Garsen options, the Quad Tour is the one I know the least about, but am willing to learn how our testers feel in playing them. Best of luck everyone!

[ACalling]

Very excited and honored to be chosen as one of the testers for the Garsen grips. I will be doing my main review on the Quad tour, but as noted will be receiving all 3 grips so should have some details on how they all compare. More to come!

[yungkory]

Looking forward to this, have my eyes on a Garsen for my backup putter. Gravity grip has seen better days

[Christof]

On 5/2/2023 at 7:28 AM, Christof said:

placeholder: Garsen Quad Tour putter grip – Official MGS Forum Review by Christof

Introduction
I am Christof Verbert, 39 years young. I live in Hulshout in Belgium, I have a BSO degree in central heating & plumbing + specialisation in heat technical installations. After that I did various courses in evening school and at Sport Vlaanderen, I have also done various jobs, I am currently working for the City of Herentals from 04/06/2012 at the roads and signalling department until 31/12/20. From 01.01.2021, I have been transferred to the green service of Noorderwijk-Morkhoven. I have done various sports too many to mention. Last sport I did before golfing was cycling, I had to stop there due to a problem with me Left femur, in 2014 they did an arthroscopy on my left hip that didn't work out in 2016 they did another arthroscopy with an Iliopsoas release also didn't work out,Was very frustrating, I got problem at work, maybe got a bit depressed mentally and physically a bit cracked and still to a large extent. Now it's golf and skiing in winter and functional training. But after a lot of struggling, I ended up playing golf, through sports after work in 2020, that's what it was called at our place, City of Herentals paid 3h golf lessons for those who interned, though in group, a kind of introduction package. Then I took a starter package for 3 months and was at 6h golf lessons, it was full covid period and I didn't have many options left of sports and without sports I don't function. I joined in early 2021, from April I played competitions and already from the 1st competitions fellow golfers said to take other trainer or join someone else's golf lessons, was so every competition, I kept that up until August, I went to other trainer and had to start from 0 again, was very disappointing and frustrating, I didn't play much more golf then only when I took a lesson, still on the last day became a member again.  In 2022 I quit in May/June, it was no longer possible of making a golf swing and August 2022 right hip have an arthroscopy done only started back in late 2022. Hopefully this year will be my 1st full year of golf.

Honestly I had never heard of Garson golf even on the online golf sites have never come across anything from Garson. Right now the Taylormade is in the bag, normally I had bought it to go with my putter mat, I have arrived a few times without a putter on the club. I had taken the Taylormade is to the club and it stayed in my bag. If I have a lot of time and desire, I wanted to try a different grip on the Ping to see what that gives me or sell the Ping and buy about the same as the Taylormade.
Since putting with the Taylormade, my putting has improved markedly. I putt with a variation of the pen/pencil grip. Only I find the grip a bit too narrow, then I find the Ping grip better in thickness may be a bit thinner in my opinion. But now with Garson test it comes out fine. I had 1st changed the Max but to the Quad tour tapperd partly because tester asked for it and partly it is the same as the max only different shape. I am curious if the grips suit my grip style and improve putting or not, only I am not sure yet which putter to use. I am waiting for the box probably everyone is going to have the grips for me as the grips should come from America will take a while and I can read your comments, I use a translator is easiest for me, sorry if the sentences are not very correct and don't understand then just ask. I go to the golf club 2 to 4 times a week, I play every match, now that it is longer light I play evenings 5 to 9 holes you can learn more than on the driving range or practical area.

Christof

[Christof]

4 minutes ago, Christof said:

Introduction
I am Christof Verbert, 39 years young. I live in Hulshout in Belgium, I have a BSO degree in central heating & plumbing + specialisation in heat technical installations. After that I did various courses in evening school and at Sport Vlaanderen, I have also done various jobs, I am currently working for the City of Herentals from 04/06/2012 at the roads and signalling department until 31/12/20. From 01.01.2021, I have been transferred to the green service of Noorderwijk-Morkhoven. I have done various sports too many to mention. Last sport I did before golfing was cycling, I had to stop there due to a problem with me Left femur, in 2014 they did an arthroscopy on my left hip that didn't work out in 2016 they did another arthroscopy with an Iliopsoas release also didn't work out,Was very frustrating, I got problem at work, maybe got a bit depressed mentally and physically a bit cracked and still to a large extent. Now it's golf and skiing in winter and functional training. But after a lot of struggling, I ended up playing golf, through sports after work in 2020, that's what it was called at our place, City of Herentals paid 3h golf lessons for those who interned, though in group, a kind of introduction package. Then I took a starter package for 3 months and was at 6h golf lessons, it was full covid period and I didn't have many options left of sports and without sports I don't function. I joined in early 2021, from April I played competitions and already from the 1st competitions fellow golfers said to take other trainer or join someone else's golf lessons, was so every competition, I kept that up until August, I went to other trainer and had to start from 0 again, was very disappointing and frustrating, I didn't play much more golf then only when I took a lesson, still on the last day became a member again.  In 2022 I quit in May/June, it was no longer possible of making a golf swing and August 2022 right hip have an arthroscopy done only started back in late 2022. Hopefully this year will be my 1st full year of golf.

Honestly I had never heard of Garson golf even on the online golf sites have never come across anything from Garson. Right now the Taylormade is in the bag, normally I had bought it to go with my putter mat, I have arrived a few times without a putter on the club. I had taken the Taylormade is to the club and it stayed in my bag. If I have a lot of time and desire, I wanted to try a different grip on the Ping to see what that gives me or sell the Ping and buy about the same as the Taylormade.
Since putting with the Taylormade, my putting has improved markedly. I putt with a variation of the pen/pencil grip. Only I find the grip a bit too narrow, then I find the Ping grip better in thickness may be a bit thinner in my opinion. But now with Garson test it comes out fine. I had 1st changed the Max but to the Quad tour tapperd partly because tester asked for it and partly it is the same as the max only different shape. I am curious if the grips suit my grip style and improve putting or not, only I am not sure yet which putter to use. I am waiting for the box probably everyone is going to have the grips for me as the grips should come from America will take a while and I can read your comments, I use a translator is easiest for me, sorry if the sentences are not very correct and don't understand then just ask. I go to the golf club 2 to 4 times a week, I play every match, now that it is longer light I play evenings 5 to 9 holes you can learn more than on the driving range or practical area.

Christof

 

[Siamese Moose]

I got a package today! Woo-hoo! Of course I took a break from chores to play around. Not much to show in unboxing: three grips, two stickers and a letter:

My review is focused on the Quad Tour, but Garsen sent me all three of their models. Fortunately, I have three putters of near-identical specs (though different makes), so they're all now installed (I did that myself). The Quad Tour is on my Mizuno OMOI 1. I dearly wish I had the laser alignment jig that I saw Dana Upshaw built, but in it's absence I use a level to make sure the face is square, and then to make sure the grip is square as well. I do not trust "eyeballing" it! The face of the grip is ever so slightly rounded, so I had to do my best with the level, but I'm happy with it. Getting it on was quite difficult. I did not measure the shaft diameter before starting the install, so it's possible the shaft butt is larger than standard. Getting the grip started onto the shaft and then pushed all the way down took a fair bit of force, by far more than I've ever needed on any grip except the old "bubble" grips of by-gone days. After having this trouble I checked the shaft, and the diameter at the end of the grip is 0.580", so it's probably just a really tight grip. FWIW, installing the other two grips was a breeze, exactly the same as anything I've done in the past.

I have a 9:28 tee time tomorrow, and I plan to get there earlier than normal to stroke some putts. To be continued....

[ACalling]

And we're off!

Got the package in the mail on Monday. I played my last 9 holes with my original putter grip that same day, and now have the Quad Tour installed on my gamer. I have since been able to get some putts rolling on my practice mat, and played a few holes in a scramble league with my wife last night but we only finished 7 holes before it got too dark. I had a couple 7-10 footers for par and made them both! It showed some good signs early on. 

First impressions-The Quad Tour feels the slimmest out of the 3. All grips feel very high quality in feel/build and materials used, I am looking forward to seeing how they hold up over time, comparing to the Winn grip on my old putter which wore down quite fast. Also, I am noticing nice details such as on my Green Ultimate grip, the patterns are little "G's" which seems to be different than @Siamese Moose's red grip. 

[sglj3]

Initial impressions: 10/10

All 3 grips feel like a high quality grip. I chose to do my review on the Tour and I selected a tapered one to have the slimmest profile. I wanted to compare with the other grips as well as other big name grips. I typically install a larger style more like the ultimate or max. As @Siamese Moose noted in their update the Tour is quite tough to get installed. I spent a fair amount of time getting it on and even ended up with a little nick out of the leading edge rubber, it won't affect playability just disappointed I did it. Anyway the other 2 installed very easily, all 3 were installed using just air so I can switch them between putters throughout the test if I choose. Attaching some pictures for your enjoyment.

   

I have been putting several times today in between meetings. On the clubs all 3 feel nice and comfortable.

I would equate the tour tapered similar to a typical pistol grip with out the curvature at the but end. The texture is the right balance between grip and comfort.

[GolfSpy_APH]

9 minutes ago, sglj3 said:

Initial impressions:

All 3 grips feel like a high quality grip. I chose to do my review on the Tour and I selected a tapered one to have the slimmest profile. I wanted to compare with the other grips as well as other big name grips. I typically install a larger style more like the ultimate or max. As @Siamese Moose noted in their update the Tour is quite tough to get installed. I spent a fair amount of time getting it on and even ended up with a little nick out of the leading edge rubber, it won't affect playability just disappointed I did it. Anyway the other 2 installed very easily, all 3 were installed using just air so I can switch them between putters throughout the test if I choose. Attaching some pictures for your enjoyment.

   

I have been putting several times today in between meetings. On the clubs all 3 feel nice and comfortable.

I would equate the tour tapered similar to a typical pistol grip with out the curvature at the but end. The texture is the right balance between grip and comfort.

Looking forward to the rest! 

Nice that you have 3 putters to put these on as well. 

[ACalling]

 Testing is still underway, and last night I was able to get out to a real course, putted around for about a half hour before and got in 11 holes before it got too dark. I have a future post planned around performance and what I am feeling while out on the course but I did want to have this post dedicated around Garsens claim, "With a flat topline and bottom, players can easy square up the putter face with complete consistency every time." 

I tried to capture this as best I could at home while recording with one hand on my putting mat, but as you can see when gripping the club, the "unique parallelogram design" kind of forces your hands into only one position to grip the club. My fingertips end up on the inside slant, and that puts it so the pad of my thumb rests perfectly on the top. Once there, that grip stays firm, and the face of the putter is squared right up. So then it wouldn't matter if you use traditional, a claw, or a lead-hand-low grip, because the lead hand is getting the club face square. I find the position it puts my hands in to be comfortable, and the feeling I get is that once my hands are secure, I can focus only on pace because I have confidence in my start line. 

There will be more to come before final scores are posted, so stay tuned!

[DRLEONARD58]

 Testing is still underway, and last night I was able to get out to a real course, putted around for about a half hour before and got in 11 holes before it got too dark. I have a future post planned around performance and what I am feeling while out on the course but I did want to have this post dedicated around Garsens claim, "With a flat topline and bottom, players can easy square up the putter face with complete consistency every time." 
I tried to capture this as best I could at home while recording with one hand on my putting mat, but as you can see when gripping the club, the "unique parallelogram design" kind of forces your hands into only one position to grip the club. My fingertips end up on the inside slant, and that puts it so the pad of my thumb rests perfectly on the top. Once there, that grip stays firm, and the face of the putter is squared right up. So then it wouldn't matter if you use traditional, a claw, or a lead-hand-low grip, because the lead hand is getting the club face square. I find the position it puts my hands in to be comfortable, and the feeling I get is that once my hands are secure, I can focus only on pace because I have confidence in my start line. 

There will be more to come before final scores are posted, so stay tuned!

Thank you for the write-up and the video! I am very close to pulling the trigger on a LAB Link.1 Putter and it looks like one of the grip options when customizing is the Garsen grip from your video, so it is very cool to see pictures and how the shape helps “lock in” the lead hand.


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[Invader Zim 315]

The quad tour has looked so good from what I've seen, can't wait to see how all three of these turn out for you guys.  Great stuff all

[Siamese Moose]

Last night was league play, so I asked for opinions on the Quad Tour grip from the guys there. The comments include:

• Nice feel, I like it better than my SuperStroke (to be fair, his SuperStroke was ancient, and overdue for replacement!)
• Great shape
• I love the tackiness, but it's too small
• I love the tackiness, but it's too big
• Lots of people wanted to know if it came in different sizes, great disappointment to hear it didn't
• "You want me to grab your putter?"

My review is focued on the Quad Tour, but when they learned I have all three there were multiple requests to see the other grips. Next week...

I went early to spend some extra time on the practice green. I was focused on distance control on long and very long putts. I would be very hard pressed to say I noticed any difference from my prior Lamkin. I think the most likely difference will be accuracy on makeable putts, which will be my focus going forward. Hitting so many very long putts before my round meant that on the course I was blowing too many putts long. Note to self: Before a round of real play just focus on my normal warm up, and leave the focused testing to pure test sessions.

[ACalling]

3 minutes ago, Siamese Moose said:

• I love the tackiness, but it's too small
• I love the tackiness, but it's too big

Lol.

 

I feel like I've had both of these thoughts myself. I feel like it sits right in between a slim and on oversize grip. Tackiness is great though!