Lamkin Sonar +Black - 2023 Forum Review

[GolfSpy BOS]

Testers Announced! Lamkin Sonar+ Black Grips

SONAR+ BLACK

COMFORT. CONNECTION. POWER.

This beautiful grip, with a deceptively minimalist appearance, is constructed from our incredibly comfortable and durable Genesis Material. Combined with the refined texture and unforgettable touch of our Fingerprint Technology, the result is a remarkably long-lasting grip with an enhanced feel and strong connection that truly feels like no other.

Please welcome and congratulate our testers!

@Reesedw

@srooch2

@FightingScot82

@TheProfessor02

[Reesedw]

Introduction:

   First and Foremost I would like to thank MyGolfSpy and Lamkin Grips for this opportunity. My Name is David Reese (@Reesedw) I am from Monroe, WA, about 20 miles northeast of Seattle. I typically play between 30-50 rounds a yr, I have been Playing almost 30 yrs as a weekend player. Best round is a +6 78. I do not currently carry an official Handicap, I hover around a 16, averaging mid to upper 80's per round. I have been Very thankful and lucky to have been chosen for other testing opportunities in the past, including the Cobra Connect Challenge II. Using Arccos during the challenge, I dropped from playing at a 16 to as low as a 12, with 2 rounds under 80. I play a lot in E. Washington (where the weather is typically better, Less Rain) at Highlander Golf Course in Wenatchee with My beautiful Wife and Grandson @Blakedagolfer. Here They are standing on the 17th hole at Highlander.

My testing Plan:  

 I will I be testing using both on-course and range sessions(with Top Tracer Tech). I will be looking for How they feel, Look, Grip, Wear and Tear, and most importantly do they give me confidence to play my best golf. I believe Lamkin to be one of the top Golf grip Brands, I have used their grips previously and felt they were a product of exceptional quality. A grip is not most peoples first thought for club performance, they are the only point of contact a golfer has with the clubs. If you are not confidant in your grip, or they feel off you will not be comfortable and not play your best. 

About the Grip: 

Comfort, Feel, and Durability are big selling points for modern grips.  I have only Recently started to play with a grip that has less taper, A CP2 on my Driver, I am excited to see if that combined with enhanced feel and texture allows me to play with less tightness and release my true potential. 

Follow Along as I do my best to provide you a review that will answer the questions whether these grip meet mine and your expectations.. 

 

My Apologies:

Shortly after being selected for this review, My mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer that had metastasized to her hip. She entered Hospice care and was released to be cared for at my house. My wife was amazing and we took care of her until she passed. With that being said I apologize to all of my fellow testers, the moderators (as i have not been able to keep my end of the obligations up), to My Golf Spy, and last but Not least Lamkin as i let them down. I truly an sorry, I do hope you all understand. I was able to get in  5 rounds( 83, 85, 81, 87, and 88) and 1 range session No onto the completion of my review. 

***Photos would not load, kept saying server error, will try again.. 

 

Initial Impressions:                                        (10/10)

I was impressed with the look and feel right out of the box. These grip look amazing and felt super sticky when i took the plastic off.

 

Aesthetics:                                                                            (10/10)

They installed easily and I loved the simple black and white look. The grip pattern felt fantastic. These grips just beg to be swung. I also like that there is no real Alignment lines, the Lamkin printing and the pattern did not distract from the look. The pattern is felt but does not cause a distraction. 

Fit and Feel:                                                                            (17/20)

My initial observations were correct, these grips feel amazing. The reason I deducted points here are 1) the claim of less taper, I did not feel as though there was less taper. I am guessing that for someone to know if that was true would be to be involved in the design. I simply did not feel it was noticeable enough for that to really be a selling point. and 2) the initial tackiness wore off fairly quickly, after a couple of rounds I did not feel the same level of grip i felt upon installation. The grips still feel great just not the same. 

On-Course:                                                                                                     (18/20) 

These grips beg to be swung hard, they do give the feel I was looking for. I deducted points simply because these grips turned slick when wet. I was playing and we got a light rain that lasted 15 min. just enough to dampen the grass, not anything major. The grips got slick, I grabbed my towel and wiped them off and that was it. Once i got to the green i laid my wedge on the green and putted out. next hole i pulled the wedge and noticed the grip was slick, again wiped it off and moved on.. 

 

The Good, Bad, and In-between:                                                         (17/20)

As I have said these grips beg to be swung, as someone who is not long off the tee I was able to drive 2 greens in the 280yd range and have 2 drives right at 300 yd ( normally a great drive is around 280) I felt very comfortable swinging with these grips. They feel great when dry, sweat and rain make these grip slick. After playing in a light rain I played in hot humid weather and sweat made the grips slick and extra time to get them dried off enough to swing without the thought of losing the club. I have noticed more tension in my lower (Right hand) forearm, I am guessing this is do to more taper then I had with extra wraps under the lower end.. 

 

Play it or trade it:                                                                                                                  (18/20)

I really do like these grips I have really enjoyed the feel and playability of them. I would recommend these grips to anyone who doesn't play in the wet very much. To Me, the tackiness i felt when installing along with the pattern I thought these would be grips that would play well in all conditions, wet is where these grip leave a little bit to be desired. I will play these grips knowing how well they preform in dry conditions but be cautious when it rain. 

 

My final thoughts:                                                                                                                    (90/100)

Lamkin  makes great golf grips, the Sonar Black's Are no exception. I give these grips a 90/100 based solely on y experience in rain, with sweaty hands, and the fact i do not feel they have less taper than standard grips, or at least not noticeably. If you are looking for a grip that installs a feeling of going for it by all means give these grips a try, just know with moisture around (sweat or Rain) they will get slick. I hope this helps you in your decision when it comes to trying or purchasing these grips.. Thank you and Again I truly am sorry about the delay..

 

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by Reesedw
Update

[srooch2]

Thanks to My Golf Spy and Lamkin for the chance to participate. My name is Stacey, yes I’m a dude, and no my mom does not in fact have it going on to my knowledge. I mean she is great, but the song does not apply to us.

  So a lot about me, I am 39 years old and hail from the state of Missouri, just outside Springfield to be specific. I'm currently building my house while living in it. It is located at the end of a dead end road on 60 acres and that’s the way I like it, secluded.

 I am outdoors all the time, I hike a lot, bow hunt, and keep in shape for my once a year trip to Colorado to go chase elk in the mountains. To say I’m an outdoorsman might be too fancy for me, I’ve dubbed the term “woodrat” to describe myself. I work as a regional sales rep for a brewery. My proudest achievement is my two children, they tag along with me often to play and are starting to wail on the clubs themselves.     

   

   I have been playing golf for 15 years or so with a recent 5 year layoff due to some serious back pain, but now I’ve returned and am playing the best golf of my life. My game has transformed and the parts that were my strength are now my weakness and vice versa. I am not the longest hitter in the game but can poke it out there sometimes.

 My course management and mental game are my strengths by far, I think it comes with age and never thinking I would play the game again. I even walk with a bit of laid back swagger. (Think Jason Dufner meets Fred Couples) I am currently gearing up for my first ever stroke play tournament. I hope these grips make the cut and can join me in the journey. 

 If you are curious about how grips will hold up to moisture, stay tuned for my review as I will be the ultimate test for these grips. I have a condition called hyperhidrosis. It basically means I sweat.. A LOT! Specifically my hands sweat abnormal amounts compared to the rest of my body, which also sweats..A LOT! As I type this indoors in the a/c I have to keep a bandana on me to dry my hands periodically. I exclusively wear rain gloves and keep 3-4 attached to my bag and rotate them every shot.

  

So Lamkin is in for a ride and we shall see how these hold up. I assure you, if they hold up to me they will hold up to you. I currently use another Lamkin grip called the crossline plus.

 Luckily these grips have the same specs. I will be installing my own with air and will also be something I am reviewing. I have used several completely different styles of grips over the years, but my favorite feeling grip of all time was the Winn Dri Tac wrap. I have been searching for a grip that feels like that but lasts longer than a week. I hope Lamkin can deliver on their claims of “feel” regarding this grip. One other thing I am specifically honing in on with these grips is at the transition from the top of the backswing to impact. I really have trouble gripping the club too tight at that transition, I’m hoping a tackier grip can aid in that. I think these grips will make the bag if can maintain that tacky feeling and not get slick, that’s my biggest pet peeve is when a grip wears and becomes slick. So buckle up and stay tuned and let’s see what we can find out. 

-Sprinkler Hands

 

Initial Impressions 8 out of 10

I usually gravitate towards a clean, no fuss grip. Bright colors and patterns are not for me and I find them to be distracting. I do not like the way they look in my bag to others either which I realize is ostentatious. So when I opened the box today, I half expected me to be disappointed in these. I have looked at these online when shopping for new grips, and before the all black version was released I immediately dismissed them as the blue was just too much for me to stomach and assumed this version was only slightly less gaudy. I was wrong.  

Looks

In-hand, these things are stunning! They do have an almost gloss finish on them but not to the point of being distracting, just enough to make them look high end. The pattern is subtle and blends in with the rest of the grip and are almost invisible when you hold the club at address. This is of course not taking into account the small white pattern in the center of the grip. It is almost too much out of the box, but again at address, it doesn’t become distracting or serve as a strict alignment aid. You can use it as that if that’s how one lines their club up. I do not like to see any alignment aids on my grips and this was my biggest concern with these. But once installed and looking down I was able to move past that very quickly and resume my normal grip alignment. The patterns really hide amongst the rest of the grip and the white pattern almost disappears when you set your leading hand on the grip and my thumb lands perfectly on it. These make my Nike’s look gooood

Feel

In my hand, uninstalled I would put these in a medium-firm feeling grip. Compared to my crossline plus (velvet style) these are a bit firmer to me. I was expecting something totally different in this category. I really thought they would be very soft and resemble something like a GP CP2 pro grip. They feel firmer than that however and much firmer than the Winn dri-tac I had envisioned. I don’t mind a firm grip, my concerns are how they will hold up to my level of moisture. They have an almost slick feel to them out of the box, once installed they still have a bit of a slick feel while not wearing gloves (remember my sweaty hands). I was finally able to dry my hands enough to get a good idea of how these feel. They have a nice tacky feel to them. It’s an almost corded tackiness as well with the design of the grip. It’s very nice. I am interested to see how they fare in the humidity on the course. 

 

Quality/Consistency

I weighed each grip on my scale and found they are in a reasonable range. It never varied over 1.5 grams from the heaviest to the lightest. Every grip I’ve ever put on has approximately this range. The advertised weight was 57 grams and all grips weighed slightly more than that, the heaviest being 58.5 grams and the lightest being 57.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really enjoyed testing these grips and the overall testing process. I am thankful for the opportunity provided by all involved and I hope to participate in more in the future.

 

Well, this was definitely a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tale for my test. There were points along the way that I never wanted to swing another grip and other times I wanted to rip them off and never use them again. So let's explore that shall we...

Aesthetics: 10/10

Ok, so I initially said there was no grip that could achieve a perfect score as it is subjective… I threw that idea out the window. These grips look incredible! They look very high end, classy, clean, and make your clubs stand out without being too loud. They say something without saying it. I think if I saw these on a competitor's clubs I would immediately think they were a good player. I personally don’t like bold colors, and wacky designs on my grips. I prefer straight, black, clean looking grips, but these went beyond that. 

 Fit and Feel: 18/20

I’ve always preferred a less tapered and midsize grip so there isn’t much else about the fit to score. I deducted only 2 for the installation process, where the grips were a little flimsy to put on with air but they did not prove much extra trouble. If they would have been less flimsy they would have been less soft and tacky anyways. I have a lot of extra grips laying around and for this test I put them all on and at least took some practice swings  with them to get a feel for the grips. I made sure my hands were dry and they all had the same conditions. I couldn’t find one grip better than these in the feel department, even the Winn Dri Tac wrap grip which was always my favorite feeling grip lost to these. They have a firm yet soft feel? The fingerprint tech almost acts like a cord while the soft material feels like it sticks to your hand. It is very unique and I think there is something there that can improve a lot of golfer’s stranglehold on their clubs while not having to go full corded grip. 

 On the course: 5/20

Ok, here’s where we start to see the problems that arose for me. If you haven’t read my intro please do so. It will help you better understand the issues I had with these grips. I deducted half the points due to my copious amounts of sweat which caused the grips to act like a bar of soap in my hands. My circumstance is extreme and shouldn’t be necessarily used for you the consumer to judge the grips performance. You will be better off to judge the grips based on another tester's experience. The humidity was to levels I have not seen before and other grips also got slick, but for whatever reason, these grips were the worst for my level of sweat. Again, I am an anomaly, but it is the truth and couldn’t even swing these grips bare handed with everything going on. Even with rain gloves on both hands I still never felt 100% confidence in them. 

 

The Good, the bad, and the in-between: 15/20

You may  be thinking this is too high of a score given the last couple lines in the previous section. But I also have to take into consideration my condition and work around it and in it and everything else. The truth is, no grip performs perfect when conditions are that bad for me, yes, corded grips seem to perform the best and softer grips less so, but they all have issues when covered in oily, gross sweat. I think back during this test to two specific times I was using them, once in the late evening on my property while the sun was setting and the humidity had dropped substantially. I was able to go out with my wedge and hit a bucket of balls on less than full swing shots and I was able to feel all these grips had to offer and I loved it. The swing felt effortless and in complete control. This was due to the grip alone. My initial thoughts about the test was based around this one section of my swing, the transition from the top of my back swing to the downswing. I tend to grip the club too tight during rounds and never feel like I can relax through that move. These grips allowed me to do that and not have to think about it either. That alone gave me a glimmer of hope to what these grips can provide and I loved it. Another time was chipping after a round and the same scenario, low humidity and dry hands. Same experience, just effortless comfort. 

 Play it or Trade it: 10/20

So I am taking these grips off…. For the moment. I am going to let the humidity drop and revisit them in the fall. For all I know these could be a seasonal grip for me, they have the same exact specs as my gamers and the brief time I got to experience their potential left me wanting more. I will repost on this page so if you’re interested in seeing how it shakes out, check back in here. I think it will be a completely different outcome. 

 

So in closing, do I recommend these grips to you? Yes, absolutely yes! Try them, you will be pleasantly surprised at the unique feel and responsiveness of the grips. I could, however, not game them at this very moment. I did however, play in my first tournament and shot a great 75(+5) round with them. Hard to complain about that. They are also the most stunning grips I’ve ever seen and as I’ve said before, that is not a statement I’ve made in the past. They made me want to build an all black set with heads and shafts to match. If anyone does this, show me! It would be the single best looking set of irons ever! I also liked the feel so much I purchased a matching (ping version) of the putter grip. I look forward to the fall and my chance to dig deep into them again. I’m considering this test ongoing and looking forward to part two. So, if we are counting (and we are) that totals up, along with initial impressions to….. (drum roll please)

 

Total Score: 76/100

 

 

[FightingScot82]

Lamkin Sonar+ Black Grips
Official MGS Forum Review
by Scott Irlbacher July 12 - July XX, 2023

Introduction

Hi everyone! My name is Scott, and I live about 10 miles north of Pittsburgh, PA. First, many thanks to MyGolfSpy and Lamkin for giving me this opportunity to be chosen and review these grips. I am a longtime reader, first time reviewer, so bear with me as I'm leaning greatly on the work of past reviews for style and information.

Covid and losing my job at the start of the pandemic drove my love of golf into hyperdrive. I had a lot of freetime and discovered golf YouTube: Rick Shiels, Stacked Golf, Let's Play Through, etc. I also discovered MyGolfSpy and haven't looked back. I try to play twice a week in the summers when my schedule allows. Sometimes with my dad but mostly with a couple different groups of friends. I usually start the season around a 20 handicap and by the fall I'm down below 15. My clubs are a Wilson Cortex Driver 9* with an Atmos Blue (stiff) shaft, Walter Hagen 3 & 5, Taylor Made Aeroburner HL irons with a 4h regular flex, and a Wilson Harmonized 56 degree that I bought in a pinch and hit too well to pull the trigger on something better. The driver, hybrid, and wedge all have a Lamkin Crossline grip in standard size (5'8" and medium hands). The irons still have the stock TaylorMade grip that is similar to the Crossline and they're quickly deteriorating. I do have a tighter grip and go through 2-3 gloves a summer. I use the Costco KS glove because 4 for $20 full leather gloves is too good to pass up. My ball of choice is Maxfli Tour but I also love the Vice Pro Plus and am waiting to test out the two boxes of Titleist Tour Speed someone gave me.

I've always had a favorable opinion of Lamkin grips. To be honest, until the last few years I only knew of Lamkin and Golf Pride. Like I said, the existing stock grips on my fairways and irons are deteriorating rapidly so I was already starting to think about a full bag regrip in the off season. I'm going to personally pay to have my woods regripped with Lamkin Crossline so I have a comparison. I'll continue playing 1-2 times a week and hitting the range another 1-2 times. I'm looking forward to seeing how they feel (I like a little bit of cushion) and to be honest, I may even try to hit them without a glove. To stay on the clubs they'll have to not have any slippage (minimal with rain) and not feel too hard. I've been reading up on the Sonar+ grips and I'm pretty excited for the package to arrive. I expect that I'll like these and they'll stay on my clubs.

Happy to engage with other MGS fans as we go along.

First Impressions (9 out of 10)

I have to admit that I gasped a little when I opened the box. It came a little non-descript but with Lamkin printed on the side. I love how they look and I'm curious about how much I'll like the tackiness of the grip surface. As I mentioned, ideally I'd love something that allows me to ditch using a glove. No obvious obnoxious smells you sometimes get with imported rubber and plastic products. They feel like an adequate thickness and softness to touch. My only initial hesitation is how long the different sets of grooves will last - especially with my harder grip. Regardless, these look fantastic and I can't wait to take them to get installed. I had to wait a few days since they came while I was traveling for work and will have to wait again because its supposed to rain for the next few days. Really excited to test out having the same grip on every club - my current configuration has four different grip models. Maybe that will make a difference 

 

After having the grips installed by a local PGA pro, I have to say my early impressions of actual use are pretty positive. The spongy feel translates over after installation and the grips are very tacky. I tried hitting some shots without a glove during a range session but learned its probably my grip not the club's that is the problem LOL. A few rounds in so far have also verified my early opinions. These are much better than the stock grips and Lamkin Crosslines that were starting to age on my clubs. Unfortunately the scores aren't improving but I have a feeling that has nothing to do with the grips!

Final Review (9.5 out of 10)

After playing a few rounds and getting some range sessions in, I have to say that I really, really like these grips. I came into this with almost no grip brand allegiance but these are pretty nice. I love the tackiness. Its not quite enough to make me play without a glove but I can totally see a gloveless player liking these grips. I also love the squeeze factor and sponginess. There's enough cushion on there that they feel high quality and I can't feel the shaft like some cheap grips that come on value clubs. At no point did I feel like the grip slipped on my hands or that they felt awkward in any way. My hands tend to hold the club a little too firm so the feel is great. I would 100% recommend these to anyone. Really, anyone. The ONLY critical feedback I can think of is I'm not sure if the design pattern of the grooves and texture on the grips would lend itself to someone who wants to have the logo facing down or if their adjustable hosel clubs rotate the grip. I didn't try that with my driver but will think to do so the next range session I have. Also the complex texture pattern could wear down over time so I'm not sure what the long term quality will be. Great job, Lamkin! I honestly never thought I had any allegiance to a grip OEM but I think I'm sold on Lamkin until further notice.

Edited August 28, 2023 by FightingScot82
moving intro to reserved post - BOS

[TheProfessor02]

Introduction:

Hello everyone, first of all I would like to thank MyGolfSpy and specifically @GolfSpy BOS for setting this test up! A little background on me, my name is Spencer, my family and I live in the Sacramento region of California and I picked up golf during COVID and haven't looked back. I grew up playing baseball and was fortunate enough to play in college so when I switched to golf I brought with me plenty of swing speed and absolutely zero face control. I've also always been rather particular about my grips whether that be on baseball bats or now on golf clubs.

  Expectations:

What I look forward to about these grips is the material being soft whilst not being too squishy as well as some tack to really lock in that grip. Currently the best part of my game surprisingly is my short game of which I hit almost all of my shots without a glove. With that said, I will be taking particular interest in how these grips perform and feel in full swings with a glove as well as in more delicate shots around the green bare handed. If weather permits I would also love to test how these grips perform in wetter conditions as well as during high temps when my hands begin to get sweaty. The main comparison I have in my head for this product is the Golf Pride CPX grips. For these grips to earn a spot in my bag the tack feel needs to persist over the course of multiple rounds and throughout the duration of a single round even in sweaty or damp conditions.  If you are interested in purchasing these grips and had a particular question or element of the grips you'd like my opinion on please feel free to reach out and ask me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Impressions  (9 out of 10):

 Lamkin has really hit the mark with these; if the out of the box feel lasts through the testing period I would be quite impressed with the product they have created.

 

 

 

 

Here are some photos of the grips and how they arrived. 

Nothing overly fancy but not much risk of damage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They did have a bit of dust in the grooves that needed to be cleaned out but that was easily done with some compressed air, I'd imagine wiping them off with a wet paper towel would have worked as well. After seeing some dust getting stuck in the grooves I was concerned about the overall effectiveness of the tack on the grips but that has not been an issues at all thus far. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After getting the grips installed and playing around with them in multiple scenarios from full swings to short game shots including from the bunker I am thoroughly impressed. As my partner in crime (pictured below) describes it they are "squishy" but only on the outer surface level. Once you squeeze the grip there is the a sense of firmness which is great for feel and feedback in my opinion. The tackiness of the grip is perfect, not too sticky where it feels like I have dried syrup on my hands and just enough to where my fingers are really locked onto the club handle. It's still early in testing so I will be very curious to see how it holds up but so far Lamkin has 100% nailed the friction/traction element of this grip. The fingerprint technology for the lower hand is especially impressive on finesse shots. It feels as if my hands are glued to the club and allows for very precise control of my hands/wrists with no wasted movements from slipping on the club handle. After the improved driver face control feel I've picked up from these grips Blaster (pictured left) has become very protective over them. The only caveats I have so far in testing is the lack of taper these grips offer so they feel slightly thicker than standard and I'd personally prefer the grips with blue accents but with all things considered these have impressed me quite a bit.  Stay tuned for more and feel free to share any questions or ideas you'd like me to look into!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FINAL REVIEW

 

Aesthetics (9 out of 10) 

 

 

The grips have a simplistic clean look with a small accent piece in the middle. The grips feature a “less taper” design, so they have a consistent look down the shaft which I appreciate. I find them to be a modern take on a classic look, nothing flashy but not without some flare. The different patterns on the grip are not just functional but also add a nice wrinkle to the design as well. The grip material has a slight shine to it that adds a bit of a premium appearance to them. All things considered I think they are pristine looking grips and would receive all 10 points for the category if they had a few pops of color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fit and Feel (19 out of 20)

 

The focus for my game during this test has been approach play . As you can see from the Arccos screenshot I did see an improvement in my approach play since installing the grips. I will attribute the majority of this to spending more of my typical practice time on this area, but I have no issues claiming these grips played a part in my improvements. I know it sounds a bit ridiculous to claim a grip could make a noticeable difference but allow me to explain my reasoning. The combination of tack, traction and gradual grip resistance of these clubs allowed me to have the confidence to abandon my death grip on clubs and not worry about the club twisting or slipping in my hands. It allowed me to hold the club much more in the fingers especially on my trail hand (right hand for RH golfer). The grip feels ever so slightly thicker than a normal standard grip which is fine for me as a guy with small to average size hands and obviously it feels thicker at the bottom with a taper less design style. I find the taper less design shines the most with specialty high speed swings such as punch outs, forced shot shaping and extreme uneven lies. The tack and traction on these things is no joke. @GolfSpy BOShas a great ASMR video linked on this thread regarding the tack these things have, and it has lasted throughout my testing without having to clean them once. These grips are comfortable, but I did develop a new callus on my trail hand that was sore at first, but I will happily go through that discomfort as I mentioned earlier the ability to feel the club face so acutely in my fingers is a godsend. I expect my finger to adjust to this new wear spot and callus up just fine. I did have one grip that felt a bit thicker on the “spine” of the grip that isn’t uncomfortable just a bit different on this one club. I would attribute this to manufacturing consistency and it’s not anything I would worry about just different so I thought I would mention it. The last thing I wanted to bring up is the fingerprint technology that Lamkin is known for. These grips deliver in that regard as I found the lower end of the club especially “grippy” for lack of a better term on delicate short game shots where I really want to use my hands. I’ve rated the grips 19 out of 20 deducting points for the unusual spine on the one grip.

 

 

 

 

 

        

 

On The Course (17.5 out of 20)

On the course these things aren’t going to turn heads, but no one will clown on you for having them either. *Insert LAB Putter Mega Mind Joke here* The grips feel great throughout the round, even when playing in the heat and getting some mild sweat on my hands. I also have not seen any signs of wear or needed to clean them in 5+ rounds. I expect these grips to hold up well over the duration of the season. The one caveat I have to add is these grips do lose traction when they get very wet so if you play in the early morning maybe take a second to watch you don’t place them in dewy grass as this may start to affect their performance come the end of the round. I tested this out on the range spraying the grips with a water bottle and then taking full swings and the loss in traction is quite noticeable. So long as you aren't playing in a downpour and can keep the grips relatively dry you will be good to go! 

 

 

The Good, the bad, the In-between (18 out of 20)

I mentioned gradual grip resistance earlier and this might be my favorite thing about them. The best way I can describe it is something akin to a hard plastic encased in a semi-soft rubber. The harder you squeeze the grip the firmer it feels but the outermost layer still feels soft to the touch especially around the green on half-shots. I find this extremely pleasant as I like a softer grip, but I don’t like it when a grip is so soft my hands squish into it and I lose any sense or feel for the club. Fortunately, I did not have the experience of playing with these grips in a downpour, however in the interest of science I ran my own little experiment on wetting the grips with a few douses from a spray bottle and having a go. I am sad to report that there was a noticeable loss in traction which is to be expected. With that said I don’t play golf in the rain so this is a non-issue for me personally but if you are one of those sickos that plays in the rain frequently then you will want to keep these puppies dry!

Play it or Trade it? (19.5 out of 20)

For me personally, I absolutely love these grips and would recommend them as something to try out for anyone of any skill level on the market for new grips. I think the price is more than fair and I have been especially pleased with them since they’ve gone in the bag. My only gripe is I wish I had the blue colorway option but that’s small potatoes all things considered! I believe that these grips have made me a better player even if it may be hard to quantify. The bottom line is I like these grips and I enjoy playing golf with them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

Hey would you look at that a 92 out of 100 that’s an A! I would like to give a big shoutout to Lamkin, MyGolfSpy and @GolfSpy BOS for having me for this review and all the help and guidance they've provided. These grips are great if you don’t play in super wet conditions or have to worry about excess moisture on your grips which I fortunately do not, sorry @srooch2. The grips are soft but not too squishy to the point where you lose feel of the club. The traction and tack of these is great from full swings to partial shots, feeling like they’re practically sewn on to your hands. Lamkin hit the nail on the head with these in my opinion by offering a grip that feels soft and nice in your hands without losing out on the performance of the traction at all costs corded style grips. 

 

Final Score (92 out of 100)

 

                    

Edited August 29, 2023 by TheProfessor02
Final Review Posted

[GolfSpy_BEN]

Congrats Testers! I look forward to the unique ways you will come up with to test these grips. Now the fun begins!

[Preeway]

Congrats, fellas. I’m a big Lamkin fan so eager to hear your thoughts.  

[KC Golf]

Congrats!  I have seen a few people with them, but I have never tried them.  Looking forward to the reviews!

[GolfSpy BOS]

My current favorite grip.  I'm probably biased, but I think you all will love these.  The Golf Pride MCC+4 Align grips I tried on the Edel's will be coming off soon.  For me, it's going to be really hard to beat the performance I get out of the Sonar+!

 

Can't wait to see what you all think!

[Stymes]

Congratulations testers!

[Stymes]

Congratulations testers!

[rkj427]

Congrats. to those chosen for this test of the Sonar+ grips.

Hoping to see comments and reviews, and hoping they will also make comments related to comparing them to their current grips.

[Reesedw]

Thanks everyone, this will be good. I have used Lamkin grips for several years, until the recent regrip. The TSR3 cam with a Golf pride CP2 which i like alot so this should be lots of fun.. Thanks again to all the moderators for all the hard work they do making this the best golf forum on the web... 

Reesedw (Dave)

[Paul Hedrick]

Congratulations testers!  I am looking forward to reading your reviews.

[Reesedw]

Lets Go Guys... 

 

Edited July 15, 2023 by Reesedw
Delete

[srooch2]

Added first impressions, did it from my phone so let me know if pics don’t show up or look atrocious  

I’ve got some time with these and will write a follow up soon as I’ve had some hiccups with them, stay tuned

[TheProfessor02]

Bump for added first impressions! Please let me know if you typically browse on desktop, tablet or smartphone so I can format accordingly! 

[NC Golfer]

Testers, how do these compare to the prior gen black blue. I love these grips and think they help improve my game. 

Edited July 25, 2023 by NC Golfer

[TheProfessor02]

7 hours ago, NC Golfer said:

Testers, how do these compare to the prior gen black blue. I love these grips and think they help improve my game. 

Thank you for the question, from my understanding these two grips are identical in construction, the Sonar+ Black is just a different colorway. 

[GolfSpy BOS]

7 hours ago, NC Golfer said:

Testers, how do these compare to the prior gen black blue. I love these grips and think they help improve my game. 

While not officially testing here... I'll have an answer to that question soon.  I have a few new grips to put on my irons.  But on paper they are identical outside of the colors as @TheProfessor02 mentioned.

[srooch2]

I finally figured it out, not my issue with the grips, but what they remind me of. It’s Kylo Ren’s helmet. 

I couldn’t think of it for this whole time. 
 

 

[TheProfessor02]

1 hour ago, srooch2 said:

I finally figured it out, not my issue with the grips, but what they remind me of. It’s Kylo Ren’s helmet. 

I couldn’t think of it for this whole time. 
 

 

Now that you mention it, yeah you're totally right. 

[srooch2]

I played in my first tournament this weekend, I decided to keep these on the first round. I played well 75(+5) but had to wear two rain gloves for most of the round. I had one shot where my lower hand slipped off the club. So I decided to switch back for the second round. I still had to play wearing two gloves but it didn’t seem as bad. I also played better the first round which has little to for or against the grips. I am having an issue with my level of sweat affecting the performance. I moved the grips to my backup (adams mb2) set and played a round yesterday. I didn’t have to wear two gloves as often. So in summary I’m still feeling it out with these. Keep in mind if you think your hands sweat as much as mine, I promise they don’t. I’m in a humid state as well and with my condition I am an anomaly. It is something I’m keeping a close watch on for now and will keep updating with specifics.  

[TheProfessor02]

Good to know I don't often play in poor weather but I'd be curious to see how your hands do with these grips and liken it to playing in severely wet conditions. Have you found any types of grips whether it be heavily corded or leather wraps that work well for you given your condition @srooch2? 

[srooch2]

40 minutes ago, TheProfessor02 said:

Good to know I don't often play in poor weather but I'd be curious to see how your hands do with these grips and liken it to playing in severely wet conditions. Have you found any types of grips whether it be heavily corded or leather wraps that work well for you given your condition @srooch2? 

The velvet style I play now I’ve never had a problem with. This tournament was the first time I’ve had to break out the right hand glove. So I’m not sure if the humidity mixed with being nervous made things worse. I’m just kind of keeping an eye and making notes of it for now. I’ll update ya. Rain would almost be comparable except sweat seems to be oily compared to water. It’s definitely something to be aware of. Maybe other testers can put it through some extreme test like spraying with water or something else creative.  

[srooch2]

I went out and played 18 yesterday (walk 9/rode 9), I had the grips on all 13 clubs. I’m still feeling this slickness when my super sweaty hands contact the grip. I didn’t have to wear a right handed glove till about the 15th hole, which I think means it was a lot of nerves from the tournament that exacerbated my sweat. I thoroughly enjoy these grips and think they are some of the best looking and feeling grips I’ve ever had. They are allowing me to loosen my stranglehold on my clubs and let me swing a little looser. I will swap my old grips on and do the same thing with his weekend to do a more side by side of them. Again, I can’t stress enough, don’t use my condition as a reference for yourself if you are curious about these grips. I’d like to hear someone else chime in on their experiences. I am really enjoying the testing process, that’s for sure! 

[TheProfessor02]

Yep been playing around with these now the past couple weeks and I am seriously impressed by the tackiness of these. In my mind they are the perfect amount of sticky without being overly so, I don't feel the need to peel my hands off them and wash after every swing. Also the durability of the tackiness has been a pleasant surprise as well. For reference I had a mix of the Golf Pride CPX , Tour Velvet and the MCC Plus 4 on my clubs. The initial tack and feel of the CPXs were extremely nice but once the clubs got a bit dirty/used (~1 week) the tackiness was gone until I fully cleaned them then it would be back for a round or two. I have not had to clean these yet and the grip is just as tacky as they were day one. As far as traction in the hands I would put these head to head with the MCCs in dry conditions, still yet to test these in wetter conditions but that may be tough here in CA at the moment. The thing that really stands out to me with these are that my hands are locked on to the club, typically I could just slide my hands around the club as needed to adjust my grip but with these I actually have to let go and then regrip the club as it wont let my hands just slide over. In my mind these are the perfect blend of comfortable/soft in the hands while also providing some serious lock down traction. Feel free to ask any questions about these! 

[TheProfessor02]

On 7/25/2023 at 4:47 PM, srooch2 said:

The velvet style I play now I’ve never had a problem with. This tournament was the first time I’ve had to break out the right hand glove. So I’m not sure if the humidity mixed with being nervous made things worse. I’m just kind of keeping an eye and making notes of it for now. I’ll update ya. Rain would almost be comparable except sweat seems to be oily compared to water. It’s definitely something to be aware of. Maybe other testers can put it through some extreme test like spraying with water or something else creative.  

Yeah if we don't get any rain in the next few weeks I'll just bring a spray bottle to the range and look like a madman wetting his golf clubs before he swings. 

[srooch2]

57 minutes ago, TheProfessor02 said:

Yeah if we don't get any rain in the next few weeks I'll just bring a spray bottle to the range and look like a madman wetting his golf clubs before he swings. 

Bryson in the flesh

[srooch2]

Well I know one thing, it is very very humid outside. I’ve never let anything keep me off the golf course but I am maxed out where I live. We’re supposed to cool down for a couple days at the beginning of the week. I made two tee times on those days. I did put my standard grips back on and went out. I’m writing this off as just plain humid out. My hands are like garden hoses right now. I did reshaft my driver and put one of these grips on. I can’t say it enough, these are the best looking grips I’ve ever seen. Pictures don’t do them justice, they have a very high end look to them which I’ve never even had those thoughts in regards to a grip.