Grips and sizing...

[Rob Person]

Saw this video today while researching which new Star Grips I will be getting soon.

Interesting guide to getting FIT for grips. Covers alot of basics.

I've used standard for so long that I am going to try jumbo grips this time. 

I tried another driver that had a jumbo and it felt more connected and easier to swing.   I don't fit into the jumbo fitment guide though.  It actually says I should be in an undersized.  I have a couple of goodwill clubs with undersized grips, and they just don't feel right in my hands

I also tended to turn the club face more with them.

I read all the posts in the star grips and jumbo grips posts too (tons of info)

So, should it come down to feel with performance,  or strictly based on what is assumed to be the correct size based on hand size? (I'm a cadet ML glove)

 

 

 

[TJ Hall]

I generally use standard size grips…have bought a few clubs that larger (+4 size) that I just didn’t like the feel of.  Swapped them out for the standard size.

Play with a bunch of guys that use oversized grips due to arthritis or pain and it helps them, they’re just not my thing. 

[Nm243008]

John Daly and Bryson recently stated this is an ultra important part of the fitting process. Not once has ANY fitter ever checked me for grip size.....the fitting industry is a mess and one of the biggest waste of money for anyone over a 10 hdcp

[JAYER38]

I've never been fitted for grips but have tried a few in a fitting of different sizes and types. I landed on the GP Velvet Plus4 being what I enjoy playing and is comfortable for me. Feels better and more connected when holding. Standard grips aren't a problem but the plus 4 also has a larger lower section that doesn't taper as fast to help the right hand grip. 

I feel it is a preference as if the looks of a club...

[Mpwsports34]

I'm a midsized guy! Never actually been fitted for my grips just with trial an error. Found a company called champ key that sells grips that are really nice and cheap(about $60 for a set) . Great for testing out different grip sizes. Very similar to the golf pride composite grips. 

It's super easy to learn how to regrip your clubs at home. Play a few rounds with some different grip sizes, different feels and then once your ready you can move over to a name brand with the size that you like! 

 

I personally think the champ key grips are just as great as golf pride tho. I have a mix of about 4 golf pride grips and the rest champkey and could not tell you the difference other than some very very minor cosmetic difference. (One of them is rounded where the color meets the black and one is more pointy.) 

[buckpillar]

On 8/19/2024 at 4:50 PM, Rob Person said:

Saw this video today while researching which new Star Grips I will be getting soon.

Interesting guide to getting FIT for grips. Covers alot of basics.

I've used standard for so long that I am going to try jumbo grips this time. 

I tried another driver that had a jumbo and it felt more connected and easier to swing.   I don't fit into the jumbo fitment guide though.  It actually says I should be in an undersized.  I have a couple of goodwill clubs with undersized grips, and they just don't feel right in my hands

I also tended to turn the club face more with them.

I read all the posts in the star grips and jumbo grips posts too (tons of info)

So, should it come down to feel with performance,  or strictly based on what is assumed to be the correct size based on hand size? (I'm a cadet ML glove)

 

 

 

I watched this video also, and it is a good guide, been following him for a long time.

But it does help that you are comfortable with the grips you have and go from there

[mynerds]

On 8/20/2024 at 9:46 AM, Tsecor said:

John Daly and Bryson recently stated this is an ultra important part of the fitting process. Not once has ANY fitter ever checked me for grip size.....the fitting industry is a mess and one of the biggest waste of money for anyone over a 10 hdcp

Here's a sentence I didn't expect to type today: John Daly was also barefoot, drunk, and both of them were full of way too much chocolate milk in that video. Questionable judgement to say the least.

As for fitting, I couldn't disagree more that fitting is a waste unless you're 10 handicap or better. Club Champion had a wall of grips including putter options that they helped me pick out during my fitting a few years ago. I learned a lot about what I liked and didn't like in my clubs, and that one experience has informed many of my buying decisions since.

[Owengeorge13]

I’m thinking about trying jumbo max grips on my irons.  I wear a small/medium glove.  I used a friend’s iron on course last weekend who had a jumbo max grip on his 7 iron and I loved it. I did the online fitting last night and it spit out a medium sized grip in the light weight.  I’m hopefully going to the pga superstore later today.  I might start with my 7 iron and see how it goes…

[Rob Person]

Mine are on the way from Stargrips.

I really want to put them on all of my current clubs I'm playing,  but will probably put one on my driver, and then on my older 8i just to get a feel for them.

[Golfspy_CG2]

18 hours ago, mynerds said:

Here's a sentence I didn't expect to type today: John Daly was also barefoot, drunk, and both of them were full of way too much chocolate milk in that video. Questionable judgement to say the least.

As for fitting, I couldn't disagree more that fitting is a waste unless you're 10 handicap or better. Club Champion had a wall of grips including putter options that they helped me pick out during my fitting a few years ago. I learned a lot about what I liked and didn't like in my clubs, and that one experience has informed many of my buying decisions since.

To your comment on fittings being a waste for anyone above a 10. To further your point.  It's  Not just my opinion, but a stated fact by many of the top fitters in the business, that they can often be of more assistance to a higher handicap than a single digit.

 

[Golfspy_CG2]

On 8/20/2024 at 10:46 AM, Tsecor said:

...the fitting industry is a mess and one of the biggest waste of money for anyone over a 10 hdcp

This is just  incorrect.  See my above reply to MyNerds.  Again, it' snot opinion like yours is, mine is based on factual evidence.

[mynerds]

1 hour ago, Golfspy_CG2 said:

To your comment on fittings being a waste for anyone above a 10. That may be one of the most incorrect statements ever posted on here.  Not just my opinion, but a stated fact by many of the top fitters in the business, that they can often be of more assistance to a higher handicap than a single digit.

 

Just to clarify, you and I agree. I disagreed with Tsecor's claim that fittings were a waste for anyone above a 10 handicap. I was fit when I was first getting my feet underneath me (and probably close to a 30 handicap) and it helped immensely.

It's an expense for sure, but it's well worth it!

 

[ColdOkieGolf]

Very interesting.  He mentioned more wear in the grips by the thumbs as a sign that the grip might be too small.

I've been a midsize guy,  but I've toyed with the idea of going up to jumbo as my hand size is right on that line.  I just don't like when the grips get too big and soft and you start to lose feel.

  I wish those jumbomax grips weren't so expensive.  I went back and forth about trying them out,  but without a place to demo them - you'd drop a good amount of money just to try a few sizes.

[Golfspy_CG2]

1 hour ago, mynerds said:

Just to clarify, you and I agree. I disagreed with Tsecor's claim that fittings were a waste for anyone above a 10 handicap. I was fit when I was first getting my feet underneath me (and probably close to a 30 handicap) and it helped immensely.

It's an expense for sure, but it's well worth it!

 

All I can say is

[Rob Person]

1 hour ago, ColdOkieGolf said:

Very interesting.  He mentioned more wear in the grips by the thumbs as a sign that the grip might be too small.

I've been a midsize guy,  but I've toyed with the idea of going up to jumbo as my hand size is right on that line.  I just don't like when the grips get too big and soft and you start to lose feel.

  I wish those jumbomax grips weren't so expensive.  I went back and forth about trying them out,  but without a place to demo them - you'd drop a good amount of money just to try a few sizes.

From the video

 

[ColdOkieGolf]

34 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

From the video

 

Yeah -  I'm like just a hair over 8 1/2,  maybe a hair under if it's cold 

[Rob Person]

1 hour ago, ColdOkieGolf said:

Yeah -  I'm like just a hair over 8 1/2,  maybe a hair under if it's cold 

I was hoping someone would catch that...  

 

[Nm243008]

22 hours ago, mynerds said:

Just to clarify, you and I agree. I disagreed with Tsecor's claim that fittings were a waste for anyone above a 10 handicap. I was fit when I was first getting my feet underneath me (and probably close to a 30 handicap) and it helped immensely.

It's an expense for sure, but it's well worth it!

 

Please dont take this the wrong way, but as a 30 HDCP, if a pro gave you a 2 minute lesson, it would have helped you immensely as well. 

Ive been fit for three different sets of clubs.  I fluctuate between a 10 -15 hdcp depending on how much i play and fitting hasnt improved anything for me.....

I hit a extra stiff shaft THE VERY Same as a regular shaft.    Ive been fit for both depending on the fitter......no two fitters will ever give you the same recommendation. They look at data, interpret the data 50 different ways and make recommendations......they even throw in "looks"........Thats what I mean by being a mess and all over the place.    Ive also been fit by a Titleist pro and still play the 910 D3 and the 712 CB's because no modern clubs make enough difference during a fitting to justify "upgrading" clubs.....

You can spout "facts" all you want but the bottom line is fitters interpret data 1000 different ways......you can bring in 10 fitters, look at the same data and you will get 10 different outcomes.....

my opinion stands and its based on experience......under 10 you can see some real benefits....30 HDCP players can adjust thier feet and pick up 5 points on thier HDCP......

[cnosil]

5 hours ago, Tsecor said:

Please dont take this the wrong way, but as a 30 HDCP, if a pro gave you a 2 minute lesson, it would have helped you immensely as well. 

I can go to 10 different instructors and they will tell me different things as well.  No single answer to fix a swing...some will say grip, some will say setup, some will say an aspect of backswing, some will say release pattern, some will say you need to completely overhaul the swing, etc.

[Rob Person]

Well, I ended up with the tour 360+ jumbo grips from Stargrips.   They are massive in my hands 

 

I will be installing then this week sometime,  and report back on how they work put for me.

[mynerds]

On 8/23/2024 at 12:54 PM, Tsecor said:

Please dont take this the wrong way, but as a 30 HDCP, if a pro gave you a 2 minute lesson, it would have helped you immensely as well. 

Ive been fit for three different sets of clubs.  I fluctuate between a 10 -15 hdcp depending on how much i play and fitting hasnt improved anything for me.....

I hit a extra stiff shaft THE VERY Same as a regular shaft.    Ive been fit for both depending on the fitter......no two fitters will ever give you the same recommendation. They look at data, interpret the data 50 different ways and make recommendations......they even throw in "looks"........Thats what I mean by being a mess and all over the place.    Ive also been fit by a Titleist pro and still play the 910 D3 and the 712 CB's because no modern clubs make enough difference during a fitting to justify "upgrading" clubs.....

You can spout "facts" all you want but the bottom line is fitters interpret data 1000 different ways......you can bring in 10 fitters, look at the same data and you will get 10 different outcomes.....

my opinion stands and its based on experience......under 10 you can see some real benefits....30 HDCP players can adjust thier feet and pick up 5 points on thier HDCP......

I can appreciate that your experience is that 30 handicap players don't see a benefit from a fitting. As someone who was fitted as a 30ish handicap player, your opinion doesn't match what I experienced.

Did I take lessons from a golf pro prior to be fitted? Yes. Did they adjust my feet? Yes. Did it help? Yes. Did it lower my handicap by 5? No, but I understand the point that one needs some basic swing concepts before getting fit for clubs.

Did getting fit for clubs make everything I learned during my lessons easier? Absolutely - I no longer felt like I was fighting my clubs, much like a runner finally wearing the correct shoe size. Getting fit made playing a more enjoyable experience and kept me playing. In that sense, it's been the single best thing to lower my handicap.

I'm sorry to hear that fitting hasn't improved anything for you. Perhaps as a silver lining, poor fitting experiences might help keep you from joining the CHA Club? We're always welcoming new members over there though!

[elight]

My irons came with midsized Winn grips (very soft). I since changed them out for standard Golf Pride CP2 Pro grips. Ever since, I've had on and off lower arm and elbow pain I've never had before. 

I probably have too much pressure in my grip. My hands are small/medium, so I don't think I need a mid-sized grip. I wonder if I just need to go back to something soft (despite the lack of durability), or maybe try adding a few wraps? 

[Nm243008]

20 hours ago, mynerds said:

I can appreciate that your experience is that 30 handicap players don't see a benefit from a fitting. As someone who was fitted as a 30ish handicap player, your opinion doesn't match what I experienced.

Did I take lessons from a golf pro prior to be fitted? Yes. Did they adjust my feet? Yes. Did it help? Yes. Did it lower my handicap by 5? No, but I understand the point that one needs some basic swing concepts before getting fit for clubs.

Did getting fit for clubs make everything I learned during my lessons easier? Absolutely - I no longer felt like I was fighting my clubs, much like a runner finally wearing the correct shoe size. Getting fit made playing a more enjoyable experience and kept me playing. In that sense, it's been the single best thing to lower my handicap.

I'm sorry to hear that fitting hasn't improved anything for you. Perhaps as a silver lining, poor fitting experiences might help keep you from joining the CHA Club? We're always welcoming new members over there though!

As a 30 HDCP, as you become better and improve and lets say you get down to a 25 because your putting has improved......that fitting you had still has done nothing for you....and the better your SWING gets, the less and less the club matters.....if your swing improves and you start striking the ball better, that fitting you had is now irrelevant.  If you truly believe fitting is the answer for a 30 hdcp, you would now have to go get re-fit to assure the CLUBS are doing their job at maximum level..... as your swing changes, so does the club fitting....its a complete inexact science because there is no correlation between SCORING and FITTING.  Its all fugazi and a complete money grab for high HDCP players.....when you get down to single digits where you really know what is happening with your contact and can see and feel exactly what is happening on contact and launch, then you can really dial in......otherwise you are hitting 20 shots in a booth, spraying the ball all over a virtual screen looking at spin and launch and distance in a controlled environment, hitting off a mat.   you sit there saying "my launch angle needs to be X" and "My spin rate needs to go up 200 rpms".....and not only that, out of the 20 shots you just hit, probably 1 or 2 of them were in the center of the clubface...the other 18 were high toes, hosel hits, super thin or fat......so you eliminate the "really bad " shots and focus on the 2 shots that were actually decent contact. SO in essence, you have hit 2 good shots with a 6 or 7 iron, maybe you did the same with a wedge and now have 4 good hits out of 40 and you get a $1500 set of clubs recommended to you.....oh, and you just paid hundreds for the "fitting".

the minute you get out on the course and have to hit a shot off real grass, in 3" rough or the side of a hill with 15 mph winds and sloped fairways, the fitting means zilch.....spin rates, launch and all that you analyzed in a controlled booth is worthless.....making PROPER contact is what counts and that comes from lessons and practice......not club fitting.  A scratch or pro can pick up a set from 1895 and shoot under par with wooden shafts. BECOME A BALL STRIKER...not a fitting customer. 

99% of amateurs love to think they know exactly what is happening with their swing and contact but the brutal truth is you are only repeating what you have read, or listened to on you tube.  You cannot know this stuff as a 30 or a 25 hdcp.  Golf is the only sport where a 25 HDCP will tell another 25 hdcp what is wrong with their swing lol......its like every golfer thinks they can be an instructor with swing tips but they shoot 95-110......and its the same with fitting.... the industry has brainwashed high hdcp amateurs into spending 1000's of dollars on "fitting" when lessons should be the push.  Pros have been "fit" for decades and only when the industry realized they could make millions off the idea, did they start targeting high hdcp players who were desperate for improvement.  The hard truth is you can buy a set "off the rack" and still be a 30 HDCP player or you could go get fit, not have any lessons, and guess what....you will still be a 30 hdcp.   The club is NOT the answer as a high hdcp player....buy into all the myths and believe those 4 good hits you had inside a booth hitting off a mat is a true indicator of a fitting, thats on you. 

The fitting industry needs to be overhauled........and to see 25-30 HDCP players say Bryson Dechambeau and John Daly are wrong about grip fitting is a laughable.    I was fit for a 45.5" driver and hit it far but only when i shortened the driver to 44" did i start hitting fairways 75% of the time......I made that change myself.....the PGA fitter never even mentioned a shorter driver.....

I stand on my facts. To each his own. debate is good. Opinions are valued and appreciated no matter what they are, so i do appreciate you guys pushing back but i disagree completely. 

Edited August 26 by Tsecor

[GolfSpy_APH]

2 hours ago, Tsecor said:

As a 30 HDCP, as you become better and improve and lets say you get down to a 25 because your putting has improved......that fitting you had still has done nothing for you....and the better your SWING gets, the less and less the club matters.....if your swing improves and you start striking the ball better, that fitting you had is now irrelevant.  If you truly believe fitting is the answer for a 30 hdcp, you would now have to go get re-fit to assure the CLUBS are doing their job at maximum level..... as your swing changes, so does the club fitting....its a complete inexact science because there is no correlation between SCORING and FITTING.  Its all fugazi and a complete money grab for high HDCP players.....when you get down to single digits where you really know what is happening with your contact and can see and feel exactly what is happening on contact and launch, then you can really dial in......otherwise you are hitting 20 shots in a booth, spraying the ball all over a virtual screen looking at spin and launch and distance in a controlled environment, hitting off a mat.   you sit there saying "my launch angle needs to be X" and "My spin rate needs to go up 200 rpms".....and not only that, out of the 20 shots you just hit, probably 1 or 2 of them were in the center of the clubface...the other 18 were high toes, hosel hits, super thin or fat......so you eliminate the "really bad " shots and focus on the 2 shots that were actually decent contact. SO in essence, you have hit 2 good shots with a 6 or 7 iron, maybe you did the same with a wedge and now have 4 good hits out of 40 and you get a $1500 set of clubs recommended to you.....oh, and you just paid hundreds for the "fitting".

the minute you get out on the course and have to hit a shot off real grass, in 3" rough or the side of a hill with 15 mph winds and sloped fairways, the fitting means zilch.....spin rates, launch and all that you analyzed in a controlled booth is worthless.....making PROPER contact is what counts and that comes from lessons and practice......not club fitting.  A scratch or pro can pick up a set from 1895 and shoot under par with wooden shafts. BECOME A BALL STRIKER...not a fitting customer. 

99% of amateurs love to think they know exactly what is happening with their swing and contact but the brutal truth is you are only repeating what you have read, or listened to on you tube.  You cannot know this stuff as a 30 or a 25 hdcp.  Golf is the only sport where a 25 HDCP will tell another 25 hdcp what is wrong with their swing lol......its like every golfer thinks they can be an instructor with swing tips but they shoot 95-110......and its the same with fitting.... the industry has brainwashed high hdcp amateurs into spending 1000's of dollars on "fitting" when lessons should be the push.  Pros have been "fit" for decades and only when the industry realized they could make millions off the idea, did they start targeting high hdcp players who were desperate for improvement.  The hard truth is you can buy a set "off the rack" and still be a 30 HDCP player or you could go get fit, not have any lessons, and guess what....you will still be a 30 hdcp.   The club is NOT the answer as a high hdcp player....buy into all the myths and believe those 4 good hits you had inside a booth hitting off a mat is a true indicator of a fitting, thats on you. 

The fitting industry needs to be overhauled........and to see 25-30 HDCP players say Bryson Dechambeau and John Daly are wrong about grip fitting is a laughable.    I was fit for a 45.5" driver and hit it far but only when i shortened the driver to 44" did i start hitting fairways 75% of the time......I made that change myself.....the PGA fitter never even mentioned a shorter driver.....

I stand on my facts. To each his own. debate is good. Opinions are valued and appreciated no matter what they are, so i do appreciate you guys pushing back but i disagree completely. 

This is entirely short sighted and ignores so many of the potential benefits of being properly fit by a true professional.

[MissionMan]

3 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

This is entirely short sighted and ignores so many of the potential benefits of being properly fit by a true professional.

Agree wholeheartedly. I have high handicap friends who were fitted and it made a huge difference.

[GolfSpy_BNG]

40 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

This is entirely short sighted and ignores so many of the potential benefits of being properly fit by a true professional.

Its also wrong imo. 
 

A fitting can get you into the proper length and lie not just the proper club head and shaft.  These aspects can provide immediate improvement for a high handicapper. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

1 minute ago, GolfSpy_BNG said:

Its also wrong imo. 

Well that too. I'll truly never agree with that line of thinking. As someone who had done fittings and seen higher handicaps get fit and improve it just shows a very narrowed approach to the topic that I think is wrong.

Some may not, fair enough, but the amount of harm that can be done from having overly incorrect or wrong clubs can be damaging for years.

[mynerds]

6 hours ago, Tsecor said:

the minute you get out on the course and have to hit a shot off real grass, in 3" rough or the side of a hill with 15 mph winds and sloped fairways, the fitting means zilch.....spin rates, launch and all that you analyzed in a controlled booth is worthless.....making PROPER contact is what counts and that comes from lessons and practice......not club fitting. 

Interesting claim. I started playing better after I was fit without an additional lesson. Why do you think that is if not for the fitting?

6 hours ago, Tsecor said:

If you truly believe fitting is the answer for a 30 hdcp, you would now have to go get re-fit to assure the CLUBS are doing their job at maximum level..... as your swing changes, so does the club fitting....its a complete inexact science because there is no correlation between SCORING and FITTING.

Yeah, I expect to have to be fit again as my swing changes. You fit to a swing, not to a person.

6 hours ago, Tsecor said:

The fitting industry needs to be overhauled........and to see 25-30 HDCP players say Bryson Dechambeau and John Daly are wrong about grip fitting is a laughable.    I was fit for a 45.5" driver and hit it far but only when i shortened the driver to 44" did i start hitting fairways 75% of the time......I made that change myself.....the PGA fitter never even mentioned a shorter driver.....

It genuinely sounds like you're saying that fitting does matter, at least for grip size. And that you hit better after making an equipment only change. I'm not sure that you've got a consistent narrative that equipment doesn't matter here.

[cnosil]

6 hours ago, Tsecor said:

 It’s all fugazi and a complete money grab for high HDCP players.....

Just to validate, you believe a 30 handicap will perform equally with a set of new muscle back irons with 130gr x-stiff shafts, SGI irons with 50 gram senior flex, or some 1980s off the rack box set.   IMO,  to answer yes to that question means you believe there is no technological or performance difference between clubs.  If you answer no, then you have to acknowledge that some level of fitting is valuable to the golfer.   
 

to clarify I believe their are different types of fittings and that high handicappers will benefit from someone helping them figure out what will work best.  I don’t believe that help needs to be a high dollar fitting for exotic shafts.  

[KurtActual]

This thread really digressed. Has anyone done any testing on grip size? Trackman set up with the same clubs with different grips?