Grips: The Glorious and Gruesome

[GolfSpy Dave]

My next set of grips will be the Tacki-Mac Itomic grips, one of my assistants got them and they compare pretty well to the Iomic grips and are about a quarter of the price.

I have these right now. Just know they run a little big and if you need to build them up the softness goes if you put too many layers of tape...

[DJNiich]

http://www.golfsmith.com/browse.php?Ntt=goodyear&N=0&Nty=1&Ntx=mode+matchall&Ntk=All&lcode=expps

 

$3.99 now. It says they have in store pick-up, What ever that means, maybe you have to order them in.

Got it, thanks.

[balester94]

I seem to remember seeing red, white & blue GP MC grips (maybe a "patriot" version that had a %age of proceeds going to charity??)...but I can'tseem to find them now. Anyone know what I'm talking about or was this a strange dream I had? If you have, any idea where they might be available and the cost? Thanks.

[GolfSpy Dave]

http://www.golfsmith.com/products/17431KIT/?lcode=CI&cm_mmc=Shopping+Engines-_-GoogleBase-_-xx-_-xx&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=17431KIT----&tcode=fr_home

[jamo]

I seem to remember seeing red, white & blue GP MC grips (maybe a "patriot" version that had a %age of proceeds going to charity??)...but I can'tseem to find them now. Anyone know what I'm talking about or was this a strange dream I had? If you have, any idea where they might be available and the cost? Thanks.

 

They have a similar pattern but they don't have any cord.

[Tyk]

I'm a big fan of the Winn PCi grips. They're expensive, but they last me a whole season (with perhaps the exeption of my wedge). The cord/polymer combo is pretty much perfect, they're very firm instead of squishy like most of the new polymer grips, and they get sticky when they get wet.

[Matt Saternus]

I got my Scratch wedges in yesterday and the Pure grips that came as the stock option feel pretty nice - very similar to my GPTVs. I'll be interested to see how they wear (and I'll try to remember to report back). Currently, I'm very disappointed in the GPTV's that I installed at the beginning of the year. I haven't played that much and they're already starting to get a bit slick on the often-used clubs. If these Pure grips work out, I may be making a switch.

[jamo]

I use the GP ND MC grips as much as I can, but currently I only have them on my driver and my new 3 wood. The rest are stock. I'm thinking about putting an oversize grip on my putter though...

[TWShoot67]

I play pretty much all GP grips but would love to try the Iomics to see how they compare to my DD2. But I've played everything from Tour Velvet's,New Decade, Tour Only GP Soft Cord, Tour Wraps and now DD2's. For putter many years it's been a Winn grip on a Bettinardi Tour putter so It's hard to find the exact replacement but it's more or less a Winn AVS.

[robbo32]

So does anyone have the Lamkin N-Dur w/ 3gen? I love the look of these grips and wonder how they hold up.

[hendricks97]

So does anyone have the Lamkin N-Dur w/ 3gen? I love the look of these grips and wonder how they hold up.

 

I would love to, but they dont make them in midsize. I spent a few months at the beginning of the year trying a bunch of different grips, and my personal winner was the Lamkin Perfomance Plus 3gen.

[robbo32]

I would love to, but they dont make them in midsize. I spent a few months at the beginning of the year trying a bunch of different grips, and my personal winner was the Lamkin Perfomance Plus 3gen.

The only thing that I am nervous about with the 3 Gen is the all white and how it would clean up and if it will stay looking clean. I clean my grips pretty regularly but still an all white grip. Maybe I'll order a 3Gen and an N-Dur.

[Manavs]

So what are your favorites and least favorite grips?

How often do you adventure into new grip territory?

Take us on a trip with your grip(s)...

 

Fav - Lamkin crossline .560 ladies gold fill (oh yeah)

Least fav - victory 50

i dont venture lol

 

passed my PAT in college using the AJ Tech gripless shaft - now that was cool

 

also was able to swing Moe Normans clubs when he visited school, those grips were wild, some rubber wrap on numbers.

[GolfSpy Dave]

I got my Scratch wedges in yesterday and the Pure grips that came as the stock option feel pretty nice - very similar to my GPTVs. I'll be interested to see how they wear (and I'll try to remember to report back). Currently, I'm very disappointed in the GPTV's that I installed at the beginning of the year. I haven't played that much and they're already starting to get a bit slick on the often-used clubs. If these Pure grips work out, I may be making a switch.

Have you checked the deals on these at Rock bottom? $50/set with air tool. Almost got them, but chickened out and went GP ND MC...

[Matt Saternus]

Have you checked the deals on these at Rock bottom? $50/set with air tool. Almost got them, but chickened out and went GP ND MC...

 

That's a really good price, less than $4 per grip and the tool for free. I already have the air tool, so not as great for me. My problem remains that I don't know which of those colors is like the Scratch grip. I think it's the yellow, but I'm not 100%.

[GolfSpy Dave]

I had the same question about color and firmness. Too new to have them at any shop. I think that the red one sounded like the right fit for me, but it is still too random and risky to buy them blind.

[cheymike]

The Pure Blk/Red grips feel very much like tour velvet's to me. I like 'em!

[Matt Saternus]

The Pure Blk/Red grips feel very much like tour velvet's to me. I like 'em!

 

And to me, the yellow ones look most like GPTVs. This is my dilemma. Oh well, don't need new grips for a while anyway.

[PingManKMB]

one of my co-workers who plays to a +1 handicap plays grips that cost $1.25 a piece. to each his own.

[cheymike]

And now for one of the "gruesome"... in my opinion. Its an "oversize" grip... like the JumboMax i wrote about in another thread. I wanted to compare the JumboMax to a Big Lite grip. I have a couple small problems with the Big Lite.

One, you can not use solvent or mineral spirits to install these, so water activated grip tape is a must. Solvent/spirits will turn them to goo. The water tape is not always available at local shops, but is available over the 'net so not a MAJOR problem.

Two, sturdiness... The grips FEEL like a "foam" and feel like they would be easy to break if not careful during installation. I didn't break the one I tried, but it just "felt" like it would break and made me nervous.

Three, you cannot use an air compressor to install them. They are too porous and you can actually feel the air escaping thru the material of the grip, almost like thru a sponge. Again, they can be installed with water activated tape.

Four, the feel of the grip once installed... ummmm... to me it felt like a putter grip. They do make putter grips, but this was not one of them. I didn't care for it on an iron at all. However, due to the feel, I put it on my itsy bitsy and yep... I LIKE IT!!! LOL!

Again, all this is my opinion only. Your mileage may vary.

[hendricks97]

The only thing that I am nervous about with the 3 Gen is the all white and how it would clean up and if it will stay looking clean. I clean my grips pretty regularly but still an all white grip. Maybe I'll order a 3Gen and an N-Dur.

 

Ive had mine for a couple months now and they still look the same as far as the whiteness goes. I wash mine after every round, but only with a wet towel, no soap.

[robbo32]

Just thought I'd share that I ended up getting white Tacki-Mac Itomic grips. Put them on with 2 wraps of tape and I love them. The tackiness they have is unbelievable and they haven't really gotten dirty but I cleaned right after the range session I had. I would definitely recommend this grip to anyone.

[RookieBlue7]

Had Dual Durometer Midsize, then Multi-Compound Midsize, then Tour Velvet Cords with wraps to get to midsize, then Iomics, then Nowon's, then back to Tour Velvet BCT's, and now am on Lamkin 3gens Performance Plus midsize in white.

 

By far, the Lamkins are my favorites out of the bunch. I used to like cord grips, but the newer cord aren't aggressive anough. I wished someone made a midsize cord and that'd be what I use. The Iomics are my least favorite out of the bunch, followed by Multi-Compounds then Midsize. I do, however, love the Lamkin 3gens. They get tackier when they get wet from sweat. That's just my grips from the past year.

 

I keep a stock of Royal Grips STS cord putter grips, though, I'm down to 9 new one left, so I probably need to buy more.

[hendricks97]

Rookie, Lamkin makes their crossline cords in midsize. Thats what I tried last year but my right hand was getting a little chewed up, so I switched to the Performance Plus 3gens

[RookieBlue7]

Yeah, but they've gone to a softer cord like Golf Pride did. Theirs is a tad rougher than the GP models, but they're not like they used to be when I was in love with cords. Their Tour Cord is a lot closer, but they're only available in standard size too.

[SargeDesign]

Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord red and black.

[RookieBlue7]

Forgot another one I tried. Pure Grips. Good in the rain, suck when your hands get sweaty. Must be the salt ocntained in sweat, but they get slimy feeling when your hands are sweaty.

 

Oh, and as far as keeping the white grips clean, that's why companies started making white grips primarily. To encourage players to clean their grips. They stay clean easily if you take the time to clean your grips. The only problem is the butt caps or other colors of grips in the bag tend to mark them up. They clean ff easily, but it's painstaking during a round. I wished Lamkin would've put white butt caps on them.

[robbo32]

Oh, and as far as keeping the white grips clean, that's why companies started making white grips primarily. To encourage players to clean their grips. They stay clean easily if you take the time to clean your grips. The only problem is the butt caps or other colors of grips in the bag tend to mark them up. They clean ff easily, but it's painstaking during a round. I wished Lamkin would've put white butt caps on them.

The one part I found to get the most dirty on my grips is not the butt cap since takci-mac has made the butt black but at the opposite end where my fingers go. That part seems to get the most dirty on my grips but after 5 rounds and about a dozen range sessions in a month they still are fairly white and look great when cleaned up.

[RookieBlue7]

I meant the butt cap marks the rest of the white grip up unless you have 14 full length dividers. Not that the butt caps get dirty.

[Tyk]

I just installed a Tacki-Mack on my 21* hybrid to test out. I put a full set on for a buddy of mine and he brought an extra for me to try. They feel surprisingly good, and I think he paid less than $3.50 a piece for them!

 

I also want to put out another prop for the Winn PCI cord/polymers I've been using. They've made it through the mid-point of the season with flying colors and after a good cleaning (the first one this year) look almost as good as new! Usually I'm having to replace a few at this point, I'm thinking these might make it a whole season, which will be the first grips to have done that in 5 years!