The evolution of my golf game was slow and sometimes challenging. In my early years, I felt that off the rack equipment was well suited for my game. Therefore, I never really focused on the finer aspects of how technology could improve my overall game. That is until I decided to compete more and needed every advantage I could find to lower my golf scores. That is when I stumbled across the knowledge of how golf grip size was an important concept I completely overlooked. Well, not any more!
Roughly 30 years ago I found out that grip size was important. In my early years, I hand a tendency to pull the ball; I rarely sliced. What I did before my new found knowledge was aim farther right or adjust my swing plane to account for my traditional miss. This method of fixing my swing challenges was a poor excuse at best; then a conversation with my local professional, Gary, changed my entire focus on what grip I should use.
Back in the early 90s, I wanted to regrip my father’s Ping Eye 2 Red Dot clubs. I still used the irons and persimmon wooden woods because they worked very well for my game. I did, however, need the clubs to be regripped and I sparked up a conversation with my local golf professional. The first question he asked was what size of grip I was currently using. I responded standard I guess. They ones on the clubs were never change since I used them and did not really know. Gary smiled and taught me the following:
As it turned out, my grips were to small and I needed to shift to mid-size grips. In those days, when the grips were changed, the professional added a second layer of tap. Now, we can purchase midsized grips in almost every make and style. I currently use midsize grips. If I purchase a club that has a standard grip, I change it immediately to a midsize.
I changed my grips to midsize back in the early 90s and magically, my pull/hook to the left became less prevalent. I still need to work on my swing, but that is a different story for another day. My point is that the thickness of our golf grip is important. It seems like a minor thing, but it definitely makes a difference in how we make contact with the ball.
If you are thinking about changing your grips because it is due, I recommend you take into account the size of the grip your are purchasing. It does make a difference….at least it did for my game.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 
Well, I did my research before gripping my clubs myself for the first time. That took all the worry about it away for me. I know, if I find I don’t like it in the near future, I can remove them intact, retape and regrip. It’s a little more time consuming than just cutting off the old and putting on new, but it’s not that difficult to accomplish.
The tape job can be a big help to giving you a better connection to the club. I’ve had the pro do some of that for me over the years to give it a try and I’ve had friends who liked their custom tape jobs. Lots of those things you can just buy in a grip today. Want a ridge off center on the bottom, you can buy an Align grip and put that ridge right where you want it every time. Want a grip that doesn’t taper so much. They make them today so you don’t have to add extra tape to the lower end of the shaft and build it up with tape. Though you might find building it up is what gets you the exact feel you want.
I’m not THAT picky personally. Though I am a little. I do like them to match. I don’t want 3 different grips in my set like I had.
Oh and btw, the grips that were on my irons were from a brand called Karma. They still weren’t in bad shape after over 600 rounds. And online right now they cost $2.09 a piece. At that price, it’s hard to say no to changing your grips or doing a little experimenting with tape jobs.
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Kevin,
Your experiences of using tape to change the grips in the past sound familiar. And now, as you pointed out, a player can purchase just about anything to make the grips fit their particular needs. It is all fun and part of the process of ensuring our equipment is best suited to our game.
Cheers Jim
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