When and why should you change your grips?

If your grips look like the grip in the image, you are fighting a losing battle. The grips on your golf clubs are arguably the most important part of your golf equipment, because it is the only thing that we actually touch while making a swing.

Grips are made up of a number of materials that creates a surface that is unlikely to be slippery. This said, it is not a surprise that nature takes its toll on everything and that includes our grips. Moisture, heat, dirt, friction and even our oily hands contributes to their deterioration.  

It is very important to have sufficient grip that you can rely on while making a golf swing. If you do not, you tend to hold the club with too much pressure due to the fear of it slipping. When you grip the club too tightly, it opens you up for a range of swing faults. Here are two mistakes that might have become part of your “Bad Habits”.

Swing Speed

When you apply too much pressure in your grip, your entire body tenses up. It becomes nearly impossible to maintain the correct tempo or speed throughout your swing without freedom of movement. Bad impact and the loss of posture will be the result.

Wrist Hinge & Club Face Angle

At this stage it is important to remind you that your mind is much stronger than your body. This means that your mind will always take over and change your swing, when it picks up that something is going wrong. When your grip pressure is too much due to a fear of the club slipping out of your hands, you restrict the range of movement of your wrists, which then carries over to the control of your clubface. The dreaded “high fade” or “low hook” will be the result.

A new set of grips is a fast and inexpensive way to improve your game. Service them once a year to maintain control over your swing.

For more information, contact me 0827643044 or pro@stfrancislinks.com

Thinus Keller

PGA Head Golf Professional