Opinion on moving from standard to midsize grips

[norge5]

I had really never given much thought to the anything buy standard size grips. Much like I never gave much thought to anything but stock shafts until I found this site. I hit my friend's driver with an oversize grip and it felt really good but it was just one shot. I was checking out a used driver at the store and it had a midsize grip and also felt great. I found a sizing chart and I measure out as standard size grip based on my hand and finger size but I'm pretty close to the midsize number. What has been your experience with moving to a larger grip? Thanks

[jdmorris1980]

I have big enough hands and “should” use midsize but prefer standard. Don’t worry what anything says you should play, if it feels right, it is more than likely the right choice. It’s all personal. Give them a shot, in this game grips are about the cheapest piece of equipment you will buy. So experiment.

[grochol17]

Its all about what feels good to you. Bubba Watson basically has his grips built up like a baseball bat handle and I'm pretty sure that's not going to show up on any recommendation lists.

[I_HATE_SNOW]

Switch a couple of your clubs and see what you think.

[norge5]

I think I will. You know how it goes, once you're thinking about it you're going to have to try it. Same way with clubs.

[alfriday]

Just be careful about the weight of the grip. Bigger grips tend to weigh more than regular grips. I play jumbo grips, but chose a brand that weigh the same as standard.

[norge5]

Just be careful about the weight of the grip. Bigger grips tend to weigh more than regular grips. I play jumbo grips, but chose a brand that weigh the same as standard.

Hadn't thought of that. Thanks

[@_the_crook]

recently I tried clubs w standard sized grips after using GP New Decade midsized for some years.

with the smaller size my right hand felt like there was nothing to get hold of, like holding a pencil. my left hand was pulling the club through too much.

midsized offered a better balance of control.

then redid a set with Lamkin Tour Velvets in midsize.

like them just fine. a bit softer than the GP and good to play with or without a glove.

can also recommend the GP Z Grip and Lamkin Crosslines.

 

hope you find good results whatever your choice.

[LeoLeo99]

I have 3 sets of irons currently. One regular size grips, two with midsize. The two with midsize are not the same size even though the same exact grip. The larger ones must have extra tape underneath.

 

My preference is to feel the head. I prefer heavy headed irons and play better golf with them. As far as ball striking....don't see that much of a difference between the grip sizes. It's mostly just a preference thing. Even had a driver with a jumbo grip on it. That was interesting. Hit it fine but lost some distance.

[Guia]

It used to be said in the "Dark Ages" that a standard grip promoted a draw or hook (ie more hand action), a thicker grip would straighten that shot. Now I read that was a bunch of crap and it isn't so.

 

I now play a mid size grip and have no trouble hitting a draw. It always comes down to what feels good in your hands and your control of the head.

[jlebeane13]

I've watched a golf pride spot where they talked about some of the golf pride guys, Rahm uses a midsize grip which is larger than needed. They said he does this just because he prefers the larger feel.

It's all about what works and feels best to you. Gone are the days of charts that put you in a category based on measurements.

[Howard_Jones]

Be aware of a few things when it comes to grip sizes.

 

The only standards there is for grip size is the diameter measured 2 inch below the grip.

0.900 = Mens standard

0.960 = Mid size

1.020 = Jumbo

 

But, this say NOTHING about the taper shape or how large diameter is for the lowest hand, and to get to this sizes, we need to start out from a shaft butt that measure 0.600 more, or build it up to get there. (always measure shaft butt with a caliper to get grip size right)

 

Using build up to get from standard to MID size can be done, but those who think thats saves us grip weight is wrong, it takes 4 layers of Golf BU tape each of 2 grams, so to get to MID size we need 8 grams of tape, vs 8-10 grams of rubber, and rubber feels the best.

 

Also be aware of CORE size on grips, in general we have 0.58 and 0.60, where 0.58 has the thickest rubber since it was designed for a shaft of only .0580 but still get to 0.900 as standard, so if we use 0.58 grips on a 0.600 shaft we get 0.920 or in between 1-2 layers of BU (1 layer is 0.915, 2 layers is 0.930 when we use Golf standard BU tape)

 

We can also adjust the taper shape, and by that the diameter for the lowest hand, thats where ive seen the most "size problems", its hardly ever for the upper hand, so be aware of this when you judge grips, pay attention to the size for both the upper and lower hand. In general Lamkin is less tapered than Golfpride, but the trend goes against grips with larger diameter for the lower hand (less taper), and thats why grips like MCC+4 has come to the marked.

 

Here is a method to straiten out the taper ive used for Wedges, but it can be used on any club, and it can be combined with regular build up, so instead of going all the way to MID size, some player should add 2 layers BU and then the asymmetrical build up, depending on how we want the taper of the grip to be.

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/913717-building-up-a-grip/#entry7918195

[I_HATE_SNOW]

I think I will. You know how it goes, once you're thinking about it you're going to have to try it. Same way with clubs.

 

I air install my grips, takes about as long to walk down the stairs as to change a grip. Makes comparisons very easy. I'm still deciding if I like the +4 MCC midsize better than the plain MCC. +4 is great for gripped down wedge shots but it seems slicker than the original after a couple of months.

[cmagnusson]

I'm kind of a weirdo. I play Winn Excel Oversize wraps on my driver and 3 wood, then I have standard SuperStroke TX1s on my hybrids and irons that I have a s*** ton of buildup tape underneath so that they measure as midsize with +4 on the bottom hand, and I have standard sized Golf Pride Tour Wraps on my wedges because I like the extra tackiness around the green when I have my glove off.

 

I have small hands and barely meet the "measurement" to use standard grips, FWIW.

[I_HATE_SNOW]

I always wondered why golf grips are so small. I can't think of a sport that uses a smaller grip.

[norge5]

If it's just a matter of feel and doesn't adversely affect the swing then I am definitely going to give the midsize a try. I had a set of standard size winn grips on irons for about half a season but got rid of the irons so I don't know how well they hold up. But I love the feel of the soft winn grip so I will probably try midsize winn tour wrap. That was what was on the used club I was messing with in the store. I have heard that Winn's don't last as long but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I sometimes end up with a spot on one of my fingers that seems to want to crack and bleed and the winn's solved that issue. Rougher grips tend to irritate it. Thanks for all the useful replies.

[norge5]

I always wondered why golf grips are so small. I can't think of a sport that uses a smaller grip.

Good point.

[sixtysevensixtyseven]

I've got big hands (wear a size XL glove) and I always used .60R grips because I didn't like how big 58's felt. I recently switched to MCC +4's which are bigger than I have ever played before and I'm really liking them. I feel like my grip is much more neutral where before I had a tendency to get a little strong with my grip.

 

I don't think that I would ever move up to midsize but I found that just because it's what I've always played doesn't make it right.