Gripmaster Questions

JSC · May 4, 2007

Re: Pulling for Re-use and Tackiness

I just recently picked up a used putter with a Gripmaster grip, but had 2 questions...

How tacky is it supposed to feel? To me, it almost feels sticky. I'm wondering if that's the way it's supposed to feel or the previous owner did something to it to make it feel stickier than normal. As their website suggested, I wiped down the grip with a damp towel and it still feels the same. If it's supposed to feel that way, then I guess I can try it out and decide whether or not I like it. But if it's not supposed that sticky, I would rather replace it right away.

Also, I will need to change the length of the putter. Any best way to pull a Gripmaster grip for reuse? I'm thinking of picking up one of those Golfworks/Golfsmith tools that cost under $20. I've heard of the air compressor method, but I'm not familiar with the attachment. If anyone can post a link to one (and the cost), I'll look into it further.

Thanks!

taylormadefan · May 4, 2007

They're supposed to be tacky, you can order them with less, but the wrap style will have more tackiness than the stichback grips.

You can remove the grips without a protector tube, just go slowly in short bursts, don't just pull the trigger all the way on the first one.

From the Gripmaster Interview:

GolfWRX: What exactly is pro-tack? Can the customer specify the amount desired?

Harry Sewill: It’s a proprietary formula of polymers and not resins, but aldehydes. I’m trying to remember the chemistry without looking at it. I should know it. It’s a great formula. The thing that’s really nice about it is it’s saturated into the leather in the process of tanning. I should have talked about that a little earlier. After the hides are selected and we hand select the hides, we bring them to Silvio who is a shoe guy. Again, Australia being geographically isolated, a lot of companies have given up because it’s easier to get them from Canada or Mexico. But they still actually make shoes from scratch in Australia. Silvio’s an Italian guy whose family has been making shoes in Australia for a century. The hides are cut then the straps are put together in a big spool like the old reel to reel tapes. That’s run through edgers that cut the strap to a tenth of a millimeter so we cut 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 millimeter thick strap. It goes through that then it runs through a dipping process then a drying process and a perforation process. This is all on equipment we built and designed ourselves. One of the things we do that’s very unique is the edge itself. Our strap actually edges. Most people when they make grips, there’s a front edge and there’s a back edge. Nobody’s done that before. This is cut and then burned with razors so you create a very unique overlap. Was that an answer to a question?

GolfWRX: Would it be possible to sell pro-tack by itself and allow the user to apply the desired amount?

Harry Sewill: We can make them tackier. The handlaced, the putter grips, I like tacky. When we started doing putters we did the wrap on the American Classic for Scotty, we did it a little bit less tacky because he wanted it less tacky. What we found is a lot of the top players, tour guys don’t like their putter grips really tacky. When we did the Stitchback, to get all the bling for the TV cameras that Scotty wanted, we couldn’t make them as tacky because it wouldn’t stay on. So we made the Circa’s Handlaced even less as tacky than the American Classics. I can’t make them less tacky, but if someone wants the Handlaced tackier, I can do that. When you do that, it darkens it. Here’s a tan and a green, and they’re just darker. So when you make them tackier, it just makes them darker. We also make some club grips because when they give them back to tour guys they don’t want them as tacky.

GolfWRX: Are any special tools and techniques required to install your grips?

Harry Sewill: They’re not hard to install, they’re different. They put tires on rims with crowbars and hydraulics, so you don’t need any special tools other than just a bigger hammer for rubber grips. Ours, there’s two issues that are very important. The first is the underlast is not rubber. We did that because we wanted to make an underlast that would be soft and stay pliable for the life of the grip. Now the life of a leather grip is – I don’t know, I’ve got some old clubs that are 80-100 years old, and if you wanted to play them all you’d have to do is clean them. I have clubs that I play that are six or seven years old and I still like them. We wanted the last to be like that and if you’ve ever seen a last made, they’re all made with old fashioned technology, so ours are made in cold injected molding systems. When the underlast comes out of the mold, there’re no flashings or trimmings. So we don’t have to trim or flash things off and we did that for production and waste issues and it’s designed to go on modern equipment. In doing that, it’s a bit thin, and it’s a bit soft. We also want the leather as thick and we want to get on as much leather as we can. The other thing we did with the last is it tapers and then goes parallel. What we found is that most of the top players, either right handed or left handed build the grip up beneath the top hand and take the taper out. So we took the taper out. That creates a little thin area in the front. The second issue is that the leather and the underlast have a different coefficient of elasticity meaning one will stretch more than the other. When you install them you have to be careful not to tear it and not to kink it. That’s the first thing. The other thing is something we found out and we didn’t think of it. In Australia they don’t use solvent to install grips. They use a little rubber cement and they don’t use tape, just a little rubber cement that acts like a lubricant and the grip slides right on the shaft. When we came to the States and we started putting them on, what we found is that the underlast does not wet well. So if you use a conventional double sided tape and solvent system, as the underlast slides on, it squeegees the solvent off the tape, it doesn’t have any retained solvent in the last itself, it will get on, it will stop, or it will jam itself and people kink it. So what we tell people is if you’re using conventional solvent system, be sure to use the shake and pour step twice. It’s in our information, it’s on the internet. We never sold kits until we got associated with the Brampton people. That’s a water based system that’s a tape deactivator. Since the tape’s deactivated you can’t squeegee the solvent off the tape. So we recommend people use the Brampton’s system for a couple of reasons. Not just because it’s easy to put on, but when you go to square the grip. With conventional grips, you slide it on and you’re done, you can stretch it down to make it smaller – that’s a thought. With our grips you get back to tension, I like to just twist them in the wrap, and then let go. The grip will relax, it will go back to neutral tension, and you’re fine. Also with a ribbed grip, on the backside you want that square, and with putter grips you want the flat side on the putter top. So you want the grip to move around a little bit too. You can’t do that with the solvent system. Brampton’s will stay soft and allow you to move around the grip for five minutes and then it’s done. But I don’t use any of that stuff, I use air. That’s what I recommend for a lot of reasons, and it’s bad business because then you can take the grip off and move it around. I’ll move a putter grip from putter to putter, I’ll move a driver grip from driver to driver. That’s bad business because I want to sell grips.

GolfWRX: So Air is the best way to remove your grips?

Harry Sewill: I think so, yes