Am I making life harder by using grips that are too large?

[larrybud]

On 11/12/2023 at 9:10 PM, Louis_Posture said:

Proper method for determining correct grip size:

 

I can mimic all three of those with the same grip.

[ShortGolfer]

I went to a used club superstore and tried on grips until I found one that was comfortable in my hands.  Then I bought the 7 iron took it home to learn my golf swing.

As I bought used clubs over the next few months, I'd try out every grip that came with the used clubs.  I found out that the ladies Winn Dri Tac was my favorite.  As well as finding other grips that were perfectly useable.

They were all undersized grips.  I found I didn't like corded rips.

[SEP1006]

19 hours ago, b.mattay said:

I found grip size makes a very small difference to performance (with the exception of going to a JumboMax L), so I would just say go with whatever is most comfortable. 

 

Made NO negative difference whatsoever when I swapped and I went from NDMC Plus 4 to the JMX Ultralight XL. 

 

 

 

 

16 hours ago, iacas said:

feel like this whole thing about grip size slowing the "release" or "rollover" is an old wive's tale.

 

 

EXACTLY!!

 

[iacas]

12 hours ago, Pepperturbo said:

You are welcome to your opinion.  I know two pros, including a friend who was touring pro, later teaching pro, that swear by it.  It's a matter of who we trust and seek council from.  It works for me too.  

 

Tour players say a lot of things that don't hold up to scrutiny.

 

12 hours ago, Soloman1 said:

I agree. It's like stepping back to the 1970's instruction era with holding the grip like a bird, fingers have be here (only) because (insert tour pro name) does it that way.

…

As far releasing the club or rolling over the forearms… I can’t see how it can be affected by grip size. Put your arms in front of you with the fingers open and closed. Doesn’t change a thing.

 

Yup.

 

11 hours ago, Varry_Hardon said:

Just have to spend an hour or so at different ranges around the globe to figure out that grip size effect is probably ranked 217th on things that affect club rate of closure 

 

Might be slightly higher. Might be 191st. 😉 

[bladehunter]

14 hours ago, larrybud said:

 

I can mimic all three of those with the same grip.

Yep.   This is a midsize multicompound with 4 wraps.   According to the chart it’s too small.  Bigger is baseball bat territory. 

[Louis_Posture]

55 minutes ago, bladehunter said:

Yep.   This is a midsize multicompound with 4 wraps.   According to the chart it’s too small.  Bigger is baseball bat territory. 

For a proper left hand grip the shaft-grip should be under the pad of your hand (not within the palm as the photo reveals).

[coops]

3 hours ago, Louis_Posture said:

For a proper left hand grip the shaft-grip should be under the pad of your hand (not within the palm as the photo reveals).

 

Perhaps due to bladehunter using a 'long left thumb' style of grip - not sure from that angle - as opposed to the usual or more standard with left thumb lying closely along the hands 'snuff box' area. The long left thumb style is also used by Jim Waldron which he calls his power grip (hope i'm not getting that wrong as I don't use it).

A quick test seems to me that a long left thumb would indeed suit or need a thicker grip.

 

For me - when I try my wife's clubs it's the much skinnier grip  (especially compared to my usual Bestgrips with its reduced taper) that is really difficult to hit straightish shots with rather than the preposterously light shaft in her XXIOs.

 

I've order a couple of Bestgrips midsize to try - been feeling a little finger soreness or incipient mild arthritis signs so thought i'd give them a try now as it does seem that a bit bigger might work fine and i'm long overdue changing my irons so better to find out now before ordering a new set of clubs.

 

[Pepperturbo]

16 hours ago, iacas said:

Tour players say a lot of things that don't hold up to scrutiny.

 

True, but not a good argument.  I actually know the people I speak of, and listen to them as it's their experience.  I don't know you.  Too many unknown people have no trustable base of experience, yet plenty of ideas.  

 

Years back, a young staff MBA with a few years under his belt, came to me, excited with a management idea that required a substantial investment on my part.  I asked him what he based the idea on, he said, it's a theory.  I looked at him and said what is your investment, he said zero.  I said, so you want me to invest my hard-earned money, so you can test if your idea works, he said yes.  What if it doesn't work?  He had no response.  I LOL and said, I am not your Dad, go talk to him and see if he has 1M to throw away towards your growth.

Edited November 15, 2023 by Pepperturbo

[Santiago Golf]

The size of the grip has nothing to do with release/closure rate.

If you can turn over a tennis racquet then a golf should be no different.

I doesn't matter the size of the grip

 

The size of the grip is more related to the amount of pressure you can apply on to the club

Basically how firmly you can squeeze the grip

 

If you have a small grip - light grip pressure 

If you have a big grip - firm grip pressure 

 

hope this helps

 

My preference is people play grips a size bigger than their 'typical' fit because often times golfers grip the too lose from lack of strength and incorrect swing theories 

[Soloman1]

Which one matches up with “rip it” again?

[Barfolomew]

You say you like em so you're good.  Dont feel like you need to play a certain size.

 

I play JumboMax grips and now standard feels stupid small...

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2023 by Barfolomew

[bladehunter]

On 11/15/2023 at 12:10 AM, Louis_Posture said:

For a proper left hand grip the shaft-grip should be under the pad of your hand (not within the palm as the photo reveals).

Bro. That’s fingers under the grip.  Not palm.  

 

Edited November 16, 2023 by bladehunter

[bladehunter]

On 11/15/2023 at 3:26 AM, coops said:

 

Perhaps due to bladehunter using a 'long left thumb' style of grip - not sure from that angle - as opposed to the usual or more standard with left thumb lying closely along the hands 'snuff box' area. The long left thumb style is also used by Jim Waldron which he calls his power grip (hope i'm not getting that wrong as I don't use it).

A quick test seems to me that a long left thumb would indeed suit or need a thicker grip.

 

For me - when I try my wife's clubs it's the much skinnier grip  (especially compared to my usual Bestgrips with its reduced taper) that is really difficult to hit straightish shots with rather than the preposterously light shaft in her XXIOs.

 

I've order a couple of Bestgrips midsize to try - been feeling a little finger soreness or incipient mild arthritis signs so thought i'd give them a try now as it does seem that a bit bigger might work fine and i'm long overdue changing my irons so better to find out now before ordering a new set of clubs.

 

There is no way for me to control  the club without long thumbs. I pinch thumb to Pointer ( trigger ) on both hands.  That’s my connection to the club face.  And yes. Speed has never been an issue.  So if it’s slower.  I’m super man.  🤣. I honestly don’t know why I post here.  The pic was just to show that  charts like the one above don’t really help.  Guys with big hands will never have a grip that creates space between the pad and fingers without going jumbo max.  

[mshills]

JumboMax user here.  Is it for everyone?  Nope.  Is there a learning curve?  For some, yep.  But the belief that "a bigger grip prevents release" is fake news, period.  Ask a knowledgeable teaching pro who sees thousands more golf swings than any player ever will.

 

Now, my personal anecdote is I am just as capable of missing my target left with the JumboMax as I am when I swing my wife's undersized grip clubs (which now feel like a toothpick.)  😄  Left miss is a left miss, and the grip size has as much relationship to it as the color of the sky.

[iacas]

2 hours ago, mshills said:

Ask a knowledgeable teaching pro who sees thousands more golf swings than any player ever will.

 

Why, when someone has what they heard once and what they think they've seen in their own game, a sample size of one? 🤣

[KMeloney]

Some of you might have seen my club's Director of Instruction win the PGA Professional Championship this year. He did it using a Bryson-like set-up, with single-length irons, and huge grips (don't know what brand/exact size, but they're "jumbos"). The grips obviously make his life easier.

 

Just need to decide what works for you.

[EdStraker]

I switched from a MCC +4 midsize to JumboMax Ultralite midsize and I was immediately comfortable with the change. I still hit a slight draw as a normal shot pattern. I was a D1 tennis player in college, so that may be a factor in why I am comfortable with the bigger grips since tennis racket grips are bigger than golf club grips.

[NorCalHacker77]

I use oversize grips and always struggle with what is the correct grip 

[SEP1006]

15 minutes ago, NorCalHacker77 said:

I use oversize grips and always struggle with what is the correct grip 

 

 

My 2 cents, there is no "correct" grip. Use whatever allows you to have a repeatable swing and play your best golf.

 

 

 

[Pnwpingi210]

On 11/17/2023 at 9:01 AM, KMeloney said:

Some of you might have seen my club's Director of Instruction win the PGA Professional Championship this year. He did it using a Bryson-like set-up, with single-length irons, and huge grips (don't know what brand/exact size, but they're "jumbos"). The grips obviously make his life easier.

 

Just need to decide what works for you.

Brooks Keopka?

[Louis_Posture]

1 hour ago, NorCalHacker77 said:

I use oversize grips and always struggle with what is the correct grip 

Below is a photo of a fundamentally sound correct left hand grip technique. Notice how the shaft-grip is resting underneath the meaty pad of the player's left hand.

[bladehunter]

8 hours ago, Louis_Posture said:

Below is a photo of a fundamentally sound correct left hand grip technique. Notice how the shaft-grip is resting underneath the meaty pad of the player's left hand.

Is that not in the palm ? 

[NorCalHacker77]

So in my picture above the grip is too high in my and needs to slide down beneath the meaty part more?

[Louis_Posture]

38 minutes ago, bladehunter said:

Is that not in the palm ? 

Here is another photo of a player not wearing a glove but revealing essentially the same fundamentally sound left hand grip technique as the previous photo.

Notice how the meaty pad of the left hand sits directly on top of the shaft-grip, not to the side of it.

Notice how both players are able to balance the club (maintaining a square club face) using only their meaty pad and forefinger.

* if the shaft-grip were were within the palm and, or on the side of the meat of the pad a player would not be able to balance the club this way.

[Louis_Posture]

22 minutes ago, NorCalHacker77 said:

So in my picture above the grip is too high in my and needs to slide down beneath the meaty part more?

Yes.

The reason being that adopting a fundamentally sound grip promotes the desired hinging and unhinging of the wrists, helps achieve an effective swing plane, controls the club effectively without having to apply too much pressure within the hands, promotes effective tempo-rhythm etc... and generally makes achieving a good looking consistently effective swing much, much easier.

I am not suggesting that every player must use a proper grip. There have been several successful Tour pros who have used unorthodox grip techniques, but those players will readily admit they did it the hard way.

[bladehunter]

50 minutes ago, NorCalHacker77 said:

So in my picture above the grip is too high in my and needs to slide down beneath the meaty part more?

That’s what  he’s saying. What he’s not telling you is that minus a double jointed thumb , you likely can’t do that to the extreme  , and keep the long thumb.  Notice this persons thumb.  It bends back.  Mine does not.  Does yours ? 
 

I can’t truly see any difference in the pics I’ve posted , you’ve posted and what he’s posted.  Appears to me to be a judgment on pad size if anything.  

Edited November 20, 2023 by bladehunter

[bladehunter]

17 minutes ago, Louis_Posture said:

Yes.

The reason being that adopting a fundamentally sound grip promotes the desired hinging and unhinging of the wrists, helps achieve an effective swing plane, controls the club effectively without having to apply too much pressure within the hands, promotes effective tempo-rhythm etc... and generally makes achieving a good looking consistently effective swing much, much easier.

I am not suggesting that every player must use a proper grip. There have been several successful Tour pros who have used unorthodox grip techniques, but those players will readily admit they did it the hard way.

Too much pressure ?  You should grip it as hard as you can.  Tension only is an issue if it’s forearm , elbow and shoulder.   Hand tension is speed and control.  Hence the long thumbs. 
 

really not trying to argue . But I don’t see any discernible difference in the grip I posted , he posted and what you posted.  Except that what you posted is small hands.  
 

Slide down the shaft , off the grip and take your grip. That’s what it feels like to some of us.  Ain’t really that easy to get the  bottom edge of the pad  clamped on something that’s too small. 

[KMeloney]

10 hours ago, Pnwpingi210 said:

Brooks Keopka?

 

No, I didn't say the PGA Championship.

[mshills]

Wait for it....can tell some cutting-edge modern advice to hold the club only as tight as a live bird or like squeezing a tube of toothpaste is sure to follow here.  I can see the headline now:  "Fix your slice forever with THIS LOOSE GRIP!"

 

No wonder golfers don't get better.  1971 called and would like its tips back.

[iacas]

2 hours ago, Louis_Posture said:

 

Too diagonal for my tastes, but some people have made a grip like that work.

 

Hogan wanted to almost never hook the ball, so his grip was a bit more palmy than I like.