Grip recommendations for arthritic hands

[hardten]

New Winn Dri-Tac Excell???

Semi addressed this in another post but looking for recommendations on grips. Starting to get some arthritis in thumbs and last three fingers of right hand. My G20s I just traded for have my favorite grip Multi Decade and even in favored black/white. After first few holes problem mostly goes away but thinking of regriping with Winn Excel because not only is it soft but it is more parrallel a grip so right hand has wider grip to grab. I don,t play in wet weather but may have to in Tourneys so the new Dri-Tac wrap looks like it could work. Hate to regrip favorites with something that is junk so comments appreciated. BTW I would regrip with midsize vs current standard. I wear a large glove.

[allegrolink]

Iomic sticky grips play gentle on my hands. 2.3's are normal size.

Advise #2, make sure your grips are large enough. Largest grips that fit your hand will ease hand stress. I build my lower hand for my grip.

[Ol_Pardner]

Just some suggestions for those w/arthiritic hands, based upon personal experience:

I tried some of the grips marketed as "arthiritic grips," w/o much success--at least based on shotmaking 'feel.' Though I now wear 2-gloves, at the advice of my dermatoligist, to prevent excessive sunburn on the backs of my hands, I nevertheless did not like the extreme "grainy" feel of the arthiritic grips' surfaces. The biggest problem I had though, was the pronounced taper, particularly in the lower hand position, since my glove siize is XL.

After some experimentation, I settled on the following solution:
Using a thin-walled Dunlop rubber tour grip (bought a case on ebay-cheap), for the under-grip [tape build-up],I use 3M double-sided foam mounting tape, 3/4 or 1" wide, sprial-wrapped. The tape is light-weight, and cushioned, unlike multiple wraps of conventional masking tape. While nominally, between 1/16 and 1/8" thick, it compresses slightly or incrementally, under the grip, and further, when the club is gripped. Because this tape is not as 'stable' as stronger tapes, I top-it-off with 1-wrap of 3M double-sided transparent tape. The latter is as thin as "Scotch" Tape, holds the mounting tape in place, and adds stronger adhesion. Given the taper at the 'butt' of some golf shafts, and the big 'booty' of some grips, it is advisable to stop the mounting tape wrap 1 to 1 1/2" from the end, and build that last section up with a couple of layers of regular masking tape.
I have used the technique above, on different types of grips, including: the Dunlops, Tayormade 500 series (.700 dia., used on Hogan Legend shfts), Lamkin Crossline mid-sized-cords, Tacki-Mac std-size tour wrps. Generally, I have had the best luck with the thinner-walled grips--Dunlops and Taylormades--mainly because it combines the advantage of a cushioned buildup, with the natural 'tackiness' of the rubber grips.

[Blade Junkie]

One of the other threads on here recommended Avon Chamois ... in standard size (there is also a jumbo oversize, but not a midsize).

GP Dual Durometer is also supposed to be good for arthritis sufferers and does come in mid-size option. (I have all my woods fitted with the midsize DD, and it is a good grip)

[Ol_Pardner]

Hardten:

How do you grip the club? Overlap, inter-lock, or baseball?

In addition to various grips and under-wraps (above), I forgot to mention that, when I started to have some sharp pains in my hands while on the range, I gave it a lot of thought, and switched my actual grip from the Vardon or overlap, to an inter-locking grip. It took some getting used to, after 40+ years, but it has really helped me. My arthiritis is mostly in the major joints--shoulders, back, and hips--and, I think that with the overlapping grip, I was using the hands to overcompensate for limited mobility in other joints. With the inter-locking grip, I feel that my hands are functioning together, as a unit, and for instance, when the right shoulder just won't turn or release like normal, with the inter-lock, I'm making as complete of a swing as I can, without trying to 'pull' harder or "throw" with the left hand and left side. When that happened before, there were times I felt a sensation of trying "pull" or "drag" my right through impact.

Just some thoughts. Take care.

Pardner

[lapslgg2]

I have used the Winn Excell for years because of arthritis, several of which I was in south Louisiana with high humidity, and would highly recomend them.

I currently have them on my woods and hybrids, and just put the Dri-tac on my irons as an experiment, so far I am happy with them.

[MB GOLF]

[quote name='lapslgg2' timestamp='1333704536' post='4663126']
I have used the Winn Excell for years because of arthritis, several of which I was in south Louisiana with high humidity, and would highly recomend them.

I currently have them on my woods and hybrids, and just put the Dri-tac on my irons as an experiment, so far I am happy with them.
[/quote]

I'll echo this... I had wrist/thumb surgery and needing something a bit "softer" than my traditional cords, I went to these. They felt great on the irons. And the other thing, they have less taper going down through the right hand... helped a bunch!

[allegrolink]

The Bionic glove also makes a big difference. The non-conforming version is approved if you have arthritis.


[url="http://www.rockbottomgolf.com/bionic-golf-relax-grip-gloves.html"]Bionic glove at RockBottomGolf[/url]

[mwmgolfx]

I've gone to the Tacki-Mac Itomic unified wrap serrated. I play in mixed conditions and the serration helps the holding in bad conditions. The unified grips all are constant size from top to bottom. This is slightly different from the various Winn grips which have some tapering that you have to either put more wraps or somehow build them up (difficult to do with Winn). i've used Winn of various kinds but they get slippery after some time or in wet conditions. The tacki's seem to hold with minimal effort for me. I have crippling arthitis in almost every joint and can hardly close my hands at all at times.

But Winn is the second best choice in my opinion. The problem I have with the bionic glove is that it doesn't last. I've tried it twice and never gotten more than 15-20 rounds with one. It wears out in the palm from the grip reshifting during the swing (common problem with most grips except the new Tacki's for me). Too expensive to replace that often (i play 100-150 rounds per year).