“I may go for it or I may not. It all depends on what I elect to do on my backswing.” – Billy Joe Patton
By Ian Hardie
One of the things that golfers seem to pay the least attention to
Is the state of the grips on their golf clubs
And yet it’s one of the most important components of the club
Simply because it’s the only part of the club that you actually touch
Originally most golf clubs had leather grips like these ones
Which meant that golfers we constantly checking their condition
And aware of when they needed changing
These days however grips are made of many different types of materials
That are significantly more durable than leather grips ever were
However, they all age and wear out
As a result of both time and use
It doesn’t matter how much you pay for your grips
Or what shape and size they are
Natural oxidation, heat, dirt and oils from your hands
All combine with use to cause the natural degradation of the grip
And we all understand that as golfers
So the big question is how do we know when to regrip them?
Before I get to that, let’s first consider why you might want to regrip
A fresh grip means you will be able to get better traction on the club
Which then allows you to hold the club lightly
Without the subconscious fear of losing control of the golf club during your shot
Or any of the problems that I wrote about in this post of course
A worn or badly oxidised grip on the other hand
Is a potential cause of golfers gripping the club tighter
Which as you will have read about here
Excessive hand, arm and wrist tension
Leads to all sorts of problems for newer golfers
And even a noticeable loss of power and control for accomplished golfers
So it’s clear that a fresh set of grips
Is a fast way to bring a noticeable change to your game
As well as a smart thing to do regularly
But just how do we know when we should do it?
According to the major grip manufacturers
You should regrip once every year
Or every 40 – 50 rounds of play
Whichever comes first
Now that might seem excessive
But when you consider just what the grips put up with
It actually seems pretty sound
Because regardless of how often you play
As soon as a new grip goes onto a golf club
Oxidation, heat, dirt and oils from your hands
Start working at breaking down the materials that make up your grips
So even with what could be considered normal use
There will be enough degradation of the material after a year to warrant fresh grips
If you play more than once a week
Or do a significant amount of practicing
You may need to regrip more often than that
One thing to keep in mind
Is that grips lose a significant amount of their original traction
Long before they become hard and slick
Which is when most golfers start thinking of regripping
Because this happens slowly over time most golfers fail to notice it
But here’s why you might want to pay attention to your grips a little more
A tiny, imperceptible loss of grip traction when you contact the ball
Can be magnified to many yards sideways by the time the ball reaches its target
Or many yards short of the target as well
That seems like something worth paying a little attention too
So go and check the state of your grips
If they aren’t too bad
Give them a clean anyway as I advised in this post
If you aren’t sure about their state
Take your clubs to your local PGA Pro
Who will be happy to advise you whether to regrip them or not
Play well
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