Golf Grip Size – How Crucial Is Grip Size to Your Golf Game?
In a word? Playing with the right grip size is HUGELY important. If the grip is too small and the golfer has to wrap his hands too far around the grip, the muscles of the forearm almost always tighten up. When the forearm muscles get tighter, it becomes much more difficult to take the club away from the ball smoothly and then becomes more difficult to achieve a consistent swing tempo and swing rhythm.
A grip that is too large for the player can impede a proper release of the wrist-cock angle on the downswing which also can prevent us from rotating the face back around to square on the downswing.
Over the years, there have been several guidelines created by various golf companies or by people who perform clubfitting research for measuring the size of the hands and fingers, from which a proper grip size is recommended. Because golfers have different feel preferences for grip size, it is a fact that all golfers with the same hand size and finger length will not all like the feel of the same size grip. Therefore, hand and finger measurement charts can only be used as a starting point for grip size determination with the final decision made by the golfer only based on trying grips of different size.
It has also been taught that the proper grip size is achieved when the golfer closes their hands around the grip and the finger tips stop just short of touching the base of the hands. Again, as a starting point, such charts or spacing for the fingers to the hand are fine. But ultimately each golfer has to decide what their MOST COMFORTABLE grip size should be. And that can only be determined when the golfer tries grips of different size to note which size feels the most comfortable and allows the golfer to maintain a secure hold on the club with the least amount of grip pressure.
In short, if a hand and finger measurement chart says the grip should be one size and the golfer prefers a different size because it is more comfortable, you go with the golfer’s choice for comfort – regardless what the golfer’s handicap or playing ability might be. I’ll give you a good example. On average, my wife Mary-Ellen scores between 95-105. Via her hand and finger measurements, she comes up on the chart for a women’s +1/64 oversize grip. Yet she much prefers and can keep her grip pressure most constant and comfortable with a men’s standard size grip. That’s the grip she plays and that’s the grip I agree as a veteran in Clubfitting research she should play.
Perhaps the best way for clubmakers to fit grip size for comfort is simply to keep a set of different grip size samples either on cut of shaft pieces or better yet, installed on actual golf clubs. Gripping a cut off shaft section can fall a little short of giving the golfer a real sense of what a particular grip size will feel like when compared to trying different grip sizes installed on a full length golf club. Most people have enough old clubs laying around that it would be possible to use them as your grip size samples for grip size fitting.
Remember – grip size for COMFORT FIRST so the hands and arms can maintain a secure hold on the grip without excess grip pressure or muscle contraction in the forearm.
Tom
Hi Tom Trust you are well, been some time since we conversed. I read with interest your comments and advice on grips. There is plenty of ‘chatter’ and ‘contradiction’ on the internet from many who patently do not understand the fundamentals of a swing or the value of goof fitting, regarding how thick grips promote a fade/slice – thick a draw/hook? I became curious after reading your article and decided to try a Midsize grip on my Ping G410 Driver. It is fitted with an Aldila VooDoo S-Core 62g – 4.2 torque in Stiff at 44.75” (I play… Read more »
Jerry I have no idea who it was that first came up with this so called point about grips too small = push/slice and grips too big = pull or draw or hook, but that piece of information was around before I got heavily involved in golf clubs, so we are talking over 40-50 yrs ago. WHich means since there was VERY LITTLE REAL SCIENCE or careful investigation into golf club performance going on 50 yrs ago, this had to have been nothing more than an opinion. As a former US Senator once said, ” you are all entitled to… Read more »
Tom, I have struggled with finding the right grip size…. I have very long skinny fingers and not much meat to my Palm so this creates me having a very strong grip which I can manage on pretty much all clubs, except the driver. My hand length is 8 1/4 inches, and longest finger to top of thumb is about 3 1/2 inches. The area around my hand is just under 9inches. Any thoughts?
Brandon In grip fitting there are two sides that each golfer has to deal with, often times on his own through experimentation. We certainly can use the hand measurements to offer a size recommendation. But whether that ends up being the size liked by the golfer always depends on the golfer having to try it out on one club for a few days to see what he thinks. From your hand size, the typical recommendation would be a men’s + 1/32″ over size at the smallest (diam of 0.931″ measured 2″ down from the end of the grip). But you… Read more »
Hi Tom,
Very much enjoy your writings. Question for you on grip size. I know ‘feel’ seems to be the #1 consideration but curious if there is a suggested fit for the fingers on the left hand and their position relative to the thumb pad. My finger tips are well under the thumb pad and thus, the pad does not rest completely on the handle. Should these fingers just barely be touching the pad?
Thanks,
Rich
RICHARD Thanks very much, that’s nice to know you enjoy what I write from all my adventures in the technical side of golf clubs. Much appreciated for sure. The fit of the grip is probably THE most subjective part of clubfitting that there is. We have created hand and finger measurement charts to offer a guideline for grip size fitting but that all flies right out the window compared to the golfer’s feel preference – what feels the best while enabling the golfer to use the minimum amount of grip pressure to maintain a secure hold on the club THROUGH… Read more »
Thanks, Tom, for the very thorough considered response. Seems odd in a game where we try to make everything else so precise (Trackman, etc.) that the one and only connection we have to the club is so non-specific. Good point on getting set up to do our own grips, making it easy to test a variety.
Thanks.
RICHARD There are and shall always be a certain number of esoteric, subjective, feel related elements in clubfitting that will never be able to be evaluated and determined by any technology advances. I used to joke around in my research work and say that I needed to invent a “feel-o-meter” for these things !! Grip size is one – take ten golfers with the identical hand and finger size and you can have almost as many preferences on grip size feel for comfort. Then you have the shaft and its weight and flex effects. Some golfers want to feel the… Read more »
Tom, I have loved your designs from the long ago and far away Golfsmith clubmaking days. Your’re a golf guru and I awesomely respect your thoughts on all things golf. Now to my grips. I am a woman in my fifties and can still hit a drive 250 yards (average 225-230) with a light Graphite Design senior shaft. I am terribly inconsistent with all my clubs. I play irons and hybrid/irons with senior flex shafts cut between ladies and senior flex, light graphite shafts, but I tend to squeeze softer grips. I have Winn men’s standards on true hybrids a… Read more »
JOAN Many thanks for your very kind words of appreciation and support. That’s very nice of you to say that. Grip fitting will always be a trial and experimentation for golfers because it involves such a personal preference from each golfer for what feels comfortable and what enables the golfer to maintain a secure hold on the club without having to really squeeze the grip hard with the hands. A Light pressure but secure on the club is what you need. it really sounds to me that what you need to do is to get the very minimal things you… Read more »
Hi there, your insight into ‘grip size’ is very interesting. I have standard grips on all my clubs, but find that whilst i can produce good results with my G30 driver, i really struggle getting my grip right with the Driver in particular! I’m a right handed golfer, but find with the Driver that i am constantly trying to wrap my left hand around the grip, and only after much persistance and fiddling am i reasonably contented to begin my backswing! My right hand i have no problem with! I am 43, fit(ish), but only being 5ft 9, and quite… Read more »
ANDREW Absolutely – the first thing to experiment with when you are not instantly comfortable with a grip is to increase the size by at least 3 wraps under the grip to start with. Then see how that goes. Grip size is FAR more about comfort than it is measuring a hand and finger size and trying to ascribe that to some chart for size fitting. Because of that, so often golfers have to experiment with different grip sizes until they try the one that lights the bulb and just FEELS best to enable a light pressure in gripping the… Read more »
My woods and rescue clubs have smaller grip sizes than my irons. Does this make sense?
PAUL It’s not something that most golfers would choose to do on their own because the typical procedure is to have all grips be the one size each golfer finds to be most COMFORTABLE for him/her so that he can maintain a secure hold on the club with the least amount of grip pressure. There is no actual standard in the golf industry for grip size because there is no “organization” that ordains any types of standards of any form for any aspects of golf equipment. So it is possible for grips on one company’s clubs to be a different… Read more »
PAUL:
Only if you are 100% comfortable with the feel of the grip on these clubs when you hit shots. Grip size is so much more about comfort than it is about some measurement of the hand and fingers. Because of that, there is no substitute for experimenting with different grip sizes until you feel the one that lights the bulb. If you are more comfortable with the grips on the irons, change those on the woods and rescues to match the irons. If you’re more comfortable with the woods and rescues, do the opposite.
TOM
Tom, I have always been told at fittings that I needed a mid-sized grip, but have always chosen to go with the standard sized grip. Being an early fighter of the slice I felt the smaller grip gave me a better chance of turning the club over. Until recently I was playing KBS C-Taper stiff shafts with GP full cord grips, and my elbows and forearms were in constant pain. I recently switched to a old set of Macgregor flatsole blades, with TT DG S400 shafts and mid-sized multi-compound style grips….elbow and forearm pain…..gone!!! Unbelievable!! Who knew that the combination… Read more »
MATT Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with trying out the larger grip size. Without question, grip size has to be approached on the basis of comfort but it also has to be a part of fitting that one needs to try different grip models and sizes just to be sure of covering all bases for what may end up being better in the end. With regard to joint discomfort, there is no question that softer and larger grips have brought relief to quite a few golfers to enable them to reduce the discomfort enough to… Read more »
Hi Tom,
I’ve been +1/32 for my irons consistently but a few years ago a store re-gripped my 3-Wood with two wraps + a midsize grip, i baulked at first but like this now with my 3-W & Driver. It’s about feel. These two work for me, not with my 5-W funnily enough and thicker grips just lose feeling on irons. Any experience of this or thoughts? I’ve been told “One Grip For All”…but…hey…
Thanks for your work, Alan
ALAN In all honesty, in 40 yrs of working on golf clubs all the way to the present, I have never heard of a golfer preferring different grip sizes on his woods vs his irons. However, you are absolutely right in saying that grip size is totally about what feels good to the golfer, period. But what this sounds like more than a grip size thing is the effect of the heavier weight of a larger grip on the balance point/swingweight/headweight feel of the irons. So what you should do is to get some lead tape and take 2 of… Read more »
Thanks for the very informative article on grip size and it’s overall importance in maintaining proper grip pressure. I’m 42 about an 8 or 9 handicap but carried around scratch in college. I’ve regripped my own clubs for years but this last year started developing tendonitis in my elbow as well as some fairly constant arthritis in my hands as well. I’ve come to realize I may have undersized my grips. I remember feeling like I had to “death” grip it and had a fellow player mention the same. I trimmed my shafts 3/8 or so and went with minimal… Read more »
Jay You’ll know when you have the right grip size AND texture/feel from when you can maintain a good hold on the club with the LEAST amount of hand pressure. So I would strongly recommend you experiment with different grip models so you can get the feeling of different grips in terms of softness, sponginess, tackiness – then when you find one that feels good start with one club and experiment with bigger sizes until you sense you are at this point of being able to maintain a secure hold on the club with the least amount of hand pressure.… Read more »
SO , if I do change my grips , going from a mid size with 2 wraps to a jumbo with 0 wraps , will the overall weight of the new grip on the club effect the swing weight & moi of the golf club itself.
Would you have to get the clubs swing weighted again to allow for the extra weight on the grip end ?
Thanks John
JOHN Different size grips from different grip makers can all weigh different amounts, so it is simply not possible to offer a specific answer for how much your grip change would change the swingweight of the club unless you could tell us the exact weight of the old grip with its build up tape and the weight of the new grip. With that it is a simple math calculation to determine the effect of the grip change on the swingweight of your club(s). As to whether you would need to add weight to the head were the new grip to… Read more »
Tom, Selecting the actual model of grip, grip size, wraps of tape, etc. has always been my golfing kryptonite, I just can never seem to get it right, this may sound strange, but the biggest issue is that it’s not quite a performance issue, I’m not quite sure what sort of issue it is actually because my swing doesn’t really suffer, but I tend to have to grip harder at the very top of my swing, I only find it extremely noticeable when I’m on the range with a lot of swing thoughts, but it almost always happening.. I normally… Read more »
Typically a golfer who notices that they struggle a little with maintaining consistent grip pressure on the club are candidates for trying a larger diameter grip. The way that usually can work is if the hands do not have to close around the grip as much because it is larger, they also can hold on to the grip with less pressure. Less grip pressure that still keeps the grip secure in the hands usually can mean more consistent swing tempo and rhythm because the muscles in the hands and arms are more relaxed through the swing. While there are hand… Read more »
Tom,
I have large hands (palm a basketball) and I am playing with midsize grips. My fingers still somewhat dig into my palms.
I have always struggled with an early release, and a lack of wrist cock when I clamp down on the grip.
Do you think that going to an oversize will help reduce some of that release problem? I’ve heard some people say that too small of a grip will contribute to too much hand action.
Thanks!
Aleksi I do think that it is definitely worth trying to use a much larger grip size to see if it can help you hold on to the wrist cock angle during the downswing. I think you can get some help from the much larger grip. But please do realize that while this might help a little, learning how to hold this angle for a longer time on the downswing is a separate movement of the golf swing that will require you to either take some lessons to learn the technique or to practice repeatedly on your own with a… Read more »
Does your blog have a contact page? I’m having a tough time locating it but, I’d like to send you an
email. I’ve got some recommendations for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it develop over time.
Thanks for you kind comments and we are pleased to hear you enjoy the information. We spend and have spent a lot of time researching and digging into all areas of club performance and fitting technology because for one, we’re very interested to know that stuff. Second, it is important to find this stuff out because there has been so much misinformation about these things circulating around the game. If you have questions, we are happy to answer to the best of our knowledge and experience by contacting us a contact@wishongolf.com .
Thanks much again,
TOM
Tom, enjoy a lot of your stuff, and especially your contributions to GolfWRX, where I was introduced to you and your work. I am a serial grip tinkerer. I have tried all sorts of shapes and sizes, but I have never really felt comfortable with any of them. One thing I have always been confused on, and was wondering if you could shed some light on is the finger vs palm discussion. How much do you think should be palm and how much fingers, and how does this affect grip fitting? I was just curious on your opinion. Also, as… Read more »
DAN Distance from finger to palm is difficult to use with any consistency for grip size verification because some golfers hold the grip in the fingers, while others hold it more in the palm. So that’s not a good way to verify a proper grip size. And while we too have published charts that convert a hand measurement and middle finger measurement into a recommended grip size, this too can be difficult to use with consistency for grip size fitting because of the very most important thing about grip fitting to any golfer. . . . . . HOW DOES… Read more »