Pure Grips®

Customizing Your Grip Based on Your Style of Golf

November 08, 2011 | Tips | Be the first to comment on this article.

 

Hand Placement
The placement of your hands on the club can radically affect the speed, direction and accuracy of your  golf shots. If you open or close your hands too drastically as you are swinging the club, you are prone to hitting more inconsistent shots and higher scores. That's why making sure you have the proper size and type of grip is crucially important for playing good, consistent rounds of golf.

Your style of golfing might determine which grip is best for you. If you need complete control and want consistent feedback during your swings, a certain grip will be right for you. If you're just starting out and want something comfortable, there are a whole different set of factors and grips you should consider.

It's important to always check and test which grips are right for you. To make sure your grip fits you, hold the club as if you were about to swing it. If your second and third fingers are touching up against the base of your thumb, your grip is the perfect size. If your fingers are far apart or pushing into your palm, then your grip is respectively oversized and undersized.

The diameter of your golf grip isn't the only thing you need to consider when making sure that your grips are right for you. You also need to consider the composition of your grip, as well as the firmness of your golf grip.

Golf grips are generally composed of natural and synthetic versions of either plastic polymer or rubber. What a grip is made of will determine how it feels in your hand, its tackiness and its ability to wick away or absorb moisture. Rubber grips are usually made from a combination of cork and rubber, unless otherwise specified, and are generally heavier and more absorbent than grips made of polymer. You should try different types of grips to find out which materials you like best.

Firmness is also something to consider when purchasing grips. Grips will usually come in either soft, medium or hard levels of firmness, and the level of firmness will impact how well you feel the ball when you strike it. Basically, the firmer a grip is, the more you will feel feedback in your hands when you strike the ball and the more control you will have throughout the swing. A softer grip is good for golfers who need a comfortable grip and who want to avoid sore and calloused hands, but will allow for more torque in the swing and will provide less feedback from impact. Medium-firmness grips seem to be the standard for most stock golf clubs.

Again, it is important to test and discover what type of grip works best for you. Try different combinations of composition and firmness. You might be surprised by what feels best!
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What is this stuff? How golf grips get dirty

November 04, 2011 | Tips | Be the first to comment on this article.

 

Unfortunately for us, there are far too many things that get our golf clubs and grips dirty. I am sure you're aware of how playing a few rounds affects your clubs. A few shanks, a worm burner or two and the two shots it takes you to get out of the sand trap really start to add up after a while. At the end of any given round you might be scrubbing clods of dirt, packed sand and  blades of grass off of your clubs.

Even your hands and your swing conspire against the longevity of your clubs. Do you realize how much friction is created by your hands on your club's grip with every swing you take? Even if conditions were perfect, the grips of your club naturally will be worn down simply by playing enough rounds of golf. And this is not even taking moisture into account. If you are like me, when you play, you'll be sweating. Sweat helps to break down your grips more quickly and makes them less tacky and more slippery.

Of course, weather and storage are a factor too. If your grips are exposed to direct sunlight for a significant amount of time, they can crack and wear down faster. Rain works in much the same way that sweat does, and heat works similarly to direct sunlight. If you store your clubs in the trunk of your car when you're not playing, congratulations! You're likely exposing them to temperatures exceeding 100 degrees during the summer months.

You need to be sure you are taking good care of your clubs. They're helping you score personal records on your favorite courses and shaving strokes off your game, so do something nice for them every once in a while. Start by always storing them somewhere that is temperature controlled. No more trunks or garages. Also, after every round, wash your clubs and grips with warm soapy water, rinse completely and let dry. If you want to be particularly careful, wipe off the club face and grip with a towel after every shot you take.   You likely have a lot of hard earned money invested in your equipment, it is a good idea to take care of it and make it last!

Your grips are a most important element of your golf club. If you take good care of your golf grips, they should last you for a year or longer. Also, taking good care of your grips will assure that your swing and game both stay consistent.
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How Humidity Affects Your Grip and Overall Performance

November 02, 2011 | Tips | Be the first to comment on this article.

 


The South is known for being extremely humid. If you golf in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi or Louisiana, you know what I mean. There's a reason stereotypical Southern gentlemen are pictured wearing straw hats and sipping cocktails or iced tea sitting out on the porch: it's incredibly hot and sticky outside. For the sake of your clubs, you should avoid golfing in these and other humid areas. However, I know there are many fantastic courses in all of these states, and I could never suggest never golfing in any of them. Would you really leave Pinehurst or Augusta National off of your list because it's a bit muggy out?

It's hard to deal with humid course conditions. Not only will humidity affect your golf clubs and grips, but it will also affect your body as well. Even if you are a trained professional athlete, excessive humidity will sap you of your energy. Getting increasingly tired on the course can cause you to swing inconsistently and lose confidence. Excessive heat and humidity can also cause heat exhaustion, which is a life-threatening condition. If you have heat exhaustion, your body basically loses its ability to cool itself down. To prevent this, drink liquids that contain electrolytes while you play, dress appropriately and try to stay in the shade as much as possible.

All this humidity causes you to sweat, and the oil and moisture from your hands will be transferred to your golf grips.   Keep your grips clean by wiping them with a wet towel and they will last a lot longer.   Leaving this oil and moisture on your grips will accelerate the drying and loss of tackiness.   We know you will play in humid conditions, we would too if we didn’t come from the desert, so make sure to take good care of yourself and your golf grips.
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What is Tackiness and Why is it Important for Your Golf Grip?

October 31, 2011 | Tips | Be the first to comment on this article.

 

With PURE grips it is quite easy to maintain tackiness, a simple wipe with a wet towel now and then will keep them clean and tacky for at least 12 months, guaranteed.  Maintaining the tackiness of other brands of golf grips can be done to.   Here are some ideas:

  • Wrap medium-grit sandpaper around a block of wood and sand the surface of the grip with it.
  • Apply a small amount of pine tar to an old rag and apply the pine tar to the grip.
  • Clean your grips thoroughly with soap and water to remove oil and sweat from your hands.   This should be done with most grips on a frequent basis to maintain some tackiness
  • Keep your clubs in a cool place away from sunlight, your trunk is too hot!
If you are especially particular about your grips, you can wipe them off with a golf towel before or after  every shot you take. If it is raining while you are playing, you should be doing this anyways. It might seem tedious, but taking care of your grips is one of the important things you can do to play well and keep your scores consistent.

Having a tacky club grip ensures that you will maintain proper swing mechanics. Having a worn or slippery club grip can cause golfers to tighten their hands on the club, which leads to a loss of control and power. There's nothing worse than having to worry about whether or not your club is going to fly out of your hands when you swing it, and worrying subconsciously is no better. Not only is it dangerous, but it's terribly embarrassing. If you are ever going to try to impress a future family member or business associate with your golf game, sending a club flying a few yards down the course is not the way you want to be doing it.

A tacky club will help give you the confidence and physical mechanics necessary to consistently play good rounds of golf. Do yourself a favor and make sure your clubs always have tacky grips on them.
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Too loose? Easily Increase the Thickness of Your Golf Grip With Tape

October 27, 2011 | Tips | Be the first to comment on this article.

If you don't want to spend the money or have the potential hassle of completely re-gripping your clubs, you can use tape to adjust the diameter of your grip. Using tape to change the diameter of your grip works especially well because wrapping layers of tape around your grips makes very small adjustments. In fact, each layer of tape you wrap around your grip will change the diameter of your grip by 1/64th of an inch. While that might not sound drastic, believe me, you'll notice the difference with a layer or two.

If you feel that your grip is a bit too small for you, here is an easy way to check. If you grip your club like you are going to swing it, your ring and middle fingers should be lightly touching against the base of your palm near your thumb. If your fingers are digging into your palm, then your grip is a bit too small.

You want to make sure that you use the right type of tape when taping up your grips. Most golf stores sell products officially called grip tape. Grip tape is usually two-sided tape that will not only change the diameter of your grip, but it will also replicate the surface of the grip. When applying tape to your grips, simply wrap the grip tape around the top of the shaft and work your way down. Cover the entire surface of the grip with one layer of tape at a time; check to see if it feels right in your hands and repeat the process as needed.   Although this tape can be effective, it wears out quickly and often absorbs water in bad weather.   So, of course, we recommend putting on new grips that are properly sized for you.

Having a properly sized grip will ensure that you don't hit as many hooksor slices. A properly sized grip will make sure your swing mechanics stay consistent, and that you are not moving your hands too much or overcompensating while swingingthe club.
 
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