Practice Plan

Golf Grip Size Buying Guide

Golf Clubs / By

Golf Grip Size Buying Guide

We know that many golf players out there don’t give enough attention to their grips. It may seem like an unimportant piece of the puzzle. But isn’t the grip transferring your skills and force to the golf club?

That’s why choosing the right golf grip size, texture, and material is tremendously important. In today’s golf grip size buying guide, we’re going to explore different areas of a golf grip.

What is a Golf Club Grip?

If you’re hearing about this the first time, we won’t be surprised. For many new golfers, they are still exploring different equipment, terms, and skills. Golf itself is quite a complex sport. So, it’s no wonder if you don’t know everything about grips.

Golf grips are usually made of rubber and they cover the top section of your golf club. If you were to hold the club on bare metal, controlling your shots would be very hard. That’s why experts have introduced the concept of grips.

The grips help you hold the club firmly as well as allow you superior control over your shots. The wrong choice of golf grips can hamper your skill development and your playability.

Golf Grip Sizes

When you’re in the market for a new golf grip, the size should always be your priority. From time to time, you can get away with different materials, but there’s no second option for a golf grip size.

Grip sizes are determined based on either your hand size or your glove size. If you’re going with the hand size, you need to measure your hand from the base of the palm to the tip of your fingers. The unit should be in inches.

Based on the measurements, let’s take a look at the different golf grip sizes.

Junior

When your hand size is less than or equal to 7 inches, you belong in the junior grip size category. Your glove size will be small in this case. These grips are usually suitable for young children. And in some cases, for ladies.

Standard

The standard-sized golf grip is the most commonly used. Because the majority of the golf players belong to this group. Chances are high that you may also belong to this group.

When your hand size is anywhere between 7 inches to 8¾ inches, you should get your club gripped with a standard size. In terms of glove size, you may use both medium or large.

Resource: Golf Plan to Score Below 100, 90, 80

Midsize

It may sound like the grips belong between junior and standard, but that’s not the case. Midsize club grips are designed for people with hand sizes of 8¼ to 9¼ inches.

It actually belongs between the standard size and the jumbo size! If you’re using a midsize grip, chances are you wear a large glove.

Jumbo/Oversize

Last but not the least, we have the jumbo size of grips. It’s particularly designed for people with large hands, anything over 9¼ in hand length. You may even need to order custom gloves if extra-large ones are not enough for you.

Golf Grip Material

Just like the size, the material used to create the grip matters a lot. The majority of the manufacturers stick to either organic rubber or synthetic rubber as the base material.

There is a good reason behind it. Rubber has been proven to amazing grip on any surface. It’s cost-effective to produce and lasts a decent about of time. Rubber is also great for dampening vibrations!

In addition to rubber grips, there are corded and leather grips out there as well.

Corded grips use a cord material that wraps around the club to create the grip. It might be a little more uncomfortable when compared to rubber grips, but they can offer greater grip in rainy and humid weather.

Leather grips, on the other hand, look like classic grips. Leather strips wrapping around the top section of the club. Leather is great for comfort and grip. But it may underperform in wet conditions.

Resource: Golf Plan to Score Below 100, 90, 80

Different Golf Grip Textures

You already know that the material that goes into crafting golf grips matter a lot for your performance. The same goes for the grip texture. Getting the material right is only the start. Now, you need to dial in the exact texture that you’re comfortable with.

Rounded

Rounded grips are usually the most commonly found. They offer superior comfort to all players and work extremely well in dry conditions. These are grips with a completely symmetrical and smooth surface.

You won’t find any bumps or irregularities while playing with a rounded grip.

However, if it starts to rain suddenly or gets humid, rounded grips are prone to flying out of your hands!

Ribbed

The other type of grip textures is ribbed. As the name suggests, ribbed grips have rivets all along the grip to ensure maximum stickiness. Even if it rains or your hands get sweaty, you can expect these grips to stay in your hands.

They are not as comfortable as rounded ones. But they sure include a ridge all along the grip to help you determine where to put your thumbs.

The firmness of the Grip

How firm the grip will feel upon holding has a major impact on your overall performance. That’s why we couldn’t help but include the firmness guide on your golf grip size buying guide.

Firm Grips

These are quite hard to touch. You can barely create an indentation by pressing on the grip. These have been the go-to for tour players and most veteran golfers. The torsion control is amazing on these as well as they help achieve the maximum swing speed.

Keep in mind that if you go for a firm grip, you should always hold it with lighter pressure. Pressing hard on the firm grips for longer will wear out your muscles faster.

Soft Grips

Softer grips are far more comfortable and easier to master than firm ones. That’s why we see many beginners, lady golfers, and senior players using these.

With the added softness, you need to be aware of the torsion on the grips. When you bring the club down at full speed, the grip may twist a little and it can throw off your club face angle.

Resource: Golf Plan to Score Below 100, 90, 80

Maintaining a Golf Grip

Golf grips require replacement from time to time. Changing out a grip completely of known as regripping your golf club.

However, you can extend the lifespan of your grip by maintaining it regularly. You need to perform regular checks to find any cracks, tears, or unsmooth surfaces on the grip.

Keeping an eye on your entire grip, especially on the areas where you touch it the most will allow you to stay on top of your game at all times. When you regrip your club at the right time, you can eliminate the possibility of your performance taking a hit.

How long a grip will last completely depends on how often and how hard you use them. It lifespan of your grips will vary from club to club and session to session.

Different Grips for Different Clubs

Just like different golf clubs are designed for different actions, different grips are designed for different clubs as well. You cannot expect to install a putter grip on your driver and play well with it.

Let’s see what different types of grips interact with the different clubs.

Grips for Drivers/Fairway Woods

As you start off your hole with either of these two clubs, it’s very important that you pay close attention to the detail of your grip. You will most likely swing the club at full speed from the tee. So, you should go with a ribbed rubber grip so that the club doesn’t fly out of your hands.

Also, the grips on drivers and fairway woods wear out the quickest due to the added stress over time. So, you need to regrip these clubs more frequently compared to your long irons, wedges, or putters.

Resource: Golf Plan to Score Below 100, 90, 80

Grips for Irons

When golf irons are in concern, everything matters toward your success. When it comes to grips, you need to stick to firm grips. As golf irons are typically heavy, you need firm grips to relieve stress from your hands.

Grips for Putters

Putter grips are the only type that has the freedom to be both rounded and ribbed. In most putter grips, there is an edge to the grip which helps you determine where you put your fingers.

It’s extremely important to many players because putting is the most sensitive shot in a hole. If you misalign your club head by a millimeter, you may completely miss the hole!

Final Words

This might be a golf grip size buying guide, but the size is only one section of the whole scenario. To get the size right and benefit from it, you need to get the materials right, the texture right, the firmness right, and the type right.

Only then, you can expect to become a better golfer with a greater understanding of how different equipment impacts your performance.

The next time you’re in the market to get a golf grip, take our grip as a ‘how to choose guide’ with you.

Golf Practice Plans with Step by Step Schedules to Follow

Or hop onto our email newsletter and get the free weekly golf tips we send out to our community plus updates and other announcements you don’t want to miss!

Related Posts