Mongrel Thu Sep 05, 2013 10:30 am
I used to think that grip size and swingweights were all in your head and that a good ball striker could hit anything well. However, since I started to do my own grips and shafts and play with weighting and other stuff, I now realize that it really is in my head since how each club feels and swings is transmitted to the brain and affects each shot. After a good bit of experimentation, a difference of about 1/16" in grip diameter will mean up to a 10-15 yards left of my intended target line with driver. With the thicker grip, my pulls are reduced and I get a little bit more fade off the driver and those two factors add up to fewer strokes big time since my hole and round wreckers are dead pulls off the tees.
Another thing is that over the years owning literally hundreds of irons and woods, many of them would be great clubs but something just didn't feel right about them. Later on I realized that a lot of that was due to grip size and/or weight. You can have a club that feels too head-heavy and not be able to hit it well at all. But put a thicker grip on it or use tape to build up the grip thickness, and all of a sudden that club feels perfect. On the other hand, I've bought used clubs, both woods and irons, that felt too light with not enough head feel. Change to a thinner or lighter grip and all of a sudden its the perfect club. At least for awhile.
Another thing I've been doing is installing one or two wraps of black duct tape under the bottom five inches of my grips. This builds up the thickness where my right hand goes and allows me to choke down a good bit on the club when I want to take a little distance and height off the shots. For me, it makes for much more solid choked down shots and is great when you're not swinging that well and you want an immediate on-course improvement in ball striklng, especially with the irons.
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