Golf Grips

Gripping a golf club tends to come down to personal preference and how you’ve been taught (or who has taught you). No doubt you’ll find your own adjustments to make for your own comfort, though there are some foundational grip techniques that will inform your choices.

When gripping the golf club, make sure you’re aligning it with your fingers rather than the centre of your palm. Cradle your fingers and let the club rest there to find its natural position, and then rest your thumb on the trail side of the grip. For a neutral, standard grip, ensure you keep a ‘V’ space between your thumb and finger on your trail hand, and align this with either your chin or your left shoulder. Your grip is as much a part of your stance and set-up as your feet and hips are.

Now, double check where your trail hand is resting. Avoid creating gaps between your little finger on your trail hand and the first finger on your lead hand. If anything, you want an overlapping grip for better control of the club and speed. Make sure your grip is tight but that your wrists, elbows, and shoulders stay mobile and fluid.

This depends on how regularly you play golf. If you play at least semi-regularly or a few times a week, then you will need to change your golf grips every 6 months. This is because they will become worn down from usage, your golf gloves, and sweat. We do recommend, however, that you don’t change your grips yourself because they require specialist tools in order to preserve the quality of both the club shaft and the new grip. Luckily, American Golf can advise on this, and you can visit our stores to find out more.

Sweat, sun cream, and dust will naturally accumulate on your grips, regardless of whether you wear a golf glove on one or both hands, dirt will still gather in the grips. Even if you replace your grips every 6 months as advised, you’ll still need to clean them between uses because you could lose traction and have them steadily affect your game.

Here’s how to clean your golf grips.

Fill a bucket, basin, or large bowl with warm soapy water and lather it up to start the bubbles. Take a clean cloth, dip it into the water, and rub it over the grips until you’re happy with their appearance. Don’t rub too hard, as you may inadvertently damage your grips. When you’re happy with them, run the grips under warm running water to rinse out the suds until the water runs clear.

Make sure you don’t use a harsh alcohol-based soap or hot water, as this could undo the glue underneath the grips and cause splits and loosening. Don’t put them on a heated surface either to dry; instead, towel dry the grips and mop up any residual water or droplets from the club shafts. Leave them to dry on the towels naturally and completely before storing them again.

Generally, no, a thicker golf grip doesn’t help every player. The right golf grip depends on the club you’re using and your own hand or glove size. If your swing is too vigorous and your shot is hooked, then a thicker golf grip can help stabilise this as it will be more comfortable and controlled in your hand. However, this is entirely down to your own experience of your swing and personal preference, so take note of how each swing performs and feels before making intuitive changes to your clubs.

An easy rule to follow for golf grip sizes is that if you wear a small golf glove, you will typically need a smaller or thinner golf grip. If you wear a medium in your golf gloves, then opt for a medium-thickness grip, and so on.

Some players find that different grip sizes suit different clubs depending on their play style. This is where golf grip size and thickness can come down to personal preference, so you need to measure your own comfort in your hands and wrists when playing. Take note of how your shots feel and perform, and if you correlate this with your grip feeling loose, then it could be time to size up or down.