NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
BROUGHT TO YOU BY GOLF PRIDE, THE #1 GRIP ON TOUR
Grips are an often overlooked piece of equipment, but it’s difficult to ignore the burly handles on Tony Finau’s clubs.
The native Utahn has big paws, so a normal grip size would be problematic. Bulkier grips limit hand rotation through the ball, and players with large hands could regularly experience an “over-releasing” of the club if they are saddled with a standard grip size.
Conventional thinking would suggest that those players should implement oversized grips, but it’s not always a popular choice because those grips use more rubber material and skew to the softer side. That softness may be appreciated by some, but high-level players tend to gravitate toward firmer grips because it helps with clubface awareness and swing speed.
This causes a problem for players needing larger, firm grips. The solution is to take a standard grip and add many layers of grip tape underneath, creating bulk while maintaining firmness.
As a side note, pretty much every golfer has at least one layer of grip tape because it helps keep the grip in place when it’s put on – but not all players enjoy the feel of a single layer. Adding grip tape actually lightens the swing weight of a club, because the relationship between the upper-third of the club and bottom two-thirds of the club is altered. Less grip tape will add swing weight because the bottom of the club is relatively heavy in comparison to the grip end.
In the case of Finau’s Lamkin UTx midsize grips, Ping tour reps add 13 layers of grip tape under the bottom hand and 12 layers of grip tape under the top hand. This is similar to Bubba Watson, who has typically played with 12 layers of tape under the bottom and 10 layers under the top of his Ping 703 Gold grips. Re-gripping a full set of Finau’s clubs takes upwards of an hour and regularly requires two people.
So why use different amounts of grip tape under each hand? It has to do with the width of the grip. The vast majority of grips get smaller in width as they approach the shaft, with the largest width being at the butt of the grip. Finau does not like this because he feels like his right hand is not as secure at impact.
His grips maintain the same width throughout because the extra wrap of tape on the bottom hand cancels out the midsize grip’s typical descending width.
That creates the ability for optimal speed and no fear of releasing the club too quickly. It’s worked out pretty well for Finau, who has ranked no worse than No. 21 in strokes gained tee-to-green during the past six seasons. The past two weeks in particular have been a ball-striking clinic. Finau gained more than 16 strokes against the field in the tee-to-green category at the 3M Open, and he picked up more than 14 strokes in the same category this past week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
He ranked first in strokes gained tee-to-green both weeks en route to back-to-back victories.
It shows how critical it is for all players to have a comfortable connection to the club, especially if they have big mitts and need some extra care to get the grips right.
Sean Fairholm