There are basically two types of people in golf: those who put fresh grips on their golf clubs religiously and those who haven’t yet discovered the value and pleasure of getting their clubs re-gripped.
Until recently, I must admit to being part of the latter fraternity of golfers without a grip. Through whatever number of sets I’ve owned during nearly 50 years of playing golf, you could count on less than one hand the number of times new grips were applied to my old clubs. It might partially account for a handicap that stalled, then regressed through the years. My golf buddies often made fun of my grips that were balder than my head.
Apparently, I was not alone in my cluelessness. According to research from Golf Pride – whose grips, on average, account for 90 percent of those used by professional golfers in any given week – 49 percent of all golfers had their clubs re-gripped in the last year (since 2023). Only 27 percent of golfers routinely get their clubs re-gripped every year or more often.
My friends who for years extolled the virtues of fresh grips often liken it to feeling as if they got all new clubs – yet for a fraction of the cost of actual new clubs.
Tour pros tend to change their grips roughly every six weeks, considering how often their clubs are used. Recreational golfers who play more than 40 rounds of golf a year or enjoy weekly range sessions should consider re-gripping more often as well.
The logic adds up on both a competitive and financial level. Considering that your grips are the only piece of equipment coming in contact with your hands on every swing, of course they’re going to incur more wear and tear. That especially goes for the clubs used most often, such as drivers, wedges and putters.
My friends who for years extolled the virtues of fresh grips often liken it to feeling as if they got all new clubs – yet for a fraction of the cost of actual new clubs. Getting an entire set of 13 or 14 clubs re-gripped should cost less than $200, a figure you’d be hard-pressed to pay for a single new stick. That $600 driver you bought seems worth the $15 or so that a new grip would cost to make it feel out-of-the-box fresh again.
It was a putter grip, of all things, that led to my re-gripping epiphany. Last year, I succumbed to the curiosity of trying an oversized grip in an effort to improve my putting. The opposite occurred, as my confidence on the greens deteriorated while the putter felt entirely disconnected from my body. I figured it was creeping old age and/or lack of reps that was the cause of my total loss of feel.
Before Thanksgiving, however, I decided to try out a Golf Pride Reverse Taper Pistol grip in a smaller “medium” size. The transformation was instantaneous – as if I’d just been reintroduced to my 15-year-old Nike Method mid-mallet putter and felt connected to it for the first time in years. Feeling and distance control returned immediately. The putts have kept falling, and the confidence has only grown since.
With the offseason looming, I’m ready to refresh the rest of the golf bag with brand new grips for 2025. My holiday resolution will be to commit to greeting every calendar change with a “Happy New Grip Year.”
Scott Michaux
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TOP: COURTESY GOLF PRIDE