Equipment
Best Grips: A company that lives up to the name?
As a boy growing up in Texas, Zach Sewill didn’t want to be a firefighter or football player. He wanted to be a professional golfer. Hands bloodied from hours of practice led to a realization — he needed better grips. What he found was both an answer and the foundation for a career.
In 2003, Sewill and his father (Harry) started a small company in Conroe, Texas, that distributed leather grips as the U.S. arm of Grip Master. Everything was hunky-dory until 2008 when what Sweille termed, ahem, “creative differences” led the companies to part ways.
In 2010, Sewill decided to go it alone and started BestGrips.com. With the support and guidance from his dad, he set out to produce the best golf grip in the world.
From left to right: MicroPerf, Gridiron and Classic
The company’s first grip, the Classic ($17 each) is a firm grip with a smooth surface. The MicroPerf ($18 each) is slightly softer and more textured than the Classic. The Gridiron ($19 each) has the most texture and is made from the exact same material as collegiate and professional footballs. Both the Classic and MicroPerf are available in oversized as well.
Each grip has a leather chassis and is produced from 100 percent genuine leather, a key component to being the best, Sewill says.
Best Grips also use “Pro Taper,” which adds more size — approximately three wraps underneath the golfer’s dominant hand — to the bottom of the grip. There’s also “Pro Tac,” which infuses a blend of food-grade materials directly into the leather. The result of Pro Tac is the only grip in golf that truly gets tackier as it gets wetter.
Best Grips also offers two different putter grips (Pistol and the D), which are offered in a variety of textures, colors and styles. Designer and exotic options (think ostrich and sea snake) drive the price north, but are still quite a bit less than similar products from other niche companies.
The Gridiron putter grip uses the same material as footballs.
Sewill prides himself on a willingness to provide customers custom options on every product, without any bulk order requirements.
Best Grip’s custom Puttershoe headcover in Black Carbon Fiber.
To be successful, you have to be committed to a vision of who you are and what you can do, Sewill says. He bases this stance on some advice he received from his father, Harry.
[quote_box_center]“You can’t out Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart, but they can’t out Harry, Harry,” his father says.[/quote_box_center]
Point being, the big box volume sellers may move a lot of product, but they can’t give you the same personal experience and access that a company like Best Grips can.
Don’t mistake the lack of presence on the major tours as anything significant. For now, Sewill isn’t interested in selling as many grips as he can. While the company has grown in excess of 20 percent each of the last four years, he says it’s more important that his company “continue(s) to produce everything in house, even if that means we someday can’t produce as much as we’d like to.”
To that end, Best Grips only publicly advertises on GolfWRX and depends on word of mouth for the rest. The company does work with putter maker TP Mills, as well as several other smaller companies that Sewill describes as “more appreciative” of the business relationships they establish.
Best Grips is a small company that pushes authenticity and customization in an arena of larger companies that thrive on volume sales. Excuse Sewill if that seems a bit rigged, if not disingenuous.
For now, Best Grips is committed to living out Sewill’s credo to provide “an unparalleled customer experience and one-off customized products made from the highest quality materials at a reasonable price.”
Hard to argue with that.
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- Steve Stricker WITB accurate as of the Zurich Classic. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees, C4 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 7.2 X
3-wood: Titleist 915F (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist 816 H1 (17 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 9.2 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (3, 4), Titleist T100 (5-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (46-10F @55), Titleist Vokey SM10 (54-10S @53), Titleist Vokey SM4 (60 @59)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 w/Sensicore
Putter: Odyssey White Hot No. 2
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Grip Rite
Check out more in-hand photos of Steve Stricker’s clubs here.
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- Alex Fitzpatrick what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 7 X
Hybrid: Ping G430 (19 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 TX
Irons: Ping iCrossover (2), Titleist T100 (4-PW)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 9 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 X (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-12F, 56-12D, 60-08M)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 X
Putter: Bettinardi SS16 Dass
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Alex Fitzpatrick’s clubs here.
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In our forums, our members have been discussing Mini-Drivers and accompanying shafts. WRXer ‘JamesFisher1990’ is about to purchase a BRNR Mini and is torn on what shaft weight to use, and our members have been sharing their thoughts and set ups in our forum.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- PARETO: “New BRNR at 13.5. Took it over to TXG (Club Champ but TXG will always rule) in Calgary for a fit. Took the head down to 12, stuck in a Graphite Design AD at 3 wood length and 60g. Presto- numbers that rivaled my G430Max but with waaaaay tighter dispersion. Win.”
- driveandputtmachine: “Still playing a MIni 300. The head was only 208, so I ordered a heavier weight and play it at 3 wood length. I am playing a Ventus Red 70. I play 70 grams in my fairways. I use it mainly to hit draws off the tee. When I combine me, a driver, and trying to hit a draw it does not work out well most of the time. So the MIni is for that. As an aside, I have not hit the newest BRNR, but the previous model wasn’t great off the deck. The 300 Mini is very good off the deck.”
- JAM01: “Ok, just put the BRNR in the bag along side a QI10 max and a QI10 3 wood. A load of top end redundancy. But, I have several holes at my two home courses where the flight and accuracy of the mini driver helps immensely. Mine is stock Proforce 65 at 13.5, I could see a heavier shaft, but to normal flex, as a nice alternative.”
Entire Thread: “What’s the perfect Mini-Driver/Shaft combo? – GolfWRXers discuss”
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Steve Stricker WITB accurate as of the Zurich Classic. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees, C4...
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James g
Mar 19, 2015 at 11:23 am
I ordered a head cover for my 3 wood and it is amazing. I get so many great comments on it. I have not broken down to get the grips yet. Part of the reason is I have been going back and forth between iron sets but now have settled on the gamers so I will be ordering grips. Only issue for me is there is no mid-size. The standard seems too small and the oversize too big.
Tom K.
Mar 18, 2015 at 6:26 pm
Wanted to say thank you to Harry and Zach at BestGrips for going the extra mile in helping with my leather grip selection. Awesome grips, awesome service!
Hernán Lazarde
Mar 17, 2015 at 11:10 pm
Zach is an amazing guy, personally, as a friend of mine, but much more importantly, from a professional and customer service point of view. His work ethic is great, his attention to detail is stupid awesome and his willingness to work with each client, whether a next door neighbor, a golf buddy or a guy from across the Atlantic, is priceless. I’m been to his shop and the way both his dad and Zach care about their equipment, the machines that, alongside their craftsmanship, make Best Grips what they are, is immeasurable. They really love what they do and it shows… in every single product they make.
kess
Mar 16, 2015 at 1:46 pm
Currently using the major leaguer on my putter. Love it. Great communication from the owner too.
Adrian
Mar 16, 2015 at 12:28 pm
I too am a very satisfied customer of Best Grips (micro perf). I previously had the high-end Grip Masters installed but they were too tacky and the butt end of the grip had excessive wear. It made no sense to be paying $20-25 per grip premium only to have the rubber end-cap wear out way before the grip. The Best Grips have a better composition they’re slightly more rounded on the end-cap which I suspect prevents the issues I was experiencing with Grip Masters.
Separately, the “feel” of the Best Grips (I’ve only tried/used the Micro Perfs) is perfect no pun intended. Slightly less tacky than the Best Grips but more over, there’s no residue that stays on your hands or gets all over your shafts… something else that was a tad annoying about my priors.
The fact that Zach’s product is slightly less expensive is pure upside. I can’t say they are the best grips available because that’s subjective and some rightly prefer the feeling of a rubber/compound grip. But, I can say they are indeed the best leather grip available and after one year showing 0% sign of wear. I reckon these will have a minimum of 3 years life.. which easily justifies the price/grip.
Brendon
Mar 16, 2015 at 5:34 am
I use the the grip master grips from Australia,so happy with these and when it rains they grip so well,good to see another leather grip manufacturer out there,will check them out.
RG
Mar 15, 2015 at 10:30 pm
Thank you soooooo much! I have been dying to try a leather putter grip for ages and now I know where to go.
Dave
Mar 15, 2015 at 8:30 pm
I have worked with this company since 2004 and can attest to the quality of the products and the integrity of the folks who work there. I have yet to get any product from them that was less than they offered, and in most cases got a better grip/putter cover/head cover than what they said it was.
I would go so far as to say that any product offered by this family will be superior to any other.
If you can find another group of individuals who are more dedicated to serving the golfing public please let me know. Smiles, Mad Honk
Curt
Mar 15, 2015 at 9:52 pm
A lot of companies start out with this much care and pride, then go down the slippery slope of all profits.
Brian
Mar 15, 2015 at 4:21 pm
I have one Best Grip Black Ostrich putter grip that I bought used and its a piece of crap. It feels like plastic instead of Ostrich and the quills barely go half way down.
What the article doesn’t say is that their cowhide putter grips start @ $35. For that you can get The Grip Master Pittards Cabretta Tour Stitchback @ $35. Or you can get their closeout Kangaroo Putter Stitchback for just $25. That is an awesome grip.
Sorry to dump on a sponsor, but The Grip Master is the better grip.
Chris Nickel
Mar 15, 2015 at 4:56 pm
Certainly everyone is welcome to their opinion – but if I read your post correctly, you said you bought a used grip – correct? Not really and apples-apples comparison. FWIW, I’m sure Grip Master makes nice grips as well – but you can’t compare a used product to a new one.
Curt
Mar 15, 2015 at 9:54 pm
Well said Chris! Someone sold him a used grip for a reason?!?!
Brian
Mar 18, 2015 at 7:08 am
Fair enough, but it was a ‘new’ pull off of a tour putter. It was my one and only experience with a Best Grip and frankly, I was disappointed.
Awedge333
Mar 16, 2015 at 8:56 pm
I have a black ostrich on my Low Tide putter – it is simply great!
Scott
Mar 15, 2015 at 9:46 am
I used the leather grips from Australia for a few years. I ended up replacing m clubs before the grips wore out. I need a Jumbo or a mid size that I can build up. Let me know when You guys have those. Thanks.
slider
Mar 14, 2015 at 9:21 pm
nice but hard to find I will stick with my GP patriot grips
RI_Redneck
Mar 15, 2015 at 9:45 am
What’s hard to find about them. Go to the website and there they are.
BT
Chris Nickel
Mar 15, 2015 at 4:50 pm
I can tell you Zach is very easy to work with and would be happy to help you create whatever it is you like – Most grips like this aren’t readily available at your local Golfsmith, but that’s pretty true of most niche products.