Virtually most big name OTR putters have Winn or Winn-texture type grips: Taylor Made, Odyssey, Mizuno, Ping, and Nike. Then down to the specialist putter makers like Yes use those grips too.

The Winns are the least durable putter grips I have encountered. Gone are the days of the regular rubber grips, and they keep on fading away.

A cursory check at the Golfsmith website shows that even the latest grips of Golf Pride are made of new soft materials (check their V-Rad line).

I think the putter manufacturers and grip makers are all in cahoots to make softer grips that wear more easily so that we will all be forced to replace grips frequently. I think this is some great big conspiracy.

And if there is someone who is not guilty of that, it is Titleist through Scotty Cameron and I would have to applaud them for using grips that "serious players" really prefer.

Everyone knows Tiger has used the same putter since middle of 1999. But do people know that he has used the same exact grip ever since?

If Tiger, who practices as much as he can, cannot wear out a rubber grip, then with more reason the average joe can't. Then there would be no market for putter grips.

What do you guys think? Is there some sort of conspiracy here to choose Winn grips? If you think about it, they can use regular rubber (similar to Lamkin Crossline or Golf Pride Tour Velvet) and the costs for the putter maker would probably be cheaper. So why don't they do it?

I think Karakal makes the best synthetic grip. (The new X-JP series.) 1000X more durable than the Winn grips, and every bit as sticky/soft.

I use a GripMaster stitch-back on my gamer, and have a rubber Golf-Pride on my backup.

I'd guess that Golf Pride and Lamkin are seriously jealous of Winn's strangle hold on the OEM putter grip market. Rather than a durability conspiracy, I think it has more to do with what feels good in the store and on the course and what the market chooses. I'm sure all these manufacturers have tested and found that the Winn style grip is far preferred as original equipment.

Most golfers do not keep a putter long enough to wear out a grip.

...especially on this forum!!!

Actually, Tiger has his grip replaced about one a year. There have been threads here and stories about it - he has sometimes griped about how when the grip was replaced it wasn't put back on in exactly the same position as the one removed, and he could tell.

When I get a putter with a Winn style grip; it comes off as soon as I get home. The wear issue never comes into play for me but I do agree they are less than durable. One of the golf shops near me doesn't even carry rubber or rubber/chord grips.

Winn grips just suck. They get dirty easily, feel like soap in the rain and wear off like breadcrumbs with prolonged use. Hated the Yes! putter grips and now the Karsten series too. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think Ody are using them too in their line.

Golf Pride V-rad line's synthetic ones are just different although they have moved away from conventional rubber. They play great in the rain and is very easy to clean with a wet towel. However, the designs are too radical (read ugly). Ironic thing is I left it on my Newport 2 cos it holds up well in the rain.

Now playing with Iomic on my Yes! putters and my 350milled comes with it. Love the feel but it gets dirty just as easily as the Winn. That said, its still way damn easier to clean than the crappy Winns with no fear of any breadcrumb-looking material falling off.

I think manufacturers are not considering the fact that golf is played in all sorts of weather. Too often they are trying to fool the consumer into thinking comfort means everything and not include all the other factors like durability as well. I don't care if Big John, Butch or the lovely Natalie are endorsing them. They just plain suck big time.

Me, too. I used to think the Winn grips were cool because of all the different color options, but I can't stand them anymore. Some are better than others but most are just kind of slimy feeling.

Personally, I love the feel of the Winn grips, regardless of their durability and how often they need to be changed. Don't be fooled though, even Cameron uses Winn grips for their Custom Shop grips. I have a blue one on my gamer and love it.

Tiger hasn't had the same grip on his putter forever, sorry. He has the same style, but not the same exact piece of rubber. Rubber decomposes and actually rots with sweat, heat, and sun damage. Yes, this even applies to tiger's clubs

I love the iomic putter grips! If you like the rubber feel over the Winn soft feel try an iomic!

It has more to do with marketing than anything else. Winn type grips are simply easier to be made in brighter, multi-color combinations. When people see a PGA or LPGA player play yellow/white/black grip putters they can tell right away that the player is using a Yes! putter. Same as red/yellow for Taylormade Rosa or red/black/white for Odyssey.

Bat

I have a black Iomic grip on my C & L Milled putter and I love it. It feels like a nice solid rubber grip. It works just fine when wet and cleans easily. The Iomic is the grip I am going to use from now on.

Scott

If you can't handle the pressure putting. Winn is your grip, cause it lets you get away with squeezing a little more.
If your a feel putter. IOMIC is it... PERIOD. best feeling grip on the planet, and 3 sizes to choose from.

Now thats pretty true. Never thought of that.

Has anyone realized that in the last year Golfpride is not making a putter grip anymore that is just simply solid black and rubber? Lamkin has a couple but they are all larger grips. I work at a shop and we carry Winn putter grips and several others aswell, but the biggest thing we hear is people complaining about how we dont have a solid black rubber grip. And to be honest I had to go online and buy almost all the pro onlys, classics and specials that I could find and we blew through them like crazy. It makes no sense that company's that made names in black rubber grips are now forgetting that there is a market of people who dont want multi-colored, blue, red, or pink grips on their putters.

On a side note, I had talked to Glenn Zagorski who is the VP of tour relations for Betti/Mizuno at a tour event earlier this year and we began to talk about why they didnt offer anything in solid rubber and black and he simply said that it is so much easier for him to call someone at Winn and spark up an idea and change the template and have a first run of grips in less than a few days whether the changes made were color, shape, size, texture.


Peterm.

Nothing beats the simple Golf Pride Pingman grip, whether with white lettering on in blackout. Still easy to buy at most golf stores and online, and it's cheap. Pro Onlys are great as well, but they have been increasingly difficult to find.

Golf Pride still makes the Tour Velvet putter grip. You can get them from Golfworks.com for about $2.50 per. This is my standard grip and I put one on every putter I use. Cheap, durable, classic looking, and comfortable--everything I want in a grip.

Agreed with poster earlier, the only conspiracy is one of marketing.
Winn make their grips in all sorts of colors and patterns. That sells. That is all.

I prefer the Winn on my Yes to the IOMic on my C&L - because there's something to actually hold onto.
Yeah, it's dirty and ratty - but hey, ball-go-in-hole-good.

For me, the smoothness of the IOMic makes it slippery with the slightest sweat or dew.

peter

I'm with you on the IOmics! They feel great and they don't wear out. I like the rubbery feel that they give.

I always thought Tiger kept the same grip because:

-He started with the Pingman before Cameron made the Studio Grip. Since then Cameron has made a Studio Grip identical in size to the Pingman, why didn't he switch to that?

-He still blacks out his Pingman grip with a sharpie, even if there already is a blackout version. I say this because sometimes on TV, the Ping logo is quite obvious and sometimes the white shows.

I may have been wrong about Tiger so I stand corrected.

Still back to my original premise, I think the move today with grip manufacturers is towards less durable but more colorful materials. They want people to change grips like they change clothes - meaning even if it ain't broke they want people to still desire it with new edgy designs and colors.

It is a business anyway, and it is their job to sell grips. It is sad that Golf Pride and Lamkin don't anymore offer plan black rubber grips in multiple options (thin Ping-like size, Paddle, Pistol, wrap, midsize,etc) because that is their bread and putter.

A Mizuno rep once told me that they made gloves with a material called "Dyna-suede" which was washable and extremely durable. Then they decided to stop selling those because the customers wouldn't be coming back anymore because the gloves were still ok even after a while.

I guess the same can hold true for grips.

I think there is a pic here somewhere, but at one point, Tiger did have a Cameron Studio grip on his putter. I'll see if I can find it.

jick, kudos to you. you always have discussion-provoking threads.

i've actually gone away from the whole rubber grip. right now, i have a winn grip on my gamer and an iomic on my backup.

am i the only one who's never worn out a putter grip... or rather bothered to replace one because it was worn out?

Tiger still uses the pingman grip because he measures where his hands should be placed based on their relation to the ping logo. Sorry if it seemed like i called you out, I just wanted to add to the conversation.

I've had the same rubber grip on my putter for the last 10+ years. I can't seem to find a good reason to replace it, or the putter that wears it.

I've only just seen this thread. It makes interesting reading.

All my putters are fitted with either Golf Pride Pro Score Cord grips, original Pingman grips, or the SC stock grip in the case of my Studio Stainless.

My Anser 2 has a Pro Score Cord that's 8 or 9 years old, and the original Pingman grip was on it from new (1989) before that.

How do you wear out a putter grip?

At worst, it perishes around the bottom if it's neglected and/or gets wet a lot.

Try and play a Winn grip for 4 mths and my attempt to keep it clean by washing and wiping often thats how. It takes AGES to dry out plus after 4 months, bits and pieces of the grip will start falling out.

I thought it was a one off when it happened the 1st time but it happened to 2 of my aftermarket Winn grips and my Yes! putters so I took them all out.

Crap

i don't have this problem because i tape my putter grip but i have seen winn grips wear very quickly. i prefer the feel of a tacky layer of tape on my grip but then again people think im strange

Golf Pride V-rad line's synthetic ones are just different although they have moved away from conventional rubber. They play great in the rain and is very easy to clean with a wet towel. However, the designs are too radical (read ugly). Ironic thing is I left it on my Newport 2 cos it holds up well in the rain.


That's funny, because I feel the opposite is true. I love the designs on them, but I hate the soft feel on them, so I had to stick to my Dual Durometer with gauze tape

Yes, I must agree that Winn Grips terrible for durability. Had one on my Bobby Grace and didn't last long at all.

IMHO, the best OEM stock standard grip, maybe not every, was/is the Callaway Tour Blue Series. Man I love the firm, slightly sticky, yet durable grip.

Josh

I just paid $13 to have the grip replaced with a pingman (not the blackout one) and the loft and lie changed on the putter. If there is a conspiracy going they aren't making any money off it.

They also still make the Crown Jumbo, solid black and lots of rubber. Nice alternative for those who want to try a cheaper version of the oversize grips like the SuperStroke or 2Thumb.

I would bet that most people swap out those Winn grips for a better rubber style...I think the fact that you can make the Winn grips intop "pretty color combos" helps with the inital sell with these putters.

I'lol just stick with my Cameron or Ping man black out grips....

Tiger uses a blacked out Pingman grip, but not the same one year after year. He replaces it with a new Pingman grip periodically.

Cameron Baby T grip = Love. It feels good and lasts a while.