32 replies to this topic

[SweetTeaGolfer]

So I am trying to decide between standard and midsize grips lately. I have regripped and regripped going from standard to midsize and back to standard. It has been costly to say the least. I wanted to know how common the were and if many pros use them. I won't go to them just because many pros use them but I just want to know. A local shop has grips on sale this week so I will go and change some out tomorrow and I don't know what ones are better for me. Midsize seem to feel better but not sure. I have relatively long fingers, I wear a Large glove which is sorta snug in length but not bulk. I also have some hand pains which I am going to the doctor about on thursday, maybe larger grips will help. Any input is greatly appreciated.

[xamilo]

Mate, if you feel better, then go for the Midsize, it is as simple as that.
Anybody who uses a glove over large should be wearing a midsize grip.
The reason on why to change is just how good you feel with them...

[FAIRWAYFOUND!]

I play mid size grips on most of my clubs. They just feel more comfortable and my fingers don't feel so cramped when I hit a lot of range balls. I don't feel like I have any advantage to thinner grips that put the club more in your fingers. Even Hank Haney mentioned that he told Tiger to put the club more in this hand than in his fingers and said he hit the ball better. As for guys on tour, Bubba Watson's grips are the size of baseball bats.

Edited by FAIRWAYFOUND!, 05 April 2010 - 12:58 AM.

[RookieBlue7]

There's a chart out there that takes a wrist to middle finger measurement and wrist crease to base of finger measurement and then takes the difference to calculate the grip size. There's also one based on glove sizes. No matter the case, you have to be comfortable with them. If you have arthritic hands, generally speaking, going to a larger grip will help with that.

[chrisfx811]

I wear a L glove in pretty much all brands, have a wrist to fingertip measurement of just over 8", and a 3.5" middle finger.

Ping's webfit recommends a std grip, but I use midsize.  I also could play std with 2 wraps, and that feels pretty good as well.
Std grips make everything feel loose to me, and I end up with my fingertips on my lead hand completely folded under the thumb pad as opposed to lightly touching the thumb pad with larger grips.

I think some of it has to do with how you grip the club as well.  I use the Slicefixer style grip pictured in Hoganfan's profile.

[Golfme]

Go for the in between, standard with 2 wraps.

[Greenie]

You could get fitted for grip size and go with that or you could just go with what feels best for you and go with that. I have larger hands and have been playing midsize grips on all my clubs for yrs. When I try a new club with a standard size grip on it I tend to get to handsy and turn the club over . You say you have tried both. Have you noticed a difference in your ball striking   and or flight? There is a fitting chart for hand size. My friend has smaller hands but plays jumbo grips. They work for him because he has arthritic fingers and relieves some of his pain. I have my clubs fitted for me. Part of that fitting is grip size. I geuss the correct answer is have your hand measured  and get the proper grip size.

Edited by Greenie, 05 April 2010 - 09:31 AM.

[taygolf52]

Go with what feels best. I feel like I am choking the hell out of the club when I play standard grips. I were an XL to XXL glove and have huge hands and midsize is the only way to go. I do wish more grips were offered in midsize. I have tried the extra wraps of tape but I think it makes the grip really firm feeling.

Go with what feels best in your hands

T

[SweetTeaGolfer]

I didn't really notice any difference in my ballstriking until this weekend.  Contact just did not feel great with my irons.  I have definitely noticed with my wedges the midsize grip helps a ton.  I just don't want to go to midsizes and then start losing everything to the left, then again this weekend I hit some huge hooks.  I just wanted to know if it was common for people to go to them or if the majority of people just stuck with standard size.

Thanks for all the input, this is helping alot.

[HouAggie]

Midsize here.  Has really helped my game.  Feel a lot more comfortable holding the club now.

[Greenie]

I think you will find some people will go with a midsize because they were fitted to them and others because they just liked them better.  I know that since I am getting older I am hearing more about larger grips because of arthritis. Over all I think most people don't pay enough attention to their grips and just leave them as they came which would be standard. I play with a group of guys and besides me there is another guy that plays jumbo because of finger problems but the rest have never changed their grips. Their clubs are over serveral yrs old. I get a chuckle when I grab a club for them and their grips are shiny and slick. If you find something that is working for you then why worry about it? If you want to put your mind at ease then get your hand measured and go with the proper size. At least you won't be wondering about grip size when you hit a bad shot and start thinking it is the grips no being the right size.
I agree with the above poster. I tried the extra wraps under a standard grip and didn't care for it. I ordered a set of irons one time and the didn't have the midsize in stock so when they came in the were standard built up. I was pissed and refused them. The shop owner said I was being anal. I think there is a difference. Midsize works for me.

[aaronwb]

I have midsize and it feels much better for me

[SweetTeaGolfer]

I have gone out and purchased some midsized crosslines to throw on the clubs. I def feel a difference. I agree that building them up gives the grip a firm and overstretched feel.

[scs1070]

I miss the Tour Velvet full cord midsize.  Hopefully GP brings them back.  Got some Lamkin Crosslines, thay are good.  But I like how soft the TV were.

[chickenpotpie]

Personally, I have smallish hands, but I find regular grips to be too small, especially towards the bottom (right hand).  To compensate, I build up the lower portion of the grip with 5-6 wraps, then do 2-3 more down the entire length.  The result is a thicker overall grip than a standard grip, with a more constant diameter down the length of the grip.

[FAIRWAYFOUND!]

To ad to my first post, I think most people have issues with slicing so bigger grips will just make that worse. Bigger grips will keep most from turning the club over and that's good if your miss is left. Not good if you slice. I too prefer mid size over more wraps. Gd multi compound is as good as it gets now that DG full cord is no longer available.

[toddba11]

That is exactley why I am using standard grips at 6'6".  I would rather work on mitigating my potential to slice than use a larger grip and not be able turn the club over.

FAIRWAYFOUND!, on 05 April 2010 - 09:30 PM, said:

To ad to my first post, I think most people have issues with slicing so bigger grips will just make that worse. Bigger grips will keep most from turning the club over and that's good if your miss is left. Not good if you slice. I too prefer mid size over more wraps. Gd multi compound is as good as it gets now that DG full cord is no longer available.

[MB_Viking]

I started converting all my grips over to midsize last fall and it has resulted in the single greatest improvement in my game.

The only way you'll know is to try a club or two for an entire round.

[J.W.]

I think most guys on tour use regular sized grips only built up.  Don't see many that are actually midsized...at least from what I've seen.  I prefer this as well, midsize just feels like too much material in my hands.

[ajgoodal.704]

SweetTeaGolfer - I'm currently going thru the same dilemma.  I've been back and forth between standard, midsize, +1/32, +1/64 and I think midsize is probably the best fit.  All the static tests I've done have said standard or +1/64 (7 1/2" hand w/ 3 1/4" long finger).  When I've done the two fingers pressed on the thumb pad, midsize and even some oversize have actually been correct.  I'm wondering if the meatiness of the hand would have an effect on grip size?  If so, why is that never addressed in the seamingly one size fits all approach of getting the right size grip?  I've been doing some grip tests and it appears that Lamkin Crossline Midsize or the new VDR Midsize may be the way to go in 2011.

[bubbagump]

SweetTeaGolfer, on 04 April 2010 - 08:29 PM, said:

So I am trying to decide between standard and midsize grips lately. I have regripped and regripped going from standard to midsize and back to standard. It has been costly to say the least. I wanted to know how common the were and if many pros use them. I won't go to them just because many pros use them but I just want to know. A local shop has grips on sale this week so I will go and change some out tomorrow and I don't know what ones are better for me. Midsize seem to feel better but not sure. I have relatively long fingers, I wear a Large glove which is sorta snug in length but not bulk. I also have some hand pains which I am going to the doctor about on thursday, maybe larger grips will help. Any input is greatly appreciated.

Buy a grip removing tool.  Saves a ton of money, especially if you keep regripping like you said.  Nothing worse than just cutting a useable grip down the seam, might as well just tear up 5 bucks.

[MattMo]

I've been using midsized for my irons for a few years now.  Hand is about 8.25" long and 3.5" middle finger.  I recently regripped a buddies irons with .580 standard tour velvets and they felt like gripping pencils.  As others stated, standard + 2 wraps will give you a nice medium.  That's how I play my woods since I tend to fade the ball.   Another thing to consider, wraps tend to feel thicker than velvets (atleast to me), so keep that in mind when selecting the style and size.

[zodiackill]

I have relatively small hands, wear a medium golf glove.  I use standard with 2 wraps of tape on my irons and midsize on woods and wedges.  my hands get a little active on those clubs and it just seems to help.  Whereas with irons my hands are quiet so I use standard.

[professor_doom]

zodiackill, on 07 April 2011 - 01:13 PM, said:

I have relatively small hands, wear a medium golf glove.  I use standard with 2 wraps of tape on my irons and midsize on woods and wedges.  my hands get a little active on those clubs and it just seems to help.  Whereas with irons my hands are quiet so I use standard.

I have pretty much the same issue.  That's a great idea; I never thought about using different grip sizes within the bag.  I'll try that the next time I regrip.

To the OP: if you feel like your wrists are getting in the way (bringing unwanted movements into the swing, breaking to early, or coming over too hard), go with midsize.  If you have trouble getting your wrists out of the way to release the club, go with a thinner grip.  Other than that, it's all about feel--there are hardly any set-in-stone truisms about grip size, and it's mostly about personal preference.

I'm not sure how many pros use midsize, but I've heard that a lot of bros build their grips up.  Some actually use duct tape as buildup.

[78blades]

I used to use mid sized grips, but have changed to 5 layers of tape and regular size grip. I like this way better.

[wolfpack]

Its preference,  guys on tour with big hands like tiger and els use 580's with a single wrap..  guys like camillo 5-9" use midsize...  for me midsize helps quiet my hands for accuracy in the irons, but i use standard grips on all my woods to help square the club at impact. My favorite midsize grip right now is the Lamkin perma wrap classic, it feels great and is not that expensive.

[Random Hack]

Tour Velvet Midsize, on all my clubs but my putter.

Wear an XL glove - my fingers are too long to properly grip a standard grip without using too much pressure.

Actually thinking of putting a layer or two of extra tape under them next time I regrip.

[neova]

I am a standard's men size and last year tried a couple extra wraps of build up to a +1/64" then to +1/16" and finally +3/64" (Midsize).

There is a general rule that if your grip is too big, you will slice as your hands cannot rotate enough to get the club head to square on impact. Vice versa for undersized grips.

The over sized grip on my driver worked out well because it had a 1* closed face so with the oversized grip it helped open the face more and stopped my hooks.

Also with an oversized grip you don't have to grip the club as hard, which is vital to keep your arms loose so you can achieve maximum power transfer from your knees, hips, shoulders, onto the club head.

However, this year I went back to using just standard sized grips as I found that the over sized grip in my hand killed alot of the feel in my clubs and prevented me from gripping the club in my fingers (I have to palm it).

In the end golf is a game of confidence so go with whatever makes you feel better

Edited by neova, 08 April 2011 - 09:28 AM.

[atlanta golfer]

Midsize here, and my hands are no larger than average at best.  Since I went to midsize last year, I have far fewer misses to the left, which was a problem before.  Also my right elbow (tendons) feel much better.

[JayLefty]

I use jumbo grips. I have very large large hands and now the jumbos feel like standard size to me. When I grab a smaller grip it feels like a pencil. Use what you are comfortable with and your hands will adjust. Eventually it will just feel right.