IronWRX - Geared for Golf

Regripping a golf club is one of the most commonly carried out tasks. It is one of the easiest tasks to perform, and also one of the fastest, but unfortunately it is one of the most mis-understood tasks with respect to its potential effect on the golf club. It is possible to spend hours of work assembling a set of golf clubs to the highest specifications possible - only for it all to be undone by the addition of the wrong grip.

Sounds impossible, but it isn't. The grip is the only contact with the club that you have. The grip itself can vary in feel, weight, and size. Let's look at just these three areas a little more closely:

Feel
Weight
Size
Regripping services

Feel

The purpose of the grip is to convey a pleasant feel to the golfer. This feel should allow the golfer to grip the club with as little pressure as possible so that the muscles in the forearms do not overtighten, and allow the golfer to swing as freely and effortlessly as possible. These days there are so many materials available in any combination, for example, full-cord, half-cord, wrap, taper, durometer, dual durometer, tacky, non-tacky, soft, round, ribbed, and more besides. The key here is to find a grip material that suits you best over 18/36 holes, does not cause you to over-grip, does not slip or move if your hands get sweaty, and does not cause your hands to get sore or blister.

Weight

The weight of a grip can vary greatly depending on its material, type, length, size and the manufacturer. All of these can conspire together to change the swingweight and the total weight. There can be enough of a variance in the weight to effect the swingweight such that the golfer notices a different feel to his clubs. In extreme variations of weight, it is possible to reduce the swingweight of a driver by up to 4 swingweight points. Most golfers can notice swingweight changes of 2 swingweight points and higher.

Size

Grip size has historically been measured at a point 2" down from the grip cap once it is installed on the grip. There is standard, oversize and undersize. Standard has been defined as a diameter of 0.900" for men, and 0.855 for women at this point. For right-handed golfers, this is a measurement for the left hand. For the right hand, the diameter is measured at a 6" point from the grip cap. The only way to be sure that the grip is installed to the correct size is to measure an existing grip with calipers and then install the grip to match that size.

IronWRX regripping services

We provide one of the most comprehensive approaches to regripping:

Prior to regripping

• Swingweight check

• Grip thickness of current clubs measured for upper and lower hand
• Grip length measured of all clubs
• Measure shaft butt size to match correct grip/shaft
• New grips weight sorted to within +/- 2g of each other
• Total weight is measured

Grip removal and prepping

• If required, and if possible, we will attempt to save old grips
• Old grips removed
• Old layers of tape removed and shaft thoroughly cleaned
• Shaft butt measured to ensure correct grip size
• Removal of any sharp edges left from shaft butt trimming
• Leveling of shaft to ensure straight edges where butt trimmed
• Removal of loose debris from inside shaft
• Shaft bands removed if required

Grip installation

• Apply any layers of build up tape to obtain required size
• Apply specialist layers of tape (e.g. right hand built up, left hand built up)
• Install grip either logo-up or logo-down to customer requirement
• Stretch all grips to within +/- 2mm the same for each club
• Laser check of grip alignment to ensure grip square to club face
• Alignment of grips to customer requirement (e.g. slightly to left/right etc.)
• Final “eyeball” check of club at address position to verify grip is on correctly

Post installation

• Removal of any excess solvent
• Check swingweight to within 1 swingweight point
• Grip thickness measured to ensure correct specifications and uniformity
• Shaft cleaned
• Any loose ferrules repaired and finished

Anyone can learn how to put a grip on a golf club in a few minutes. There are lots of sites that tell you how to regrip your club yourself with step-by-step instructions. Being able to install it to the correct size, and to be able to convey the effect that this may have on the swingweight and total weight is somewhat more involved, and is often ignored.