What You Do Not Know?….Can You Find Out??

I had another of those “is this really true?” golf club experiences last week.

In the first year or so of clubbuilding, more times than not I bought some shafts, thought they were a certain flex, and found out they were not close to that flex. Over time, and by being exposed to the folks from the Association of Golf Clubfitting Professionals (AGCP) who will answer any clubfitting and clubmaking question, experiences with being surprised by a shaft have lessened.

BUT……….I truly never thought it would happen with a name brand grip. Last week (a little later than I had expected because of the arrival of my second grandchild, lovely little Julia!) I came home from my day job all pumped up to finish a set of clubs for a client. He chose some name brand grips, and all of my past experiences with these grips is that they are made to specifications to give a certain grip size (measured 2 inches and 5 inches from the end of the shaft) when you use a standard amount of grip tape on the shaft.

I tend to be anal about measuring grip sizes, but have to admit I was thinking of not measuring these grips because surely they would be at spec. But I thought I had better measure at least ONE grip to be sure it sized right. I measured the butt end size of the shaft to ensure it was 0.600 inches diameter (pretty typical), put grip tape on, installed the grip, measured it – and it was more than 1/16 inch diameter under standard. I thought no way, pulled the grip off, put another one on…..same results. Now, the client REALLY wanted to have the clubs the next day….so I put a substitute grip on the clubs (a good one) and wondered all night if I did something wrong, or what had happened.

The next day I contacted the grip company and they ASSURED me that these were standard grips. I came home that night, put another one on an 0.600 diameter shaft, and same result again. These grips would be good for standard women’s grips, but way undersized for standard men’s grips.

In the end of this, I felt frustrated about the fact that the grips did not really work as expected and as the customer needed (he really needs grips that are a bit oversized, easy to do by adding some additional build up tape….). But I also felt good that I provided a service to someone who really wanted great clubs. He might have never realized that the grips were undersized, and most likely would do some adjusting of his swing to compensate for having smaller grips.

I think golfers deserve better. We deserve clubs that at a MINIMUM are the right length for us, and grips that are the right size for our hands. To me, this should be expected. But I suspect lots of folks who REALLY play a lot of golf play with clubs that are too long or too short, or play with grips that do not fit them. And this is not even mentioning the value of proper club flex and weight fitting.

So the next time you have your clubs regripped, see if you can find someone who will take your Wrist to Floor measurement, and who can give you at least a preliminary estimate about the proper length for your clubs. And who will also evaluate your present grip size and provide advice on the right size for you.

PS…………Another driver length data point… In Golf Digest this month, it is noted that Geoff Ogilvy (another pretty good player, no?) plays with a 44-1/2 inch long driver and a 15 degree 3 wood. Still no 46 inch drivers by these pro guys!!

Tony