The post 3 budget-friendly ways to instantly boost your golf clubs’ performance  appeared first on Golf.

The post 3 budget-friendly ways to instantly boost your golf clubs’ performance  appeared first on Golf.

When it comes to gaining performance with your golf clubs, a professional fitting for new clubs is usually the best option, but it’s certainly not always the most budget-friendly. So if you want to save a few clams and maximize performance with your current clubs, here are three simple and affordable ways to make sure you’re getting the most from your gear.

1. Keep your clubs clean

Sounds simple, but keeping your iron and wedge grooves clean has a huge impact on performance and most importantly spin going into and around greens. At impact, the grooves on your irons and wedges channel moisture and debris away from the face the same way tread on a tire channels keep moisture away to create traction — and the more grip, the better!

Cleaning your clubs between shots and on the range also extends their life, because it keeps abrasive dirt out from between the ball and the clubface. Next time you’re short-sided to a tucked pin, you’ll be glad you have clean grooves to stop the ball as quickly as possible.

2. Get your lies and lofts checked

Unless you happen to have a lie and loft machine at home like the equipment-sicko writer who wrote this article, getting your irons and wedges checked on at least a semi-regular basis goes a long way.

With regular practice, clubs will tend to move out of spec — especially if you hit off mats warming up at the course or when you’re at the range. Most golf shops offer lie and loft checks for around $5 a club, and some full-service shops will also take the time to make sure you have them set to the proper lie angles before doing any bending for a small fee. 

Having the peace of mind knowing your clubs are set to the right specs goes a long way for confidence on the course by ensuring distance and direction control.

3. Replace your grips

Grips are the only connection between you and your clubs so it’s essential to make sure they’re in top shape. If you already have cleaned your grips and they’re still inadequate, new grips will immediately put life into your old clubs.

You wouldn’t drive a racecar around a track and expect peak performance with a worn set of tires and you shouldn’t play golf with worn-out grips.

So next time you’re looking to gain performance but don’t want to break the bank, give these three tips a try to get the most from your time on the course.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2022? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below.

The post 3 budget-friendly ways to instantly boost your golf clubs’ performance  appeared first on Golf.

The post This at-home cleaner will make your grips feel like new in minutes appeared first on Golf.

The post This at-home cleaner will make your grips feel like new in minutes appeared first on Golf.

One of the easiest ways to make your clubs feel new without any investment is thoroughly cleaning your grips. 

Cleaning your golf grips only takes a few minutes, but the process can add new life, and — pardon the pun — put a fresh grip on your game. The reason it makes such a big difference is that just like any porous material, rubber grips absorb sweat, dirt, and other foreign substances from things like sunscreen into the pores, and over time harden to reduce traction. 

The steps for cleaning grips are simple: A simple combination of some hot water with dish soap and a scrub brush will do wonders. But one final step that I have discovered helps add just that little extra tack you can’t get anywhere else – Windex. 

Now before you start quoting My Big Fat Greek Wedding, yes I’m being serious. That magic blue liquid intended to offer a streak-free shine helps restore that tacky feeling to rubber grips after the cleaning process with the soapy hot water. Now, if you’re in a pinch and don’t have time to break out the bucket before your next round of golf – even a few sprays of Windex along with a damp cloth with help remove surface dirt and improve traction.

Last but not least, if hot soapy water and a scrub brush aren’t doing the trick, it might be time to completely replace those old grips, and give your clubs a whole new lease on life.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2022? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below.

The post This at-home cleaner will make your grips feel like new in minutes appeared first on Golf.

The post FIRST LOOK: Softness reigns supreme with Golf Pride’s new CPX grip appeared first on Golf.

The post FIRST LOOK: Softness reigns supreme with Golf Pride’s new CPX grip appeared first on Golf.

Just when you think we’ve hit peak golf grip tech, Golf Pride proves once again that there’s still plenty of gas in the tank when it comes to new grip innovation.

The brand is firing on all cylinders in 2022 with its softest iteration yet — the CPX (Comfort Performance Extreme), combining extreme softness with newfound technology in an all-new EXO diamond-quilted pattern.

According to Golf Pride, the CPX is a game-changer for the player who wants a relaxed feel in a high-performance grip. Interestingly, the company looked to extreme sports for inspiration — specifically BMX racing.

Gear

“We started looking at BMX athletes and quickly realized the harsh realities their hands went through race after race,” said Bruce Miller, head of player research and testing at Golf Pride. “BMX racers want a grip that is soft on the hands, but also one that allows them to perform their best. Similarly, we’ve found that a large group of golfers want the same thing—a soft feel without compromise. The CPX is designed to be the intersection between comfort and performance, ultimately reducing the tension in both the hands and arms while retaining a tactile grip and feel.”

The CPX is also the first grip to come out of Golf Pride’s new Global Innovation Center (GIC) in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

“The GIC is the centerpiece of our brand and our R&D, and we’re very proud to have designed arguably the company’s most innovative grip in our new facility,” said Miller. “Add the fact that we’re able to test our grips with the thousands of golfers who travel to Pinehurst for golf—we’re in a prime position to continue designing high-performance grips that are played around the world.”

The grip is constructed from a soft and responsive rubber compound that molds to the golfer’s hands for exceptional comfort and added stress relief. The material features a 45-degree diamond pattern that’s raised to maximize the contact area with the golfer’s hands. Additionally, the Control Core in the grip’s end-cap complements the soft rubber compound for the best of both worlds: maximum softness and control.

“The connection between the hands and mind is critical in the game of golf,” said Jamie Ledford, president of Golf Pride. “We’re excited about CPX because the new design and ultra-soft rubber compound we’ve developed take this connection to the next level. Anyone who tries the CPX will immediately feel the difference.”  

While many of the best players in the world opt for firmer grips for a more responsive feel at impact, Golf Pride says that added feedback isn’t necessarily what most golfers truly need or want.

“Top competitors often choose a firm feel because of the responsiveness it gives them in understanding the quality of the strike,” said Miller. “However, many of the rest of us prefer a higher degree of comfort and are not fixated on feeling the minute differences in contact points on the clubface. We believe the CPX is the ultimate comfort performance design for players who put a higher premium on the enjoyment of the game.”  

The all-new CPX will hit retailers on April 1 with a price tag at $9.49-$10.49 per grip.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2022? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below.

The post FIRST LOOK: Softness reigns supreme with Golf Pride’s new CPX grip appeared first on Golf.

The post 3 mesmerizing TikTok videos that show how golf grips are made appeared first on Golf.

The post 3 mesmerizing TikTok videos that show how golf grips are made appeared first on Golf.

If you spend any time on TikTok, you’ll know that mesmerizing videos are a pretty popular genre on the platform. They have them for all sorts of stuff, and now they’re about to get a lot better for golfers, because grip companies have just discovered the space.

Specifically GolfPride, which recently started a TikTok account and started sharing videos about how some of its grips are made, and they’re pretty hard to take your eyes away from.

In a nutshell, they feed a bunch of rubber into what looks like a giant pasta-making machine and add dye to give it a specific color.

Once they have the material all flattened-out and colored, someone comes along and slices through it and peels it off.

Then after a few fancy things in between, they feed it into some kind of compressing machine, where it’s sealed around a core and then touched up afterwards.

Impressed? Yes, we thought so, too.

The post 3 mesmerizing TikTok videos that show how golf grips are made appeared first on Golf.

The post Golf grip basics: Use the logo as a foolproof reminder how to grip the club appeared first on Golf.

The post Golf grip basics: Use the logo as a foolproof reminder how to grip the club appeared first on Golf.

If you play golf, you have golf grips. And those grips have a logo on them. You probably think that logo is there for the same reason most logos are on stuff — branding — which isn’t entirely wrong. But it’s also there to help you with your golf grip basics.

Here’s how.

The golf grip I’m using to demonstrate below are the ones I have on my clubs: The Golf Pride MCC Align. It’s a hybrid cord grip with a rib at the back, which I use along with the logo to make sure I keep my grip in good shape.

You can buy a set for yourselves right here:

And once you stick them on your clubs, you’ll be able to use them to actually improve your golf grip, a basic fundamental of the game.

First, hold the club out in front of you, like this. When you look down at the grip, you’ll see the Golf Pride logo at the bottom of the grip and the “align” at the top. They each align with a square clubface, and you’ll want to make sure your open hand slides directly underneath them, so you’re gripping the club in the fingers and not the palm.

And once you have your hand situated like this, with your fingers underneath the two logos, fold your hand over onto the grip. You want the thumb of your lead hand (left hand for right-handed golfers) to be ever-so-slightly to the right of the two logos when you look down. When you lift it up like you see me doing below, you’ll see two knuckles on your lead hand.

Once you have the club in your hand and lift it up like you see me doing above, place your trail hand (right hand for right-handers) so the gap between your thumb is on the left side of the logo as you see it when you look down.

Hey, presto! You’ve got yourself a neutral golf grip. That’s why the logos on golf grips can come in so handy.

And just to be clear: A neutral grip isn’t the same thing as a perfect grip. Pros have all different kinds of grips based on their body type and preference.

But, generally speaking, a neutral grip is the kind most coaches teach to new golfers. Use the logos on your grip to get a neutral starting point, and adjust from there.

Instruction

The post Golf grip basics: Use the logo as a foolproof reminder how to grip the club appeared first on Golf.

The post Why you should pay more attention to the size of your golf grips appeared first on Golf.

The post Why you should pay more attention to the size of your golf grips appeared first on Golf.

Every week, in collaboration with our sister-company and Top 50 Clubfitter True Spec Golf, our in-house team of equipment experts host the Fully Equipped podcast. It’s where we break down the most interesting equipment news in golf, from the most authoritative voices in the game. New in 2021, we’re going to be highlighting many of those same Fully Equipped voices on GOLF.com as part of an expanded series of articles, sharing the best equipment insight around, and helping you play better golf as a result.

1. It can affect your shot shape

Jonathan Wall, Managing Equipment Editor: The simple answer is to grip your club and see if your hands feel comfortable. If your fingers are crowded or you feel as if you can’t control the club without increasing grip pressure, it might be time to consider a grip change. The simple answer is a grip that’s too small will engage your hands more during the swing, while a larger grip will reduce rotation and activate the larger muscles. That means a smaller grip could accentuate a hook if it’s your common miss or do the same for a slice if the grip is too big. I’ve seen some players go smaller to combat a slice and large to straighten out a hook, but it’s not a foolproof fix. I’d suggest getting a Top 100 Teacher involved to take a proper look.

2. It can change the weight of your club

Andrew Tursky, Senior Equipment Editor: Grip size effects how your hands fit together on the club, so it absolutely matters. It can also impact swing weight of the club, overall weight, and it can mentally impact how you’ll release the club. As J.Wall said, there’s a few guidelines to finding the right grip size, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to preference. Try a bunch of different grip sizes and see what works for you. My guess is that after trying different-sized grips, it’s unlikely the size grips you use currently are actually the right one for you. With so many options, the odds just aren’t in your favor.

3. They can help (or hurt) your golf swing

Luke Kerr-Dineen, Director of Game Improvement Content: Everybody grips the club, but nobody grips the club the same way. That’s because everyone is built differently, and are predisposed to swinging the club in different ways to suit their strengths and weaknesses. A good golf coach will help you match a specific grip to your body type.

If your grips aren’t the right size, you’ll struggle to position your hands on the golf club the way that’s best for you. So work with a good coach and get fit so you can avoid any issues.

https://twitter.com/LukeKerrDineen/status/1382433866208661506

The post Why you should pay more attention to the size of your golf grips appeared first on Golf.

The post What’s the deal with Jordan Spieth’s ‘rogue’ pinky and index finger? appeared first on Golf.

The post What’s the deal with Jordan Spieth’s ‘rogue’ pinky and index finger? appeared first on Golf.

Welcome to Play Smart, a game-improvement column that drops every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from Director of Game Improvement content Luke Kerr-Dineen to help you play smarter, better golf.

If there is a secret to the golf swing, it’s that there is no secret. The one and only goal of your golf swing is to hit the ball relatively straight and far, more often than you go short and sideways. It doesn’t really matter how you do that, as long as you figure out a way to do it consistently. I’m sorry if that’s a slightly messy answer, but as any good coach will tell you, it’s also the truth.

Messy as it is, that’s what makes the golf swing so wonderfully fun. It’s why there are so many different ways of swinging without any “right” answer. It’s all about figuring out what works for you, and never is that more true than with your golf grip.

Different pros grip the golf club in different ways based on their body type. Some golfers chose a stronger grip to counteract their body rotation; others prefer a weaker grip for the opposite reason. It all depends on you — a good coach can help you find your best balance — but all the variations aside, most golfers fall into two different catagories.

Either they use an overlapping “Vardon” grip, where the pinky of your trail hand sits on top the index and middle finger of your lead hand.

Or they use an interlocking grip, like Tiger Woods, where the two fingers link with each other.

And then there’s Jordan Spieth, who uses neither.

SIM2 Max Irons

Engineered to help you hit better shots more often with the all-new Cap Back™ design. SIM2 Max has an intelligently optimized sweet spot designed to provide golfers with better performance where they need it the most.

Buy Now from www.taylormadegolf.com

Well, technically, it’s not neither. It’s more of a hybrid of both.

Spieth uses what is best described as a reverse overlap grip. He overlaps the wrong finger and half-interlocks, as Golf Digest‘s Matt Rudy describes:

Instead of resting the little finger of his right hand on top of his left index finger or linking his pinkie and index fingers, Spieth lets that left index finger ride on top of the right hand and slightly interlocks it with his right pinkie.

Look at the side-by-side below and you’ll see the subtle, but significant, difference.

Tiger’s more traditional interlocking grip means both fingers are curled firmly around each other, secured to one other and the club. Jordan’s is closer to a 10-finger baseball grip: His left index finger is sitting on top of the right hand and almost coming off the club as a result. Rather than his right pinky locking onto his index finger, it’s more on top of his middle finger, hardly interlocked at all.

All this has the effect of his unconventional overlapping index finger coming completely off the club during his swing, especially during his follow through.

This is why Spieth’s finger looks like that, in case you were ever wondering what that was all about. And no, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s juts a quirk that, for whatever reason, helps Jordan feel comfortable and helps him control the clubface. Really, that’s all that matters, and hopefully we’ll be seeing lots more of it atop leaderboards in the future.

Want to really dial in your irons? Schedule a fitting with the experts at our sister company, True Spec Golf.

The post What’s the deal with Jordan Spieth’s ‘rogue’ pinky and index finger? appeared first on Golf.

The post Falling for this golf myth is costing you distance — but it’s easy to fix appeared first on Golf.

The post Falling for this golf myth is costing you distance — but it’s easy to fix appeared first on Golf.

Welcome to Play Smart, a game-improvement column that drops every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from Director of Game Improvement content Luke Kerr-Dineen to help you play smarter, better golf.

I’ve heard it, you’ve heard it, we’ve all heard it a million times. Don’t grip the club firmly. Grip it soft, like a little bird you don’t want to fly away. It’s a famous Sam Snead-ism that isn’t entirely true.

It’s not that pros are lying, of course. It’s that they’re describing something they’re feeling, not what’s actually happening.

SIM2 Driver

$529.99

Buy Now from www.taylormadegolf.com

As Titleist Performance Institute’s Dr. David Rose explains in a conversation with GOLF Top 100 Teachers Dave Phillips and Mark Blackburn below, tour players have incredible gripping strength. When TPI measures them on a dynamometer, they can exert about 60 kg of maximum force. Amateurs, by contrast, usually only exert about 30 kg of maximum force.

When it’s time to actually hit a shot, pros won’t grip the club as firmly as they possibly can, though, which is why they often tell people they’re gripping softly. But even though they think they’re gripping the club softly, they’re not. By any normal standards, pros grip the club really firm.

Think of it like a body builder lifting a 75 pound weight. To the body builder, the 75 pound weight probably feels light, even though if we tried to pick up the same weight it would feel borderline impossible. The body builder may say the weight is light, and that picking it up is easy, but you know they’re just saying that because they’re a super-strong body builder.

The body builder thinks the weight is light, even though it’s heavy, and pro golfers think they’re gripping the club soft, even though they’re actually gripping firm.

It’s a big reason why pros hit the ball so far. They may only be using about half of their maximum grip strength, but if an amateur golfer tried to match them, they’d need to grip the club as hard as they could because pros are so much stronger. Which is why Blackburn, explaining in the clip below, teaches golfers a “firm grip with loose wrists” as a way of increasing their swing speed.

“Forget this notion that holding onto club tight is a bad thing,” Blackburn says. “It’s absolutely nonsensical.”

How to improve your grip strength

All of this is a way of saying, simply, that grip strength is important. You should probably be gripping the club firmer than you are already, and be actively trying to improve your grip strength in the meantime. How do you do that? It’s actually quite simple: Lift heavy stuff.

Kettlebells, weights, pull ups; anything that requires you to grip and lift something. I wish I could make it sound more complicated than that, but it’s not. Lift heavy stuff and you’ll improve your grip strength. Improve your grip strength and you’ll gain distance.

Another way to add more pop to your swing? Getting a driver fitting from the experts at our sister company, True Spec Golf.

The post Falling for this golf myth is costing you distance — but it’s easy to fix appeared first on Golf.

The post Try this grip improvement for added accuracy AND power appeared first on Golf.

The post Try this grip improvement for added accuracy AND power appeared first on Golf.

A neutral grip, with neither hand rotated too far to the left or the right on the handle, allows each hand to more naturally perform its correct, designated function. For the left hand, that’s “swinging” the club. The right’s job is to “push” it. To get a feel for each hand’s role, swing any club slowly using just your left hand and then with just your right.

Together, in a neutral position, your hands provide leverage for increased accuracy and power. If your hands are out of place, however, you’re giving up that leverage — and a lot of birdies.

A neutral grip may not feel comfortable at first, but stick with it. Once you see shots come off the club far and straight, you’ll see why it works so well.

The post Try this grip improvement for added accuracy AND power appeared first on Golf.

The post Spotted on Tour: Tony Finau’s shoes are the golf/skating crossover you didn’t know you needed appeared first on Golf.

The post Spotted on Tour: Tony Finau’s shoes are the golf/skating crossover you didn’t know you needed appeared first on Golf.

Welcome to Spotted on Tour, where we’ll highlight buzzy apparel, gear, gadgets and more that caught our eye over the weekend. Better yet, we’ll help you get your hands on your own.

We begin this week’s Spotted on Tour in Cincinnati, Ohio — some 715 miles away from the site of last week’s 3M Open. But no, we’re not talking about the bevy of great golf happening in the Buckeye State this July, we’re talking about baseball.

Major League Baseball returned to television screens Thursday and with it, a new wave of on-field gear. But for all the bells and whistles, no equipment change earned more attention than the one that occurred in Cincinnati. On Saturday, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Michael Lorenzen briefly set social media ablaze when he wore a pair of custom-made Vans baseball spikes. Lorenzen, who grew up in California, had the spikes specially designed as a nod to the cult-classic skate shoes.

Undoubtedly, Lorenzen’s shoes are sweet. Sweet enough to raise the question: could something similar be done in golf?

As it turns out, something similar had already been done in golf — and 715 miles up the road from Cincinnati at TPC Twin Cities, something similar was on Tony Finau’s feet.

Finau’s Nike Janoski G golf shoes represent the perfect intersection between golf and skate culture — built for performance but designed for the cool, understated style that skaters (and golfers) love. A foam sockliner built into the shoe cushions every step and provides wearers with protection against blisters and discomfort.

The Janoski comes waterproof in both suede and leather (depending upon the color scheme), while a unique traction pattern provides wearers with the necessary grip and stability to withstand the force generated by a golf swing. Sure, Finau’s spikeless kicks aren’t your grandfather’s golf shoes, but isn’t that the point?

Nike Janoski G Men’s Golf Shoes

Nike Janoski G men’s golf shoes pair the minimalist approach of a classic skate shoe with the performance factors Tony Finau (and you) need to go low out on the course. A built-in foam sockliner provides added support and comfort for those who love to walk, while waterproof suede and leather keep you dry, no matter the conditions. The Janoski is cool, it’s comfortable, and it’s stylish enough for wear inside the clubhouse, on the course and out on the town.

Buy Now from www.nike.com

The post Spotted on Tour: Tony Finau’s shoes are the golf/skating crossover you didn’t know you needed appeared first on Golf.