Grip Sizes
Golf grip sizes are relatively simple, they come in Junior/Undersized, Standard, Midsize, and Jumbo/Oversize. If you would like a size that is somewhere between these it can be achieved through extra layers of tape.
The old way of determining the correct grip size
As a rule of thumb this is the traditional way of determining your grip size.
A thicker grip would benefit…
A player with large(r) hands.
A player who consistently draws or hooks the ball.
A player with arthritus who struggles to hold and smaller grip. (This is still accurate I believe)
A player whose fingers wrap round the grip and dig into their palm.
A smaller grip would benefit…
A player with small(er) hands.
A player who consistently slices or fades the ball.
A player who requires more clubhead ‘feel’.
A player whose fingers do not fully encircle the grip
Determining the right size
Here at Peter Field Golf Shop we start with measuring your hand size. From the crease on your wrist to the tip of the middle finger. We then measure the length of your middle finger. This will give us an indication to what size is recommended. This is just the beginning. Closure rate is the real key.
What is Closure rate?
“Closure Rate is a measure of the rotation of the club face as it approaches the impact point.” – Gearssports.com
Closure rate is the rate of rotation (measured in degrees per second) the club head moves in to go the golf ball. This is the squaring up of the blade at impact. A recent study by ‘The Golf Lab’ has found that grip size is related to how well the golfer gets the club face square at impact. So although we use the grip chart to give us an initial idea we can then use our launch monitor GCQuad to measure how consistent the players closure rate is. There is no perfect degrees per second closure rate but the more consistent it is the more chance the player has of hitting target.
Since this method has been introduced we have seen various results. It is common that the grip fitting chart is accurate and best results are seen with grip size and closure rate BUT we have also seen the opposite. Only last week did we fit a lady golfer for midsize grips as it gave her more club face control resulting in more accurate iron shots.
What happens if your grip size is wrong?
To put it simply, the wrong size of grip could make your ball striking and ability to control your club face harder. Sounds like it’s something you might want to get right and not guess? If you would like to look deeper into what size grip would benefit you most feel free to pop in store and talk to one of our team or drop me an email at rob@peterfieldgolf.uk
