The Truth about Golf Grip Size
by David Lake
A question that is always asked is “What is the correct grip size?” The simple answer is none. Although this answer runs contrary to what is promulgated throughout the entire golf industry it is a fact. Let me explain:
Since Lucy walked the earth five million years ago the evolutionary process has revolved around the ability of the human hand to adapt. It has been argued that the evolutionary development of the human brain is a direct result of the evolutionary increases in the adaptability of the hand (you might say that they go hand in hand – pun intended). From playing the piano to performing delicate heart surgery, and yes, to holding a golf club, the human hand can adapt to virtually any shape or size object.
What is most interesting is that, with the exception of extreme cases, hand size does not matter. For instance, there are over 550,000 physicians and surgeons in the USA and I am sure that every hand size is accounted for in that large group. However, if you look in a medical supply catalog you will find that there are no options for the handle size on a scalpel. By the same token chopsticks, piano keys, violin frets, quilting needles, and so on, all come in one size. Consequently, using the logic espoused by the golfing fraternity the surgical ability of our nation’s physicians has to be negatively affected, the Chinese cannot eat efficiently, think of how much better Beethoven could have been, Yo-Yo Ma needs a new cello, and aunt Martha’s quilts are defective. The fact is that your hand, regardless of size, can adapt efficiently to any size object and certainly to any size golf grip.
Over the years we have conducted blind testing involving hundreds of golfers with hand sizes ranging from small to large and virtually every participant preferred a larger grip and the tackier the better. This really was not surprising considering that out of all sports where an object is held in the hand a golf club has, by far, the smallest diameter handle. Even the handle on a ping-pong paddle has a larger diameter than the grip on a golf club.
Our testing has shown that a 1/8″ oversize grip provides the extra hand to grip contact that results in a much improved transfer of power and level of control/accuracy when swinging a golf club. Not only did our test subjects show an increase in distance but their shot dispersion shrunk by over 30%. It should also be noted that all of the participants preferred the larger size grip regardless of their hand size. Consequently, we only install 1/8″ oversize grips on our single length golf clubs.
