How does Grip Size affect your shots?

Testing Grip Size

 

Drive Golf Performance Grip Fitting Matrix

 

Grip size is often an overlooked component in a golf club. Typically the advice given is that the grip size is related to your hand size, the bigger your hands the bigger the grip size. Frequently it is also said that thinner grips promote draw shots and thicker grips fade shots. That is to say grip size has an impact on club face control and accuracy of shots.

In order to check this out we tested different grip sizes. We wanted to see did they have an effect on the accuracy of shots and also would they have an affect on other factors such as club head and ball speed.

 

6 iron Grip Sizes

 

We tested grip sizes on both a 6 and a driver. For the 6 iron we used a Mizuno MP18 SC with a Dynamic Gold S300 shaft. For the driver we used a Cobra King SZ 10.5 with an Accra 65 gram Stiff shaft. 

The grip sizes that were tested on the 6 iron were, Standard, 2 layers Extra, 4 layers Extra, Midsize and Oversize. The extra layers were added with masking tape underneath a standard grip to make the grip bigger.

The grip sizes that were tested on the driver were Undersize, Standard, Reduced Taper, Midsize and Oversize.

The testing was done over a couple of April days, one day for 6 iron and another day for the driver. Temperatures were around 14 degrees both days and there was a slight breeze against. The golfer performed a warm-up before the testing. The ball used in the test was the Titleist ProV1. The methodology of the test was to hit 3 shots with each grip size starting with the smallest progressing to the largest returning to the smallest and following the same procedure until 12 shots were hit with each. The shots were recorded on a Trackman 111 launch monitor.

 

Results

6 iron

 

Grip Size – 6i	Club Speed MPH	Ball Speed MPH	Carry Yards	Total Distance Yards
Std	82.2	113.6	152.0	160.6
+2	82.3	111.6	148.6	157.3
+4	82.8	111.7	148.8	157.8
Midsize	82.2	112.8	150.4	158.6
Oversize	82.0	112.6	148.8	157.0
	Dispersion Feet	Launch Angle	Spin Rate	Height Feet
Std	18.9	14.8	6106	75
+2	15.7	15.5	6048	74
+4	15.6	15.0	5963	72
Midsize	17.3	15.0	5872	75
Oversize	28.7	14.8	6117	74

 

Dispersion Pattern of 6 iron

What we are mainly looking for length and accuracy. Dispersion is the indicator used for accuracy. Ball Speed, Club Speed, Carry and Total Distance are the indicators used for distance.

 

The +4 layers gave the best accuracy with an average distance of 15.6 feet off the target line, the +2 layers wasn't too far behind with an average of 15.7 feet. The oversize was the worst with an average of 28.7.

 

The best ball speed, club head speed, carry and total distance came from the standard grip. The lowest came from the +2 layers 

 

Overall the standard grip would seem to be the best performing with the longest distance and ball speed (best indicator of strike) and an accuracy close to the best but not quite the best accuracy. The oversize was definitely the worst, with a dispersion quite a long way off then the others. The other 3 performed well enough, with not much difference in accuracy between them.

 

Driver

Grip Size – Dr	Club Speed MPH	Ball Speed MPH	Carry Yards	Total Distance Yards
Std	99.6	149.8	234	259.3
Undersize	98.8	148.6	235.2	257.5
Reduced Taper	98.2	147.4	233	257.3
Midsize	99.0	149.2	233.5	261.0
Oversize	98.4	146.7	230.1	251.8
	Dispersion Feet	Launch Angle	Spin Rate	Height Feet
Std	31.6	10.1	2880	77
Undersize	39.2	11.7	2861	88
Reduced Taper	57.2	12.3	2861	83
Midsize	42.2	11.0	2613	75
Oversize	43.0	11.8	3127	88

 

 

Dispersion Pattern of Driver

The standard size gave the best accuracy with an average distance of 31.6 feet off the target line. The reduced taper was the worst with an average of 57.2.

 

The best ball speed and club head speed came from the standard, carry from undersize and total distance came from midsize. The worst distance with the highest spin came from the oversize. 

 

Overall the standard grip would seem to be the best performing. The oversize and reduced taper both performed poorly.

Grip Size -6i	Attack Angle	Club Path	Face to Path
Std	-6.0	-4.4	5.0
+2	-5.6	-3.7	4.5
+4	-4.8	-3.1	3.7
Midsize	-4.7	-2.8	3.3
Oversize	-3.8	-1.5	2.3

 

Grip Size -Dr	Attack Angle	Club Path	Face to Path
Std	-1.2	0.2	-1.1
Undersize	-1.6	-0.2	-0.8
Reduced Taper	-0.9	-1.1	2.6
Midsize	-1.2	0.1	-0.1
Oversize	-0.9	-1.1	0.9

 

While we were mainly looking at distance and accuracy we also checked the impact factors. With the 6 iron the grip sizes did seem to have different influences on club path and face to path, with the driver not as much.

 

Notable with the driver the biggest disparity between path and face to path was with the reduced taper grip which did have the worst accuracy.

Analysis and Conclusion

When recommending a grip size, we recommend the one that gives the best performance and we can see with this test that grip size does change performance. If the performances are similar, go for the one that feels the most comfortable in the hand. 

 

Overall for this golfer you would say that the standard grip size was best for them. It gave the best combination of distance and accuracy in both the 6 iron and driver. For the 6 iron as the grip sizes went up there wasn't a big difference in performance until the oversize. 

 

With the driver there was a bigger difference between dispersion as we changed sizes. Can we surmise that as the driver is harder to control and that having the correct grip size in the driver is more important?

 

Did we see thicker grips more likely to go left to right? With the driver the oversize grip definitely went more left to right, with the iron it was more of a general difference rather than a side pattern

 

We have also noticed over time that there isn't a big correlation between hand size and grip size, which means testing is required to find the optimal size. 

Our best guess as to why grip size is not related to hand size, is it seems to be more closely related to the previous sport history of the player. What the player uses first is what they get used to and continue using.

Any questions and comments are welcome.

 

 

 

The Reasons behind Slow Play in Golf and How to Speed Up.

 Slow Play

 

Nobody likes slow play. Many golfers will cite it as one of the big downsides to golf. What are the reasons behind slow play, is it really the golfer who takes five waggles before every shot and holds up the whole course as a result? Or is there a little more to it?

There are 5 main reasons behind slow play

1. Management Practices and Policies

The number of golfers on the golf course is the main reason behind slow play. You're never held up when there's no one out there. As a result starting times have a big effect on slow play. The quicker groups are let off the first tee the quicker a course clogs up.

2. Player Behaviour

This is the one that gets noticed the most. It's time spent between shots not over shots that's the biggest factor here. Moving slowly between shots, leaving the bag in the wrong position around the green, not being ready to play etc. etc.

3. Player Ability

Interestingly here better players take more time on and around the greens where as poorer players take more time getting to the green. The worst format for slow play turns out to be pro-ams, with ams taking a long time to get to the greens and pros taking forever on the greens.

4. Course Maintenance and Set-up

Longer rough, very fast greens and tougher hole locations all add to the time it takes to play.

5. Course Design

Tougher courses take longer to play but also the sequence of holes has a big effect too. Having a difficult long par 3 in the first few holes grinds the pace of play down.
 

 

What can be done about slow play? 

 

The most important thing is action, individual clubs have to take responsibility for the pace of play at their own course and not expect the golfing authorities to do something about it. They have to be willing to sanction slow players and make it clear that slow play is not acceptable. It would seem clubs are unwilling to do this because of the fear of losing some members. However, who is more important? The slow players or the 100 players they're holding up?

It should be noted when talking to golfers about slow play, no one will admit to being slow players themselves. When it's pointed out to fast golfers that they are behind they will just pick up the pace, slow golfers, on the other hand, are quick to argue that they aren't slow and that there's some other reason as to why they are behind. 

Also, the golfer's perception influences their thoughts on slow play, if you're not waiting in a 4 hour round no one will complain but if you are waiting continuously in a 4:10 round on the same course it will feel like torture.

What action can be taken?

As there are multiple reasons behind slow play, there is not just one solution that will work. Multiple solutions will be required.
 

1. Establish a reasonable time for playing the course, this is not going to be the same for every course, a short course with little time walking between greens and tees will take much less time then a big expansive course.

2. Increase the time intervals for starting on the first tee, remember it's how quickly you finish rather then how quickly you start is more important. In the 2014 LPGA season average round times decreased by 14 minutes when the starting time intervals were increased to 11 minutes from 10. This means groups can tee off later and finish earlier. The overall number of golfers playing on a daily basis won't diminish greatly as a result. 

If a course begins with a par 4 the group in front should either be putting out or finished the hole before the next group tees off. This gives space for golfers to move. Consider faster forms of play too, more matchplay and foursomes should be considered, great to get around the course quickly in winter weather.

Shotgun starts are also great for pace of play if there is only one starting group on a hole, now every group has a free hole in front of them and have space to move into. You'd be surprised how well this can work even with groups of 5 or 6.

3. Educate golfers on how long it takes to get around and what behaviours are required. It's never a great idea to express dissatisfaction with someone's behaviour when they're unaware of what's expected of them. Also it's best to educate golfers as they get into the game, this will give them awareness of how to move at an early stage and also lead to less stress especially when golf is meant to be a relaxing and fun game.

Areas to educate Golfers in:

Awareness - Keep an eye on what is going around your group, noticing that you're 2 holes behind on the 13th is a little late and will put you under pressure, noticing that you're 1/2 hole behind on the 4th is easier to make up.

Move promptly between shots - you can still converse with your playing partners while walking

Ready golf - who ever is ready on the tee should go, the honour system doesn't need to followed always

Bag positioning - leave your bag at the exit of the green closest to the next tee

Proper Tee Markers - play the tees that suit your ability the most, the high handicap trudging back to the back tees can lead to a long day

Score Card Marking - mark your card on the next tee not on the edge of the green just played.

Play a provisional - if playing in a competition play a provisional if the ball might be lost

Prepare early - prepare for your shot while others are hitting, don't wait until it's your turn to hit. The same with putting, look at your line while others are putting.

Move on quickly in casual golf - if you don't find your ball quickly in a casual round, move on and drop a ball further up the hole and finish it out. If it;s taking too many shots to get to the green, also pick up and hit a putt when you get to the green.

Pre-shot routines - one practice swing is more than enough!

Follow the golf ball - keep an eye on where your shot and where your partners shots go, no need to be looking in the wrong place.

4. Sanction golfers who play slowly, e.g they can only play at the end of the field. No exceptions, just because it's the captain's dog walker it doesn't make them exempt from sanction. Also, don't make the sanction too long, 2 weeks or so. The player then gets the opportunity to show their behaviour has changed.

It also is a good idea to give the responsibility to one player in each group to monitor the group's pace of play. This could be the first name on the sheet or lowest handicap or even alphabetically. With the onus on one person they are more likely to speak up if the group is behind.

 

5. No long rough, nobody likes looking for golf balls. Especially no long rough in blind landing areas and the insides of doglegs. There is nothing worse then looking for a ball in long rough when you can't make out where it landed. Also around hazards, make it clear whether the ball is in or not, no long grass next to hazards. Greens that are too fast lead to too many 3 and even 4 putts adding to the length of the round. Don't have greens speeds that are too fast. Take out trees such as sycamores, which have big leaves that litter, causing hold ups during the Autumn, as well as extra clean up for the course staff.

What do you think? What suggestions would you make?

The Top 10 Worst Golf Tips

 

The Top 10 Worst Golf Tips

 

Golf is full of tips and advice, some are good and some are bad and here are the ten worst, don't give them to anyone!

 

 

• ·         Keep your head down

 

The golf swing is a movement, keeping the head down hinders the movement, if you were to throw an object while in a golf posture you would never keep the head down, don’t when swinging either.

 

• ·         You’re swinging too fast

 

The only time you swing too fast is when the ball goes too far, slowing down your swing and changing nothing else after a bad shot will lead to a shot that was just as crooked as the last one but shorter; short and crooked is a bad combination. Rarely has speed led to bad shots, poor sequence or poor contact is much more likely.

 

• ·         Hit down on the ball

 

The club is above the ball on the back swing and no matter what you do in the downswing you are hitting down, there is no need to focus more on hitting down on the ball. Learning low point control would be a much better way to improve fat or thin shots rather than hitting down on the ball. Also, hitting down on the ball doesn’t make it go up.

 

• ·         Golf is 90% mental

 

Golf is a primarily a physical game, when you can move the ball with your mind it will become predominantly mental game until then improving your physical skills is the key to the biggest improvements.

 

• ·         Keep your left arm straight

 

This tip leads to an overly rigid swing restricting movement and adding tension to the left/trail arm. A similar tip in the short game would be take your wrists out of pitching/chipping.

 

• ·         All putts break towards road/river/structure

 

In some clubs you’ll hear that all putts break towards a certain road or certain river, in Palm Springs you hear that all putts break towards Indio. Putts break downhill, they don’t break towards an object or area that aren’t near the putting green.

 

• ·         Keep your head still

 

The head moves in the golf swing, notice with Jack Nicklaus it tilts to the right in his backswing, with Jim Furyk, Annika Sorenstam and Henrik Stenson it moves even more coming into impact. Allowing the head to move is no problem.

 

• ·         Take the putter straight back

 

With putting we are standing to the side of the ball; the putter will naturally swing on an arc as a result. Trying to swing straight back and through leads to a lot of manipulation of the club face, the most important factor in putting is face alignment at impact, better to focus on that rather than on the path of the putter.

 

• ·         Grip the club like you’re holding a bird

 

You must hold the club with a reasonable amount of strength in full shots, for many golfers with a lot of grip strength it feels like they are not holding the club tightly, but they would be in comparison to many golfers with little grip strength.

 

• ·         Giving advice after every bad shot

 

This just leads to more and more clutter and paralysis by analysis. Your best bet is to say nothing and follow the flight of the ball, making it easier to find it.

 

What else would you add to the list?