Oversize Golf Grips Pros and Cons: How They Affect Your Play

You may have seen professional golfers on TV using gigantic grips, especially on their putters. It is not only because of aesthetics, there’s an important reason behind it.

If you ever wondered why they were even using them, this post will clarify some benefits and also drawbacks of using these thick golf grips.

Let’s explore the different oversize golf grips pros and cons.

What are oversized golf grips?

Oversized golf grips are slightly bigger than standard golf grips that we all know. Oversized grips are also known as ‘Jumbo’ golf grips and they’re the largest golf grip size available.

As specified by the United States Golf Association, grips on professional tour golf clubs can be as large as 1.75 inches in diameter. This is almost double the standard size of a grip.

Many amateurs choose to use oversize or “Jumbo” grips because they promote lighter grip pressure. Additionally, they can help relieve hand and wrist strain from over-gripping the club. But we’ll see more benefits later on.

Are oversized golf grips for everyone?

Absolutely not.

Like anything in golf, there’s no final answer to what you should or shouldn’t use. This is no exception.

Using oversize grips might be ideal for golfers with bigger hands and golfers that usually wear XL gloves that need better contact with the golf grip. If that’s you, then you can seriously consider using Jumbo grips.

However, if you use standard or medium size golf gloves, oversize grips might offer more drawbacks than benefits. Although you can always test it by yourself. Perhaps go to your local pro shop or ask a golfing buddy to let you try one of these larger grips.

How do oversize golf grips affect your play?

There’s no secret that changing the grip size will impact your game, it’s simple physics. Let’s see how changing your grip will impact, both positively and negatively, the different parts of your game.

How Do Oversize Golf Grips Affect Your Control?

Oversize grips are popular among professional golfers with smaller hands or ones that simply prefer the wider grip feel.

These pros use oversize grips because they help reduce grip pressure and some golfers just find it a lot easier to control and measure their shots to create neat putting lines.

Something to consider too is that the added weight of the grip counterbalances the clubhead and makes the club feel lighter. This doesn’t mean the club actually weighs less, but some pros report that they feel the swing a bit ‘lighter’ or ‘smooth’ with oversized grips.

However, for some golfers, oversized golf grips can create directional problems and adversely affect your control over the ball.

How Do Oversize Golf Grips Affect Your Swing?

Oversize golf grips can affect your swing in a few ways. The added weight of the grip can help counterbalance the weight of the club head, adding this extra weight at the other end of the golf club will help gain more control at higher swing speeds. As a result, higher control will help you center the sweet spot more often and reduce mis-hits

There’s one caveat though, sometimes you may find it harder to close the clubface in time before impact if you use an oversize grip due to the bigger diameter. It is slower to modify the angle of the clubface with a bigger grip.

How Do Oversize Golf Grips Affect Your Distance?

Related to the previous section, oversize golf grips can affect your distance in both positive and negative ways. In this case, since they can enhance your control, they can also improve your distance by reducing mis-hits and hitting dead-center shots on the sweet spot more often.

On the other hand, if your hands don’t fit the larger grip you’ll find it more difficult to square the clubface at impact and therefore you could create hooks or slices more often. That’s why knowing if a larger golf grip fits your style is so critical.

What are the pros of using oversize golf grips?

It’s time to see some of the most common benefits of using oversize golf grips. Although they both offer pros and cons, we’ve divided the benefits and drawbacks into two sections.

Always, remember that these benefits may apply to some golfers only.

Grip Pressure

Oversize golf grips can help with grip pressure. If you have too much grip pressure, it can decrease mobility in your swing and end up costing you distance or precision. Conversely, if you don’t have enough grip pressure, the club can twist in your hand and cause total loss of control. Oversize grips help you find the happy medium between too much and too little grip pressure.

Better Club Control

As said previously, one of the major benefits or reasons why golfers choose oversize grips is because of gaining control.

An oversize golf grip can give players much better control over their shots. The added size adds more contact surface and helps to reduce grip pressure, making the club feel more comfortable and solid.

And as we all know, great sensations can boost our confidence and produce more consistent shots.

Pain Relief

If you suffer from conditions that make it difficult to grip a golf club, such as arthritis, larger grips can provide significant pain relief.

The added surface area of oversize or jumbo grips helps to dampen vibrations when hitting the ball, and also reduces tension in the hands and arms. This can make it much easier to enjoy a round of golf without pain or extreme discomfort.

Wrist Action

Oversized golf grips can help with wrist action by reducing the amount of wrist movement necessary for a good shot. This is especially helpful for those with over-reactive wrists.

Having too little of a golf grip can create unnecessary tension and end up with an awkward grip, which can then lead to forced wrist movement to compensate for the lack of control and fall.

It Helps Ball Trajectory & Straighter Shots

Oversized golf grips can aid to launch the ball higher and provide a straighter trajectory. This is due to the fact that if you cannot grip the golf ball properly with a standard grip, your shots will likely be hook or slice.

What are the cons of using oversize golf grips?

Not For Players with smaller hands

Players with smaller hands are at a disadvantage when using oversize golf grips because they cannot grip the club as tightly. This can quickly lead to loss of control and less accuracy.

One quick way to know if your hands are fitted for larger golf grips such as midsize or Jumbo is by looking at what type of golf gloves you use.

If you use a Large or Extra-Large glove size that can indicate that you might be better off using an oversized golf grip.

Lots of golfers report an outstanding improvement in their feel and sensations when transitioning to a bigger grip.

Reduced Feel

Oversize golf grips can cause a loss of feel due to the increased thickness of the grip. This is especially true when hitting the golf ball as that will be the most crucial moment on your shot.

This can lead to problems with accuracy and distance control.

Putter grips are a better option because they have huge variances already integrated into their design. Another advantage of putter grips is that they usually offer a gap between the thumb pad and the ring finger, which helps to compensate for directional problems.

Directional Issues

If you’re using oversize golf grips, it’s important to be aware that they can make it more difficult to hit the ball straight in some cases.

This is related to the previous point. If you have reduced feel, you might not grip the club properly and therefore the angle of attack could be too steep, or too closed which would cause hooks more often.

Therefore, if you’re looking to hit the ball straight, it’s best to make sure there’s a gap of 1/8 inch between your thumb pad and your ring finger. Of course, every golfer is different, so experiment with different grip styles to see what works best for you.

How do you choose the right size golf grip for your game?

Now that you know the pros and cons of oversize golf grips, let’s see some of the steps and most crucial factors to consider when choosing an oversize grip.

Although they may seem obvious, we highly suggest taking the time to actually think about them.

Consider your hand size

Like we’ve said before, to choose the right size golf grip, you will need to consider the size of your hand. This is probably the most important determining factor in choosing the right golf grip.

For smaller hands, like kids or some women use a junior or standard grip. Players using a Large or Extra-Large glove size should consider midsize or Jumbo golf grips.

To find the right golf grip size, you have 2 options.

You can either use the size of your golf gloves or you can measure the distance from your wrist to the tip of your middle finger.

If you use your gloves size:

If you want to measure your hand size:

Test different sizes

Even when knowing the grip that should ideally fit your game of golf, it’s still important to take the time to test different grip sizes. First, that will give you a more realistic picture of how you feel it. And secondly, you’ll be able to compare between sizes in case you find the one that works best for you.

Your glove size can guide you to choose a good-enough grip size but it’s ultimately how comfy you find the grip that will make the biggest difference.

Remember that sizes aren’t fully accurate and golf it’s a game of feel, so picking the right grip is more of a ‘feel’ decision.

FAQs

How do you install oversize grips on your clubs?

To install an oversize grip on your clubs, you’ll need to first adjust the shaft or head weight. This will add extra weight to your clubs and help you make use of the oversized grips. Next, follow these steps:

1. Remove the old grip from the club. You can place a knife under the grip and then slice through the length of the grip. We suggest placing the knife to cut away from your body, that is, starting close to your belly and pushing outward.

2. Clean the shaft with rubbing alcohol to remove any residues and wash with some water to remove dust or dirt.

3. Apply double-sided grip tape that is the same length as the grip. Start at the top of the shaft and work your way down. Make sure the tape hangs an inch at the top of the shaft. Then you can peel off the protective layer and finish wrapping the tape around the shaft. Make sure to keep it firm and tight without air bubbles.

4. Wet the tape with solvent spray or mineral spirits. Then make sure to moisten the inside of the grip too, that way it’ll be easier to fit on the shaft. Something you can do here is to cover both ends of the grip with your fingers and shake the grip so the solvent fully coats the inside surface.

5. It’s time to slide the grip onto the shaft. The previous step is crucial so the grip fits onto the shaft smoothly. If you feel too much resistance and the grip doesn’t slide, simply add some more solvent. You’ll want to act quickly before the solvent dries out.

6. Once the shaft is fully pushed onto the shaft, you might want to adjust the grip as needed to achieve the most comfortable finish or adjust the logos to show a certain way. We suggest turning the club upside down and pushing the end of the new grip against the ground to make sure the grip is fully seated and adjusted.

7. As a general rule of thumb, you might want to wait around 6-7 hours before playing with your new grips. Remember that the solvent needs to dry out and cure. Leaving the clubs in the backyard or somewhere fresh and cool will speed up the process.

How often should you replace your grips?

According to Golf Pride, grips should be replaced once a year. However, if they are not worn out, they can last longer. That will depend on how much you play throughout the year and what type of use you give your clubs.

Other factors that will determine how much your grips will last are how much your hands sweat during the game and if you clean the grips often to avoid dirt and dust.

The signs that you need to replace your grips include loss of tackiness, smoothness, bumps, or scars on the grip.

To help protect the grips always make sure to clean them up after every round or tournament. Additionally, if you leave the clubs well protected inside the golf bag, that will also extend their lifespan.

Conclusion

Now that we’ve looked at the pros and cons of oversize golf grips, it’s time for you to make a decision about whether or not these types of grips are right for your game.

We have looked at the benefits and disadvantages of using these larger golf grips. You also know how changing from a standard-sized grip to a Jumbo grip might affect your game.

Having all these ideas is great but nothing compares to actually testing by yourself different grips and finding the one that you like the most.

Take your time and do some testing before deciding.

We wish you great golfing!