{"id":44131,"date":"2026-03-06T14:33:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T19:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/03\/06\/simple-equipment-upgrades-most-golfers-overlook\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T14:33:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T19:33:29","slug":"simple-equipment-upgrades-most-golfers-overlook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/03\/06\/simple-equipment-upgrades-most-golfers-overlook\/","title":{"rendered":"Simple Equipment Upgrades Most Golfers Overlook"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><i>Golf Digest Senior Writer Alex Myers is on a year-long mission to see how much he can improve at golf through daily training, practice, and play. Click here to read the rest of his &#8220;Late Scratch?&#8221; series.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>The Hot List is Golf Digest&#8217;s most popular issue each year, and for good reason. First, our equipment editors have done a great job of providing this reliable and comprehensive equipment guide. For another, golfers are willing to stick a new shiny toy in their pocket if they think buying something will improve their game.<\/p>\n<p>advertisement<\/p>\n<p>But what if I told you that there is an easier and (much) cheaper way to upgrade your equipment, and one that most golfers, myself included, overlook?<\/p>\n<p>(re)gain the grip<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s right, I&#8217;m talking about your grip. You&#8217;ve probably heard this PSA before. And maybe you&#8217;ve ignored it before. Considering I&#8217;ve only regriped a club twice in my life and have been playing golf for nearly 30 years, I&#8217;ve typically regripted in the past. According to our equipment experts, I was neglecting this area.<\/p>\n<p>Related: Want to get better at golf this season? Let&#8217;s get started with this<\/p>\n<p>However, I have vowed to do better this golf season, as I have been diligently pursuing ways to lower my handicap. So when I left for a family vacation, I decided to drop off my clubs at a nearby PGA Tour Superstore. It was hard to say goodbye to the babies, but I decided now was the best time since I wouldn&#8217;t be using them for a few days (don&#8217;t worry, I was still training and took my old clubs to the range). I selected some replacement grips and left them at the front counter.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"content-figure\">\n<div class=\"content-image\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"lightbox-btn\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"lightbox-expand\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Image Lightbox\" class=\"lightbox-overlay\" aria-modal=\"true\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"fig-caption\">\n<p>\/content\/dam\/images\/golfdigest\/fullset\/2021\/1\/260305-grips.jpg<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Grips vary in price. Additionally, there is a small installation fee. Or, if you&#8217;re handy (I&#8217;m obviously not), you can do this process yourself. Well, a few hours later I received an alert that my plane was already ready for takeoff. (Oops, there&#8217;s really no excuse not to do this more often.) I went back and picked them up first. Easy peasy.<\/p>\n<p>advertisement<\/p>\n<p>When should you regrip your golf club?<\/p>\n<p>According to the aforementioned excellent equipment editors, this should be done once a year, or once every 40 rounds. To be honest, my grip seemed pretty good, but about twice as good in terms of wear and tear. Not to mention the extra exercises I&#8217;ve been doing lately.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, mud, oil, sunscreen, and even sitting in the trunk when it&#8217;s extremely hot or cold can have a negative effect on grip and usually make it slippery. Part of me still thought I didn&#8217;t need this process, but when I picked up a fresh batch, I could immediately feel the difference. It&#8217;s like getting a new set of clubs for a fraction of the price.<\/p>\n<p>Related: Make this small adjustment to flush more putts (yes, putts)<\/p>\n<p>advertisement<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Most golfers don&#8217;t notice it because it happens so slowly over time,&#8221; writes E. Michael Johnson, who describes grips as &#8220;tools of the hand,&#8221; about grip wear. &#8220;This is important to remember because the slightest, invisible slip at contact can be magnified many yards by the time the ball reaches its target.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s like changing your oil every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. You have to trust the experts and do it. But Johnson is surprised at how few golfers regrip their clubs on a regular basis (in case you&#8217;re curious, here are seven signs that it&#8217;s time to regrip your club). However, don&#8217;t count Stephen Curry among the slackers, who famously accomplished this before the 2022 NBA Finals.<\/p>\n<p>My trip didn&#8217;t attract much attention, but they also fixed my putter grip during my stay. And, in a move that really puts golfers off, I did the same thing with stacked training clubs. Because after a few years of swinging at home, the black grip was really starting to disintegrate in my hands. Of course, we matched this grip to other clubs for consistency.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"content-figure\">\n<div class=\"content-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\/content\/dam\/images\/golfdigest\/fullset\/2021\/1\/260305-grips2.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/UroFLDwwLvapElvuEJGGSA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcyMDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/golf_digest_articles_737\/b20408edffd5ac7b546dc013972d905a\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"lightbox-btn\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"lightbox-expand\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Image Lightbox\" class=\"lightbox-overlay\" aria-modal=\"true\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"fig-caption\">\n<p>\/content\/dam\/images\/golfdigest\/fullset\/2021\/1\/260305-grips2.jpg<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I think Steph would approve.<\/p>\n<p>advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Do the new grips really make a difference?<\/p>\n<p>yes! Our equipment editors aren&#8217;t just saying you should do this.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If your grip loses traction, you&#8217;ll end up gripping the club harder, which is a big no-no,&#8221; Johnson writes. &#8220;The traction provided by a new grip allows you to grip the club normally without the subconscious fear of losing the club during the swing. This relaxed state promotes proper swing mechanics and wrist action. A worn grip, on the other hand, causes you to grip the club tighter, creating tension in your arms and wrists that prevents proper swing mechanics and leads to a loss of power and control.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Related: The one thing speed training is probably missing<\/p>\n<p>advertisement<\/p>\n<p>And to help your new grips last longer, Mike Nicolette, a former PGA Tour pro and current senior director of R&#038;D at PXG, suggests cleaning them. Frequently.<\/p>\n<p><span>&#8220;You should clean your grips every two or three rounds,&#8221; Nicolette told Golf Digest. &#8220;Put the grip in a tub of boiling water, take a small scrub brush, and wipe all around the grip. Use a nice, dry towel to dry it completely and your grip will feel like new. People underestimate how much it affects performance, and you don&#8217;t have to worry about the grip getting wet. Tour players just wipe the grip with the wet end of a towel and dry it with a dry end right before the shot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Johnson also noted that a recent study by Golf Pride showed the new grips could add an average of two yards to a golfer&#8217;s carry. This doesn&#8217;t seem like a big deal, but as I&#8217;ve pointed out before, these small margins add up.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve seen other tests with similar results regarding the use of golf gloves. That&#8217;s why I started wearing gloves again a few years ago after going without them for about 15 years. I swear I&#8217;m not in the pocket of big gloves or big grips, but like most avid golfers, I&#8217;m willing to do and spend what it takes to get better. I would like to start with a small amount of spending.<\/p>\n<p>Related: See all articles on Late Scratch? series<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Golf Digest Senior Writer Alex Myers is on a year-long mission to see how much he can improve at golf through daily training, practice, and play. Click here to read the rest of his &#8220;Late Scratch?&#8221; series. The Hot List is Golf Digest&#8217;s most popular issue each year, and for good reason. First, our equipment [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[17],"class_list":{"0":"post-44131","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-golf"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}