The Pros And Cons Of Oversized Golf Grips – Should You Use Them?  

Where do you stand on golf grips? Are you a traditionalist who uses a standard grip? Or are you the adventurous type who has explored using an oversized grip?

When I started playing golf almost 30 years ago, this conversation would have been unfathomable, alas here we are, in a world of super size everything, how can over sized golf grips benefit your game.

The point of my literature in this post is to identify the pros and cons of oversized golf grips. My intention is to guide you through the process of deciding whether they would benefit your golf game.

 

Intro To Why Golf Grips Are Important

Since every golfer has different sized hands and uses different grips, they are bound to be impacted by their grip in varying ways.

For example, my hands are on the larger side. So, when I started playing golf, I struggled with standard grips. Because I applied excessive force when gripping the club to ensure I had a firm grasp.

This resulted in countless duck hooks and journey’s into the woods.

These days you have four different grip options, which I will touch on in the next section. The important point is that there are grips to suit all hand sizes.

 

What Are The Different Options For Golf Grips?

According to the team at Lamkin Grips, there are four grip types, junior or undersized, standard, midsize and oversize or jumbo.

As the name suggests, a junior grip best suits golfers with smaller hands that measure below seven inches from the tip of your finger to the base of your palm.

Standard grips suit golfers with a hand measurement of between 7 and 8¾ inches. While midsize grips were made for hands that measure 8 ¼ to 9 ¼ inches.

 

What Is Classified As An Oversized Golf Grip How Will It Effect Your Game?

Lamkin Grips explain that an oversized grip is suited to players with a hand measurement exceeding 9 ¼ inches.

An oversized golf grip is also known as a jumbo grip, and it is fatter in appearance than any of the other grip types.

Having a thicker grip will enable you to release some pressure from your grasp to prevent you from choking the club and subsequently duck hooking your shots.

 

What Are The Pros Of The Oversized Golf Grip?

Grip Pressure

I speak from experience when I say that oversized grips help you to reduce grip pressure.

When I used standard grips, I needed to choke the club before it felt like I had a firm grip on it.

I enjoy less tension with oversized grips and more control of the club.

Limits Wrist Action

Another area where I struggled with standard grips is wrist action.

I would regularly cock my wrists extensively on my backswing, causing me to come over the top and my ball to slice.

The thicker oversized grips reduce my wrist action, and I find that my angle of attack is not as steep as in the past.

 

Easy To Launch

The jumbo grips help some golfers to launch the ball higher than they would with a regular grip.

As was the case with in the test conducted by Mr Short Game Golf, where his apex was almost 15 degrees higher with oversized grips versus regular.

 

Comfortable

The reduced pressure on my hands allows me to enjoy a more comfortable grip that sits seamlessly between my palms while still feeling in control of the club.

 

Reduced Joint Pain

Oversized grips reduce the need to grip the club as tightly as possible, which led to joint pain in the fingers for more senior golfers.

With less pressure used to grip the club, you will minimize the risk of joint pain and arthritis.

 

What Are The Cons Of The Oversized Golf Grip?

 

Not Suited To Players With Small Hands

The thicker profile of oversized grips is not suited to players with small hands, as they will struggle to achieve a firm hold and limit their control of the club.

 

Less Feel

While an oversized grip helps to minimize the pressure of your hands, it can reduce the feel at impact.

As a result, the crisp sound of you flushing a shot is drowned out by the thicker grips.

 

Weight

One major downside of oversized or jumbo grips is the weight that they add to the club.

This can make the overall weight of your club too heavy for your swing, which may reduce your ability to consistently get your shots airborne.

 

Who Should Be Using An Oversized Golf Grip?

In line with the recommendations of Lamkin Grips, players with bigger hands should play with an oversized grip.

The grip is also ideal for senior players who suffer from arthritis.

 

Should High Handicappers Use Oversized Golf Grip?

I would not base my decision to get oversized grips on my handicap, but rather the size of my hands.

However, with that said, an oversized grip can help higher handicappers to swing easier and not force their shots. It can also dampen vibrations on off center strokes.

 

Should Pros Use Oversized Golf Grips?

Pros will use anything that gives them a legal advantage over their competitors, which is why some of them do use oversized grips.

The most high profile tour player who uses jumbo grips is the big-hitting Bryson DeChambeau.

 

How Much Difference Does Hand Size Make?

The size of your hand is the most important driving force in determining the grip size that you should use on your clubs.

As I mentioned earlier, those of you with smaller hands will gain the most value from a junior or standard grip.

While big handed golfers should stick to the midsize, and jumbo options.

 

Oversized Or Regular For Driver

In a test conducted by Youtuber Mr Short Game Golf. He generated more ball speed with a regular grip compared to an oversized design. However, the latter delivered an average carry of 45 yards more than the regular grip.

Clubhead speed and spin rpm provided similar results. However, he launched his shots almost 15 degrees higher with an oversized grip.

Based on that data, we can agree that overall, shots with an oversized grip perform better in terms of launch, carry, and total distance.

In stating the above, we must remember that players with smaller hands may not enjoy the same benefits from an oversized grip.

Oversized Grips For Your Irons?

When it comes to your irons, you want to enjoy the feeling of striking a pure shot out of the middle.

Oversized grips may reduce your ability to feel the impact of your strike and detract from the performance of your irons.

With that in mind, players with big hands are encouraged to stick with the oversized grips as it is what will deliver the most benefit.

Oversized Grips For Wedges

As is the case with your irons. You want to feel the contact of your clubface against the ball at impact with a wedge in hand. This is the benefit of using a standard grip.

However, if you use oversized grips on all your other clubs, then you may feel most comfortable sticking with them.

Furthermore, an oversized grip on a wedge helps prevent you from overusing your wrists, which are a recipe for a shank or a shot in the teeth.

Putter Grip Size

An oversized or jumbo grip has helped many players achieve a fluid putting stroke.

The heavier grip reduces wrist action and prompts a pendulum putting motion for precision around the greens.

The downside is that it reduces the feeling of your clubface connecting the ball at impact.

 

Does An Oversized Grip Suit A Strong, Neutral Or Weak Golf Grip?

The thickness of an oversized grip suits a neutral or weak golf grip.

The wider design places the grip firmly between your palms, offering added support and superior control over the club.

A strong grip is uncomfortable to use with an oversized grip and is a challenge to interlock correctly.

 

Signs That You Are Using The Wrong Size Grip

If you feel like you don’t have control of your club through your swing and your hold on the club is too weak or firm, you are probably employing the wrong size grip.

Furthermore, if you are forcing the clubface open or closed at impact, you may want to revisit your grip size.

However, the easiest way to determine if you are using the wrong size grip is to reference this table from Lamkin Grips. If your glove size is small, then a junior or undersize grip will suit you best.

A regular-sized grip is best matched to those of you with medium size gloves. While the midsize and oversized grips were made for large and extra-large glove wearers.

My advice is to visit your nearest club fitter and let them run the data to help you find the ideal golf grip size for your game.

 

Do I Need To Use The Same Size Grip For Every Club?

Most players will use the same grip size on all their clubs except for maybe their putter.

The reason for this lies in inconsistency. You get used to swinging with a specific grip which improves your muscle memory.

However, if you constantly hit clubs with different grips, your shot dispersion is bound to be erratic.

 

Should I Consider Switching From A Medium To An Oversized Golf Grip?

If you wear an extra-large glove and feel that you are choking your medium-sized grip, it is worth exploring the option of an oversized grip.

Judging from the data of Mr Short Game’s test, you may lose a few yards of carry and total distance with an oversized grip.

 

Oversized Vs Medium Golf Grip

Oversized golf grips were designed for players with hands large enough to wear an extra-large glove.

Whereas medium golf grips are best suited to those of you with a large glove.

The oversized design adds extra weight to your club, which may require you to adjust your shaft or head weight.