How To Change Your Grips 101

Changing the golf grips on your clubs is easy and only takes about 30 minutes. It’s a great way to save some money year to year. Why pay someone when you can do it yourself? Just follow Scratch’s instructions and your clubs will feel like new in no time!

What You’ll Need
1. The new grips you’ll be using. Plus an extra in case you make a mistake.
2. A tee.
3. A bench vise (not essential, but it will make things easier).
4. A rubber shaft clamps or vise pads to cradle the shaft, protecting it from damage, while the shaft is clamped in the vise.
5. Double-sided grip tape.
6. Scissors.
7. A grip tape scraper.
8. A utility knife with a hooked, rather than a pointed, blade. A pointed blade can damage graphite shafts.
9. Grip solvent.
10. A old rag.
11. A paint tub or old container to catch the extra solvent.

This may seem like a lot of things, but many of these can be found around the house and the rest you can find at discount prices in the Cave!

Steps
1. Place the rubber pads in your vise. This is important—you can easily bend the shaft with even the slightest pressure from the vise.

2. Hold one end of the golf club securely under your arm, with the grip end in front of you.

3. Using the utility knife (remember, use a hooked blade rather than a pointed blade), make a notch in the bottom of the grip (where it meets the shaft) and cut a line down down the the middle of the old grip, making sure to cut away from you. Make a notch in the bottom of the grip (where it meets the shaft) with the hook blade and cut a line down the middle of the grip. Make sure you cut away from you. Don’t be afraid to press the knife down to the shaft of the club when you are making your cuts.

4. Remove the grip from bottom to top by pulling the material away from you. It should peel off like the wrapper on a candy cane.

5. Remove all the old grip tape. This will probably mean some combination of peeling and scraping.

6. Wet a cloth with grip solvent and clean off all the residue from the old grip tape. Make sure the shaft is completely dry before you go to the next step.

7. Place the golf club into the vise, then secure the shaft into the bench vise. Be careful not to overtighten as that can damage the shaft.

8. Measure and cut a piece of double-sided tape to match the length of the new grip. Make sure the tape is long enough to cover the entire grip area, add an extra 1/2 inch, then cut the tape off the roll.

9. Take off the tape’s backing and wrap the tape around the shaft while being careful not to create any lumps or folds. Pinch the overlapped tape together and push the excess tape into the top of the shaft.

10. Plug the vent hole in the butt end with a golf tee or your finger, and pour a generous portion of grip solvent inside the new grip. Close the open end of the grip with your hand and shake to cover the entire inside of the grip.

11. Then pour the solvent from the grip over the entire length of the new grip tape (don’t forget to position a container under the butt end of the shaft to catch the solvent). Remove tee from grip hole.

12. Position the opening of the new grip at the shaft butt while the grip tape is still wet with the solvent. Squeeze the open end of the grip and slide the grip onto the shaft, logo up. Continue sliding and pushing until you feel the end of shaft against the grip cap.

13. The grip can now be properly aligned with the pattern centered on the shaft when the clubface is square to the target. This must happen within a minute or so after applying the grip. Get this wrong and you may unwittingly set up with the face open or closed.

14. Let you regripped clubs dry for a day to make sure the bond is secure.

More of a visual learner? Check out this instructional video from Golf Link!