The One Piece of Equipment (Almost) Every Tour Pro Agrees On...

In the fiercely competitive world of professional tournament golf, every piece of equipment is scrutinized, and every choice is a strategic decision. Players and their teams meticulously select drivers, irons, and shafts in the pursuit of even the slightest performance edge.

Yet, when it comes to grips, Golf Pride seems to have established such a level of dominance that I can’t think of another brand that even comes close to being as well-represented in a DP World or PGA Tour field.

Before I saw these statistics, if someone had asked me what the most dominant single piece of equipment at any tour event was, my instinct would have taken me towards the eternally popular Titleist golf ball. However, despite producing some seriously impressive numbers in its own right, with 68.8% of the recent BMW PGA Championship field using a Titleist ball (nearest competitor 13%), even those figures are dwarfed by Golf Pride's presence.

Statistics from the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth show that of the 138 players in the field, an astonishing 133 had at least one Golf Pride grip in their bag, representing 96.4% of the field. This is not just a strong showing; it’s a near-monopoly of a category among the world's best players.

This choice becomes even more interesting when you delve deeper into the numbers. Looking specifically at iron grips, for example, 127 players used Golf Pride, and perhaps more tellingly for me, 100 of these players used a non-standard model, size, or technology.

As a grip nerd, this is intriguing to me, as it means that these players aren't just defaulting to the brand; they are actively seeking out a specific configuration that gives them the exact feel and performance they need.

While Golf Pride's standard Tour Velvet grips accounted for the largest single model in play, with 29 players using them, even on those grips, many of the players will adopt their own specific taping configuration to personalise the ‘standard’ grip, and all the data shows that customization is still king.

For example, the MCC family of products, on its own, accounted for 57 of the 138 driver grips in play, showcasing the popularity of a model that combines a corded upper hand for playability in a multitude of weather conditions, and a softer lower hand for feel.

The sheer variety of custom options on display at Wentworth, from different cord patterns to oversized models, ribbed grips, round grips, taper and non-taper grips, highlights that even within a single brand, almost every top player has a unique preference or requirement.

This is something I have personally been banging the drum about for as long as I can remember. Amateur golfers, in my opinion, in general, are simply not asking enough questions about, or getting enough out of their grips.

Whether it is a sizing issue not allowing optimal hand placement or wrist function, or another issue, such as not utilizing the benefits and face awareness of a ribbed grip, golfers are leaving shots out there.

As a PGA Professional and former club fitter, I would implore you to get out there and experiment with this part of your equipment.

The grip is the only direct point of contact a player has with the club, and in a game where a fraction of an inch can be the difference between a perfect shot and a missed green, having a grip that feels right and that you can trust is critical.