Grips: New Stuff: Golf Digest

ORLANDO, Fla. -- When Boccieri Golf developed its Secret Grip it did so principally to provide golfers an easier way to back weight a club. What it discovered, company president and CEO Stephen Boccieri said, was that it actually improved performance.

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"From a performance standpoint, I never thought there could be a grip that would enhance the capabilities of a golfer," Boccieri said. "What we found was that players were picking up four miles an hour on ball speed by using this grip."

The Secret Grip was officially introduced at the PGA Merchandise Show here and is the latest offering from the company that has the Heavy Putter in its line of clubs.

The grip weighs in at 92 grams, 40 grams more than a traditional grip. A tungsten button on the butt end of the grip accounts for the additional weight.

"We have a full line of back-weighted golf clubs," Boccieri said. "What a lot of customers said to me last year is that they like the driver, they like the irons, but if they buy any one of my components they have to buy a complete set. The economy is saying I don't want to spend $300."

The grips, which will retail for $18.99, can be installed on any brand of club.

Back-weighting clubs is not knew. Jack Nicklaus back-weighted clubs, as do a number of tour players. The process of back-weighting clubs has been somewhat cumbersome, requiring drilling through the end of the grip. The Secret Grip accomplishes the same thing simply by changing the grip.

"None of the average golfers know anything about back-weighting," Boccieri said. "Jack Nicklaus used it in his day and people throughout the tour do it, but it's kind of behind closed doors, basically. We think the Secret Grip is going to enhance the back-weighting technology that Boccieri Golf has developed with its putters and now its swing clubs."

What is Boccieri's theory as to why the Secret Grip increases ball speed?

"At the top of the swing, when you have more mass in your hands, you have a better transition with that momentary pause at the top," he said. "The first move that the average golfer makes with a high swing weight, they cast from the top. With more mass in the left hand, like everybody says, it's like dropping into the slot. So what's happening is they're creating more lag and holding onto the angle of retention longer into impact."

-- John Strege

One would think that grips have reached their evolutionary conclusion. One would be wrong, to with Lamkin Grips' 2012 line that includes a new grip specifically for adjustable clubs, the REL 3GEN 360.

Adjustability in clubs has become de rigueur, Callaway Golf the latest to join the adjustable fray with its new RAZR Fit driver. The new Lamkin grip is orientation-free, with no logos or alignment marks. Whatever position the clubhead is set in (open, square or closed), the symmetrical grip is in the proper position. It's a small thing, perhaps, but useful for today's equipment. It sells for $6.49 a grip.

Lamkin also has released a new wedge grip, the Performance Plus 3GEN, that is an inch longer than standard, to accommodate choking down on the wedge without having to grip steel. It also features two of what the company calls buttons, down toward the end of the grip, to guide you in placing your hands in the exact same position every time. The cost is $9.99 per grip.

Finally, Lamkin introduced grips for a weak economy, the X10, $4.99 each to facilitate changing your grips at a more affordable price.

-- John Strege