Can thick grips cause this?

[mizunotpz]

All my clubs have Lamkin standard size grips with one layer of tape. A month ago I added a 5 hybrid TM to the bag and it had one of these GP MCC 4 plus on it. Never liked the feel of those grips but thought I use it til I get around to changing it. Weirdly is that my tendency with this club is to hit it fat, which rarely happens with my other clubs. I do know that duffs comes from poor low point control and not moving enough pressure in to the lead side, but could the grip size somehow have an impact on the fat shots? Pls share your experience!

[MauiMax]

I havnt had experience with it specifically causing me to hit it fat but anything that changes your grip could definitely have an impact and its different from person to person. Especially if you have 1 full swing club that you grip differently due to a different size grip that could have an impact on your setup and/or swing with that club and even cause tendencies when switching to another club. 

[mizunotpz]

19 minutes ago, MauiMax said:

I havnt had experience with it specifically causing me to hit it fat but anything that changes your grip could definitely have an impact and its different from person to person. Especially if you have 1 full swing club that you grip differently due to a different size grip that could have an impact on your setup and/or swing with that club and even cause tendencies when switching to another club. 

Yes! Very true, good answer, thanks! the grip will of course be different and many pros say the grip is the most important thing and need to be matched to your swing! A lot of stuff when it comes to golf is of course player dependent, swing pattern etc. My miss is a pull, it happens when I hang back a little, get lazy with rotation, armsy, maybe thats harder to time with a grip thats fatter and also leads to less feel. I always been a feel player with descent hands, although my swing mechanics are descent and on an on plane when I play my best. Long time low hcp so not completely hopeless. This has been frustrating me. I will of course change the grip, but I always wanna learn more.

[MauiMax]

Definitely! I feel like grips effect everything. It could be possibly that the bigger grip even makes it a little more difficult to be handsy. Its funny how some small changes can effect so many different things. 

[mizunotpz]

18 minutes ago, MauiMax said:

Definitely! I feel like grips effect everything. It could be possibly that the bigger grip even makes it a little more difficult to be handsy. Its funny how some small changes can effect so many different things. 

Yes exactly. In a way the fat grip maybe reveal a swing fault in my case. If I swing more Tommy Fleetwood style with good syncronization with body and arms and less hand action the fat grips work, but at the same time we need our wrists to add speed and in my case feel.

[MauiMax]

3 minutes ago, mizunotpz said:

Yes exactly. In a way the fat grip maybe reveal a swing fault in my case. If I swing more Tommy Fleetwood style with good syncronization with body and arms and less hand action the fat grips work, but at the same time we need our wrists to add speed and in my case feel.

Its interesting too cause if it is a swing fault its probably a more easily repeatable swing once that hand action is taken out of it. But at the same time if thats something you have been used to doing for years trying to rework that would feel like a step in the wrong direction for so long that is it even worth it at that point. 

[Pepperturbo]

1 hour ago, mizunotpz said:

All my clubs have Lamkin standard size grips with one layer of tape. A month ago I added a 5 hybrid TM to the bag and it had one of these GP MCC 4 plus on it. Never liked the feel of those grips but thought I use it til I get around to changing it. Weirdly is that my tendency with this club is to hit it fat, which rarely happens with my other clubs. I do know that duffs comes from poor low point control and not moving enough pressure in to the lead side, but could the grip size somehow have an impact on the fat shots? Pls share your experience!

For a few years now, all my clubs have had standard MCC Plus4 Align +3 wraps, and no problems with ball striking. I have large hands. One of the benefits of Plus4 Align is not feeling the need to choke the chicken during the swing.  

[alittleoverpar]

Another thing to keep in mind is that hybrids are generally more upright than irons.  That can change your swing path.

[mizunotpz]

13 minutes ago, Pepperturbo said:

For a few years now, all my clubs have had standard MCC Plus4 Align +3 wraps, and no problems with ball striking. I have large hands. One of the benefits of Plus4 Align is not feeling the need to choke the chicken during the swing.  

Yes, very interesting. My grip is on the weaker side, grips lasts a long time, and gloves are the same. 

[mizunotpz]

7 minutes ago, alittleoverpar said:

Another thing to keep in mind is that hybrids are generally more upright than irons.  That can change your swing path.

That is very true and a good point. But I demoed another 5 TM hybrid a lot on the range before buying and loved it.

[mizunotpz]

22 minutes ago, MauiMax said:

Its interesting too cause if it is a swing fault its probably a more easily repeatable swing once that hand action is taken out of it. But at the same time if thats something you have been used to doing for years trying to rework that would feel like a step in the wrong direction for so long that is it even worth it at that point. 

Yes good point. My pull miss with other clubs is ok, cause its playable, its not a big miss. Most of the time I still find fairways or the light ruff from the tee.

[mizunotpz]

45 minutes ago, alittleoverpar said:

Another thing to keep in mind is that hybrids are generally more upright than irons.  That can change your swing path.

But have to ask: do you think a different swing path will lead to fat shots? Had a discussion with Adam Young and as I understood him bad weight or pressure shift caused the fat shot, not swing path.  Do you have another view?

[MauiMax]

23 minutes ago, mizunotpz said:

But have to ask: do you think a different swing path will lead to fat shots? Had a discussion with Adam Young and as I understood him bad weight or pressure shift caused the fat shot, not swing path.  Do you have another view?

Hard to say. But also possible they could effect each other. For example if your trying to compensate for less handsy swing with swing path do you think that could cause your body to compensate in other ways too? Your body is subconsciously trying to compensate for what's happening with the grip and the fat shot which could cause all kinds of changes. All together they could cause you to change your weighting without even realizing it causing a fat. It could cause any number of things but its like a chain reaction. 

[mizunotpz]

17 minutes ago, MauiMax said:

Hard to say. But also possible they could effect each other. For example if your trying to compensate for less handsy swing with swing path do you think that could cause your body to compensate in other ways too? Your body is subconsciously trying to compensate for what's happening with the grip and the fat shot which could cause all kinds of changes. All together they could cause you to change your weighting without even realizing it causing a fat. It could cause any number of things but its like a chain reaction. 

Yes, your questions are very interesting and something I definitely have to think about!

[alittleoverpar]

48 minutes ago, mizunotpz said:

But have to ask: do you think a different swing path will lead to fat shots? Had a discussion with Adam Young and as I understood him bad weight or pressure shift caused the fat shot, not swing path.  Do you have another view?

 

My thought was that a more upright lie angle would cause a steeper swing....but I could be wrong.  I'm definitely not a fitter.

 

From my personal experience I tend to get steeper with hybrids, but that could just be me.

[downbylaw11]

3 hours ago, mizunotpz said:

All my clubs have Lamkin standard size grips with one layer of tape. A month ago I added a 5 hybrid TM to the bag and it had one of these GP MCC 4 plus on it. Never liked the feel of those grips but thought I use it til I get around to changing it. Weirdly is that my tendency with this club is to hit it fat, which rarely happens with my other clubs. I do know that duffs comes from poor low point control and not moving enough pressure in to the lead side, but could the grip size somehow have an impact on the fat shots? Pls share your experience!

Well, a fat grip would make it harder to release in theory which would mean you wouldnt dump your angles into the ground before the ball, but hands are only part of the equation to low point control. If your pressure was stuck on trail side you could also struggle with fats. Id say its also possible that if a grip was too big, one could have issues holding the club properly and you might feel like you sorta have to release early. Theres a million reasons why a grip could cause issues, and probably just as many that arent really related to your big grip. Just change out the grip and see

[mizunotpz]

2 hours ago, downbylaw11 said:

Well, a fat grip would make it harder to release in theory which would mean you wouldnt dump your angles into the ground before the ball, but hands are only part of the equation to low point control. If your pressure was stuck on trail side you could also struggle with fats. Id say its also possible that if a grip was too big, one could have issues holding the club properly and you might feel like you sorta have to release early. Theres a million reasons why a grip could cause issues, and probably just as many that arent really related to your big grip. Just change out the grip and see

Yes, have changed the grip now, was just curious to why I couldnt handle the thicker grip! 

[Pepperturbo]

20 hours ago, alittleoverpar said:

Another thing to keep in mind is that hybrids are generally more upright than irons.  That can change your swing path.

Interesting... I use long irons over hybrids, but always thought that the my swing path should be the same for all clubs, and let ball position in stance accomodate.

Edited July 17 by Pepperturbo

[Valtiel]

22 hours ago, mizunotpz said:

I do know that duffs comes from poor low point control and not moving enough pressure in to the lead side, but could the grip size somehow have an impact on the fat shots? Pls share your experience!

 

21 hours ago, mizunotpz said:

In a way the fat grip maybe reveal a swing fault in my case.

 

21 hours ago, mizunotpz said:

My grip is on the weaker side, grips lasts a long time, and gloves are the same. 

Grip size can absolutely impact how you load and release the club via feel....and if you're already gripping the club more "weakly", which given what you said I assume would mean lightly/with less pressure, then a bigger grip could easily slow things down in a way that makes you late, and thus potentially fat. 

IMO it tends to come back to how deliberate vs. passive/reactionary you are to things in the golf swing. When a player has really well ingrained and deliberate fundamentals, mainly including things like wrist set, grip pressure, and weight shift, then they aren't as easily swayed by equipment changes. If however you're gripping the club lightly and not deliberately getting your wrists set correctly/on time instead allowing them to set passively at the top of the swing (which tons of people do) then grip size can have a much greater impact. Think of it like gun recoil to use a more extreme example. If you're firmly locked in and ready to anticipate the amount of recoil coming then you can handle most most weapons. If you're just passively holding the gun and waiting to react to the recoil once it comes....the gun is going all over the place and so are you. Setting the club is similar in that if your hands/wrists are firm and set (or can become such very quickly and consistently later in the swing) then you'll have better control over the club at the top, and thus in how you're able to release it coming down. If you've got a light grip and you let the weight of the club set your wrists for you then you're far more susceptible to changes in feel that comes from things like grip size, swingweight, total weight etc.  

[alittleoverpar]

5 hours ago, Pepperturbo said:

Interesting... I use long irons over hybrids, but always thought that the my swing path should be the same for all clubs, and let ball position in stance accomodate.

 

You could very well be right.  I just always feel like a club that is more upright promotes a steeper path, but what you feel isn't always reality.

[mizunotpz]

4 hours ago, Valtiel said:

 

 

Grip size can absolutely impact how you load and release the club via feel....and if you're already gripping the club more "weakly", which given what you said I assume would mean lightly/with less pressure, then a bigger grip could easily slow things down in a way that makes you late, and thus potentially fat. 

IMO it tends to come back to how deliberate vs. passive/reactionary you are to things in the golf swing. When a player has really well ingrained and deliberate fundamentals, mainly including things like wrist set, grip pressure, and weight shift, then they aren't as easily swayed by equipment changes. If however you're gripping the club lightly and not deliberately getting your wrists set correctly/on time instead allowing them to set passively at the top of the swing (which tons of people do) then grip size can have a much greater impact. Think of it like gun recoil to use a more extreme example. If you're firmly locked in and ready to anticipate the amount of recoil coming then you can handle most most weapons. If you're just passively holding the gun and waiting to react to the recoil once it comes....the gun is going all over the place and so are you. Setting the club is similar in that if your hands/wrists are firm and set (or can become such very quickly and consistently later in the swing) then you'll have better control over the club at the top, and thus in how you're able to release it coming down. If you've got a light grip and you let the weight of the club set your wrists for you then you're far more susceptible to changes in feel that comes from things like grip size, swingweight, total weight etc.  

Thanks! A lot of interesting points as usual from you. My backswing is very much Stricker like. Some wrist hinge but I never add more after p3.

[jobin]

I believe 'iacas', a golf instructor, maintains that grip size is mostly comfort only and does not in itself lead to mis-hits, etc.

 

Personally, I bought 2 of those super jumbo size Bryson grips and put one on my 7 wood. Taking a long time for me to feel normal with it. I guess I thought using  that grip would lead to some kind of betterment, perhaps so, but it is comfortable.

 

And, if interested in testing various grip thicknesses, I recommend shopping at the tennis store for grip wraps. Badminton works well too. I see many styles and colors and only $2.0 each.  Simply wrap over the grip that's on the club, maybe secure the two ends a bit better and away you go.  Gives a good feeling and the underlying grip is not affected if your hands are unhappy. Easy to remove and no residue. 

[Pepperturbo]

I can only share what I experience. The right grip size can lead to good impact; the wrong size may mess up other aspects of one's swing thus impact. 

 

A retired pro friend has 10 wraps under standard TV grip to prevent hooks, or fast roll over of his hands. I played a round of golf using his clubs. They definitely prevented my hands from rolling over, and I don't hook like he does.

 

I feel as though I lose connection to my clubhead with larger grips, and with grips too small, I'm forced to tighten my grip too much.

[mizunotpz]

On 7/17/2025 at 7:36 PM, Valtiel said:

 

 

Grip size can absolutely impact how you load and release the club via feel....and if you're already gripping the club more "weakly", which given what you said I assume would mean lightly/with less pressure, then a bigger grip could easily slow things down in a way that makes you late, and thus potentially fat. 

IMO it tends to come back to how deliberate vs. passive/reactionary you are to things in the golf swing. When a player has really well ingrained and deliberate fundamentals, mainly including things like wrist set, grip pressure, and weight shift, then they aren't as easily swayed by equipment changes. If however you're gripping the club lightly and not deliberately getting your wrists set correctly/on time instead allowing them to set passively at the top of the swing (which tons of people do) then grip size can have a much greater impact. Think of it like gun recoil to use a more extreme example. If you're firmly locked in and ready to anticipate the amount of recoil coming then you can handle most most weapons. If you're just passively holding the gun and waiting to react to the recoil once it comes....the gun is going all over the place and so are you. Setting the club is similar in that if your hands/wrists are firm and set (or can become such very quickly and consistently later in the swing) then you'll have better control over the club at the top, and thus in how you're able to release it coming down. If you've got a light grip and you let the weight of the club set your wrists for you then you're far more susceptible to changes in feel that comes from things like grip size, swingweight, total weight 

[mizunotpz]

Update: put on a Lamkin Crossline standard size and the club started to click immidiately. Im really surprised by the difference it made.