Knowing how to regrip golf clubs means you can afford to replace them as and when they need replacing rather than when you’ve saved up enough
How To Regrip Golf Clubs Yourself
A worn out golf grip will cost you shots whether it’s completely worn out and offers very little grip, or on the turn and becoming ever harder to grip especially in damp conditions. Cleaning them often will help, but they do have a lifespan, and will eventually need replacing.
But with 14 clubs that might need replacing in one hit, cost can be a major deterrent. A full set of new grips or that new wedge you’ve had your eye on? All too often it will go the way of the new wedge.
Knowing how to regrip golf clubs from driver to putter will save you quite a bit of money
But changing a golf grip is easier than many golfers imagine. There will no doubt be subtle variations from pro shop to pro shop, but as someone who changed hundreds of grips in his pro shop days, I suspect the basics haven’t changed much over the years.
You will need the following…
- New grips
- Double-sided tape
- White Spirit
- A sharp Stanley knife or similar
- A cloth
- A receptacle as long as a grip
- A vice with shaft protector
1) Remove the old grips
First cut or peel off the old grips, which may or may not be straightforward depending on how long they’ve been on. With steel shafts you can be relatively ‘aggressive’ with the knife, always making sure to work the blade away from you not towards you. (You may find it easiest to do this with the club secured in the vice).
If you’re lucky, the old grips may come off like this, but it may require a little more effort than this
With graphite shafts, you must proceed more carefully to avoid damaging them. If you’re lucky, a careful incision at the narrower end of the grip may pave the way to it peeling off easily, but sometimes it will be a painstaking process that you have to carefully repeat as you pick off all the remnants of old grip and tape.
Dab the cloth in White Spirit and rub it up and down the shaft where the old grip was to clean off the final bits.
2) Preparation
Next, starting at the butt end, wrap the double-sided tape round the grip working downwards and allowing sufficient space for the tape not to start overlapping lower down as the grip gets narrower. You can also get double-sided tape in sheet form rather than on a reel.
Double-sided tape may come in reel or sheet form
Leave a little extra at the top and don’t unpeel the other side of the double-sided tape until you are ready to fit the new grip. Wrap the extra bit around the top so it is covered with tape as this will make it easer to slip the new grip on.
It’s important to leave a little extra tape at the top
The extra tape should be folded over to cover the butt end so you can slip the new grip on more easily
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3) Fitting the new grips
Place the club in the vice with the head pointing up, taking care to use a shaft protector (or similar) to avoid damage as you tighten the vice. Now take one of the new grips, cover the little hole at the end, and pour in a little White Spirit. Cover both ends of the grip with your fingers and swill the White Spirit around so the whole of the inside of the grip is coated.
Cover the little hole, pour in some White Spirit, cover both ends and swill around
Place your receptacle under the grip (if your vice arrangement allows you to do so), then, pinching the open end to control the flow, pour the White Spirit over the double-sided tape with any excess falling into your receptacle to re-use. Take the grip and slide it on, making sure any alignment tweaks are done quickly as there is a limited window in which you’ll be able to manoeuvre the grip.
Slide the new grip on quickly, aligning it as well as possible
Take it out of the vice and check it in the address position to make sure it’s correctly aligned, taking care not to damage the head on the ground. If you’re quick enough, you’ll still be able to make final adjustments at this stage before it sets too firmly.
Make final tweaks in the address position before it sets too firmly
Repeat 13 times if you’re replacing a full set!
All photography courtesy of Golf Pride golf grips
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