Secrets From Where It All Starts In A Pro's Swing

At PGA Tour events, nan instrumentality trucks guidelines astatine nan fresh to thief players, Titleist to Callaway to Ping to TaylorMade and more, each filled pinch their latest and greatest. And 1 point successful common.

Hundreds upon hundreds of Golf Pride grips.

Brett Zollman, Golf Pride’s circuit manager, is nan Switzerland of instrumentality reps connected nan road, having nary loyalty to immoderate 1 original instrumentality shaper (OEM) but being friends pinch unit from each of them. Because his institution is nan leader successful nan grip abstraction and connected immoderate fixed week a number of players are going to want caller ones.

While connected nan roadworthy astatine nan Bank of Utah Championship, Zollman took a fewer minutes to talk to Sports Illustrated about his domiciled successful nan pro play instrumentality ecosystem and really players dainty grips—you know, nan 1 point that connects each of america to our clubs. 

Here were immoderate of his champion anecdotes.

> There’s nary baseline for switching retired grips. This kinda sounds evident for pros and amateurs; america play warriors mightiness request caller grips erstwhile a twelvemonth aliases possibly much often if we’re playing and practicing more. Pros of people spell done grips much often—but sometimes they’ll besides prolong erstwhile they can.

“The baseline [for changing grips] is erstwhile you statesman to spot alteration successful nan grip,” Zollman says. “You tin cleanable nan grips for sure, corded grips past a small longer because you tin conscionable expose a small much cord, that’s done done sandpaper aliases conscionable washing nan grips. 

Harris English uses nan Golf Pride Align Max grips, recognizable by nan reddish rib connected nan bottommost broadside of nan grip. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

But reminder grips—those that person a rib connected nan bottommost for manus placement, for illustration Golf Pride’s Align series—might past moreover longer successful a pro’s bag.

“If they get nan grips connected precisely wherever they for illustration it, often times they’ll usage that group of grips arsenic agelong arsenic they perchance can,” Zollman says. “They whitethorn opportunity ‘I for illustration wherever these are, I’ll push it different mates weeks earlier we’ve sewage to do something.’”

> The classics still dominate. Ask what Golf Pride’s astir celebrated models are pinch nan pros and Zollman says it’s nan Tour Velvet and Tour Velvet Cord. Some 60 to 70 players usage them play connected nan PGA Tour. 

“It goes backmost to group increasing up, for illustration your first sets of clubs,” Zollman says. “It comes banal connected a batch of OEM products and you benignant of person this comfortable, acquainted consciousness and that’s benignant of what play is about.”

And for what it’s worth, nan Tour Velvet statement is besides among nan astir inexpensive astatine retail.

> But location is immoderate room for color. While Zollman says astir pros support it elemental pinch basal black, colors do make it into bags. Tyrrell Hatton has an affinity for purple and plays purple MCC Plus 4 grips. Ben Griffin, who played astatine North Carolina, uses ray bluish MCC grips.

Tyrrell Hatton is partial to purple grips. / Imagn Images

Colors are much prevalent connected nan LPGA, wherever Zollman estimates astir 40% of players dip into Golf Pride’s extended selections.

> There are a lot of grips retired location successful a fixed week. Between a stocking trailer and nan aforementioned OEM trailers, Zollman estimates that 6,000 to 8,000 grips are on-site successful immoderate fixed week. That covers each nan celebrated ones and immoderate much obscure models.

“We do person it covered for nan one-offs that we don’t spot excessively often,” Zollman says “A batch of times that comes from your Monday qualifiers aliases personification that we conscionable haven’t seen successful a agelong time.

“Sometimes nan U.S. Open and nan fields are nosy because we spot players from different countries that we don’t needfully spot which mightiness person a different grip aliases a different setup than we person traditionally stocked. But not excessively often are we caught off-guard.”

Hundreds of Golf Pride grips are astatine nan fresh connected nan TaylorMade circuit truck. On nan bottommost correct are grips for TaylorMade unit players including Tommy Fleetwood, Collin Morikawa and Rory McIlroy. / Courtesy Brett Zollman

> Putter grips tin beryllium sacred. While Zollman is successful nan business of making judge pros get caller grips, he knows location are immoderate untouchables.

“Putter grips are a small different. It’s a batch of feel,” Zollman says. “With putters, if somebody’s had a grip connected for a agelong time, that putter is not typically gonna spell anywhere. They whitethorn chair it for a while then, they put it disconnected to nan broadside for a minute—you know, benignant of put it successful a timeout.

“They whitethorn effort thing new, but they ever want to person that backup that’s comfortable, that’s traditional, that they cognize what it is and they cognize really it operates truthful if thing ever goes wrong, they tin spell backmost to it.”

>There’s a communicative successful nan tape. Going into nan weeds of grip setups, Zollman says astir pros usage grips pinch larger halfway diameters and past build them up pinch portion underneath, fundamentally stretching retired nan grip.

“These guys for illustration a firmer product, thing that’s going to person little torque truthful they tin person much power complete nan face,” Zollman says. “They for illustration to do that alternatively than spell up to different size, if that makes sense.”