How to Make Golf Grips Thicker

A golf grip that's too thin for your hands can quietly undermine your swing, often leading to excess hand tension and inconsistent shots. If you feel like you're constantly fighting to control the clubface or struggling with a persistent hook, adjusting your grip thickness might be the simplest and most effective change you can make. This guide will walk you through exactly why grip size matters, how to tell if yours are too small, and the step-by-step methods you can use to make them thicker.

Why Grip Size is More Important Than You Think

Your connection to the golf club starts and ends with your hands. The size of the grip directly influences how your hands, wrists, and forearms behave throughout the swing. If that connection isn't right, you’re forced to make compensations that damage both power and consistency. Think of your grip as the steering wheel of your car, if the wheel is too small, you're more likely to make sudden, jerky movements. The same logic applies to golf.

The Problem With Grips That Are Too Thin

When a grip is too thin for your hand size, your fingers wrap too far around, often overlapping significantly. This has a few negative consequences:

• Increased Hand Tension: To feel in control, you'll subconsciously squeeze the club tighter. This "death grip" sends tension rocketing up your forearms and into your shoulders, crippling your ability to generate swing speed. A relaxed swing is a powerful swing, and thin grips work directly against that.
• Overactive Hands: The excess finger wrap encourages your hands to become overly active and "flippy" at impact. Your bottom hand, in particular, tends to take over, snapping the clubface closed through the hitting area. For right-handed golfers, this is a classic recipe for a snap hook.
• Discomfort and Fatigue: For golfers with larger hands or conditions like arthritis, squeezing a thin grip for 18 holes can be genuinely uncomfortable or even painful. A thicker grip disperses pressure more evenly across your palms and fingers, making for a much more comfortable experience.

Simply put, a thicker grip helps to take the small, twitchy muscles of your hands out of the equation. It promotes a more body-driven swing, where your bigger muscles - the glutes, core, and shoulders - are the primary engine. This leads to a more stable clubface through impact and, ultimately, much more consistent shots.

How to Know if You Need Thicker Grips

Before you start adding layers of tape or ordering new grips, you need to confirm that your current setup is indeed too small. There are a few simple tests and observations you can use to diagnose your situation.

The Classic Finger Test

This is the oldest and most reliable check in the book. It’s a quick test you can do right now with one of your clubs:

1. Take your normal golf stance and place your lead hand (left for a right-handed golfer) on the club.
2. Hold the club with light, neutral pressure - not a death grip.
3. Look at your hand. Do the tips of your middle and ring fingers press into, or even dig into, the palm or heel pad of your hand?

If your fingers are digging into your palm, your grip is almost certainly too small. Ideally, those two middle fingertips should just lightly touch your palm or be extremely close to it. If there's a significant gap between your fingertips and your palm, your grip might even be too big!

On-Course Clues and Feel

Your ball flight and physical sensations are also major indicators. Ask yourself these questions:

• What is my dominant miss? If you constantly battle a hook or a hard pull to the left (for right-handers), your overactive hands might be the culprit. A move to a thicker grip could calm those hands down immediately.
• How do my forearms feel? Are you finishing your rounds with tired, sore forearms? Do you feel like you have to choke the life out of the club just to keep it from slipping or twisting? This is a tell-tale sign of excessive grip pressure, which a thicker, more stable grip can help alleviate.
• Does the club feel secure? With a properly sized grip, you should be able to hold the club securely with surprisingly light pressure. If feels like it might move or twist in your hands without a tight squeeze, it's likely too small.

The Measurement Method

For a more scientific approach, you can measure your hand. Golf retailers and club fitters use two simple measurements to recommend a grip size:

1. Hand Length: Measure from the crease of your wrist to the very tip of your longest finger.
2. Longest Finger Length: Measure the length ofだけ your middle finger.

You can then compare these measurements to standard grip fitting charts easily found online. While this removes some guesswork, always trust feel over a chart. The finger test and your on-course performance are your best guides.

The Methods: How to Make Your Grips Thicker

Once you’ve confirmed you need to add some size, you have two primary options: building up the grip with tape for a custom feel or buying pre-made thicker grips for simplicity. Both are excellent choices.

Method 1: Building Up with Tape Layers (The Custom Approach)

This is the preferred method for tinkerers and players who want to dial in the exact feel they want. Adding layers of tape under a standard grip gives you total control over the finished size. A typical golf grip replacement is required, but with a few extra steps.

What You'll Need:

• New grips of your choice (standard size)
• Double-sided grip tape
• Extra "buildup" tape (masking tape works great)
• Grip solvent or mineral spirits
• A utility knife (a hook blade is safest for cutting grips)
• Shaft vise clamp and bench vise (highly recommended)
• A small pan or tray to catch excess solvent

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Secure and Remove Old Grip: Clamp the club securely in the vise, making sure to use the rubber shaft clamp to avoid damaging the shaft. Using your utility knife, carefully cut a line down the length of the old grip, always cutting away from your body. Peel the old grip off.
2. Remove Old Tape: This can be the most time-consuming step. Peel off all the old tape. If it’s stubborn, use a little heat from a hairdryer or heat gun to loosen the adhesive. Clean any remaining residue off the shaft with a rag and some solvent.
3. Add Your Buildup Layers: This is where the magic happens. A good rule of thumb is that one extra layer of masking tape makes a standard grip "Midsize" (+1/64"). Three layers makes it a true Midsize grip (+1/32"). Four to five extra layers gets you into the "Oversize" or "Jumbo" territory. Wrap the masking tape spirally down the shaft, just like the regular grip tape. Keep each wrap smooth and free of wrinkles. Try to make it cover the same area a grip would.
4. Apply the Final Tape Layer: Once you've added your buildup layers, apply one layer of the double-sided grip tape over the top of them. This is the tape that will actually hold the new grip in place.
5. Install the New Grip: Cover the double-sided tape generously with solvent. Pour a small amount of solvent inside the new grip, block the vent hole with your finger, and shake it to coat the inside. Then, quickly and decisively, push the new grip onto the shaft until it butts up against the end of the shaft. Make sure to align the logo or pattern as you desire before the solvent evaporates.
6. Let It Dry: Let the club sit for at least a few hours, preferably overnight, before swinging it.

Method 2: Choosing Pre-Made Midsize or Jumbo Grips

If you don't want to mess with multiple layers of tape, the straightforward solution is to simply buy thicker grips from the start. Most manufacturers offer their popular models in different sizes.

Grip Sizes Explained:

• Standard: The baseline.
• Midsize: Typically +1/16" larger in diameter than a standard grip. this is often equivalent to about four extra wraps of tape.
• Jumbo (or Oversize): Typically +1/8" larger in diameter than a standard grip, which is like eight or more wraps of tape.

The installation process for these grips is the same as a standard re-gripping (steps 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 above), but without step 3. You simply buy the size you need and install it with one layer of double-sided tape. The advantage is a perfectly uniform shape from the manufacturer. You can even combine these methods by adding a layer or two of tape underneath a Midsize grip for an in-between feel!

What to Expect After Making Your Grips Thicker

Be prepared for your clubs to feel different - maybe even a little strange - at first. That's completely normal. The club will feel larger and fuller in your hands, which is the whole point. Take them to the driving range before you head to the course to get used to the new sensation.

You may also notice a change in your ball flight. If you were a severe hooker of the ball, you should see that start to straighten out significantly. Your "miss" might even become a slight push or a gentle fade. This is a positive sign! It means your hands have been quieted, and you are no longer flipping the clubface closed at impact. You'll likely also feel more stable and less tense, allowing you to swing more freely and with more confidence.

Final Thoughts

Getting your grip thickness right is one of the most effective equipment adjustments you can make to improve consistency and comfort. Whether you meticulously add layers of tape for a custom build or opt for the simplicity of a pre-made Midsize or Jumbo grip, matching your equipment to your hands is a game-changer.

Fine-tuning your equipment is a huge step, but what you do with that equipment on the course matters even more. This is where a tool like Caddie AI comes into play. Once your grips are feeling perfect, you can use our platform to get simple, smart strategies for every hole, ask for club recommendations on tough approach shots, or even snap a photo of a tricky lie to get expert advice on how to play it. We handle the guesswork so you can focus on swinging with new-found confidence.