How To Regrip A Golf Club? [Easy Steps]

A worn-out grip can impact your game in a bad way, so it’s a great idea to get some fresh grips on your clubs.

Cleaning your grips regularly is a good start, but this can only get you so far. If you’re playing golf regularly, it’s important to update your golf grips every few years.

But with the cost of a golf club regripping being far from cheap, it could be a good option to regrip the clubs yourself.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the simple process of regripping your golf clubs, so you can have a fresh set for the season.

How To Regrip Golf Clubs?

Things Needed To Regrip Golf Clubs

When it comes to getting a new set of golf grips on your clubs, there’s two ways you can go about achieving this.

You can either take them down to your local golf shop or golf professional and get the grips fitted for a small fee. This can be the best choice if you’re not too worried about price and would prefer the job done for you.

Alternatively, if you’re looking to save a bit of money, don’t mind getting stuck in and have a few hours spare, regripping your clubs yourself could be the right choice.

If that’s the case, there’s a few things that you’ll either already have lying around in the garage or you’ll need to get, in order to regrip golf clubs successfully.

Here’s a few of the important items you’ll need:

Golf Grips

If you’re regripping a golf club or golf clubs, of course, you’ll need to get yourself some new golf grips.

It’s important to understand that golf grips come in all shapes and sizes, styles and designs, so finding one that suits your golf game is a good idea.

The size of the grip is perhaps the most important factor to consider when choosing a grip. Most grips manufacturers will have a variety of sizes from standard to jumbo, all of which are designed to fit golfer’s hands of all different sizes.

Finding the right size grip is essential for good golf. The grip is the only point of contact with the golf club after all.

But it’s not only the grip size you need to consider. You’ll also need to pick a style of grip that matches what you like to feel when holding the golf club.

From softer grips such as a Winn, to harder grips with more cord in the rubber, such as the Golf Pride MultiCompound range.

For me, playing golf in the UK, it’s important I have a grip which offers a good feel and grip during wet conditions. Therefore the Golf Pride MultiCompound is my grip of choice.

Whichever grip you choose, it’s a good idea to find something that feels comfortable in your hands and to keep it consistent throughout the set.

Utility Knife

Once you’ve got your new grips, you’ll need a knife for removing the old grip.

A fixed-blade utility knife such as the STANLEY Knife is usually the best choice for cutting through rubber grips. Alternatively, a special golf grip removal tool is a good choice.

Either way, it’s best to stay away from a standard kitchen knife as this can be difficult to use and can potentially lead to injury or damage to the golf club shaft.

Grip Tape

Next up is golf grip tape, a vitally important piece of equipment to replace golf grips. Once you’ve removed the old grips, the old tape will also need to be removed and then replaced.

Golf grip tape comes in many forms, but the best and most common is double-sided tape.

Personally, I find this tape the easiest to use and the ideal choice for any regrip jobs.

Grip Solvent

Solvent is another important piece of equipment which helps the new grip slide onto the tape and shaft easily.

Most solvents will do the trick, but I like to use white spirit.

If you’ve got a water absorbent tape, then there’s also the option of using water as a solution.

Vise Clamp

Not essential, but certainly a nice-to-have piece of equipment when fitting a golf grip.

The vise grip will help secure the golf club shaft into a stable position which will allow you to work on it with ease.

If you’re using a vise clamp, it’s also important to get a rubber vise clamp so as to not cause any damage to the shaft. This is especially a good idea for graphite shafts, as they can be easily scratched or broken.

Regripping Kit

If you don’t have any of this equipment at home or want an all-in option, there’s plenty of great regripping kits available to purchase which will have all you need to regrip golf clubs.

How To Regrip Golf Clubs?

If you’ve got everything you need to regrip your golf clubs, now it’s time to get some fresh new grips fitted.

Get Set Up

Before you start doing any cutting or regripping, it’s a good idea to sort out the workstation so that you have everything ready to replace golf club grips.

Make sure you’re doing it in a room with plenty of space, that is well-ventilated and doesn’t have anything too valuable nearby.

If you’re using solvent, make sure to wear clothes that you don’t mind potentially ruining and perhaps look at putting some towels on the floor to catch excess solvent.

Set up the vise clamp on a secure work surface and make sure the rubber vise is correctly in place.

I always find it useful to have a couple of loose paper towels on hand when regripping golf clubs, to quickly wipe up a mess.

Remove Old Grips

Now it’s time to get rid of the old golf grips. With the correct type of knife, this can be done in a few minutes, but it’s very important that you do so carefully.

For a steel shaft, you can use the knife and cut directly down the shaft, keeping the blade moving away from you, to avoid any risk of injury if the knife slips from the grip.

For a graphite shaft, it’s very important to take extra care when cutting the grip off. Graphite is very fragile compared to steel and will easily splinter if the knife catches it.

Therefore, take extra care and never apply any pressure from the knife directly down the shaft butt. A good option here is using a hook blade instead of the standard blade. You don’t want to have to replace the golf shaft as well!

Once the old grip is removed, put it in the bin or out of the way of your work area.

It’s always a good idea to remove all the grips at once, before moving on to the next step of the regripping process.

Remove Old Grip Tape

Once you’ve removed all the old grips, you’ll need to get rid of the previous grip’s tape.

Often, this tape will peel off fairly easily, but sometimes it may require a little bit of scraping with the knife.

Scrape the knife down the shaft at a slight angle, so as not to cause any damage to the shaft. Again, for steel shafts, this will be much easier and graphite shafts will require a more deliberate touch.

It’s always a good idea to remove the old tape and not cover it up with the new tape. For the most consistent feel, the level of tape should be the exact amount across all of your golf clubs.

Apply New Grip Tape

With the old tape removed, it’s now time to add the new double-sided tape to the shaft.

This is an important step because it will help determine how thick the grip will feel once the grip has been fitted.

For example, if you’d prefer a thin grip, then just one layer of tape should be used. Whereas if you’d prefer a thicker feeling grip, you can add extra tape to increase the thickness.

Most golf grip tape will already be the correct length, but it’s best to measure and check against the size of the golf club grip before sticking it in place.

When sticking the new tape to the shaft, make sure to leave at least half an inch of tape sticking out the top of the shaft. This is crucial as it will get tucked into the shaft and acts as protection for the grip when it gets slid down the shaft.

Wrap the tape around the shaft completely, with no excess material sticking out and then peel off the other side of the double-sided grip tape.

Fit New Grip

With the tape in place, it’s now time to get the new grip fitted.

This is the most crucial part of the process and as long as you’ve followed the correct steps so far, you should be absolutely fine.

With the golf shaft in the vise, clamped in securely, start off by wetting the inside of the new grip with the solvent.

Make sure to block the butt end of the grip to stop any of the solvent from running out of the hole. I like to use a golf tee for this step.

Quickly slosh the solvent around the inside of the grip and then pour that solvent onto the grip tape so that it’s nicely covered. Doing this will make sliding the grip on much easier.

Now, quickly slide the grip down the tape and make sure it is all the way and lined up as straight as possible. If the grip has a logo, make sure this is square with the clubface.

If it’s not on straight, you’ll have a few seconds to twist it and find the correct position, so it’s important to act fast.

Make sure to cover up the butt end hole to avoid any leakage of solvent onto your clothes or floor.

Once the grip is on straight and you’re happy with how it looks, now is a good time to wipe away any of the excess solvent or mess that might have accumulated at the bottom of the grip.

Let Grips Dry

Once you’re all fitted, it’s a good idea to leave the grips for a good few hours in a well-ventilated space.

Try to avoid touching them and certainly don’t try and use the clubs for several hours after they’ve been regripped.

Once they’re dry, you’re ready to play golf. Get yourself out on the golf course and go shoot some low scores!

Final Thoughts

That’s it for our guide to golf club regripping.

It may feel like a daunting process, but once you get the hang of it, it’s super easy and a great way to save money.

FAQs

Is it worth it to regrip your own clubs?

Yes, if you can learn how to regrip clubs correctly, it’s a great way to save money and pay a fraction of what you’d have to pay if you got the grips replaced by a golf store.

How long after regripping clubs can I play?

It’s best to leave new grips at least 2 hours before using them to hit golf balls. Anytime before that and there’s a risk of the grip moving out of position and not being lined up correctly.