Golf Pride, an industry leader in innovation and sports performance equipment, announced the introduction of CPX®, the company’s softest performance grip yet. The new CPX — standing for “Comfort Performance Extreme” — provides superior feel through a combination of extreme softness and exceptional new technology, including the company’s first-ever raised, EXO diamond-quilted pattern. For players who seek the confidence that comes from the feel of a high-performance, comfortable grip, the CPX is a game changer.

“The connection between the hands and mind is critical in the game of golf,” said Jamie Ledford, President of Golf Pride. “We’re so excited about CPX because the new design and ultra-soft rubber compound we’ve developed take this connection to the next level. Anyone who tries the CPX will immediately feel the difference.”

The new CPX — the first grip completely concepted and developed at Golf Pride’s new Global Innovation Centre in Pinehurst, North Carolina — is constructed from a very soft and responsive rubber compound that moulds to the golfer’s hands for the ultimate in comfort and stress relief. The soft and tacky material features a 45-degree diamond pattern inspired by the grips on BMX bikes. This new tactile design is raised to maximise contact-area with the golfer’s hands, enhancing performance. In addition, the innovative Control Core® in the grip’s end-cap complements the soft rubber compound to afford the best of both worlds: maximum softness and maximum control.

A Soft Grip for a Hard Game

With the introduction of CPX, Golf Pride is also unveiling a second new “feel.” The brand’s latest campaign – “A Soft Grip for a Hard Game” – is an intentional departure from the golf category’s historical focus on performance claims and product specs in marketing materials. Confidence through comfort is integral to reach the most optimal performance in the golfer’s game. “A Soft Grip for a Hard Game” is aimed at players of all types from highly competitive golfers to weekend warriors and all those in between.

“We know that golfers of every calibre quest for the ‘right feel’ when they have a club in their hands,” said Eric Gibson, Global Head of Marketing, Golf Pride. “The new CPX, and the marketing campaign behind it, focuses on exactly that. Golf is hard. There’s a lot to think about. We believe that the right grip can create comfort – for your hands and your mind – regardless of your skill level. We are excited to lean more into this approach in our messaging and feel it reflects the positive change and growth that golf is experiencing.”

The new CPX will be available from professional shops and selected retailers around Europe from April 1st. To learn more, go to www.golfpride.com/cpx

About Golf Pride

Since its founding in 1949, Golf Pride has become synonymous with the highest quality performance equipment in golf. Today, from its Global Innovation Centre (GIC) in Pinehurst, North Carolina, Golf Pride continues to lead in grip innovation by continuing to obsess over the only connection between our golfers’ hands and the club. That’s why more than 80% of the world’s highest performing golfers choose Golf Pride. For professionals, top amateurs and recreational golfers of all skill levels, Golf Pride sets the standard – in performance and style. To learn more about Golf Pride, go to golfpride.com.

About EATON

Golf Pride is a division of EATON, whose mission is to improve the quality of life and the environment through the use of power management technologies and services. We provide sustainable solutions that help our customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic, and mechanical power – more safely, more efficiently, and more reliably. Eaton’s 2020 revenues were $17.9 billion, and we sell products to customers in more than 175 countries. We have approximately 92,000 employees. For more information, visit www.eaton.com

Golf Pride, recognised globally as the number one choice in grips by a wide variety of players, explain more…

Regripping time vs. coaching time

The time spent regripping is a hugely profitable way to spend your day. The example below shows just how much profit could be earned from regripping one set in 30 minutes. Two sets in an hour could give a great profit when compared to the money you might make from a lesson. Make it a goal to fill your diary with regrips in the spaces between lessons and you’ll achieve an excellent payback on your day’s work.

You don’t need a shop to generate revenue from regripping

Regripping is something that can be carried out with minimal equipment and without the need for a retail space. If you are a coach at a range or an academy then all you need is some safe space in a store room for example where you can carry out regrips and repairs. You can then bolt this service on to your lessons and ensure all of your clients are playing with good condition grips that are right for them.

Golf Pride provide resources and POS displays FREE

Golf Pride provide a variety of point-of-sale material and displays for use whether you have a shop or not so you can get the products front and centre and in peoples’ hands. Make the most of the posters, imagery and display stands to really show off the service you can offer – and best of all they provide these for FREE from your distributor!

Large range and options – increased personalisation for your customers

Custom fitting and club repairs are very much about personalisation nowadays and with Golf Pride’s wide range of types, colours and sizes on offer you can really tailor your service to a client’s needs.

Improves customer/client relations (and can help your students’ progress)

Regripping, and grip fitting along with it, is a great way of getting closer to your clients even if you do not already coach them. You can offer them the service and then take time to speak with them about their current equipment in general, their game, and whether they are working on anything and then use this as a chance to explain how new equipment or lessons could help.

Then there is providing a gripping service for those that you do already teach – this is a no-brainer as you can ensure your students are using appropriately fitted equipment that is in good condition.

It’s an easy [up]sell

What is the one point of contact between a golfer and the club? Exactly. This should be something that is very easy to communicate to your clients/customers. In order to ensure the connection between the golfer and their equipment is as good as possible then they need to have good condition, usable grips – and regripping is a really cost effective way for them to achieve better performance.

For more information on Golf Pride visit www.golfpride.com.

The proprietary ALIGN Technology, which was first introduced in the flagship MCC and MCC Plus4 grip families last year, features a dedicated raised ridge that extends down the back of the grip for consistent hand placement allowing a golfer increased clubface awareness throughout the swing and at impact.  With the introduction of Tour Velvet ALIGN, the TOUR’s three most preferred grip models will all be available with ALIGN Technology.

Tour Velvet is the #1 grip played on all global Tours, with nearly 50% of the field in any given event choosing to rely on its proprietary feel and proven “plus-sign” texture performance.  Introducing ALIGN Technology to the Tour Velvet may appear straightforward on the surface; however, adding this innovative technology to the gold standard of tour performance grips proved to be more intricate. Golf Pride engineers answered the challenge through advancements in both material and process developments, while ensuring its same world-renowned feel and performance.

ALIGN Technology activates upon installation with a dedicated raised ridge on the back of the grip allowing for consistent hand placement and an enhanced clubface awareness. ALIGN Technology also features a unique micro-diamond texture and firmer material compared to the surrounding grip area to amplify its pronounced feel. A flex channel separates the ALIGN Technology ridge from the grip body to maximise elevation lift and lock the grip into the fingers, while conforming to the rules of golf.

“We received incredible feedback from TOUR players and amateurs last year about our MCC ALIGN and MCC Plus4 ALIGN grips, and we even saw a major victory in the first week the technology was put in play on the Champions Tour,” said Jonathan Neal, global head of marketing for Golf Pride Grips.  “Last year, we had a countless number of players request that we make ALIGN Technology available in other models. While this sounds easy, bringing the product to market required state-of-the-art material development along with innovations in our manufacturing processes to ensure premium performance and quality. Our R&D team worked rigorously in the lab to ensure that a player would keep the same feel and texture they have come to love in the Tour Velvet with the added benefit that ALIGN Technology delivers. With the addition of Tour Velvet ALIGN to this incredibly innovative family, we’ve ensured that ALIGN Technology is offered in a diverse range of feel and performance options.”

For more information on ALIGN Technology and the entire 2018 Golf Pride product offering, visit www.golfpride.com

The new facility will create a unique space to accelerate new product development and manage the global fulfilment of product around the world. In addition to its global management and professional teams, the site will include an R&D lab with rapid prototyping capabilities, as well as a new consumer grip fitting studio. Golf Pride plans to move to this new facility in early 2019.

As a proud business partner of North Carolina since 1969, Golf Pride’s new home will be located within the Pinehurst Resort, next to the Tom Fazio-designed, and highly-acclaimed, Pinehurst No. 8 course. Golf Pride looked at several sites, but chose Pinehurst Resort because it was a great location and a great brand partnership as well. The new facility, which will be located within the gates of No. 8, will give Golf Pride a great platform to test new product ideas with a steady stream of golfers visiting Pinehurst Resort from around the world.

Golf Pride has a rich 70-year history and has been the grip choice for generations of golfers. With this new facility, the brand believes it will enable it to be the grip of choice for decades of golfers to come.  The new facility will put the grip fitting experience front and centre to reinforce Golf Pride’s connection with golfers in product development. This exclusive grip fitting studio will replicate the services available to professional golfers on Tour. It will be an appointment-only experience that offers an “inside the ropes” personalised concierge-quality service that all avid golfers will want to enjoy. Golf Pride also plans to use the fitting studio to test new product concepts and expedite the process of translating consumer insight into new products that provide golfers the confidence to play their best golf.

In designing the new building, Golf Pride felt strongly that it needed to respect the heritage and tradition of the Pinehurst area, while also creating a space that features Golf Pride’s innovation efforts that have been instrumental in it becoming one of the top brands in golf.

The exterior of the building features more traditional design elements and materials specifically inspired by the local Pinehurst area, while the interior of the facility will open up to a modern work environment that fits a global brand and the needs of its talented employees. This new facility will leverage the latest in work space design to help Golf Pride employees do their best work and to encourage even better cross-functional collaboration. The site will feature a plethora of different work and meeting spaces to fit a variety of different activities.

“Golf Pride is committed to delivering a steady stream of exciting new grip technologies to the market,” said James Ledford, President of Golf Pride. “Externally, the market reaction to our new products has been great. Internally, our employees are incredibly excited about the new products as well. That said, we have also seen the need for a new purpose-built facility that helps us streamline and accelerate our innovation efforts even more. We want to make innovation easier and faster. We are thrilled about this opportunity to create an ideal site right next to Pinehurst No. 8. As golfers, we genuinely appreciate the Pinehurst Resort experience and we respect the work they have done recently to innovate their own world-class facilities. We have big expectations for our new home and we see it as a once in a generation move to set us up for future success.”

“Golf Pride is a brand with a rich place in the history of golf, one that has continuously demonstrated an appreciation for the game, so we are excited to align ourselves with them as they continue to grow,” said Tom Pashley, President of Pinehurst Resort. “We are confident that Golf Pride will bring new and exciting experiences to our members and resort guests as well, while helping us preserve the tradition and heritage for which Pinehurst Resort and the Village are known.”

The development process will start with Pinehurst Resort making a proposal to the Village of Pinehurst to rezone the land. If that proposal is approved, The Kuester Companies, who is signing a build-to-suit lease with Golf Pride, will submit a permit application with the goal of breaking ground as early as December 2017. Golf Pride plans to move into the new facility in early 2019.

For more information on Golf Pride visit www.golfpride.com.

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I think I can sum it up in a sentence when I quote Ben Hogan and say, “good golf begins with a good grip.”

You can take that two ways and look at the actual grip, such as those made by Golf Pride, and the way that you position your hands on the club. These are clearly intertwined and, if you look at how the actual grips on golf clubs have evolved over the years, it shows how the hold plays such an important role.

The Top Hand

I would say that 80% of amateur golfers grip their top hands on the club incorrectly, and this is the biggest fault in golf. You can really only tell the quality of a grip when you open it up and a lot of the time you will see golfers grip the club too much in the palm. This makes it very difficult to set the club and the only way to do that is with the elbow. This increases the tension in your hands, and your body doesn’t get involved in the swing.

If you set the grip further in the lower part of the hand towards the fingers, you can set and hinge the wrist. A simple tip for amateurs is to hold the club up in the air at 45 degrees before placing your hands in the grip position. You will have seen a number of pros do this over the years, as it ensures the hands are in the right position.

You can then connect the hands together, however you feel comfortable, safe in the knowledge you are set correctly.

https://youtu.be/wf5cMV5CeDI

Grip Size

A lot of players underestimate the importance that the thickness of a grip plays. All hands are different sizes and the thickness of the grip is vital because it determines the amount of pressure you apply to the club. If the grip is too think or too thin, a player is going to generally grip the club in the palm of the hand, which is one of the most common faults I see.

This is because the player is trying to hold on to the club in an attempt to hand onto it, something that is clear when you see wear marks on the heel of a golf glove.

You hear about a strong grip all the time, but this is often misinterpreted. It in face means that a player sets their hands round in an anti-clockwise position.

You might think a grip is just a grip, but there is a big different between the types on offer and the golfers they suit. For example if you play golf in Dubai and it is 120 degrees and your sweating profusely, you will need something that is completely different compared to what someone is playing with where it is always cold, and more of a tacky feel is needed.

Grip Pressure

If you ask most of the pros they would say that their grip pressure, our of 10, would be between a three and a five. If amateur golfers were honest, many would say they are around a nine and you can see the veins popping in people’s arms as they stand over the ball.

If you go back to the great Henry Cotton, the hands play a huge role in the swing. Although I believe that power comes from the body, this power ultimately comes down through the arms and hands, and then through the club. The hands also control the clubface, so if you aren’t gripping it correctly and your grips are the wrong size, you’re going to have a problem squaring the face up and releasing the clubhead.

Personal Feel

My great friend Nick Price has the same size hands as me, but has very skinny cord grips that feel awful to me; he couldn’t hit my clubs and I couldn’t hit his.

The reason he has those skinny grips is that over the years we have worked hard to set the club and because he has very solid wrists, they do not cock or set very easily. Having a thinner grip allows him to set the club easier. Players who are very wristy through the ball can control that hand action with thicker grips.

This is where a good teacher or fitter will help to advise on the type of grip they need. Feel is such a key thing to top players, and it can make such a difference.

I have worked with LPGA player, Lydia Ko, who previously played with a normal grip, which is stretched half an inch to make it thinner. She then made an equipment change and could tell immediately that the grips on the clubs hadn’t been stretched.

There is no answer for everybody, but once you have found your grip thickness it will help your game.

The grip is a very underestimated part of the club. Some manufactures will put cheap grips on great golf clubs and they will wear out quickly and compromise the quality and performance. Changing your grips at least once a year is vital. My first rule of thumb, a little tongue in cheek, is that if you can see your reflection in your grips it is definitely time for a change.

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To find out more about setting up your own regripping service with Golf Pride visit www.golfpride.com/about/wholesale-distributors and find your nearest distributor.

When you think of regripping many automatically think of a workshop tucked away at the back of a Pro Shop at a club and then nothing more than a selection of example grips on the side of the shop counter.

Well it doesn’t have to be like that – you could add regripping to your business regardless of whether you run or have access to a retail facility like a shop or store.

If you are a coach working at an academy, or maybe you run an indoor practice facility, then you too could add regripping services and Golf Pride products to your offering.

All you need is an area within a facility where you can create a grip station and also promote your regripping service and the products you have on offer.

Golf Pride’s team of local distributors will then help explain what your specific requirements are, what products you can stock and how to go about effectively marketing your services and Golf Pride’s range of products on offer.

4 Tips For Marketing Regripping Outside of the Pro-Shop

1 – Make sure your regripping service is clearly on offer to your students or customers

Place marketing materials in driving range bays, discuss the service with every student you have, bring products with you to lessons, and keep your regripping point-of-sale materials and stands in view of your teaching bay or passing customers.

2 – Utilise your Social Media presences and leverage your email database

Make an announcement about the introduction of your services, make use of the Golf Pride retailer resources on offer, and keep regular communication going with clients.

3 – Make it experiential

Have specific times on the range or at your academy where you regrip clubs in front of customers to show your expertise, attention to detail and the services on offer. You could create a while-you-wait service for people who are practicing, or perhaps invite the local distributor to spend a few hours with you and your clients to share their knowledge of the important of regripping.

4 – Keep regripping at the forefront of your mind

Hardwire the services into your teaching process, ensuring your students are all using appropriate grips and you regularly check their grips to ensure they are fit for purpose.

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To find out more about setting up your own regripping service with Golf Pride visit www.golfpride.com/about/wholesale-distributors and find your nearest distributor.

In fact, three different Golf Pride swing grip models were used by more individuals than any other brands. Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet was used by 43 players while 13 players trusted the MCC – #1 Hybrid Grip in Golf.

“Developing innovative performance grips that meet the needs of the most demanding players in the world is at the forefront of what we do at Golf Pride. Over 80% of tour players choose to play Golf Pride without endorsement,” said Brandon Sowell, global sales and marketing director for Golf Pride. “To see our products trusted to perform at golf’s highest level is both validation and motivation to keep pushing forward.”

Golf Pride’s success in the game’s biggest events is a well-established tradition.  In fact, players using Golf Pride grips have won 10 of the last 10 Masters championships. To view Golf Pride’s entire line of products played on Tour visit www.golfpride.com.

Eaton’s Golf Grip Division is the world’s largest manufacturer of golf grips, with manufacturing, sales and distribution facilities on six continents.  The division’s Golf Pride brand is recognised globally as the number one choice in grips among tour and recreational players, competitive amateur golfers, club manufacturers and club repairmen.

For more information on Golf Pride visit www.golfpride.com.

Click Here to Visit the Golf Pride Corporate Partner Hub Page

The new TOUR SNSR Series features a soft-tuned rubber formulation that gives these grips an extraordinary feel, and encourages a lighter grip pressure that golfers seek in creating a smooth stroke. The new SNSR compound also enhances Tour-level feedback into the hands to improve player distance control.

Players can dial in the feel that fits them best with two Tour proven shapes, the TOUR SNSR CONTOUR and the TOUR SNSR STRAIGHT.

TOUR SNSR CONTOUR is an evolution of the classic tapered pistol profile that is the shape preference of over 75% of Tour players. The pistol allows golfers to “lock in” their upper hand for consistent hand placement that translates to more confidence in every stroke.

TOUR SNSR STRAIGHT offers a contemporary, non-taper shape promoting a consistent hand pressure and feel. The straight taper design features soft, rounded edges that are strategically beveled for palm and finger pad comfort.

All four TOUR SNSR models feature a wide paddle front, sculpted to promote lighter grip pressure and consistent hand placement. Additionally, they are each finished with a traction-textured design that provides heightened feel and moisture control. Each shape is available in two oversize options, 104cc and 140cc.

“Our new TOUR SNSR Series is arguably our most distinctive and innovative new putter grip line ever produced,” said Brandon Sowell, global director of sales and marketing. “We worked extensively with Tour players and amateurs for input during development and they clearly highlighted a need for enhanced feel and feedback with larger putter grips. Our R&D team took the challenge and produced a new soft rubber formulation that re-defines excellence for feedback and Tour performance.”

The TOUR SNSR Series will be available at retail in April.

For more information on Golf Pride visit www.golfpride.com.

Click Here to Visit the Golf Pride Corporate Partner Hub Page