Some of you know me on Twitter as Putting2theMax. I take my putting very seriously and having the right grip is just one step in making sure you sink those putts.
We at Bunkersparadise.com have been hearing some rumblings about some new grips made out of cork. That’s right, I said cork. We were then contacted by Salty Grips, who is the maker of these grips. So I received the grips and got to take a closer look. Looking at these, you will not see any crazy color combinations, just a simple pure grip made from cork.
At first when I took this to my grip installer, he was astonished on how light it was. Prior to taking it in, I weighed it on my postal scale. It came in at a super light 35 grams! Compared to a leather pistol grip at 60 grams, this grip is super light for an over-sized grip. If you do your own installing of grips don’t be afraid, these grips are solid. They are very durable once installed but prior to installation they can be fragile.
One thing that you notice right away when you have a Salty Grip is the look of it. The pure natural look of cork is eye catchy. When dealing with natural products you have a lot of variance in the look. I received 2 grips from Mark Button and Whitfield Flowers from Salty Grips and both have subtle differences. The grains that run along the grip remind of the look of the grain in wood. The variation does not affect the grip, it just gives each one its own unique look.
Once it was on my Scotty Cameron it felt great. My normal gamer in my bag has a Winn over-sized pistol grip. This is comparable in size to the Winn. On a scale from soft to firm, this grip is on the firmer end. The cork has a nice feel, not too hard, just right. Salty recommends sanding the grip down with 200 grit sandpaper after a few rounds to refresh its “velvety cork feel.” When have you ever been able to sand down your Winn grip to refresh it? I would never do mine but with a Salty Grip you can and it feels great! Just practicing with this grip on the putting greens at my local course I had a couple ask what kind of grip it was. They too were surprised with the feel and overall weight.
I found once the grip was installed it was surprisingly light. I know having a larger grip can make it feel like the putter head gets lost and off track. It made me focus on making sure my putter face was square going through impact.
Now, are you ready to uncork a Salty Grip? I have uncorked a Salty and enjoyed every last drop of it. If you want to check out one of these grips yourself, their website is not entirely up yet but they have a great Twitter feed and Facebook page. Check out the links below and make sure you “Putt a cork on it…..”
By Staff Writer Joe Giguere
Follow Staff Writer Joe Giguere on Twitter @Putting2theMax
We received great news from Mark and Whitfield, who informed us that they have completely sold out and the next mass order will arrive in late October. They also informed us that their website will be launched at that time as well. If you would like to inquire about making an order of Salty Grips, you can send them an email at info@saltygrips.com
Salty Grips Twitter: @SaltyGrips
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