Golf Grip Sizes Explained: Standard, Midsize, Jumbo and Build-Up Tape
Grip size is the most adjustable variable in your set and the least understood. Too small and the hands get overactive; too large and the wrists stop releasing. The good news is that grip size is not fixed to three off-the-shelf options — it is a continuum, and tape lets us land anywhere on it.
July 9, 2026 · 7 min read
How grip size is measured
Grip size is quoted as the outside diameter measured two inches down from the butt end, installed on a standard 0.600" round shaft butt. "Standard" is roughly 0.900", midsize adds about 1/16", and jumbo or oversize adds roughly 1/8" or more. Those are diameters, so the difference in how a grip feels is smaller than the numbers suggest — but the difference in how your hands work is not.
What size changes in your swing
- Smaller grips let the hands and wrists rotate more freely, which usually means more face closure through impact
- Larger grips quiet hand action and often reduce a hook or a flip release
- Larger grips also spread pressure over more surface, which is why arthritic hands tend to prefer midsize or jumbo
- Grip weight changes swingweight: a heavier grip lowers swingweight, a lighter one raises it
That last point is the one that gets missed. Going from a 50-gram grip to a 66-gram midsize takes roughly three swingweight points out of the club — enough that a set can start feeling light and whippy after a regrip even though nothing else changed. If a set matters to you, grip weight should be chosen alongside size, not after it.
Picking a starting size
| Glove size / hand | Typical starting size |
|---|---|
| Small / ladies | Undersize or standard on a smaller butt |
| Medium glove, average fingers | Standard |
| Large glove or long fingers | Midsize |
| XL glove, or hand pain / arthritis | Midsize to jumbo |
The classic feel check: take your normal grip and look at where your fingertips sit. Fingertips lightly touching the pad of the palm is about right. Digging into the palm means the grip is small; a clear gap means it is large. It is a rough test, not a rule — plenty of good players deliberately sit off-size to influence their release.
Build-up tape: sizing between the sizes
Under every grip is double-sided tape. Adding extra wraps of masking or build-up tape increases the diameter in small, controlled steps — roughly one wrap is a fraction of a size, and four wraps is around one full size increase. This is how we get a grip that measures between standard and midsize, or size only the lower hand.
Tapering the tape matters as well. Extra wraps placed only in the lower-hand area build up that region while leaving the upper hand alone — useful for players who want the lower hand quieted without losing the feel of the top hand. Reduced-taper grips do the same thing by design.
Sizing across the bag
Most golfers do best with consistent sizing through the irons, and many benefit from a slightly larger putter grip, which is a different job entirely — a putter grip is there to reduce hand action, not to encourage a release. Wedges are the one place where some players deliberately go a touch smaller to feel the face better on partial shots.
When we regrip a full set, we record the model, size, tape build-up and grip weight in your file. That means the next regrip reproduces the same feel exactly instead of restarting the experiment.
Frequently asked questions
- Will bigger grips cure my slice?
- Usually the opposite. Larger grips quiet hand action, which tends to reduce face closure — helpful for a hook, unhelpful for a slice. Slice fixes normally live in lie angle, face delivery and shaft fit.
- How many wraps of tape equal one grip size?
- Roughly four wraps of standard build-up tape approximates one size step, though this varies by grip model and shaft butt diameter. We measure rather than assume.
- Do heavier grips really change swingweight?
- Yes. Roughly every 4–5 grams of grip weight moves swingweight about one point in the opposite direction. Adding a heavy midsize grip to an unchanged club makes it feel lighter in the head.
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