What to do for slick leather grips. They’re new.

[bladehunter]

Long story. But. I have some gripmaster Roos that are new just out of plastic. But they’re slick.  I mean slicker than a 40 year old rubber grip.  I have naturally dry hands , and can easily play with no glove in the rain if I want to , but these grips are like trying to hold ice and swing. Could they just be dry and need rehydration?  If so , how ?  

[sunbeltgolfer]

If you have any leather cleaner and conditioner that you use on autos I'd give that a try. It definitely vitalizes the seats and dash in my cars that have real leather. I use NYC Ammo and it leaves a soft matte look to the leather.

[Trippels]

"How do I clean and recharge the tackiness of my grips?"

 

"For TGM tactified grips all you need to do is dip the grip in a bucket of water or hold it under a running tap and towel dry. Do not use any solvents or detergents as it takes the tackiness out of grip."

[bladehunter]

40 minutes ago, Trippels said:

"How do I clean and recharge the tackiness of my grips?"

 

"For TGM tactified grips all you need to do is dip the grip in a bucket of water or hold it under a running tap and towel dry. Do not use any solvents or detergents as it takes the tackiness out of grip."

Yep. I actually decided to do that out of desperation.  Sat in bucket for 10 min or so.  Then out and air dry.  They actually soak up water.    Once aired dry the tackiness is coming back.  Some I may dunk a second time.  But I believe it’s going to work.  
 

I have no choice but to guess that these are new but been stored a long time , and have dried out.  Otherwise it makes no sense. 

[ChristopherMcDonald]

I have found the Cabretta Leather based grips to be almost too tacky. Might be an option if you have some recourse for replacement 

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by ChristopherMcDonald
spelling

[JCAG]

I use to use a leather conditioner named Lexol.

[Is Golf Fun or Work]

A buddy of mine got a Roo grip for his driver, it's as tacky as if had stickum on it....he just takes damp towel, wipes and then dries it.

[NRJyzr]

3 hours ago, bladehunter said:

Long story. But. I have some gripmaster Roos that are new just out of plastic. But they’re slick.  I mean slicker than a 40 year old rubber grip.  I have naturally dry hands , and can easily play with no glove in the rain if I want to , but these grips are like trying to hold ice and swing. Could they just be dry and need rehydration?  If so , how ?  

 

Definitely do NOT use Lexol or similar products.  They are likely just dried out from sitting long term in a low moisture environment. 

 

I see this with my own GripMasters, they dry out in the air conditioned house.  Because they haven't been completely dried out, it usually only takes being outside for a few minutes in the humidity, and you can feel the tackiness coming back.

 

The water treatment you've already done is the way to go.  🙂

 

[kwcsports]

Just water should bring them back. No harsh chemicals.

[Ri_Redneck]

No need to soak them, warm running water and towel dry. The other option is thoroughly wet a thin towel and rub the crap put of them, then dry. I have Roos that are 4 yrs old and they are tacky. Who installed them and did they soak them with solvent when installing?

 

BT

[kwcsports]

58 minutes ago, Ri_Redneck said:

No need to soak them, warm running water and towel dry. The other option is thoroughly wet a thin towel and rub the crap put of them, then dry. I have Roos that are 4 yrs old and they are tacky. Who installed them and did they soak them with solvent when installing?

 

BT

Yes, agree, if they were soaked with solvent they might not come back tacky. I was very very careful with grip solvent when I installed mine. 

[Trippels]

1 hour ago, kwcsports said:

Yes, agree, if they were soaked with solvent they might not come back tacky. I was very very careful with grip solvent when I installed mine. 

More than any other type of grip, the roos I would recommend installing with air. In part due to how they don't like solvent like you say.

The roos are also built more solid than your standard rubber grip, so it's unlikely they'll take any damage from being installed/uninstalled by sensible amounts of air pressure.

 

Also, since they last so long if taken proper care off, you'll might end up wanting to replace the clubs/shafts before getting new grips.

[Orrin997]

I ordered a new putter from Lajosi and thought I'd get the Gripmaster stitchback with an extra one and they are both very slick.  I tried running under the tap and towelling it off but still remains slick.  I'm a little confounded by this.  They are dark blue so maybe this has something to do with it?

[Trippels]

50 minutes ago, Orrin997 said:

I ordered a new putter from Lajosi and thought I'd get the Gripmaster stitchback with an extra one and they are both very slick.  I tried running under the tap and towelling it off but still remains slick.  I'm a little confounded by this.  They are dark blue so maybe this has something to do with it?

Some of their putter grips are not meant to be tacky.

[bladehunter]

4 hours ago, Ri_Redneck said:

No need to soak them, warm running water and towel dry. The other option is thoroughly wet a thin towel and rub the crap put of them, then dry. I have Roos that are 4 yrs old and they are tacky. Who installed them and did they soak them with solvent when installing?

 

BT

Its odd.  Wiping them did nothing . I’ve soaked them twice and it’s better. But it’s nowhere near tacky like the best grips I had before , a while back. .    They are however tacky when soaking wet. 
 

I’ve only installed 2 on wedges.  And I did use solvent. But I never use much.  Definitely not getting the outside of the grip covered.    I just opened a 3rd grip from the plastic.  It’s   Slick as running your hand across a freshly waxed car. 

[Badshaft]

No chemicals other than maybe rubbing alcohol if that dirty- I have used just water on mine for about 2 years and they are still tacky

 

But it doesn't sound like yours are dirty - Maybe you can call the company and get some ProTack to work in? 

 

 

https://bestgrips.com/pages/leather-golf-grip-care

[Ri_Redneck]

16 hours ago, Orrin997 said:

I ordered a new putter from Lajosi and thought I'd get the Gripmaster stitchback with an extra one and they are both very slick.  I tried running under the tap and towelling it off but still remains slick.  I'm a little confounded by this.  They are dark blue so maybe this has something to do with it?

Yes, some of the putter grips do not have tack. I have a couple of Montana Cow midsize putter grip that had very little tack. If you want a tacky putter grip, get the Classic Perforated or Classic Wrap.

14 hours ago, bladehunter said:

Its odd.  Wiping them did nothing . I’ve soaked them twice and it’s better. But it’s nowhere near tacky like the best grips I had before , a while back. .    They are however tacky when soaking wet. 
 

I’ve only installed 2 on wedges.  And I did use solvent. But I never use much.  Definitely not getting the outside of the grip covered.    I just opened a 3rd grip from the plastic.  It’s   Slick as running your hand across a freshly waxed car. 

That's bizarre. Did you get them from GW? I only order from them or TGM in Australia. I tried some from Ebay once and they were dried out bad. Must have been several years old by the looks of them.

 

BT

Edited January 6, 2023 by Ri_Redneck

[Orrin997]

1 hour ago, Ri_Redneck said:

Yes, some of the putter grips do not have tack. I have a couple of Montana Cow midsize putter grip that had very little tack. If you want a tacky putter grip, get the Classic Perforated or Classic Wrap.

That's bizarre. Did you get them from GW? I only order from them or TGM in Australia. I tried some from Ebay once and they were dried out bad. Must have been several years old by the looks of them.

 

BT

Lajosi includes when purchasing one of his putters,.  I also bought a spare.  This was a couple months ago.

[cristphoto]

21 hours ago, JCAG said:

I use to use a leather conditioner named Lexol.

 

Same here when I had leather grips years ago.  I'd wipe it on, let sit about ten minutes, and then wipe off thoroughly.  I could easily get over 5 years on a set of leather grips.  I got my Lexol at a sporting goods store.  They used it on baseball gloves back in the day.  

[bladehunter]

Well. I soaked for the 4th time and wiped as throughly as humanly possible.  In 10 minutes they  are slick again.  So I cut them off and put some rubber back on.  Playing in the morning. So had to do something.  I’m going to send the rest to gripmaster if I can get them to tell me where to send to , so they can tell me what the deal is.  As of this second that’s the worst grip I’ve ever tried to play.  But I’m sure that they’re either fake , or so old that they can’t be reanimated ( sarcasm ).  At any rate.  They’re useless as is.  Thanks for the suggestions.  I’ve just never seen anything like it.  I have hickory putters with 60 year old leather that's tackier than these.  

Edited January 6, 2023 by bladehunter

[ALIF]

20 hours ago, bladehunter said:

Well. I soaked for the 4th time and wiped as throughly as humanly possible.  In 10 minutes they  are slick again.  So I cut them off and put some rubber back on.  Playing in the morning. So had to do something.  I’m going to send the rest to gripmaster if I can get them to tell me where to send to , so they can tell me what the deal is.  As of this second that’s the worst grip I’ve ever tried to play.  But I’m sure that they’re either fake , or so old that they can’t be reanimated ( sarcasm ).  At any rate.  They’re useless as is.  Thanks for the suggestions.  I’ve just never seen anything like it.  I have hickory putters with 60 year old leather that's tackier than these.  

If you want leather grips, Best Grips are the way to go. Love mine.

[JoeHatesSnow]

That's weird.  I tested a Roo on my driver a year or so ago and I had to cut it off because it felt like it had stickum on it and I couldn't stand it. I can't imagine one being slick.

[5hort5tuff]

I use gripmasters..they are so tacky. It's hard to believe what you have in your hands are real grip masters...or maybe they didn't get treated with the tack they use. 

 

We're they bought from Gripmaster?

[bladehunter]

5 hours ago, ALIF said:

If you want leather grips, Best Grips are the way to go. Love mine.

I agree. I’ve had best grips before and they were really tacky.  That’s why these shocked me so. 

[bladehunter]

3 hours ago, 5hort5tuff said:

I use gripmasters..they are so tacky. It's hard to believe what you have in your hands are real grip masters...or maybe they didn't get treated with the tack they use. 

 

We're they bought from Gripmaster?

No. But here’s the kicker.  They have a iron company’s logo on them.  So I really doubt they’re fake.  If you wanted to fake a set , adding another company’s logo would make them worth less.  I’d say they were offered as an option with irons ( company is KZG ) and someone ordered them lose and never installed them.  I got them in their individual plastic sleeves. And I got more than I needed.  Sold some and kept some.  Now I feel bad that I sold them.  Because they’re junk.   But I didn’t know at the time because they were in plastic. 

[bladehunter]

Random aside.  I have hands that are never clammy.  As in my palms do not sweat.  At all. Always dry.  I noticed that if I wet the grip it became tacky.  Is that the missing link ? That my hands don’t have moisture like most do ?  

[5hort5tuff]

They should still be tacky. I use a glove on the top hand and they are always tacky their too.

[halliedog]

Years ago I tried a Roo from Golf Galaxy on a putter and it was slick as could be, couldn't get it tacky or even "normal" no matter what I tried.  I went ahead and installed Gripmasters on my irons about 3 years ago (not the Roos, can't remember exactly what model) and they are still going strong.  Every 4-5 rounds I use a damp towel to wipe away any dirt/sweat/oils and the tackiness comes right back.  I have some Lexol from my son's baseball days (used it to break in catcher's mitts faster) but haven't resorted to it for the grips yet as they are working out great with just the water/towel. 

 

Maybe yours and my Roos were just old and not stored ideally?  Not sure but won't be going with them (Roos) again after my initial experience with that one.

[Ri_Redneck]

The "Roo" grips have not been out that long. When I first started using TGM grips about 8-9 yrs ago, all they had were the wraps and the Cow Hide sewn swinger which came in a 13 grip set and had red thread up the back. IIRC, they only added the Roo about 3-4 yrs ago tops. It looks a lot like the old sewn swingers, but better leather. If your don't have the kangaroo near the b u t t, and only have a non-gold TGM logo on the lower end and have red thread, I would say you have the old sewn swingers. They look a lot like what they call the "Signature" grip now. I still have some on my Cobra irons. I'll see if I can get a pic to compare with the Roo grips.

 

BT

Edited January 9, 2023 by Ri_Redneck

[halliedog]

On 1/9/2023 at 5:24 PM, Ri_Redneck said:

The "Roo" grips have not been out that long. When I first started using TGM grips about 8-9 yrs ago, all they had were the wraps and the Cow Hide sewn swinger which came in a 13 grip set and had red thread up the back. IIRC, they only added the Roo about 3-4 yrs ago tops. It looks a lot like the old sewn swingers, but better leather. If your don't have the kangaroo near the b u t t, and only have a non-gold TGM logo on the lower end and have red thread, I would say you have the old sewn swingers. They look a lot like what they call the "Signature" grip now. I still have some on my Cobra irons. I'll see if I can get a pic to compare with the Roo grips.

 

BT

The Roo putter grip I bought from GG was about 8-10 years ago I'm pretty sure.  Now granted, you are talking about full swing grips so could be totally correct on that.  Anyway, either @bladehunter got fakes or poorly sealed/stored ones in my opinion.