low torque grips...marketing gimmick???

[chiromikey]

i keep hearing talk about low torque grips and i just don't see the application. it would seem to me that if there's any rotation/torque in the club during the swing or at impact it's going to come from your hands not the grip. by that i mean that your skin is going to allow rotational "play" long before the grip ever will. for example, if you were to take an ungripped shaft or a metal tube of similar size to a gripped club it can easily be rotated 20+* in either direction.

 

am i way off base? does my poor explanation even make any sense?

[coops]

At transition where the change of clubhead direction occurs, having a good secure hold is helpful. I love leather grips for this.

At impact, it is totally irrelevant. You can do nothing at or around impact, and whever the ball hits the clubface ie if off centre and face twists open/ closed then the grip has no affect and neither do you....

Theorised and tested back in the 60's , you can read about it in 'Search for a Perfect Swing', very good book, a good interesting read and still useful. They used a driver head with a swivel connection to demonstrate that at impact the club is behaving as a free body with a few of the bottom inches of the shaft.

Anyway, as you note... we have plenty of 'torque' available in our skin and of course wrists etc...
If it's not slipping around in your backswing and transition you're fine.

[jaskanski]

Low torque grips is a fancy way of saying they're "grippy" or have a higher traction than normal to the touch.

[GooseHook]

[quote name='jaskanski' timestamp='1358849061' post='6275265']
Low torque grips is a fancy way of saying they're "grippy" or have a higher traction than normal to the touch.
[/quote]

A grip could still be tacky (ie, high traction) and twist more relative to the shaft. Nowadays we see grips that aren't just rubber- you've got different types of leather, rubber, and thermo compunds being used. Of course each company would like to tell you why theirs is better.

The effects are very, very, small..unless you play a soft rubber grip with extremely thick sidewalls. Obviously, the effect is more pronounced if you have really strong hands (or grip) or make a hard transition.