Build a Better Grip More Often with Align

Golf Pride’s new grip technology will help you get a hold of your game.

By Tony Dear

When 80% of PGA Tour players use your products, you’re going to get a lot of useful feedback. “It obviously gives us tremendous insight into the players’ needs,” says Bruce Miller, Product Manager of Golf Pride Grips. “We can pick out trends and nuggets of grip data privy only to us.”

One of these “nuggets,” Miller adds, concerned the rib or ‘reminder” running down the spine of the grip. About 33% of Tour pros use grips with reminder—basically a raised spine that enables a player to position his hands correctly on the club every time he picks it up. In previous models, however, the rib was sometimes muted as it was built into the inside of the grip—on the “wrong” side of the thick rubber wall.

“On traditional reminder grips,” says Miller, “the rib is created through a “flat” shaved off the core bar when the grips are molded. This allows a linear strip of excess material to form on the inner core of the golf grip.

When that grip is installed, the inner rib presses against the shaft creating the reminder, or rib.

Apparently, a number of Golf Pride players expressed concern they couldn’t feel the rib. They wanted a more pronounced feel. The Rules of Golf obviously allow grip reminders, but the rib must not exceed 0.04 inches in height. “We took it as a challenge within our Marketing and R&D teams to figure out a better way to give the players a more prominent “reminder,” while still making sure our grips conformed to the Rules of Golf,” says Miller.

The solution might have appeared obvious, but executing it effectively was incredibly complex, says Miller. “We had to take the reminder from the inside to the outside. I can’t go into details about how we did it as it is a proprietary process, but the end result was ALIGN Technology.”

Golf Pride released two Align grips in July —the MCC Align and MCC Plus 4 Align which simulates the addition of four layers of tape for players with bigger hands. Both feature a red, raised micro-diamond strip that is significantly firmer than the main body of the grip.

The MCC Align has a brushed-cotton cord grip under the top hand for better grip, and a rubber material in the lower hand which is designed to enhance feel. The MCC Plus 4 Align is similar though does feature a larger lower hand circumference which helps soften grip pressure.

And, in addition to helping you position your hands correctly more consistently, the visible, raised Align strip makes installing the grip easier. “With traditional reminders being on the inside, you could only feel but not see,” says Miller.

If you struggle to position your hands on the grip correctly, we certainly recommend you try Align from Golf Pride.

$11 for standard size
$11.50 for midsize

golfpride.com/align

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