I remember the first time I saw an oversized grip on a tour player’s putter. It was during the Masters tournament a number of years ago aboard fan favorite K.J. Choi’s club. As I remember the story, Choi was struggling with his putting and was awake watching a late night TV infomercial for the fat grip. Searching for any help with his putting, he called the 800 number, I always wondered who buys stuff off late night TV, and regripped his club. While he didn’t win at Augusta that year, he putted pretty darn well. To be honest, I have no idea who the manufacturer was; perhaps it was the early iteration of the SuperStroke grip.
SuperStroke's claim to fame is their no taper grip that they have termed "parallel technology," which "promotes even grip pressure and produces a more consistent and repeatable putting stroke."
Our new Odyssey Versa 7H putter came with a SuperStroke Slim 3.0 grip so we were excited to put it to the test. This is a proprietary grip made for Odyssey but appears to be equivalent in every way to their other Slim 3.0 grips except for the color choices. According to some literature available on line The Slim 3.0 is the most played SuperStroke model on the tour, which tour we're not sure, but some tour.
The 1.30-inch diameter grip utilizes a patented No-Taper design, which is said to promote even grip pressure, eliminating added tension in the wrist and forearms. This helps the arms to swing freely, further enhancing a pendulum putting stroke; thereby, creating a more stable, consistent, and reliable stroke.
We asked NJ to take a traditional, left hand low and modified claw on a standard putter grip and on the SuperStroke. We did not give her any further direction. As you can see from the images below, there does appear to be less tension with her grip, especially with the left hand.
In our practice and on the course we also found we took a more relaxed grip when using the SuperStroke. Did this lead to sinking more putts, sadly no! Did it lead to a more stable swing? Perhaps, but, again, it did not translate to sinking more putts. Did it lead to a more consistent/reliable stroke? No, again. We still found ourselves out of the swing path on the take away and follow through on a number of occasions.
There is a lot of conjecture about the fatter grips, that they are not good for distance control on long putts, that the thickness of the rubber leads to less feel of the putter head, and that the weight can throw off the balance on a club with a lighter putter head.
We contacted SuperStroke via the “Contact Us” section of their website to see if we could get some answers to these questions, but our correspondence went unanswered. We further inquired about being a dealer for their product, alas, that request went unanswered as well. Why do companies have “Contact Us” sections on their website if they don’t actually want people to contact them?
SuperStroke Slim 3.0
Product Specs
Diameter: 1.30”
Length: 10.50”
Weight: 2.15 oz
Core: 0.58”
DID YOU KNOW- The largest diameter putter grip allowed by the USGA is 1.75".
Pros:
Great feedback when one hand is working more than the other
Promotes larger muscle group use and limits hand/wrist movements
Lighter grip pressure
May improve feel
Cons:
Heavy - may throw off balance/feel if using a lighter putter head
Thickness of grip limits feel/feedback for some
Customer Service is not so great
Fatter grip may require the purchase of a new golf bag with a larger putter well
Does the SuperStroke Slim 3.0 grip improve putting and lead to game improvement? We think the parallel technology does what it is supposed to do. It definitely limits grip pressure. If you grip the club too tight, get very handsy/wristy with your putting stroke and want to invoke more shoulder movement in your stroke this grip may help. Does it create a "more consistent, repeatable putting stroke?" Well, that's a bit of an overstatement. We could see how it can be part of developing a repeatable putting stroke, but, in all reality, that's going to come from a lot of practice and/or time with your local PGA professional.
BONUS QUESTION: Can you tell where the photographer screwed up in the above photos? Leave us feedback below with your answer and you will be entered into a drawing to win one of our Golf Gear Box hats.