Review: Star Grip Sidewinder

You know, there was a time when buying grips was easy. You ambled down to your local golf shop and had them put a set of Golf Pride Victorys on your clubs and you were done. Cord or no cord, you were good to go. Easy. Simple.

Those days are gone. Companies like Golf Pride and Lamkin now offer scores of grips and they all have four things in common:

They're made out of who knows what...

They're made who knows where...

They're way too expensive...

And, the don't feel or play as well as they used to...

Fact: Many players on the PGA Tour still play a grip (the old green GP Victory) that the company no longer sells to consumers.

Huh?

I find the best grips from Golf Pride and Lamkin to be little more than OK when it comes to quality and feel. Grip durability (like tire durability) depends so much on the user I won't comment but to say that I very much doubt that moving manufacture overseas has helped.

Star Grips came to my attention while I was looking for a replacement for my current semi-cord grips made by one of the aforementioned grip makers. These are OK grips but they don't feel consistent over time and they've become hard and slick in places I've never had that kind of problem before. I'm convinced. It's not me, it's the grips!

The Star Sidewinder looks a little like a Lamkin Crossline or a Golf Pride Tour Velvet. Interestingly, it's built with a .590 core rather than the more common .580 or .600. This strikes me as a good compromise and should be just slightly oversized on a .600 or .610 shaft. Made from a 100% EPDM rubber the Sidewinder has a unique feel. It's smooth but with any grip pressure at all you can feel the tackiness beneath each finger. One test I like to do with new grips is to scrub them down with Simple Green. If the feel changes when I'm done I know the grip had mold release residue on it. After giving the Sidewinder a scrubbing it dried quickly and felt exactly the same as when it arrived.

I readily profess a preference for U.S. made products. This is partly because I loathe the idea of loosing any aspect of this country's grand history as a builder of things. But, it's also because I have more confidence in the consistency and materials used here as opposed to overseas. A high percentage of Asian-made grips use thermoplastics instead of rubber. I won't say that I'll never use a thermoplastic grip but I will say that all of them I've used to date have worn quickly and changed in feel well before they were worn out.

It's too soon to comment on the durability of the Sidewinder, but the feel of the grip is excellent, better than anything I have felt in many years. Even though Star says it's a grip well-suited to low handicap players, I'd say it's perfect for everyone.

It's been a long search but I am very pleased to have found Star, just one state to the east! I'm going to pick up a full set of Sidewinders and will report on how they hold up.

Until then, do yourself a favor and give them a try.