Golfers often overlook the importance of their grips. Not only are they the only part of the club you hold, but their orientation on the club can make a huge difference in your set-up and the outcome of the shot. I went out to Abu Dhabi with Golf Pride to learn about the new Golf Pride Align MAX grip and will now never use a round grip again. See why this is the case with the Golf Pride Align MAX grip review…..
Golf Pride Align MAX Grip Review: NCG Summary
NCG SUMMARY
Golf Pride dominate the grip market and with the new Align MAX they are going to take a stronger hold on the industry. Golf Pride are building on the incredibly successful Align series and have made some serious changes to the grip.
The Align ridge is now so pronounced you can really be precise on how you lay the club in your fingers, which will help you be more consistent with your accuracy.
A bonus to your club pro is the grip features a new installation feature inside the grip that will help them get it on straight!
PROS
- Exponentially increases your club face awareness
- Helps you grip the club the same every time
- Thicker ridge on all sized grips
CONS
- Ridge may take some getting used to at the beginning
First Impressions
The Golf Pride Align MAX grip is a hybrid model with a new, much larger red ridge on the back of the grip. Picking it up and putting your hands into the playing position gives you a completely different feel to grips you will have used in the past, even if you are a ribbed grip user already.
This is a great combination of Golf Pride’s industry-leading MCC grip with a new Align ridge that is 25% taller than the previous Align series. The brushed cotton cord feels familiarly great in the top hand, and the performance rubber is softer in your bottom hand, giving confidence in the grip from top to bottom.
The idea is that the raised ridge will help you put your hands on the grip the same way every time, and once you have used the grip for more than 3 shots you quickly start to slot the Align ridge into the same part of your fingers every single time.
NCG Review
One of my old golf coaches once told me that having round grips was a mistake. He told me that back in the day, when golf was more of a feel sport, players would stick wire under the tape in the grips to create a ridge, which then heightened their club face awareness, allowing them to hit the ball straighter. I was 15 years old and just wanted help stop thinning the ball, so I took no notice but filed that story away under ‘things that good players do that normal golfers do not think about.’
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Fast forward to Winter 2024, and I am lucky enough to be in Abu Dhabi with Golf Pride, learning about their new Align MAX grip and how the biggest grip company in the world are trying to do their bit to help golfers improve their consistency and accuracy.
The Align MAX grip features a new much taller ridge on the bottom of the grip that they worked closely with the golf rules governing bodies to develop. The ridge is as big as it legally can be, and that is a great thing for your golf.
During first testing on the range in Abu Dhabi, the difference between the round grips I had been using and the new Align MAX, which Golf Pride put on 3 of my clubs was pretty jarring. I quickly got used to the new sensations in my swing and actually felt like something quite strange was happening.
I think I was developing some club face awareness in parts of the swing that I’d never had before.
Knowing that the new 25% larger Align ridge was square to the club face, I all of a sudden felt like I knew where the face was pointing throughout the swing, and also where my hands should be trying to return to at impact for the face to be square to target.
This was a rather liberating experience, as not only could I hit the ball a bit straighter, but I could also shape shots more easily. Nailing your start line by pointing the club face in the right direction is a marginal gain that will save you shots across the season, so getting these grips is a no-brainer for me.
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Another added bonus is that these grips have an easy installation feature inside the grip. I was an assistant when the Align grips initially came out and had my fair share of snaked Align ridges that had to be removed, so club builders and pro shop staff will be very pleased.
The Verdict
80 % of tour players use Golf Pride grips, and none of them are paid to do so that’s pretty good validation. You are going to see more and more Align MAX grips on your TVs as the season progresses and that is because these grips are essentially a cheat code training aid that help point the club face in the right direction,. So why wouldn’t you take advantage of that?
Golf Pride Align MAX Grip Review: The Details
Available: Now
RRP: £17.45 / $15
For more information: Golf Pride website / Amazon
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