Golf Pride’s new Concept Helix system is here to revolutionize the way you change grips. And Golf Pride’s new installation system is as much about how it works as it is about what it lets you do. Go ahead – forget everything you knew about changing your grips and if you didn’t know anything, no problem.
Golf Pride has been known for developing great new products and compounds and giving golfers exceptional grip options, but there has always been one messy, universal process of installing grips on your clubs. Honestly, I never put a single thought into this process because it has just always been done this way my entire golfing life. You buy a grip, install the grip (or pay someone to install it), and you wait until it is dry. The old process added time and cost to a grip change but Concept Helix changes everything. While I never gave it a second thought, we can all be happy that plenty of people gave it plenty of thought. Now, with Concept Helix, you can change any grip anywhere – in the golf course parking lot, in your garage, or even sitting on the couch – without ever using chemicals or a breaking a sweat. If you haven’t picked up on it yet, Concept Helix is truly disruptive technology (and great for golfers too).
So, what is Golf Pride’s new ground breaking technology? Concept Helix is a new installation system that lets you change a grip in minutes and take it right to the course using a friction and torque-based installation that doesn’t require vices, solvents, or adhesives – just a specific “horn” device and some twisting by hand. Say goodbye to the added installation cost, materials, and waiting time after changing grips… if it works. I don’t want to spoil the ending, but it works, and really, really well. Let’s jump into the process:
Concept Helix system is marketed as super easy to use and is designed to let anyone change a grip regardless of your familiarity with the old process, how handy you are, or what materials you have in your garage. Although Golf Pride has a video series that explains the process in great detail, the process of installing a Concept Helix grip is: (1) remove the old grip (if present), (2) remove old tape and substances (if present), (3) insert the horn into the mouth of the grip and slip the grip on the shaft, (4) use the horn to twist and tighten the end cap, and (5) hand twist the grip and end cap until tight. Seriously – that’s it!
But to really prove this point, it is important to get this into the hands of someone who has little to no experience changing grips and see how it goes. And that’s where my confession comes – I have never changed a grip in my life and I have none of the traditional tools and materials needed to change them at home. In short, I was the perfect test subject to show just how revolutionary the system is and how easy Concept Helix grips are to install.
Eight minutes. Seriously, eight minutes was all it took to go from a worn Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grip on my utility iron to swinging a new Concept Helix grip, and the only thing I used was a pocket knife. In fact, the actual installation process of the Concept Helix grip couldn’t have taken more than a minute or two and the old grip removal took the reminder of the time. I’m happy to report that the Concept Helix grip stayed perfectly secured during my range session immediately after changing the grip.
As you might expect, the Concept Helix grips are designed a bit different than ordinary grips to work in the revolutionary system. Despite being different, they were purposefully designed to feel similar to Golf Pride’s ever popular Tour Velvet grips. The proprietary grip formula is currently all rubber (sorry cord and Align lovers) and has a textured pattern to maximize grip. No word on the possibility of other textures, compounds, or options but if I was to make a prediction, it would be that the future of golf grips is bright and the sky is the limit for Golf Pride’s Concept Helix.
The installation of golf grips may never be the same now and it has opened the door to self-installation of grips to any golfer in their own home and at a moment’s notice without any messy installation. You can learn more about Concept Helix by visiting www.concepthelix.com.
I lost feeling after one. ?
They asked us in the testing to put on on a driver and hybrid or fairway wood. There’s really not a lot of force required to put the grip on via the horn, one could probably do it sideways just as easily to remove or add said grip if they were worried about breakage.
Grip styles for now, sure. Gotta remember this is the 1.0 of releases. They’ll indeed improve over time.
Shaft finish, I didn’t notice any damage with just normal use but I also wasn’t dealing with edges and such that would be of concern.
I tested them, loved the concept but didn’t like the grip itself and went back to my MCC Align…
Oddly enough, I talked about these with @billyh during the event we did on Monday. The concept is cool, but the feel of the grip didn’t translate well to me. It didn’t feel like a tour velvet, and it never felt like it was super secure on the club even when tightening the heck out of it at times.
It’s also just not the feel of a MCC that I’m used to. Decade or more of them, it’s really hard to forget that feeling. I tried Superstroke grips and they were okay, still went right back a MCC and it was like reuniting with an old friend.
I’m still using them. The size is a good fit to my hand (Standard/Mid tweener). I’ll probably go back to Tour Velvets in my wedge and hybrid by might keep the Concept on my driver for a while.
I still have one on a driving iron. It’s great. Still room for improvement but great.
Aside from that, I like them.
Still have one on my 54* and on a three iron and have no issues with them. I prefer the feel of my Z-Cords to these but I have played cords of some form or another forever.
Still have a couple on my 7 iron and Driver. Just got some new clubs though and will be transitioning back to the MCC4’s.
Seems the two biggest detractors are the style of grip and not having the ability to put sensors on the end. The product itself has worked really well for me, have not had to tighten the grips hardly at all over the course of 6-7 months. They seem to do what they are supposed to.
Yeah, that is definitely something I fight with too. Thankfully it’s fine on the driving iron but it could pose a problem on other clubs.
I’ve had squishy grips, so it makes sense. I never felt either of those things, but I felt trying to add tape wraps was a PITA impossible. Still have one on my sand wedge. Probably my imagination, but to me they already felt built-up vs a standard grip.
I needed 3 more for my new irons so they sent me 3 for free.
Think it came with 3 grips plus the tool.
I tested them as a forum tester, I love the concept, however, the execution of the concept was lacking. With Golf Pride being a lifestyle brand now they probably scraped this idea.
I also felt they’re bigger than a standard grip which is a positive for my hand size. Overall, I liked them but not sure I’d put them on my gamers. They’re a good fit for some of my practice clubs. I know…that’s not a strong endorsement.