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Golf Pride Niion Grips Review - Forum Testing

SuperStroke
ATLGolfer said:
It looks like all of the testers went logo up on these grips. Does any of the alignment loop (good phrase, blu) show up when the logo is down?

really like the look of these grips. Great job so far, guys.
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So over lunch I was looking at what these grips would have looked like logo down and noticed that there is a non-colored (matches the color of the grip and is kind of faint in appearance) in Golfpride logo on the reverse side of the grip. I will try to take a close up picture tonight to show what I'm talking about, but this is the first grip that I have seen have this feature.
 
Mulligan9111 said:
So over lunch I was looking at what these grips would have looked like logo down and noticed that there is a non-colored (matches the color of the grip and is kind of faint in appearance) in Golfpride logo on the reverse side of the grip. I will try to take a close up picture tonight to show what I'm talking about, but this is the first grip that I have seen have this feature.
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The VDR's also had this. FWIW.
 
Niion Grip Testing
Royal St. Patrick’s Golf Course – Wrightstown, WI
9 holes 7-23-13
Previous Grips: Golf Pride Z Chord
I pulled to the course and was worried when I saw the cars in the parking lot and did not see anybody on the range. I assumed the range was closed. I was about to turn around and leave. Good thing I didn’t.

I got out to play 9 holes this afternoon. It was the first time out with the Niion grips. First, the bright green does not reflect or distract in anyway. It was a concern, not anymore. The grips felt really comfortable in hand. As is the case in most rounds, there were shots that caused me to tense up. I try not to consciencely grip tighter, but I am sure I did. The Niions have some give but are not as soft as a wrap would be. I did not feel any bottoming out. On the flip side of that, the grips are not as hard as my previous grips. I am sure that helped relieve some tension actually. As quick as my tempo is, the grips were very stable. I did not feel any undesired give or compression in my hands. They felt very easy, unnoticeable, I did not have to think about what I was holding onto. That is a very good thing.

These grips are a touch lighter than the Z Chords. The Zs are 50.5 grams and the Niions are 50 grams. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but in the very conscience world of THP, everything gets thought of. If my swing weights were affected, I did not notice. I did not sense any issues with feeling the club through the swing. No issues timing my release (other than of my own swing faults). There was a lot of feedback with the softer grips as well. They did not seem to absorb as much shock as I thought. I hit a bucket of balls to warm up and thinned plenty of 3 irons. With each thin, I felt everything. There was no muffling, as it were. For the players who like thin irons for the sensations in the hands, these grips would not rob that at all.

I do wear a glove on my left hand, I did not notice any slipping or undue twisting in the grip. The softness does not seem to be an issue there. This was the first round with them, in very comfortable weather conditions. It was not hot or muggy but plenty of sun, so unfortunately, I did not have to worry about moisture.

Today the grips held up, as they should. I am curious what will happen to the pattern and texture as the swings add up. I did not have to hit any creative wedge shots today. I am curious how the alignment loop and pattern will feel and look when I open up a wedge or have to do something other than a stock swing or chip shot.
 
I hit the range today and played the front 9. I liked the grips a bit better today than I did yesterday. I think part of my issue yesterday was due to my glove being worn out. So I bought a new one today and the grips felt more comfortable and a bit more secure with a lighter grip pressure. I still can't say that I like them more than my 2Gs, but I could definitely game them without issue.

My hands go a bit more sweaty today than yesterday and the Niions do seem to manage the moisture better than the 2Gs, as I expected. I didn't ever really feel like I had to wipe them down before swinging.
 
rosehill said:
I'm just wondering, is the top hand slippage that severe of a concern? Wouldn't there be enough grip from the gloved hand to be enough support? Unless your playing without a glove...
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he does play without a glove so that's why he's asking
 
I played 9 holes last night for league. This was my first time swinging with the new grips.

The temperature was 83 degrees with 55% humidity according to the Weather Channel, it was a pretty nice evening.

Feel of the grip: As with my first post, this grip is very soft and took a couple swings to get used to. At first I felt like I had to grip it a little tighter because of how soft the grip is, but as I got used to them I was able to go back to my normal grip pressure. I found that the 3-D hexagonal area really helped me feel secure with my grip. I could feel it in my fingertips and it felt like it was giving your hand more traction on the grip.

Hitting shots: I was shocked at how much feedback you actually get with these grips. For as soft as they are, I was expecting them to take out most of the vibrations/feedback, but that was not the case. During the course of the night I had my fair share of thinned and toe'd shots and I could tell the second I made contact where on the club it happened. Another thing I really enjoyed was the feel during finesse shots. I like to grip down with my wedges when I go for these shots and the grip is just so consistent from top to bottom that I didn't have that feeling of having uneven contact with the club as I did with the NDMC's when half of my left hand was on the corded part and the other half not.

Overall: I'm really pleased with these grips. They give me security throughout my swing at the same time though they are very soft and comfortable. I will be looking forward to seeing how these hold up when the temps get back to normal for July (95+ with 60%+ humidity). While I was warming up tonight I had 3 different guys that play in our league come over and I had them hit a couple balls with my 9 iron. Each one of them really liked the grip, with 2 of them saying that they want to replace their grips with this same grip. The one guy who really liked these grips was an older guy and I was actually shocked that he liked the bright orange color of the grip. The first things out of their mouths before they even swing the club was similar to "woah, this is a soft grip". I wasn't really able to get into any more details with the guys, but it was cool to see how much they liked the grips.
 
I agree Mulli. There is a lot of feedback for how soft these grips are. It isn't as much as a full chord. But they aren't super soft like a wrap either. Very similar to the Tour Velvets. Maybe a touch softer. I'm very curious to how these feel on a hot day. I though the Velvets got sticky. Which isn't the same as tacky for me.
 
blugold said:
I agree Mulli. There is a lot of feedback for how soft these grips are. It isn't as much as a full chord. But they aren't super soft like a wrap either. Very similar to the Tour Velvets. Maybe a touch softer. I'm very curious to how these feel on a hot day. I though the Velvets got sticky. Which isn't the same as tacky for me.
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I definitely agree that these are softer than Tour Velvets. I normally don't wish for really hot days, but I just looked at the forecast and we are suppose to have the same type of weather for the next 10 days. I'm actually kind of anxious to see how these grips do in the hotter weather.
 
I'm going to the range tomorrow and the forecast is 85 degrees and 70-80% humidity. I should be able to provide some feedback on moisture management tomorrow as well.
 
I've finally arrived home to a package of brightness! I have received the highlighter yellow with blue accent color combination which is BRIGHT! Think the neon color on the side of those cheap hipster sunglasses, a highlighter, a lemon under a blacklight, a glowing Minion from Despicable Me (ok I think you get the point....they're bright!) When I opened the package and took one out my girlfriend said they were "cute." and she really liked them, I'm confused because I know that bunnies and (most) babies are cute and not sure how rubber grips could be "cute."
Now some pics:
The group
7upe6ana.jpg

ehare4yd.jpg

Trying to capture the different grip patterns
ypy2e3y5.jpg

a9uhygu4.jpg

Some comparison shots:
upyguguq.jpg

ehy2e3at.jpg


Anyway, I digress, a little about myself and my golf: I am currently a 17 handicap that plays 9 holes once or twice a week, and 18 holes once a week if I can at the local semi-private club I belong to. I spend most of my practice time either on the green or within 10yds. of it, which has really helped keeping my putting stats in excellent shape, but hasn't helped me hit more GIR and lower my score. I am currently playing a TM Rocketballz Tour 3W, a Nickent hybrid, TM Rocketbladez 4-AW, Cleveland 588 RTX CB (53*), Cleveland CG-12 (56*), and a Callaway X-Forged (59*) all with stock grips which will be replaced by the Niions. I will not be putting them on my current driver because it s a limited edition and my OCD just won't allow for that to happen. I may purchase a backup driver and put a Niion on that for testing purposes, but I'm not positive on that yet. The place I'm really interested in seeing similarities/differrences are in the irons as my current stock grip is ribbed, not round. Most of the current grips are most similar to Lamkin REL 3 Gen.

I will be trying to evaluate the new grips in a few catagories:
Grip/Tack
"Feel"/Comfort
Feedback
Durability (I have gripes on hand to wipe them down, but I want to see how dirty the yellow gets)
Overall experience: Do I see an improvement in my game/confidence because of using these grips, and what is the public opinion of them.

I will be testing these both on course in varying conditions, and at the range off both turf mats and grass. I am going to try to have at lease one range session per week with my irons to really get accostomed to the new grips.

I will post up some pics shortly and will be bringing them to my club today to be installed. Thank you again THP and GolfPride for this awesome opportunity!
 
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Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the niions vs the ribbed grips on the rocketbladez. Looking to replace my grips soon
 
jlukes said:
Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the niions vs the ribbed grips on the rocketbladez. Looking to replace my grips soon
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I should have some thoughts on that by tomorrow night (hopefully) if I can get to the range. I've never played non-stock grips on my irons, and they've always had the rib in the back so I'm very curious!
 
TeedUpThoughts said:
I've finally arrived home to a package of brightness! I have received the highlighter yellow with blue accent color combination (pics once I edit this post from my phone and not my work computer) which is BRIGHT! Think the neon color on the side of those cheap hipster sunglasses, a highlighter, a lemon under a blacklight, a glowing Minion from Despicable Me (ok I think you get the point....they're bright!) When I opened the package and took one out my girlfriend said they were "cute." and she really liked them, I'm confused because I know that bunnies and (most) babies are cute and not sure how rubber grips could be "cute."

Anyway, I digress, a little about myself and my golf: I am currently a 17 handicap that plays 9 holes once or twice a week, and 18 holes once a week if I can at the local semi-private club I belong to. I spend most of my practice time either on the green or within 10yds. of it, which has really helped keeping my putting stats in excellent shape, but hasn't helped me hit more GIR and lower my score. I am currently playing a TM Rocketballz Tour 3W, a Nickent hybrid, TM Rocketbladez 4-AW, Cleveland 588 RTX CB (53*), Cleveland CG-12 (56*), and a Callaway X-Forged (59*) all with stock grips which will be replaced by the Niions. I will not be putting them on my current driver because it s a limited edition and my OCD just won't allow for that to happen. I may purchase a backup driver and put a Niion on that for testing purposes, but I'm not positive on that yet. The place I'm really interested in seeing similarities/differrences are in the irons as my current stock grip is ribbed, not round. Most of the current grips are most similar to Lamkin REL 3 Gen.

I will be trying to evaluate the new grips in a few catagories:
Grip/Tack
"Feel"/Comfort
Feedback
Durability (I have gripes on hand to wipe them down, but I want to see how dirty the yellow gets)
Overall experience: Do I see an improvement in my game/confidence because of using these grips, and what is the public opinion of them.

I will be testing these both on course in varying conditions, and at the range off both turf mats and grass. I am going to try to have at lease one range session per week with my irons to really get accostomed to the new grips.

I will post up some pics shortly and will be bringing them to my club today to be installed. Thank you again THP and GolfPride for this awesome opportunity!
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Looking forward to some pictures
 
Put one of the Yellow with the blue accents on my 5 wood last night. Going to give it a go to see if they make it on my new iron shafts. Golftown didnt have any of the white ones though. Those are the ones I want.
 
PinHunter said:
Put one of the Yellow with the blue accents on my 5 wood last night. Going to give it a go to see if they make it on my new iron shafts. Golftown didnt have any of the white ones though. Those are the ones I want.
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I have had a hard time finding the white ones in store as well.
 
Went to the range tonight with the wife. Most of the time was spent with her hitting but I did get about 30 swings in. I hit quite a few with no glove on, and while I wasn't sweating the grips held up well. I felt comfortable taking a full hack without a glove on. The humidity we expected didn't come in so I cant say I would trust them without a glove on a hot, humid day. They are, however, very comfortable.

I buddy that was with me with his gf also hit them a few times and was impressed. He said they weren't squishy like he thought they would be. That seems to be a common theme...soft but not squishy.

Anyway, 9 holes after work tomorrow. Will update again.
 
jlukes said:
Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the niions vs the ribbed grips on the rocketbladez. Looking to replace my grips soon
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Bladez testers reunite for new grips :)

I'm eyeballing this thread and thinking about JB's comments about the Lamkin i-Lines, too.
 
tequila4kapp said:
Bladez testers reunite for new grips :)

I'm eyeballing this thread and thinking about JB's comments about the Lamkin i-Lines, too.
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I like the Bladez testers unite idea! I dropped them off today and will hopefully be able to stop by tomorrow & scoop them back up.


On my iPhone T.. T.. Tapatalking away!
 
One observation I had on mine (and I went back to check everyone's pics), there is an additional "hexagonal" pattern area at the bottom of the grip just above the line that is not color filled... My initial assumption is maybe its a different texture for gripping down on wedge shots, but it is really low. And why wouldn't they color it to match the other haxagonal pattern area?? Can't wait to get these back in my hands to start answering some of the questions that I'm thinking.
 
TeedUpThoughts said:
One observation I had on mine (and I went back to check everyone's pics), there is an additional "hexagonal" pattern area at the bottom of the grip just above the line that is not color filled... My initial assumption is maybe its a different texture for gripping down on wedge shots, but it is really low. And why wouldn't they color it to match the other haxagonal pattern area?? Can't wait to get these back in my hands to start answering some of the questions that I'm thinking.
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I use that portion when playing choke down wedges. Probably just aesthetics.
 
TeedUpThoughts said:
One observation I had on mine (and I went back to check everyone's pics), there is an additional "hexagonal" pattern area at the bottom of the grip just above the line that is not color filled... My initial assumption is maybe its a different texture for gripping down on wedge shots, but it is really low. And why wouldn't they color it to match the other haxagonal pattern area?? Can't wait to get these back in my hands to start answering some of the questions that I'm thinking.
Click to expand...

Jman said:
I use that portion when playing choke down wedges. Probably just aesthetics.
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I would agree that it is mostly aesthetics. It does look cool. But I doubt I would ever choke down that far, unless some thing crazy happened. It is a neat look though.
 
Jman said:
I use that portion when playing choke down wedges. Probably just aesthetics.
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blugold said:
I would agree that it is mostly aesthetics. It does look cool. But I doubt I would ever choke down that far, unless some thing crazy happened. It is a neat look though.
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Thanks Jman for the input. I don't get why they didn't color (or colour for those on the queens english) it the same as the upper hex pattern part.
 
TeedUpThoughts said:
Thanks Jman for the input. I don't get why they didn't color (or colour for those on the queens english) it the same as the upper hex pattern part.
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Could be almost any reason. Maybe they had a prototype that did have paint there and they didn't like it. Maybe adding the paint there added cost. Maybe it was an afterthought. Interesting question though. I never gave it a second thought.
 
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