If you are thinking right now that this is a name you haven’t heard before so it must be a new company, toss that right out the window. While stateside the Two Thumb name isn’t all that recognizable, they’ve been selling their products worldwide for a decade now and been designing their own grips since 2005. So, while they may be new to most, and I was in that category before this review, they are not the new kids on the block.
Quick Take
Not all that recognizable stateside, the Two Thumb putter grips has a following across the pond and more than that, some legitimate Tour use. The grips are exactly what they aim to be, with wider front paddle sections for ample thumb placement while also fitting in the hand comfortably and determined to fight wrist break at all costs. Unique names, a unique design, and a unique outlook on putter grips.
The Two Thumb Ideology
The name gives you a pretty good clue as to just what the premise behind the grips that Two Thumb have created is and what they seek to do. The name of the game here is reducing the killers in putting, tension and wrist break.
The first grip they designed was the “original”, also known as the Big Daddy, and its design focused on providing a platform for eliminating as many variables and breaks in the putting stroke as possible. The company is a big proponent of a putting grip that keeps both hands directly parallel to each other with the thumbs literally side by side on the front paddle, and the Big Daddy was perfectly designed for that. By creating this grip, it allows the golfer to form a “Y” from the hands to the shoulders which frees up all tension and allows a repeatable pendulum motion.
As time has gone, the lineup has evolved and more options have been created, like the “Snug Daddy” grips I got in for this review. The Snug Daddy are much more traditionally sized. Now, I know some are hesitating under the thought that the parallel grip style would have to be used with these grips, not so however, even the company acknowledges there are many grips out there and their grips will work well with a variety of them. I myself use what I know as a near “prayer grip”, meaning almost parallel but not quite, I also don’t run index fingers down the sides and I still saw merit from the Two Thumb designs.
Big Daddy and Big Daddy Light
We have to start with the OG, right?
Two Thumb were kind enough to send in two variations of their original “Big Daddy” putter grip for this review, the full rubber OG, as well as a dual material “Light” version.
At first glance, many will think about the Flat Cat design and while the overall shape looks similar, I found these to have a lot more rounded nature, particularly in the rear of the grip which let them both sit more naturally in the hands. The wide look and feel took some time to get used to, but it made a lot of sense when thinking about the putter grip technique they were built around.
I found it incredibly hard to have anything but a tension free putting stroke that still kept my wrists in check with both models, even when using a variety of grips, it was a much more comfortable design than I expected. Being honest, when I unboxed these, they drew an audible reaction from me in both shock and a slight amount of fear, but realistically they’re just a very solid design with a specific purpose.
The “Original” Big Daddy is a tank. This thing comes in at 190g and is made entirely of rubber, in fact, it is the companies own Tour Velvet material and it is allthere. The shape distributes the weight across the grip, but even then, this is one that is going to alter putter swing weight in a significant way. Because of that, I believe it’s the best bet for those using heavy putter heads or for golfers who simply enjoy a back weighted putter (of which I am one). I put it on a 350g putter head and though I could still feel the head in the stroke, the balance point of the entire setup was definitely shifted. I can also say this one was the most durable of the grips I worked with for the review and it is because of the rubber.
The “Light” version of the Big Daddy is almost 1/3 the weight of its older, beefier, sibling. Made of lightweight underscore covered in a layer of dual textured polyurethane, it is the same feel in hand you get from SuperStroke or Winn in their putter grips. This is a material design that is always going to feel good in the hands as I do think the biggest benefit for it is the texture allows for a light grip that is always going to benefit golfers. On the other end, the larger shape in and out of the bag is going to potentially speed the wear, which is already traditionally not great on poly layered grips, depending on the type of bag you are using.
While I’m not a fan of the “Big Daddy” name as it does come off as a little hokey, it does have a story behind it and, well, it fits the design/shape. In the end, I started with hesitation to these grips and wound up pretty shocked at how well they do their job.
Snug Daddy 27 and 30
I also got to work with a much more traditional style grip from the Two Thumb company which they have named the “Snug Daddy”. Again, the unique name will likely elicit an equally unique reaction, but it sticks to the trend they started with their first grip.
As for the design of the grips, I worked with the “27” and “30”, the numbering refers to the width and depth of the grips in millimeters, it is also worth noting that Two Thumb also makes “24” and “27 Wide” models. This is going to be a much more familiar design to most golfers stateside as they are no-taper putter grips with a lightweight rubber core that is covered in a polyurethane outer layer. Though at first glance these appear very similar to SuperStroke with its no taper, they actually have a more unique shape with harder edges making for a larger front paddle surface area.
On the course these were obviously the easiest for me to get used to as they’re far more traditional. The lightweight nature (30 is 60g and the 27 is 40g) meant a stark contrast to my time with the Big Daddy Original as these actually accentuate the putter head weight through the stroke. The shapes here leant to a lot more versatility with different putting grip styles as well, and even worked well with the claw grip, especially the 30 which is a longer grip top to bottom than the 27.
Aesthetically these are pretty clean grips, and the decision to go with solid colors means they show wear significantly better than say, solid white which we have seen other companies foolishly go with. This is worth talking about because the reality is these dual material type grips will wear more than all rubber counterparts. That said, it definitely makes for one very comfortable putter grip.
An Option to Consider
At THP we have said it a million times, options are good. Everyone wins with more options, especially well thought out ones, and Two Thumb as a company is much more well based than the U.S. readership is going to realize. With multiple Tour Pro’s having used and currently using their grips and 11 worldwide wins, this isn’t a random start up company. But, finding a foothold stateside will be the significant undertaking that Two Thumb has to take on, as is always the case, getting them into the hands of golfers is the key to that, and I’m curious to see how they approach that.
The Details
Availability: Now
Price: $43.05 (by conversion rate at time of article)
Options: www.twothumbgrip.com
This fun you speak of would be pretty cool to take part in ?
If it works then I guess it doesn’t matter but I would really have to be struggling at putting to even consider going this route and making that drastic of a change.
There are several on that Tour still using them including Wiesberger and Wallace.
I love the prayer grip, mainly because I don’t want to be controlling the putter, I want it to flow freely through the stroke, its why I defend one of the best putting drills on the planet is the "no thumbs" drill. Though mine is much more Pat O’Brien with one thumb still offset lower than the other as opposed to the theory associated with the creation of the BD putter grips where they are dead even and the index fingers run down both sides of the grip.
I’m excited to get three of these into THP’ers hands….
My thoughts might be pretty outdated, but the things I vividly remember, were how stout the grip was, and how much it really helped my putting at the time.
Putting was a real low-point of my game back then, and the 2 Thumb original really helped get me into a solid putting stroke. It completely took my wrists out of the putting stroke, and really had me just rocking the shoulders in my putting stroke.
The main turnoff at the time though, was I wanted a grip that fit inside a putter well nicely, and due to the size/shape, it was a struggle. It was definitely a heavy grip, and that was before I knew anything about how the grip weight affects feel of the putter head, balance, and things like that.
I honestly thought they didn’t exist as a brand anymore….. long departed from the marketplace. But that was clearly wrong lol. Neat to see they are still around.
Would I go back to a grip like this? Potentially, if I really wanted to reset my stroke again.
I like the concept of a grip shape with room for two thumbs side-by-side at the top of the grip. But I think the TwoThumb company’s lightest weight grip is 67 grams, which is 12 to 15 grams heavier than I like. If the company produced a 50 to 55 gram putter grip I would buy it and try it.
The one I had years ago looked like this:
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New Version courtesy of @Jman:
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I just messed around with the parallel thumbs concept using my Bag Boy Backbone. I can see how it takes your wrists out of the equation. Like most, I’m all for removing variables when putting.
I have a few CB putters and IIRC you used clevis pins "back in the day" to give a similar result, but in a standard length shaft. Does the weight of the "Big Daddy" help smooth the stroke in the same way?
To me, yeah, it essentially served as a big ole counterweight.
Size and Weight – sucker is huge and weighs a ton. A little overstated, but at 190 grams not too awfully far off. I have been predominantly using standard size pistol grips forever so this grip is literally 3 times the size and triple the weight of what I am used to. Time will tell whether this is a good or bad thing.
Feel – I do like this aspect of the grip having always been a fan of rubber / rubber compound grips.
Putting Grip – I found out rather quickly that neither my normal reverse overlap grip nor left hand low grip were going to work with this grip. Both were very uncomfortable considering the size and shape of the grip. I went to their website and watched a video and noted that one of the pros on the video placed his thumbs side by side on the front of the grip with his index fingers on either side of the grip extended down. I tried that grip method and it felt much better and seemed to yield much better control of the putter head during the stroke.
These are just my initial reactions after using the grip for 10 – 15 minutes. Much more to come after I get more time with it.
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It’s wiiiiiiild!
The one I have is the heaviest in the line and I really haven’t noticed any issues with keeping the putter head on the proper swing path. The overall weight of the putter is significantly heavier than anything else I have ever used but the actual stroke feels quite comfortable.
Tomorrow
You do not want to go from rolling 30 or 40 putts with this grip on a putter than pick up a putter with a standard size grip on it. Almost feels like you are holding a toothpick in your hand. Haha
Welcome to my world when I reviewed them!
I can comment a bit on this as I got the Big Daddy Light for review. I think it will and the more I use it time will tell. It weighs in at 67 grams as apposed to 190 for the original. I have it on a 340 gram putter head and you can still feel the weight of the head pretty good. The grip allows for the weight of the putter to “swing” easy as opposed to having to pull/push the putter through the swing, if that makes sense.
I was able to roll about 70 putts with it this evening on my cheap mat in the house. I tried a couple different grips with it left hand low, my esqued version of a traditional, and prayer, and while they all were able to be used, the prayer grip with both thumbs side by side resulted in the best feel and results. Go figure, the style it was designed for works the best, right? As far as feel, this thing feels tacky, but in a good way. I was able to keep an very light grip pressure on the putter. It also allowed great response and feeling through the grip depending on what the ball strike was. What I’m trying to say is just because the grip is HHHHUUUUGGGGEEEE and there is two metric yards of light weight material there, it allows you to feel what the head is doing VERY well. Initially I thought with the weight, texture, and size of the grip, response was going to be lacking and boy was I wrong.
Now to the negative. In the traditional black color scheme this thing is the least attractive putter grip I think I’ve ever seen. Ugly would be the best word to describe it. The size and placement reminds me of Talladega Nights when Ricky Bobby sold his windshield space to a sponsor saying “This sticker is dangerous and inconvenient, but I do love Fig Newtons.” However there is good news on this. Looking at their website they have a Union Jack pattern and a white/red option for the same price. If I were to buy one myself, I would favor the red, and then possibly the Union Jack. Both those options have more subtle logos on them.
I have a tee time scheduled for tomorrow to get some real world feedback. It’s at a course I have yet to play, so it should get plenty of use. But so far, other than looks, I like it. I put a ball on top of it for the pics to give a good size reference. Pictures are front, left side, and rear. If you guys have any questions feel free to ask.
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It’s going to surprise you on the course…..
Would you ever replace a Tour SNSR with one of these?
Don’t sleep on the light. It’s a really nice grip. After a day and a half I’m a fan.
I completely agree. Don’t know whether is the grip or the putting grip change mandated by the grip or a combination of the two. Whatever it is, I am loving it and hope it doesn’t go away. Draining 8 foot putts dead center one after the other. That doesn’t happen for me. If it translates to the course, I will definitely be picking up a few more of these grips.
haha thanks. I just thought people reading that thread would enjoy seeing a picture in there as well.
To address some of the claims they make on their websites about their grips:
1. Enables a secure and comfortable grip. I agree with these statements. As I mentioned before, I had to totally revamp my putting grip to a "prayer" style grip with hands parallel on with side of the grip and thumbs sitting side by side on the front of the grip to accomodate the grip shape. I never before used this style putting grip but adapted to it very quickly and now am kicking myself in the rear for not trying it many, many years earlier.
2. Reduces wrist break and doesn’t twist like more circular grips. I also agree with these statements. The combinations of the grip and aforementioned putting grip encourages a more pendulum style stroke and I see a much more consistent putter swing path from stroke to stroke. The variation of swing path from sometimes starting outside, sometimes starting slightly inside, sometime starting significantly inside just doesn’t seem to exist with this grip setup.
The grips are quite costly (around $42) and the availability of where to purchase them from is very limited (which will likely entail a decent sized shipping charge as well from outside the US), but as @billyh said, they are legit and I believe it will be worth the investment to get it on a couple of more putters.
Before the round I was in the pro shop talking with one of the employees working the counter about the Two Thumbs grip and he asked if he could see it. I gladly grabbed it from the bag and brought it in. He rolled a couple putts with it and the Indi across the pro shop floor and was impressed. He wasn’t too keen on the prayer grip but loved the size and feel of it. Putting in a more traditional style he commented on how light it was. After telling him a little more about the different grips they offer he said he was going to look them up and possibly get one for himself. He seemed to have a genuine interest in the grip more so than the Indi (we’ll leave that to another thread).
I switched to the prayer grip from a traditional style (right hand low) grip where I kept my right index finger pointed down along the side of the grip. I will add, I am now keeping both index fingers pointed down along each side of the grip. I’m planning on going out again tomorrow morning, weather depending, and I’ll try and take some picks of how I am gripping the putter.
Yes and yes. I had always used primarily a reverse overlap grip with several stints of left hand low mixed in. First time ever using the prayer style and was surprised how easily I adapted to it. I have been playing the game for over 40 years.
Not my cup of tea, but I’m weird. I have no doubt this will provide people the hand positions they want!
Aww. You read.