50 Words or Less
The Palmbird putter grip has a unique shape meant to sit naturally in the palm of your hand. Very heavy for counter weighting effect.
Introduction
PGA Pro Phil Jaffe didn’t set out to create a new putter grip, he was just trimming some plants. Then he noticed how the stalk of the Bird of Paradise plant fit naturally into his palm and the idea took root. After fine tuning the shape and weight, the Palmbird putter grip was born.
Check out the new JMX Palmbird putter grip HERE
Looks
Black. If you want to keep the Palmbird as your secret weapon, the color scheme will not stop you.
Feel
The Palmbird is made of a rubber that is firm, but not rock hard. The closest comparison to me is the Pingman grip.
In my hands, the Palmbird felt very comfortable right from the get go. Obviously, it’s much larger than a standard putter grip which is comfortable for me, but may be too big for some players. The other major factor in comfort is the shape. As you can see in the picture below, it’s not very wide, but it’s much “deeper” than other grips (that’s a SuperStroke 2.0, for comparison). This is what allows it to sit naturally in the palm of your hand. It’s also worth noting that this grip is not tapered – it’s the same size at the top of the grip as it is at the bottom.
Performance
The first thing that I noticed when I installed the Palmbird grip was the massive counter weighting effect that it had. At 169 grams, it may be the heaviest putter grip on the market, so it’s going to dramatically shift the balance of the club. The putter head will feel much lighter when the balance point shifts towards the hands. As I talked about in my lesson on counter weighting HERE, this is neither a good nor a bad thing, but just a matter of preference. Counter balancing is very popular right now because it makes the club feel very stable. My only warning is that you will likely need some time to dial in your distance control when you make the transition.
Most of the performance claims of the Palmbird are in line with those of other counter balancing products: improves tempo, smooths the stroke, stabilizes wrists and hands, and improves the ability to keep the putter head square. I think these statements will prove to be true for some players, but they should be taken with a grain of salt. Not every player will improve by using the Palmbird and some may require a transition period to see improved results.
In my time putting with the Palmbird, the one claim that I really noticed to be true was the idea that the larger surface area reduces grip pressure. With this grip sitting so comfortably in my palms, I was able to hold it gently and make nice smooth passes at the ball.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to experiment with counter balancing your putter or simply want to try a new grip, I would strongly recommend checking out the Palmbird. The shape is unlike anything else I’ve tried and it was very comfortable for me to use. Additionally, the counter balancing is very noticeable due to the grip’s heavy weight, so those seeking more stability should benefit from it.
Palmbird Putter Grip (1)
Palmbird Putter Grip (2)
Palmbird Putter Grip (4)
Palmbird Putter Grip (5)
Palmbird Putter Grip (6)
Palmbird Putter Grip (7)
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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One Comment
I use a Palmbird and enjoy it – fits well in the hand and the grip remains tacky feeling, it won’t slip, in hot weather. They have 2 sizes – the 169g and 115g – and you are correct, the heavier grip does lighten the feel of the head (both will affect it, but the lighter grip, a lot less). I put some lead tape on the bottom of my putter for more feel with the heavier grip.. But if you want to decrease the total time of your putt, as I do, this grip will help (not as heavy a feel gets the club going). I think it also helps with tempo – it’s comfortable. If you have a putter with too much head weight, this grip will help. It will help anyway for comfort – just fits naturally into your hand. I am ordering the 115g for another putter with a 350g head and 35 inches to see the effect.