During a round last week, the grip of my year-old 5-iron slipped at the top of my backswing. As a result, my shot went astray. Sure enough, the grip looked a little slick — much like all of them on my irons. That’s what I get for playing so much golf, while storing my clubs between rounds in a hot car trunk. And I never clean them, either. It was a cruel reminder of the harmful side effects of negligence. I plan to get a set of Golf Pride’s new Tour Velvet ALIGN grips, when they come to pro shops later this month. The proprietary ALIGN technology — which debuted in the company’s MCC and MCC Plus4 grips last year — is a dedicated raised reminder ridge that extends down the back of the grip, so you can position your hands with consistency. The ridge has a micro-diamond texture and firmer material than the surrounding grip area, which amplifies its pronounced feel. A flex channel separates the ridge from the grip body, which seems to maximize its elevation and help you lock the grip into your fingers. Rickie Fowler put this grip on his clubs for the Masters and finished second. I toyed around with it at the PGA Merchandise Show in January, and really liked the feel. It comes in standard ($8.99) and midsize ($9.49).
