Golf

Andrew Cohn, Chicago Golf

My name is Andrew Cohn, and I love golf. I’ve been playing for more than 35 years. I have always looked for ways to improve.

When I was fourteen years old, I had just made my freshman golf team. I went out for a practice round with my mother. It was a very hot, humid Chicago summer day. Playing with my mom, she made sure I added more sunscreen and bug spray when we made the turn.

An interesting thing happened to my grip with the residue from the sunscreen plus bug spray mix. My hands and my golf club grips got stickier. With that increased tackiness on my grips, I found I had more feel on my shots around the green. I had gotten up and down only once on the front nine.

On the back nine, I was able to go improve my chipping and short shots to where I went up and down five times. This improved feel translated to really improved performance around the greens.

Keep in mind, that at fourteen, I wasn’t hitting the ball all that far. Wooden drivers, the Titleist blades that I had to have, and the belief that I had to swing really fast, didn’t help me much either. So this improvement in my short shots, really improved my game — that day!

The next time out, I did not repeat the success. At the time, I had no idea that the extra tackiness in my grip translated into less grip pressure caused my better feel and better short game results. Even if I had known the cause, I probably could not repeat that perfect mix to duplicate the tackiness. Did it wash off? Was it even good for me? I had no way to do it again.

Then I discovered Gorilla Gold® Golf Grip cloths. I tried one, and I had the same tackiness I found that great day in 1978. The great time with my mom, and the great results that improved my short game.

Since I started using Gorilla Gold® Golf Grip cloths, my handicap index has dropped from 16.8 to 8.3. I don’t know if Gorilla Gold® Golf Grip cloths will help you cut your handicap in half like I did. It could be that one ingredient you need to help improve your golf game past your current game.

Hank Haney, Instructor

So you may wonder if Hank Haney would be good to listen to on the building blocks of golf such as the importance of grip pressure. Here are some of Hank’s accomplishments and credentials:

Career Accomplishments:

• Instructed the #1 Player in the World, Tiger Woods
• Instructed over 200 touring professional from the PGA, LPGA, Champions, European, Japanese, Australian and Asian Tours
• His students have won every major championship in professional golf, amateur golf and junior golf including 1998 Masters and British Open Champion Mark O’Meara, two-time U.S. Open Amateur and one-time British Open Amateur Kelli Kuehne
• Ranked #2 on Golf Digest Magazine’s Top 50 Teachers 2009
• Analyst for ESPN TV’s golf coverage from 2005-2008
• Member of the following Professional Advisory Staffs: Nike Golf, Golf Digest, Golfsmith and Graphite Design
• Authored 4 books on golf instruction; “Essentials of the Swing”, “The Only Golf Lesson You’ll Ever Need”, “No More Bad Shots” and “Fix Your Yips Forever”
• Produced 14 instructional DVDs on golf instruction
• Appeared in 11 golf infomercials including the most successful golf infomercial of all time, the Adams Golf Tight Lies infomercial
• Written over 300 golf instructional articles over the years and has appeared on the cover of Golf Digest magazine 6 times

Hank says,”The single most important aspect of grip pressure is that it stays the same throughout the swing. One of the biggest destroyers of the golf swing is an increase in grip pressure at the start of the downswing. When this happens it is virtually impossible to swing the clubhead on the correct path with the correct face angle. If anything the grip pressure should lighten slightly on the downswing to help us fully release the club.

Jeff Patterson, Golf Digest

Admittedly, I’ve gone ape over Gorilla Gold, a $5 towel that adds tackiness to your grips. At the national golf writers’ tournament, it poured so hard that by the second tee, my rain gloves were too saturated to be effective. In desperation, I dug into my bag for this USGA-approved towel. It’s coated with a nontoxic sticky substance — like pine tar but without the mess, as the company says. Just rub it on your grips and gloves as needed.

The three-pars, one-birdie start at Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club had me in contention, and I could swing as if it were a regular day. Though the tournament director called play, I kept going. Unlike everyone else, I could still hold onto a club. No question, this accessory is better than an umbrella.