Tourspecgolf has added a whole bunch of new Iomic grips to the pro shop including the 2 color marbled Art Series, new Absolute Putter grip, Iomic’s first cord grip the X-Fusion and the new thicker/larger Square Grip Sticky 2.3!
Check out the Iomic color picker above for the custom Square Grip Sticky (1.8) and custom X-Grips!
So what makes Iomic grips so special? Most grips are made of rubber which when exposed to ultraviolet rays crack very quickly. What grip makers did was add carbon to strengthen the rubber however when carbon is used the only color the grip can be is black.
As colored grips began flooding the golf market, most manufacters were found to be using ABR a Thermoplastic Rubber. During testing Iomic found that ABR did not provide maximum grip and was very slippery if it got wet. Iomic decided to use Elastomer after thorough testing. Iomic chose a combination of 5 elastomers for the IOMIC grip. Iomic then added different materials for water-resistance, just the right amount of adhesiveness and friction-resistance. Elastomer’s natural color is white, so Iomic can manufacture grips in any color.
Creating Elastomer grips require a different manufacturing process from rubber. Elastomer is injected into a die at 200 degrees Celcius. This high pressure injection moulding method is very accurate creating very consistent weights with an error of only ±0.5g as opposed to rubber which has very uneven weight. Check out this video from Iomic Japan featuring Iomics manufacturing and torque testing (in Japanese of course but you get the picture!):
[flv:http://blog.tourspecgolf.com/videos/iomic.flv 650 350]
Shaft makers try to make a shaft that suppresses torque and twists. However, a grip with torque reduces the effectiveness of a shaft with little torque. Normally a soft grip would have a large amount of torque. Iomic has been able to make a grip with less torque but still soft. Because of the elastomer Iomic grips are made of, they are made in a depth of 0.3mm as opposed to rubber at a depth of 0.5mm. This reduction in depth helps to reduce torque and is one of the reasons why Iomics are very popular on the Japanese pro Tour as they are stable enough to handle the fastest of swings.
The final point of Iomic grips has been one that has been highly debated. People argue whether or not the fact that Iomic has infused each grip with 350 Minus ions which supposedly strengthen the immune system and calm the nerves really help a player relax during the swing. Opinions vary from person to person on this feature however one thing is for sure, Iomics grips made in Japan are sticky and the colors and quality are virtually unmatched by any other grip manufacturer.
That color picker is awesome and such a great help. Some colors that seemed good in my head did not look good when matched together. It really helped me get what I want and looks good! Thanks T!
its rubbish