Zero Taper Might Be For You

Golf Pride’s new parallel grip is designed to help golfers keep the putterface square.

Golf equipment updates and improvements happen so frequently nowadays, the difference between one generation of clubs/bags/balls/shoes/apparel/etc. is often barely noticeable, to those watching on TV or from behind the gallery ropes at least. There was a brief jolt of alarm when Tour players began wearing hoodies and joggers that stopped at the ankles, but the golf world came to terms with them pretty quickly. Mini-drivers might have caused a little confusion among onlookers, Bryson DeChambeau’s one-length irons caused a ripple of curiosity, and LAB putters probably made you look twice.

But the last time the entire TV audience saw a pro wearing or using something peculiar, frowned, craned their neck, and thought “What on earth is that?” might well have been nearly 20 years ago when Korea’s K.J. Choi began wielding a putter with a really thick grip that remained thick all the way to the shaft.

Dubbed the “Fatso”, Choi’s grip was the game’s first non-tapered putting grip and, though it did catch on quicker than Karsten Solheim’s odd-looking Ping Anser putter, for instance, the uptake wasn’t immediate. It took until Choi’s second win with it, at the 2008 Sony Open, for interest to start swirling. Steady adoption since, has seen the non-tapered putting grip count at PGA Tour events rise to an estimated 35-40% of the field.

In the Spring of 2024, grip giant Golf Pride released its Reverse Taper Grip, which was wider at the bottom than at the top. Last week, the Pinehurst-headquartered company announced its Zero Taper grip – a parallel putter grip, made from polyurethane (a little softer than rubber) and which will be available in two sizes – 66 grams and 73 grams. The design, says Golf Pride, helps you apply the same amount of pressure with each hand, enabling you to keep the putterface square.

The core is 58R, meaning it has a diameter of .580” and the internal core is round, unlike cores that have a rib (or ‘reminder’) running down the back and guiding your hands into the correct position – the cues on the Zero Taper are visual.

$35
Colors – white/red, white/black, white/blue
Available – February 17^th
golfpride.com