Why Our Products Work
“Golf clubs do not play golf; humans do.”
Our products are based on how the human body works. Until now, everything in golf was based on how the golf club works. The emphasis is on the technology in the shaft and club head. No attention has been given to how golf club technology cooperates with the human body.
Here is a simple explanation. We must state the obvious; The golf club does not know where it is in space. Only human can perceive spatial relationships or direct the path of the golf club.
Medical explanation: Our grips and gloves (www.realfeelgloves.com) are based upon the feel in the golfer’s hands. Feel has long been the mantra in golf. However, until now the biofeedback principles were not understood. The skin of the hand plays a prominent role in determining where the golfer’s body is in space and the club head’s path. The medical principle is known as tactile edge orientation processing. It is fancy wording for the human’s ability to touch (tactile) an object’s edge and immediately and automatically understand (orientation) and process in their mind and body without thinking. It is the body function that allows one to reach into their pocket and automatically tell the difference between a quarter and a house key.
Proprioception: The result is that human automatically without thinking has the capacity to know where their body parts are in space. For instance, one can close their eyes and touch their index finger to their nose. This function is called proprioception. Proprioception is the human body’s ability to know where it is in space. On second thought, a cat must have the same capacity, since when thrown in the air, they always land on their feet. As the old joke says, it is evident that a buttered piece of bread does not have proprioception, since when dropped it lands butter down on the floor.
Biofeedback: The imprint on the golfer’s hands provides the sensory aspect leading to the biofeedback.
The dermal imprint is a longitudinal groove parallel to the golf club shaft. This imprint automatically tells the golfer’s body where the golf club is in space.
2-Point Discrimination: The grooved grip makes an intimate connection between the golf club and the golfer at the highest neurosensory level. This is known in medicine as “2-point discrimination”. The longitudinal dermal imprint on the skin of the golfer’s hands is instantly “read” by the player’s neurosensory system. This very high-level neurological signal is spontaneously sent to the player’s brain. In turn, this signal is processed and instantly sends a message to the golfer’s musculoskeletal system of where the golf club is in space. In medical terms, the player’s proprioception is enhanced, thereby delivering the golf club in the same place. Proprioception is the human body’s means of intuitively knowing where it is in space.
In computer terms, the connection between the player and the golf club is not a remote wireless, but requires an intimate connection. This connection must be intimate, solid, seamless and continuous between the player’s hands and the golf club grip from the time the golfer takes aim and continues through impact. With the Grooved Golf Grip it does not matter where the player places his hands, the enhanced feel will be there. In addition, the player’s skin is embedded into the longitudinal grooves and literally capture the golfer’s skin securely to the golf grip and thereby control any unwanted torque of the golf club.
This results in tour players and amateurs alike hitting the ball more in the center of the club face and therefore straighter and with more predictable accuracy.
The Premise:
It is desirable to consistently hit the ball in the center of the club face.
The Problem:
Testing shows that hitting the ball consistently in the center of the club face is not easily achieved even by PGA tour players.
The Solution:
The revolutionary Grooved Golf Grip will “cause” a golfer with a decent swing and a properly fitted club to hit the ball more consistently towards the center of the club face. Notice we said, “cause”. This revolutionary performance enhancing grip requires no lessons or training to improve the center hits on the club face. We proved it with PGA tour player testing.
The “Cause”: The “cause” requires an explanation. The explanation necessitates understanding how the human body functions and biofeedback.
The Golf Swing, Medically Speaking: The golf swing, written in medical terms, looks like this: Golf is dependent upon the player’s innate proprioception, spatial relationships and neurosensory transmission, central nervous system interpretation, psychomotor skills and motor memory execution.
Medically speaking, the golf swing sounds impossible. Furthermore, it happens so fast, in a matter of seconds. No wonder golf is difficult. There is no time to think about anything. In fact, it is best if the golfer does not think about anything except visualizing the best swing he can put on the ball. The execution must have a foundation of solid principles built in prior practice. In other words, he/she must play by feel. Does all this happen without consciously feeling anything? Yes, because there is no time in the split second of the stroke to think or to focus upon any specific feeling! At best the player might capture a single swing thought. If the player tries two or more swing thoughts, malfunction sets in. All the biological data must be collected instantaneously in the player’s psychomotor system and executed spontaneously via the musculoskeletal system to complete the stroke.
Medical Explanation: Understanding how this revolutionary patented, USGA conforming Grooved Golf Grip works requires a medical term briefing in neuroanatomy and neurophysiology.
A Neuroanatomy Lesson: Our fingers are more sensitive than the palm of our hand and much more sensitive than our back. The reason is that there are more nerve endings per square inch in the skin of the fingers than the palm or the back. The patented and registered, trademarked Grooved Golf Grip exploits the normal neuroanatomy of the fingers and hands.
A Neurophysiology Lesson: The human hand naturally has ability to determine spatial relationships and 3-dimensional geometry. It does not require schooling or a physical therapy lesion for a person to reach into their pocket and pull out a car key rather than the adjacent cell phone. Humans have a second nature for discerning the shapes of three dimensional geometric objects. This occurs instinctively by the neurological connection to the brain and back again to the muscles of the upper extremity.
Proprioception: This is the normal body function that intuitively knows where it is in space. For instance, you can close your eyes and move your finger to touch your nose, your ear and even move your right foot so your heel is placed on top of your left knee. No lessons necessary to accomplish these feats. Every good golfer has a high level of proprioception skills.
Back to the Golf Shot: The golfer utilizes his/her normal neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and proprioception to hit the golf ball in the desired direction and distance.
There is Help for the Golfer: This USGA conforming grip with US Patented longitudinal grooves enhances the golfer’s perception of where the golf club is in space. It is intuitive. It does not require instruction or physical therapy.
Dermal Impression: Most golf grips make some kind of dermal impression. The human body reads intuitively the dermal impression on the skin of the fingers and hands when the golf grip is grasped. However, only the Grooved Golf Grip has perceptible longitudinal grooves in each quadrant. These grooves by their size and position make an imprint at the highest level of human recognition and perception. If they were smaller than 2 mm wide, it would be below the human perception threshold.
Three Dimensional Shape Perception: This dermal impression is a miniature of the geometric three dimensional shape of the golf club shaft that is registered in the golfer’s neurosensory apparatus. Neurosensory wise, the golfer becomes one with the golf club.
Spatial relationship: The longitudinal dermal impression which is in alignment with the shaft, instantaneously telegraphs to the player’s brain the position of the golf club shaft in space. No lessons are required.
What does this means to the Golfer? It means he/she is connected, even embedded intimately to the golf club by this dermal imprint created by the Grooved Golf Grip. The golfer grips the Grooved Golf Grip resulting in multiple longitudinal dermal impressions on the player’s fingers and hands. It does not matter where the golfer places their hands on the grip, there will be dermal impressions.
We want feel to be spontaneous and intuitive, resulting in better club face impacts for better and more enjoyable golf. See The Technology of Feel of the Grooved Golf Grip.
Added Benefits of the Grooved Golf Grip:
- No Slipping: The embedding of the golfer’s skin into the grooves results in resistance to torque or slipping of the hands.
- All Weather Grip: The all rubber material is water resistant and stays dry in wet weather.