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Category: AthleticsPrinted Golf Grips Reshape the Game
Learning the correct grip for your golf swing can take years of practice. But a student engineering team from Virginia Tech may have discovered a shortcut. They have created a customized, 3-D printed grip that helps guide a golfer’s hands into the correct position.
Students made clay molds of players’ hands in the correct position and then 3-D printed them to create a grip that can be slipped on and off a club. While the grips are not allowed in regulation play, they act as a training aid to help golfers build muscle memory and get more consistent results without the need of a professional trainer.
The thermoplastic polyurethane the students used for the printing process allowed them to tailor the stiffness of the grip to a golfer’s individual preference for a customized experience. The design won first place at the 2017 Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ Digital Manufacturing Challenge and may someday be available at a pro shop near you.