This review is written by my good friend Andrew Rehfeld, who continues to offer his vast knowledge to the site as equipment editor.
In the spirit of my search for a better grip (see my recent review of the Bionic PerformanceGrip), the Gorilla Gold Grip Enhancer caught my eye at Golfsmith. The Gorilla Gold is a small cloth treated with adhesive that is applied to your grips, hands, glove, or any combination thereof. The purpose is to add ‘tackiness’ to your grip if you deal with sweat, if you’re fighting humidity, if it’s raining, or if you simply need some extra grip.
The material and feel are similar to that of a ‘tack cloth’ that you would find at a hardware store. However, as Gorilla Gold states on their website, the purpose of Gorilla Gold is the opposite of a cleaning tack cloth – the product leaves sticky residue in order to increase grip. The adhesive used is made out of beeswax and is non-toxic. Does it work? Yes, but with some drawbacks.
Gorilla Gold certainly combats sweat and humidity while providing a much better grip of the club. The problem that I had was creating a consistent amount of tackiness. The more you rub the cloth on something, the more adhesive is applied. Also, the more elements of the grip to which you apply the cloth, the exponentially tackier they become (e.g., applying to both your grip and glove will be tackier than just applying to your grip).
One problem is that if you apply too much, the adhesive actually backfires – it’s slippery. If you accidentally apply too much before hitting a golf shot, what are you supposed to do? You’re stuck unless your playing partners don’t mind waiting for the product to dry a bit or if you don’t mind wiping the adhesive all over your towel.
The other thing is that the feel of your club changes after using Gorilla Gold (well duh!). I found I would often pull my next shot after using the product. My grip in my right hand would be tackier than it normally was and cause that hand to be more active in controlling the clubface – hence, the ball went left.
In the event that I did get the ‘tackiness level’ correct, the results were good. I swung more relaxedly and had more control of the club, but I’m not sure the product can be used consistently.
One thing Gorilla Gold advertises is that it can be used in the rain. Since it doesn’t rain for months here in Southern California, I haven’t been able to test this out, but this might be a redeeming quality of the product. I’m sure it couldn’t be too tacky in the rain, and most people would do anything to get a better grip in a downpour.
Overall, the product does what it advertises. Further, with the $4.99 price tag, it isn’t much of a risk. Though my Gorilla Gold review isn’t exactly positive, I don’t think I’ve completely given up on it. I’m going to mess around with it a bit more – though not in a money round. I imagine the only way to have a consistent tackiness would be to apply it in the same manner before each shot. If this is possible, it definitely works.