How to Remove Golf Grips Without Destroying Them

Changing golf grips can do wonders for your game, but how can you get those pesky grips off of your favorite set of clubs without destroying them? Luckily, there are several tested ways to pry off golf grips without ruining or tearing the material so that they can be reused and recycled on future clubs. The following are three golfer-approved methods of removing golf grips safely and easily.

Air Compression

Attach an air compression machine to your club by inserting a thin air compressor nozzle into the small hole in the cap of your golf club grip. This process will essentially blast the grips off of your golf clubs using air, leaving them intact at the end.

Release air into the club grip, separating the grip from the adhesive. Use caution while performing this step, as too strong a burst of air may tear the grip and make it unusable in the future.

Remove the compressor nozzle and slide the grip off of the club carefully.

Grip Removers

Obtain a grip remover with a spring-rod. Many golf gear manufacturers carry them to aid in removing old grips from clubs. You will also need an adhesive-removing solvent, such as paint thinner or acetone. For ease of application, put the solvent in a squeeze bottle.

Hold your club standing up, so that the grip is resting on the ground. Keep the club steady against your body.

Insert the spring-rod grip remover tool beneath the rim of the grip and work it under the material by twisting it along with the wrapping of the grip. Do not push too hard, as this may tear the grip.

Squeeze solvent into the space created by the grip removal tool between the club and the grip. This will help dissolve the adhesive and make the grip easier to slide off. Keep adding solvent and working the tool around inside the grip until you feel the grip pop free.

Remove the grip tool and twist the golf club in the same direction as the wrapping of the grip until it gets pulled off of the club. Use a club cleaner to wipe off any excess adhesive left behind by the grip.

Solvent Pump

Fill a canister with acetone or another adhesive-dissolving solvent. Insert the needle of the canister into the space between the metal of the club and the grip.

Pump the acetone into the space between the club and the grip, thus dissolving the glue that holds the grip in place.

Insert the needle into several different places around the shaft of the golf club to thoroughly dissolve the glue. Repeat Step 2 until the club breaks free of the glue and the grip slides off.

Warnings

Wear protective gear when handling solvents like acetone.