PutterZone – Best Putter Reviews
A new way to get a grip will soon appear at your favorite golf retailers. Tocare ( pronounced Toe-Carr-eh) Golf, a brand of Excel Golf Products, Inc., began shipping its Tocare Tour T2 Grip last week after debuting at the PGA Merchandise Show in January. The Tocare Tour T2 Grip features a patent-pending, diamond-shaped internal pattern called Vibration Diffusion Pattern Technology, as well as other stated advancements. Pictured here is a Tocare Tour T2 Grip for putters. In addition to red and black, it comes in blue and black as well as all black. PutterZone.com recently caught up with Michael Herron, business development manager at Excel Golf Products, to get the scoop on this innovative new grip—and to ask if can truly enhance your putting as well as your driving.
What sets Tocare Golf Grips apart from other grips?
When designing the grips, our main objective was to manufacture a high-tech grip that provides various performance-enhancing features. While most grips on the market have one main feature, Tocare Tour T2 Grips offer three technologies. Their Multi Durometer and Multi Compound construction work together to form perfect grip pressure. Top and bottom, the grip is constructed from two different rubber materials. These different materials allow us to offer different “firmness” ratings in each material. So the top of the T2 grip is going to be more firm than the bottom. The idea is the firmer the grip, the less you need to squeeze and the less grip pressure you apply. The third technology is the Vibration Diffusion Pattern built into the core of the grip which reduces vibration.
Please explain this Vibration Diffusion Pattern technology from the standpoint of the average golfer? What can the average golfer expect to feel or experience with your grips? Vibration Diffusion Pattern, or commonly known as VDP Technology, simply reduces the amount of vibration felt at the time of impact between the ball and club head. Almost all golfers have felt that uncomfortable vibration in their hands after a poorly struck shot, and our grips reduce that vibration providing a more comfortable grip. The grip is the only direct contact point one has with their club, so we wanted to design one that offers the ultimate touch and feel.
The putting stroke is much slower and gentler than the golf swing. Is VDP technology effective even at the putting level?
While putting is much slower stroke than a golf swing, VDP Technology is still effective. Vibration is reduced at every level of impact even though it is a lower vibration frequency. Our Tocare Tour Putters are designed with a traditional flat face and, in addition to VDP Technology, they contain Multi Durometer construction to reduce grip pressure and Multi Compound rubbers to provide optimum tackiness and feel.
What are the origins of your VDP technology, and what kind of testing have you performed to prove its efficacy?
We found a sound wave diffusion technology used for decades in high end concert halls and movie theaters used to help eliminate unwanted reverb or echoing of specific sound waves as they bounce off the walls of the building. Our thinking is if they can measure sound wave vibration why couldn’t we measure energized vibration coming through a golf shaft, into a golf grip and into the golfer’s hands? We found a company that could measure that vibration and found a way to apply a number system to the level of vibration coming through the grip. Now that we had a number associated with the vibration we could experiment with the diffusion technology mentioned earlier and attempt to dial in this diffusion pattern to eliminate that specific amount of vibration. Needless to say, our experimenting worked and we dialed in that diffusion pattern, and the result is our patent pending VDP Technology. It is built into the core bar of every Tocare T2 Golf Grip produced and greatly eliminates the vibration coming through a player’s hands when they strike the golf ball. Our independent testing showed vibration was reduced by 40 to 60 percent when compared to other industry-leading grips.
When did you launch Tocare Grips and what kind of feedback have you received so far?
Tocare Golf Grips just started shipping March 15. Their official debut was at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, and the feedback we received at there was incredible. We passed out a large amount of samples that week, and since then we have gotten emails from people who have tested the grip saying that they thought the performance level was great and that they actually did experience less vibration. Golfers are always looking for a new product to improve their game, and Tocare Golf Grips do just that.
Thank you, Michael! According to Michael, the Tocare Tour T2 Grips are now in the distribution channel and will soon be available at most large golf retail chains. Stay tuned here and at www.TocareGolf.com.
