50 Words or Less
The Lamkin Z5 grip has five distinct zones to promote proper hand placement, light grip pressure, and an appropriate blend of comfort and performance.
Introduction
After converting to the Lamkin UTx grip two years ago, I’ve been perfectly satisfied in my grip of choice. With my small and weak hands, the corded UTx has been a tremendous all around grip for me, but this hardly means I’m not open to new possibilities. Enter the Lamkin Z5 grip. The Z5 caught my attention because of its different zones for different grip benefits.
Looks
Lamkin‘s Z5 grip is a pretty basic looking grip at first glance. The Z5 comes in either black, red, or blue and all three colors have white accenting. At closer look, the Z5 is fairly interesting in that the five different grip regions all have different appearances, so you feel like there’s something a little more interesting to the grip than just rubber at the end of your golf club.
If you’re feeling a little crazy like me, you can mix it up and put all three colors on your clubs. You can have some fun in impressing people by making up a backstory of the logic behind the use of different colors on all your clubs. (Let us know if it worked in the comment section below.)
Feel
At first grip, the Lamkin Z5 feels great. There’s a noticeable difference between the textures on the bottom and top hand, and the “thumb spot” has a significant presence. The top portion of the Z5 feels very similar to the UTx and the bottom half feels different from anything I’ve previously experienced with Lamkin. It’s soft, but doesn’t feel like the R.E.L. ACE 3GEN grip. The end result is a strong and responsive connection with your golf club.
The “thumb spot” as I call it, or the third zone, is supposed to cause the golfer to put their thumb in the same spot on the grip every time to maintain consistency in how they grip the club. Keep in mind if you’re a label down kind of golfer, this is going to put that thumb spot on the bottom of the club and take it out of the equation.
Performance
In regards to the Lamkin Z5 living up to all the performance benefits as billed, it’s tough for me to say. The thumb panel does help with consistency and might be an interesting “reminder” alternative for players that don’t want to use a rib/spine in their grip. I will say that the Z5 has good grip and stability with no noticeable twisting or torsion issues. The only performance issue I’ve experienced is that the bottom hand can get a little slick when it’s wet. The cord in the top half works well, but with my weak hands I really need to make sure the bottom half is dry and I have a strong grasp if it’s wet.
Conclusion
Can I tell you I’m 100% convinced that I’m going to switch to the Lamkin Z5 grip from my faithful UTx? No, but I still have the Z5 on my clubs following the completion of this review process because they’ve definitely caught my attention with the results I’ve been getting out of my irons. With a strong blend of materials and attention to detail, Lamkin has created an overall excellent golf grip that exemplifies why they are a leader in the grip industry at all levels of the game.
Buy Lamkin Z5 Grips HERE
Lamkin-Z5-16
Lamkin-Z5-15
Lamkin-Z5-14
Lamkin-Z5-13
Lamkin-Z5-12
Lamkin-Z5-11
Lamkin-Z5-10
Lamkin-Z5-9
Lamkin-Z5-8
Lamkin-Z5-7
Lamkin-Z5-6
Lamkin-Z5-5
Lamkin-Z5-3
Lamkin-Z5-2
Lamkin-Z5-1
Bill plays Scott Readman Concepts putters and accessories.
- Puma Ignite PWRADAPT Golf Shoes Review - March 22, 2018
- TaylorMade M3 Driver Review - March 14, 2018
- TaylorMade M4 Driver Review - March 5, 2018
Love the idea of mixing the colors and coming up with a very scientific explanation of why the colors are different. In fact, I already do this to help mentally prepare my swing and setup for different shots: I use one color for my wedges, a different color for my irons and a third color for my hybrids + driver. So far, it’s working!
Ha, I meant it more as a joke, but if it’s working for you that’s great! I typically like to keep them all the same, but hey, I’ll also work with what I have.
What about durability? I ask because my Golf Pride plus4 midsize grips that my buddy put on for me this spring are hard and slick already! This is not the first set of Golf Pride compound grips that have worn out way before they should have, and cleaning and scrubbing does not help revitalize them. Will the Lamkin Z5 grip hold up better? Please advise.
Thanks,
Sammy
Nampa, Idaho
In all honesty, I can’t really speak for their durability. In the long run I needed the grip of the UTx so I went back to those before I really ever flirted with wearing out a Z5. My UTx seems to last awhile so that’s the best I can give you in regards to an ongoing durability statement. So not really a direct apples to apples for you.
Is the “thumb spot” the only zone whose usefulness will be altered for logo-down golfers?
Yep, that’s pretty much all I noticed.