Improving grip when hands are too dry

[stratedge]

Problem: When I'm playing in the winter, my hands get super dry after a few holes and it translates to very slippery grip against most of the disc plastics. I pretty much cannot at all use a fan grip unless I am using my softer, tackier putter (RFF wizard), and it degrades my ability to snap a forehand throw. Simply wetting my hands with snow or saliva doesn't seem to help, they go straight from too wet to slippery again.

I'm wondering if anyone has some tips for things to use to increase the tackiness of the fingers to aid in fan grip throws?

The one thing I've experimented with is wax (specifically hockey stick wax), which I cut a little chunk off of and I roll it between my fingers, and it helps a bit but it wears off very quickly. It doesn't make my fingers tacky, it just sort of returns them to normal. Thinking about it, what I really want here is a solution that I will continue to use in the summer time too to get a really nice grip on the disc. There's got to be a good solution out there that isn't "sticky" like syrup.

 

[BirdieMachine]

I lick my finger tips then rub off the excess till I get the right amount of grip then throw. I use this on all my shots except putts. I don't sweat from my hands so they are always dry. I've also used-

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11006041

-but it sucks up dust and loses it's grip quickly when that happens. I would say it's a good option if you have nothing else.

 

[xlhammy]

There's a combo of things I do...

1 - I don't know what it's officially called, but I wear an NFL QB style thing-a-ma-jig around my waist that I can put my right hand into between shots. It's basically a hand warmer. (My wife tells me ladies call it a "muff"... but I'm not calling it a muff...lol) I'm RHBH and wear a glove on my left and nothing on my right.
2 - Inside the "non-muff", I have 2-4 of the HotHands handwarmers. Keeps the feeling in my hand so i can feel and throw the discs. This is HUGE. Big difference.
3 - In terms of dryness, I can either reach into my right side coat pocket where I typically have a towel to dry discs and get a little moisture if needed, of you just cup your hand to your mouth like you see pitchers and QBs do and blow some heat in there. (We have a lot of Canada Geese on courses up here that like to leave leftovers everywhere, so for those reasons, I avoid licking... blech!) If there's too much moisture on my hand i either wave it around a bit or brush it up against the thigh on my pants until it's just right and then boom... putt.

 

[Broken Shoulder]

There's a combo of things I do...

1 - I don't know what it's officially called, but I wear an NFL QB style thing-a-ma-jig around my waist that I can put my right hand into between shots. It's basically a hand warmer. (My wife tells me ladies call it a "muff"... but I'm not calling it a muff...lol) I'm RHBH and wear a glove on my left and nothing on my right.
2 - Inside the "non-muff", I have 2-4 of the HotHands handwarmers. Keeps the feeling in my hand so i can feel and throw the discs. This is HUGE. Big difference.
3 - In terms of dryness, I can either reach into my right side coat pocket where I typically have a towel to dry discs and get a little moisture if needed, of you just cup your hand to your mouth like you see pitchers and QBs do and blow some heat in there. (We have a lot of Canada Geese on courses up here that like to leave leftovers everywhere, so for those reasons, I avoid licking... blech!) If there's too much moisture on my hand i either wave it around a bit or brush it up against the thigh on my pants until it's just right and then boom... putt.

It's a muff. :hfive:

 

[knettles]

I agree with xlhammy. Instead of trying to put something on your hands, rely on your hands to keep the moisture. In the winter, I step up to the tee with my disc in my left hand. I then put my right hand in my pocket (which has a hothand on really cold days) and rub my fingers together for a few seconds. It helps warm my fingers and gather a little bit of moisture. This is simple, but has helped for me.

 

[stratedge]

I think I didn't emphasize enough, I'd like to maximize my grip, not just bring my fingers back to normal. Birdiemachine's suggestion is a good one, but I'd like something I apply to my fingers rather than to the disc for exactly the reason cited (would just pick up dirt). What is pine tar like? Could it be applied to the finger tips rather than a disc?

 

[BirdieMachine]

I have considered pine tar as well but haven't used it. I would like to hear how well it works though so if you go that route let us all know!

 

[Martin Dewgarita]

Corn syrup.

 

[Mocheez]

I use the stuff below. Bank tellers use it to sort money. It is a common office supply.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00006XY1N

 

[Discette]

I have considered pine tar as well but haven't used it. I would like to hear how well it works though so if you go that route let us all know!

I use pine tar. It is easy to get at any sporting goods store. A little goes a long way. It works great when my hands are too dry or if they are too wet. In wet weather or dewy mornings, I have to reapply it more often. I have tried sports sprays and rosin bags and nothing works as well as good old pine tar.

 

[Jeff m]

Go to wall-mart and get a pair of football recievers gloves in a size a little smaller then normal " you want them a little tight " . they have amazeing grip .

 

[Jeff m]

Go to Wall-mart and get a pair of football recievers gloves . get a size a little smaller then normal. "you want them a little tight" the grip is amaizing

 

[bradharris]

I lick my finger tips then rub off the excess till I get the right amount of grip then throw.

This is exactly what I do too. Seems to do the trick for me.

 

[Discette]

This is exactly what I do too. Seems to do the trick for me.

This technique is not recommended on courses loaded with goose poop or poison ivy/oak.:gross:

An alternative is to steam up your fingers with your breath.

 

[BirdieMachine]

Pine tar sounds pretty good. I wish I would have tried that before the power tac. I was considering both at the time. You just put a little bit on your finger tips then and it works for every disc? Does it last for a whole round in dry weather? As much as I play I'd hate to be buying a jar every week.

After one throw with the power tac into dirt and it would suck up dust so that kind of sucked. It worked great initially though, I was getting some deep throws with it. No early slip outs.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

I just blow into my hands.. little condensation seems to help'

Im not licking my fingers ever' and stop doing it when you count money :gross:

This technique is not recommended on courses loaded with goose poop or poison ivy/oak.:gross:

An alternative is to steam up your fingers with your breath.

:hfive:

 

[Discette]

Pine tar sounds pretty good. I wish I would have tried that before the power tac. I was considering both at the time. You just put a little bit on your finger tips then and it works for every disc? Does it last for a whole round in dry weather? As much as I play I'd hate to be buying a jar every week.
.

I bought a tube of pine tar probably five years ago and the tube is likely to dry out long before I will ever be able to use it all. I put a little bit directly on my fingers. I may reapply two to three times during a round. I tend to use it more when it is wet than when it is dry.

 

[JC17393]

I play with someone who uses tack cloth for getting a bit of extra grip. He keeps a small square of it, maybe 2 inches by 2 inches, in a small plastic pouch in his pocket. The pouch has a cut-out space so that he can rub the cloth with his thumb and/or fingertips to add just enough tackiness to get a good grip. As far as I know, he uses it year-round to help him get a consistent grip.

 

[Discette]

I play with someone who uses tack cloth for getting a bit of extra grip.

I have tried the tack cloth. I like to have the extra grip an a specific spot on my fingers so the tack cloth is not optimal for me.

The product I use is called Firm Grip Paste. It comes in a 2 oz tube that was purchased in the batting department of Big 5. It starts as more viscous than regular pine tar and you can apply a super small amount to very specific spots.

 

[stratedge]

I use the stuff below. Bank tellers use it to sort money. It is a common office supply.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00006XY1N

That's interesting, can you describe it a bit? Is it wet, or sticky?