Hi there, this is my first post/topic in BC, although I've visited here almost everyday for the past year or so. Basically, I want to know if the grips have a significant effect on your performance. Below is a short story of what I experienced yesterday and today. For the past few months, I've always had towel grips on my G3 AT700 LTD, 3U, string is BG80 at 25lbs. The grip size felt huge, so the head-heavy feel was almost gone, and I had no problems with arm or wrist pains (except the first day that I used it as it was completely new to me). Yesterday, I changed the grip into Yonex Super Grap 102EX. When I first held the racket, it did become head-heavy like it was supposed to. However, when I started playing, I missed almost every shots, i.e. backhands, clear, drops or even really simple shots, by hitting on the frame. After the session, I experienced wrist pain. Today, I played again. This time, my shots were A LOT more accurate. My arm (Infraspinatus part) is in quite a big pain which I never experienced from using the racket. So my final question is: do the grips change the performance significantly? Or it could be the fact that I didn't get used to it? Or was it because of the head-heavy mechanism from AT700LTD? Thanks for any help!
Grips should not change the performance significantly overall, but if you've changed to a different kind of grip that you're not used to, then you might need some time to get used to it. They can change the head-heavy-ness of your racquet. (i also have an AT7001stgen, that i've made the grip super thick to maybe g2 from a g5 and for sure i dont feel any head-heavy ness anymore) Grips are suppose to allow you feel comfy when holding a racquet so you get maximum control while handling it. About your arm pain, that may just be your form. Changing grips should not suddenly give you arm pain. That's my take, peace.
I know when I added a replacement grip over mine, it changed the balance point back 2cm towards the handle! So yeah, I can imagine it will feel different for a while and may be partially responsible for your slight injury?
Add a overgrip will change the balance point, but the change will depend on the weight of the grip. A towel grip will change more drastically than just a thin synthetic leather grip. However, adding grip will increase the "feel" of the racquet, making the racquet more suitable for your style. My AT700 3rd Gen is 3UG4. I add a thin layer of Yonex overgrip to just slightly increase the grip size and making the racquet more attached to my palm.
