I’m not sure about you, but here in South Florida, from about mid-May until mid-October, the humidity can be unbearable. Playing golf or any other type of sport here during those 150 days can be quite the challenge. Sweat and perspiration is a huge issue, so when it comes to holding onto the club, golf gloves can only do so much; you need all the help you can get. Enter – Chalkless Grip Enhancer.
Their Story:
The inventors of Chalkless – Greg Pope and James Pidhurney are recreational athletes like most of us… but unlike most of us, they are chemical and coatings experts. Yep, they work on things like fighter Jets and Nuclear Submarines. One day, while playing Greg couldn’t grip his racket due to sweat. Looking down at his glistening hands, a proverbial light bulb went off, “I work with coatings that protect nuclear submarines and rockets from extreme heat and moisture. Why not hands? Slippery grip is just a coating problem.”
Early in the process, they learned the root cause of poor grip wasn’t actually sweat. In fact, it had more to do with the glands in our hands that produce oil to moisturize our skin. And when this oil combines with sweat or any moisture, grip suffers. They began experimenting with different varieties of materials that were “Oleophilic” (oil absorbent) as well as “Hydrophobic” (water repellent). After two years of R&D work, Chalkless was invented. They could give athletes an edge when competing, and the goal was to make the world’s most trusted and effective grip enhancer.
PGA Show
While walking the show floor at the PGA Show looking for interesting new products, we randomly met the guys from Chalkless, who had their own booth display. We were curious to see what the product was about, so we did their grip test set up at the booth, but being skeptical of how it could handle the South Florida humidity, they agreed to send over some samples during the summer. The samples arrived in late August, right in the heart of the hot & humid weather. In fact, it rained for about two weeks straight so no golf was happening right away, but we finally were able to test the product a few weeks later out at Osprey Point Golf Course in Boaca Raton, Florida.
Testing
On the day we played, the heat index was 108 degrees, so there wasn’t going to be a better time to see how legit the product is. We applied the granular Chalkless substance as directed while our hands were clean and dry before the round. By the time we were on the third tee, I was soaked with sweat, but my hands and grip on the club were still secure. This is about the time where I’d be reaching for glove number two, but both hands were still relatively free of any moisture, with no slippage. By hole six I started to notice a some moisture in my right hand (this is my gloveless hand), but it wasn’t really effecting performance yet. By hole 9 the Chalkless definitely needed to be reapplied, but I had only brought the one sample packet. I was told later by the Rob Morang of Chalkess, “I would think 6 holes in those conditions is pretty good.”
Our second test, just a week later, was under similar conditions, but it was breezy and cloudy. We were able to get nearly 12 holes out of that application. Morang informed me, “The cost of applying Chalkless 3 times for 18 holes would likely be less than $1.” That was all I needed to hear: an effective product that enhances performance at a cost anyone can afford.
If you live, or are traveling to somewhere that has hot/humid conditions, consider checking out Chalkless used for Tennis, Golf, Pickleball, Weightlifting, Cross-Fit, Baseball, Softball, BasketBall, Climbing, Bouldering, Track & Field, Yoga, Gaming, Musicians, Construction, Hunting, Fishing and Military.
