The soft grip revolution is here. At least that’s what industry leader Golf Pride is betting on with the new CPX (standing for Comfort Performance Extreme), their softest performance grip in the company’s 73-year history.

The new CPX is the first grip completely concepted and developed at Golf Pride’s new Global Innovation Center in Pinehurst, N.C. and is constructed from a very soft and responsive rubber compound that molds to the golfer’s hands for the ultimate in comfort and stress relief. The soft and tacky material features a 45-degree EXO diamond-quilted pattern. This new tactile design is raised to maximize contact-area with the golfer’s hands, enhancing performance.

Eric Gibson, Golf Pride’s Head of Global Marketing says the CPX is an incredible engineering feat.

“It took two years to figure out how to make a compound this soft,” Gibson says. “Once we got the compound, we figured out game-changing externally-raised texture pattern.”

The end engineering result of the CPX is a grip that golfers will immediately feel when they put in in their hands.

“We know that golfers of every caliber quest for the ‘right feel’ when they have a club in their hands,” Gibson says. “The new CPX, and the marketing campaign behind it, focuses on exactly that. Golf is hard. There’s a lot to think about. We believe that the right grip can create comfort – for your hands and your mind – regardless of your skill level.”

Founded in 1949, Golf Pride has been a leader in grips for nearly 75 years. However, company isn’t resting in on its laurels and a big shift—in terms of brand marketing and technology—is coming.

With the introduction of CPX, Golf Pride is also unveiling a second new “feel.” The brand’s latest campaign—A Soft Grip for a Hard Game—is an intentional departure from the golf category’s historical focus on performance claims and product specs in marketing materials.

“Golf Pride is in the midst of a reset of expectations for how golfers view our category,” Gibson says. “Golf Pride is sometimes looked at as a company that only produces a black rubber handle for golf clubs—we’re not here for that story anymore.”

Case and point: the new CPX isn’t a black, nor is it rubber—it’s a completely new material that’s predominately grey with a blue topcap. The grip also features Golf Pride’s Control Core technology and comes undersize, standard, midsize and jumbo sizes.

With the CPX grip, Golf Pride will transition from talking about technology to its customers to talking about the experience a golfer has with the feel of the grip in his or her hands.

“It’s a real mindset shift for all of here at Golf Pride,” Gibson admits. “Golfers are going to see a marked different in the way we marketing our brand and our products,” he says, adding, “and at the end of the day, we’re going to have a deeper relationship with our customers.”

The Golf Pride CPX grip is now available at Golf Town stores across the country at a price of $15.99 per grip. For more information, visit your local Golf Town store or online at www.golftown.com