Should You Rely On Custom Grips Or Learn Proper Hand Placement First

Custom grips and grip putty are really popular in the archery world. It is tempting to believe that once you build a grip that fits your hand perfectly, the bow will automatically place your hand in the right position every single time.

The real question is this. Should you rely on a custom built grip to do the work for you, or should you know how to put your hand into the grip correctly on any bow you pick up.

At the Olympic Training Center we spent a lot of time with simple three piece bolt together bows. Think of starter wooden risers with basic factory grips that feel chunky and awkward. Those grips did not help your hand find a repeatable position and they did not feel anything like a custom sculpted grip built for a high level recurve archer.

I once asked Coach Lee if I could put putty on one of those light bows because my hand was sliding all over the place and it felt terrible. Instead of handing me a lump of putty he took the bow, grabbed it by the sight window, and drew it back from different positions on the riser. He showed that no matter where he held the bow he could still place his hand in the correct position with the correct structure and draw the bow smoothly.

The lesson was simple and blunt. The bow or the grip does not decide where your hand goes. You do.

Grips Are Tools Not Crutches

Modern custom grips and putty builds can be amazing. They can fill the hollow in the palm, support your preferred angle, and give you clear edges to reference against your lifeline. They can make a good structure feel even more secure and more repeatable.

The problem starts when the archer uses the grip as a crutch. If you can only place your hand correctly when your favorite custom grip is installed, then there is a gap in your technique. If you switch risers, pick up a different bow, or shoot in bad weather and suddenly your hand feels lost, that is a sign that you have been relying on the grip instead of your own awareness and structure.

You should be able to pick up almost any bow, from a basic Samick style starter to a full competition recurve, and still know exactly how to set your bow hand.

A Simple Drill For Bow Hand Placement

You do not even need a bow to start learning proper hand placement. Try this simple sequence.

1. Hold your bow hand up in front of you like you are telling someone to stop. The back of the hand is flat and facing you.

2. Rotate your knuckles about forty five degrees so the thumb side moves slightly down and forward.

3. Curl your fingers lightly into your palm. Many archers like to rest three fingers against the palm and allow the index finger to rest gently on the front of the riser once they are holding the bow.

In this position the back of the hand stays flat relative to your face and the pressure goes through the pad at the base of the thumb, sometimes called the stump of the wrist. You are essentially setting up for a gentle push up against the grip.

Now imagine placing that same hand into three different spots.

• Into the actual grip

• Onto the sight window

• Near the bottom of the riser

In all three cases you keep the same structure. Stop. Rotate. Curl. Then place the hand. The angle of the knuckles is the same. The pressure point is the same. The fingers are relaxed in the same way.

Once you are consistent with that structure, your hand will stop sliding around. You will not feel like you are fighting the grip or hanging on for dear life. The bow will sit more naturally, and the shot will feel calmer and cleaner.

How Custom Grips Help Once Your Structure Is Correct

When your bow hand structure is solid, custom grips really start to shine. Many high quality grips and custom putty builds are designed to support that forty five degree angle and to cradle the parts of the hand that remain in contact with the riser.

A good custom grip will often

• Fill the gap that appears in the palm when your hand is in the correct position

• Provide a sharp reference edge that lines up with your lifeline

• Help divide the hand so that nothing touches on the pinky side of that lifeline

When you place your hand using the stop and rotate drill, that edge sits right against the lifeline and confirms the angle. The filler material supports the palm without forcing it into a new position. The grip becomes a guide, not the driver.

Brands like Arcore make custom grips for barebow and recurve in many sizes and shapes for different hand types. Once you know your own structure, those features finally make sense and you can choose a grip that actually matches the way you already shoot, instead of trying to fix technique with plastic and putty.

Know Your Hand First, Then Upgrade Your Grip

The takeaway is simple. Learn to place your hand correctly first. Stop. Turn the knuckles. Curl the fingers. Keep the back of the hand flat to your face. Push through the stump of the wrist toward the target. Do this on any bow you can get your hands on, even the ones with terrible stock grips.

Once that structure is automatic, a custom grip becomes a powerful upgrade instead of a crutch. It will help you feel more secure in bad weather, under pressure, and during long tournaments. It will not be a piece of gear you depend on just to get through a basic practice session.

If you want more help with form and hand placement, you can always visit kaminskiarchery.com to learn about our coaching camps, tutorials, and resources. And if we are running one of our equipment giveaways when you read this, you will find all the details there as well.

The bow should never be in charge of your technique. You should.