Learning how to put a grip on a hurley correctly is one of the most important parts of your preparation.

It’s a skill in itself because making sure your grip is secure, tight and feeling comfortable in your hand is crucial.

We have enlisted the help of Dublin Camóige star, Ciara Tierney to demonstrate how to do it correctly.

If you like GAA content, you might like our Best GAA Players of All Time blog.

How to put a grip on a hurley

Step 1

Before using the new grip, remove the old one.

The hurley may slip in your hands while playing if the grip wears off over time from use. Peel the covering entirely off the grip by pulling one end of it away from the handle.

If the hurley feels sticky or looks to be dirty, clean it before adding the new grip tape.

With a cotton ball coated in alcohol, clean the ash.

Alternately, rub the hurley with a dampened towel that has been lightly soaped; then, using a fresh, damp washcloth or rag, remove the soap off the handle.

Step 2

Start by rolling out the tape or wrap and take ff the backing at the narrow end to reveal the sticky side of the grip.

Pull about half of the backing off first and make sure you start at the narrow/tapered end of the grip.

If you’re right handed, generally people will hold the tape in their right hand and the hurley in the opposite.

Some like to tuck the hurley underneath their left armpit for security or some will hold it vertically.

Step 3

With the tapered end, stick the grip about half way up the butt of the hurley and start to wrap the grip around the back or the top of the hurley towards the back of the butt with a little stretch in the grip.

Keeping a good stretch on the grip, you then want to overlap the point where you stuck it the hurley, before bringing it back around just below the top of the hurley.

Next circle you want to just slightly overlap the part where you started, making sure you keep a good stretch on the grip at all time.

Overlap around ¾ of the first layer as you work your way down the hurley.

The second turn overlap a half and gradually phase it out.

Step 4

Keeping a good stretch all the time on the grip, you want to barely overlap each layer of the grip as you circle it around the handle of the hurley.

The most important part here is to keep a good stretch on the grip and ensure you are barely meeting the grip already wrapped around.

Pull off the backing as you need to.

Step 5

When you have finished unwrapping the full grip on the hurley, get a little bit of insulation tape to the secure the end of the grip onto the hurley.

For a full-length grip, you will get comfort right up at the butt of the hurley thanks to the overlapping method.

Wrap the grip over the hurley handle as smoothly as you can; bumps or separations can interfere with your grip on the paddle and may impair your performance during a game.

Conclusion

Practice makes perfect in gripping your hurley.

So take your time and make sure it’s correct, because there is nothing worse than finding out it’s not when you’re in the middle of a match.

Check out our hurley grip range below.