A protective pad to be employed by a person engaged in athletic activity utilizes to protect the user's hands formed from a very thin rectangular piece of rubber having a thickness of approximately 0.032 inch. On the top side of the protective pad are located treads upraised from the top surface of the pad. The treads are evenly spaced and approximately ½ inch apart and have triangular cross sections. The bottom side of the protective, which is the side placed against the grip portion of the piece of athletic equipment, is generally flat and has a tacky surface. The user wraps the protective pad around the grip portion of the piece of athletic equipment with the bottom tacky side of the pad adjacent to the grip.