SET UP - THE GRIP
A good grip is one of the most important fundamentals in golf. The correct grip allows your body to function in the manner required to strike the ball properly. However, teaching someone to hold the golf club properly is not as straightforward as you might think. Much has been written about the way you should hold the club and much of it in my opinion is way off the mark and misleading. I see many golfers with poor grips and this is mainly due to ignorance, misinterpretation, poor advice or a combination of all three.
In my experience golfers tend to struggle more with the left hand. The number one fault with the left hand grip is that people have too much of the grip pressure between the thumb and fingers and this makes it impossible to hold the club in the correct way.
Most golfers have the club angled upwards through the hand and almost pointing through their arm, which is wrong. These two pictures illustrate how a golfer often misinterprets how they should hold the club with their left hand. The picture on the left shows how the club is angled too much from the end of the forefinger towards the palm of the hand. The picture on the right shows how the grip pressure is being applied between the ends of the fingers and the underside of the thumb. Also, can you see the large gap between the end of the club and the little finger? This is a key indicator of a faulty left hand grip.
Both of these are completely wrong. Use these pictures to check your not doing the same.
A good grip is one of the most important fundamentals in golf. The correct grip allows your body to function in the manner required to strike the ball properly. However, teaching someone to hold the golf club properly is not as straightforward as you might think. Much has been written about the way you should hold the club and much of it in my opinion is way off the mark and misleading. I see many golfers with poor grips and this is mainly due to ignorance, misinterpretation, poor advice or a combination of all three.
In my experience golfers tend to struggle more with the left hand. The number one fault with the left hand grip is that people have too much of the grip pressure between the thumb and fingers and this makes it impossible to hold the club in the correct way.
Most golfers have the club angled upwards through the hand and almost pointing through their arm, which is wrong. These two pictures illustrate how a golfer often misinterprets how they should hold the club with their left hand. The picture on the left shows how the club is angled too much from the end of the forefinger towards the palm of the hand. The picture on the right shows how the grip pressure is being applied between the ends of the fingers and the underside of the thumb. Also, can you see the large gap between the end of the club and the little finger? This is a key indicator of a faulty left hand grip.
Both of these are completely wrong. Use these pictures to check your not doing the same.
Let me show you my system for ensuring a top quality grip. We'll start with the left hand. The angle the club travels through the left hand is the most important point. The angle of the club should be across the base of the fingers. This is essential. It should run from the middle knuckle of the forefinger to a point just below the base of the little finger.
Firstly, hold the club in the middle of the shaft with your right hand and point the grip end at the ground now make a normal fist on the club and then point your left thumb straight down the shaft. Your left hand should now feel in unison with the club. Next slide your left thumb fractionally upwards, this will alleviate the tension and should move the left thumb very slightly to the right on the club. The heel of your left hand and the end of your left thumb should be almost in line with the shaft of the club, this is a key point to ensure the correct hold of the club with the left hand. Make sure the fingers of your left hand are wrapped evenly around the club and your thumb is laid flat against the club. You should now have the perfect left hand position.
The right hand is held more in the fingers, similar to a tennis racket. It should fit onto the club at more of an angle than the left and is approximately 45%. The wrist should be high up so that the left thumb is completely covered by the pad beneath your right thumb. Check your right thumb position it should be slightly to the left of the club in a natural position. Your right forefinger should feel as if it were in a trigger of a gun.
Your grip pressure is another vital element in holding/gripping the club correctly. My best tip here is to try and grip the club with approximately a five out of ten pressure on your strength meter and maintain this throughout your entire swing. Try to ensure that your hands are next to one another with no gaps between them.
There are three types of grip you can use to hold the club, vardon, interlocking or the baseball grip. I don't really mind which one you use, as long as you are gripping the club properly with both hands.
Okay it's question time. This one is fairly simple.
When a golfer grips the club what should the correct grip pressure be?
A, Approximately 5 out of ten?
B, Approximately 6 out of ten?
C, Approximately 8 out of ten?
Firstly, hold the club in the middle of the shaft with your right hand and point the grip end at the ground now make a normal fist on the club and then point your left thumb straight down the shaft. Your left hand should now feel in unison with the club. Next slide your left thumb fractionally upwards, this will alleviate the tension and should move the left thumb very slightly to the right on the club. The heel of your left hand and the end of your left thumb should be almost in line with the shaft of the club, this is a key point to ensure the correct hold of the club with the left hand. Make sure the fingers of your left hand are wrapped evenly around the club and your thumb is laid flat against the club. You should now have the perfect left hand position.
The right hand is held more in the fingers, similar to a tennis racket. It should fit onto the club at more of an angle than the left and is approximately 45%. The wrist should be high up so that the left thumb is completely covered by the pad beneath your right thumb. Check your right thumb position it should be slightly to the left of the club in a natural position. Your right forefinger should feel as if it were in a trigger of a gun.
Your grip pressure is another vital element in holding/gripping the club correctly. My best tip here is to try and grip the club with approximately a five out of ten pressure on your strength meter and maintain this throughout your entire swing. Try to ensure that your hands are next to one another with no gaps between them.
There are three types of grip you can use to hold the club, vardon, interlocking or the baseball grip. I don't really mind which one you use, as long as you are gripping the club properly with both hands.
Okay it's question time. This one is fairly simple.
When a golfer grips the club what should the correct grip pressure be?
A, Approximately 5 out of ten?
B, Approximately 6 out of ten?
C, Approximately 8 out of ten?