The Complete Guide to the Golf Grip
The most comprehensive introduction to golf grip and will help you with all your doubts and questions about golf grip.
Simple and clear instructions and guidance. Summary of information from authoritative PGA coaches and websites.
- How to Grip A Golf Club
- Comparison of Different Grip Styles
- Optimize Grip to Get the Desired Ball Flight Path
- Strong and Weak Grip
- Weak & Strong Grip Tips: Get More Club Head Speed
- Weak & Strong Grip Tips: Improved Accuracy
- Proper Putting Grip
Let's do it step by step now!
How to Grip A Golf Club
The right grip leads to a better swing and feel in your hand. Desirable swing paths and ball flight paths. More distance, more accurate direction. The basis for all of this is how to hold the club correctly.
1.) Start by extending your left hand and placing the club on top.
2). Grip the club and leave a half-inch at the end of the club.
At this point, check that the V shape is formed by the tips of your thumb and forefinger (shown here).
"V shape" should be pointing toward your right shoulder. You can see at least two knuckles.
3). The right hand is under the left hand, and the right hand's meat pad ( the circle in the picture) is on the left thumb.
There are many factors that affect proper grip such as the length of a golfer's hand, the flexibility of the wrist, etc., and this post is a complete demonstration of all the factors and how to optimize your grip for your particular conditions.
Pro Golfer Grip Tips: 9 Factors That Affect Proper Grip
Comparison of Different Grip Styles
There are several common grip styles in golf: Interlocking Grip, Overlap Grip, Baseball Grip, Reverse Overlap Grip, and Ten finger Grip.
1). Interlocking Grip - Excellent holding stability
The little finger of the upper hand and the index finger of the lower hand are crossed.
This type of grip provides tighter grip stability and is used by both beginners and experienced players.
2). Overlap Grip - Greater Control
The little finger of the upper hand over the index finger of the lower hand.
The overlap grip provides decent comfort and stability.
If you are a player with larger hands or looking for comfort, go for the overlap grip.
3). Baseball Grip (also called Ten finger Grip)
All fingers on the club handle, not crossed.
The baseball grip is rarely used on the golf course today and is only used when putting.
4). Reverse Overlap Grip
The lower hand's little finger is on top of the index finger of the upper hand.
Some golfers prefer this grip, which reduces wrist movement during the swing.
As you learn about all the grip styles, you may often hear other golfers discussing using strong, weak, and natural grip.
Optimize Grip to Get the Desired Ball Flight Path
There was a time when I wanted to find a standardized position on the golf swing.
So, I opened up YOUTUBE to check out the swings of the PGA pros. Even though they all had great scores, the swings were different.
Then I learned that they would control the club face by adjusting their hand postures to achieve the desired golf ball flight trajectory height and distance, etc.
Adjusting the hand position on top of the golf grip, some to the left and some to the right, golfers usually call it a strong grip and a weak grip.
Strong and weak grips cause the clubface to close or open and will produce different flight paths.
Strong and Weak Grip
Do you remember the V-shaped thumb and forefinger tips pointing toward the right shoulder mentioned in the grip check?
A strong grip is the "V shape" which is more angled to the right, allowing more finger joints to be seen.
A weak grip is a "V-shape" that is angled more to the left, with fewer knuckles visible.
STRONG GRIP
Benefits of Strong Grip
- Greater Power: The stronger golf grip because of the greater strength of the left hand can bring more power to the swing, thus creating a longer distance to hit the ball.
- Reduced Slice: Slice is usually far from targetability, and the strong grip usually avoids Slice.
- Lower Hitting Height: A low-angle tee shot is often required on special courses where there are tall trees covering the situation.
Cons of Strong Grip
- Tense Left Hand: The left-hand muscles are under constant tension and need to be acclimatized by the golfer.
- Too Much Draw: Many golfers who over-adjust their hand rotation angle to the right will hit too much draw.
WEAK GRIP
Benefits of Weak Grip
- Feels More Natural: This grip allows the hands to be more relaxed and comfortable, avoiding the tension associated with a strong grip.
- Refuse the Hook: The club face opens up to avoid hooks and reduces hooks caused by insufficient waist rotation.
Cons of Weak Grip
- More Slice: Using a weak grip can cause a slice if the open-face angle is too wide or the swing is too early!
- Weakness of Control: Weak grips can make for poor hand stability, causing problems such as unstable swings, chaotic movements, and poor shot placement.
Whether you choose a strong grip, a weak grip, or a natural grip. It's all about keeping the clubface square at the moment of contact with the ball.
Finding the right grip angle for you requires a lot of practice with your swing.
You can also get a professional coach to help you analyze your swing, and you know that lots of swinging is often a more effective way to improve your technique.
Weak & Strong Grip Tips: Get More Club Head Speed
Faster club head speeds lead to longer hitting distances. There are many things that affect club head speed, but grip is one of the most important factors.
Wrist movement adjustments are also much simpler than chest and waist movement adjustments.
1. How strong and weak grips impact club head speeds
- Strong Grip: When holding the club with a strong grip, tense wrists, and arms cause the swing to become stiff. It affects the release of power during the swing.
- Weak Grip: It doesn't restrict wrist movement too much during the swing and can be more effective in helping to release power from the club head.
Whether using strong or weak grips, the core of increasing club head speed is proper hand pressure to ensure swing fluidity
2. Reduce your grip pressure (Grip The Club Lightly)
Holding your club lightly allows your wrists, arms, shoulders, and hips to rotate freely during the swing to generate more power.
In contrast, too much pressure can lead to stiffness in the muscles of the body and an unnatural swing.
How to practice:
- Preparatory Action: Find a wide open area and adopt your normal grip and standing position
- Grip Hard Swing: Grip the club hard and start swinging. You will hear the sound of the club cutting through the air. Swing it back and forth a dozen times.
- Grip Lightly and Swing: Grip the club gently and begin to swing the club. Feel if the swing is faster and the sound of the air becomes louder!
- Swing Test: Swing and check for changes in ball speed and accuracy.
After practicing a few times, you may be able to master the strength of your grip on the club for long-distance shots.
Weak & Strong Grip Tips: Improved Accuracy
By understanding the position of the hands and the direction of the clubface. Whether you use a strong or weak grip you can control your swing accuracy.
The Club Face is Square:
The club head is parallel to the target line at the moment of impact. The ball is likely to fly along the target line, thus enhancing accuracy.
You need to make sure that the club-face is square (close or open) when you hit the ball, if not you need to adjust your hand position.
Adjust the Hand Position:
When the clubface is closed or open we need to adjust our hand position to optimize the clubface.
- If your clubface is closed, adjust your hand V-shape to turn left.
- If your clubface is open, adjust your hand V shape to turn to the right.
Proper Putting Grip
People tend to neglect to put practice and wait until the green is fit to start making putt after putt.
By USGA stats, even the pros need an average of two putts per hole. That's an average of 32 putts per round.
There are three common putter grip: Conventional Grip, Cross-Handed Grip, and Claw Grip.
Conventional Grip
Most of the pros use a traditional putter grip, Tiger Woods as well as Rory McIlroy.
Cross-Handed Grip
If you don't like using a traditional putter grip, especially if you tend to lose your sense of direction when putting.
You can try using this approach, which is pretty much the opposite of a traditional grip.
Claw Grip
The biggest advantage of the claw grip is that it reduces left-handed interference and has good stability.
Many golfers use a variety of putting grips. You can switch between putter grips to try out new sensations!