The golf grip is the only physical connection between the club and the golfer. Gripping the club too tight can cause weak, slicing shots. A lighter grip pressure enhances wrist hinge, a vital power source.
Grip Styles and Maintenance
Types of Grips
There are 3 main styles of golf grip used by pros:
- Overlap grip
- Interlocking grip
- Ten finger grip
How you grip the club determines if you will slice, hook, or hit a nice draw. Comfort takes time, and like Tiger Woods said, you should feel as if born to hold a club.
Grip Maintenance
Replace grips every 40 rounds or annually. Proper finger contact ensures correct sizing. Match shaft length to your height and strength.
Grip Effect on Performance
The grip affects power, accuracy, and consistency. It controls club speed, direction, and face angle. Changing your grip feels uncomfortable at first but brings long-term improvement.
Set up neutral grips with V’s in both thumbs pointing to your nose. Rotating one V toward your ear makes a strong grip; toward your shoulder makes it weak.
Check knuckles on the lead hand. One visible knuckle indicates a weak grip; more indicate a strong one. Consider undersized grips for women and juniors with smaller hands.
Grip Consistency Across Clubs
For the most part, you will want your golf grip to remain the same anytime you grip a club, except when putting. A putting grip changes, with one finger down the shaft for stability.
Learning the Correct Golf Grip
How should my golf grip look? Getting the left-hand grip right is crucial, as it determines the club movement throughout the swing. A grip trainer can be beneficial for practicing.
Women and juniors should always play with undersized golf grips due to their generally smaller hand sizes.
Common Questions on Golf Grips
How tight should you hold a golf club?
You should hold the golf club with the same pressure as holding a small bird: tight enough so it doesn’t fly away, but soft enough so you don’t crush it.
What are the basics of a golf swing?
Golf Swing Basics involve merging the twist of the body with the arms lifting the club over the right shoulder into one fluid golf swing motion.
Fine-Tuning Your Grip
In this post, we will look at the difference between strong vs weak vs neutral golf grip. The grip should run down your fingers and palm in your lead hand, while the palm of your trail hand sits just on top of it.
When buying new clubs, don’t overlook the importance of the right shaft and grip that suits your game.
Learn from Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods started with a strong grip and later switched to a neutral grip for consistency. Jack Nicklaus also uses a neutral grip well with his interlocking style. Maintain the same grip changing clubs, except with putting.
Hold the club like a small bird: firmly but gently, and keep arms loose, allowing hands and wrists to dictate body motion for better strikes and power.