Developing a Good Grip
As promised last week, today we begin on our mythical journey towards developing a reliable and effective golf swing. Over the coming weeks we will touch on subjects from club selection to hitting a draw and a fade, but today we begin with the most elemental portion of everyone’s golf swing regardless of their skill or ability… “the grip.”
From the outset everyone who attempts to learn this game should put every effort into acquiring a sound grip that can be used for the rest of their golfing life. Developing a poor grip early in golf will severely limit your playing potential. With a good grip, you have a solid foundation on which to build the rest of your game, and be able to play good-quality golf all your life.
What is the basis of a good grip? I subscribe to the time honored rule of having the “V’s” formed when you close the thumb and forefinger of each hand point toward the right shoulder. Accomplishing this configuration provides the right amount of flexibility in the hands, plus the necessary control over clubface alignment at impact.
To create this union of hands and club, you should hold the club with the fingers of the left hand. Specifically the club runs from the juncture of the palm and the last two fingers, across the lowest section of the middle finger and the middle section of the index finger. The left thumb should ride just to the right of the center of the grip. The ideal position of the right hand has the palm facing the target. This will have the club lie in the fingers for the right hand. The right thumb will lie diagonally across the grip with only the inside in contact with the club.
To make our hands work in unison they must be joined together. This is where we get the interlocking grip or the overlapping grip. You connect your hands with the little finger of the right hand and the crevice formed by the index and middle finger of the left hand. There is no proven “better” choice between the two, a players hand size and strength will play a factor into which one will work best, but you should select the one that feels most comfortable to you.
Even the best hand placement can be ineffective if hand pressure on the grip is too great. An overly tight hold on the club is far more common that an overly loose one, and is due for the most part to anxiety. When we worry about the consequences of our shots we tend to tense our muscles. That tension almost invariably centers on our hands and thus our grip. Relax your hands on the club and your results will greatly improve.
No great swing actions were discussed in this week’s column, but none the less this is critical information into our progress as a golfer. After all none of us learned to drive without first learning to put the key into the ignition. Spend some time on your grip this week and I look forward to taking another step with you next Tuesday.
Fairways and Greens!
