Professional golf grip techniques will improve your golf game by promoting more consistent shots. If you want to improve your golf game, you must place your hands on the grip of the club correctly. If you want to improve your golf game by becoming more consistent with your shots, you must have your hands on the grip of the club correctly.
Today I’ll discuss how to hold onto the grip for both the putting and ful- swing motion, for right-handed golfers. Since the full swing requires rotation with the hands and forearms and the putting stroke does not, each motion has a different hold on the grip.
The putting hold is usually the one where most are more comfortable and pick up quickly. There are several different ways to hold onto the putter grip.
However, I suggest starting with the traditional hold first, where your left hand is on top of the grip and the right hand is below the left. Hold onto the putter with the palms facing each other and the thumbs going straight down the grip. This will help make the stroke, straight back and straight through to the target, without any wrist break or movement in the hands and forearms.
Then if you find your putting stroke needs help, experiment with some of the nontraditional holds, where the right hand is higher than the left. Again, the stroke should be straight back and straight through, with no rotation in the hands or forearms and finishing with the club face at the target, not turned.
With the full-swing motion, we want rotation with our hands and forearms. To help with rotation, the hands are on the club differently than with the putter. When producing a full swing, I see many people use the same hold as the putter, in their palms and with the thumbs straight down the grip.
Most people don’t know there is a different hold for the full swing. Since the putter hold is usually more comfortable than the fullswing hold, most go back to their comfort zone and continue to practice bad habits.
There are three different ways to hold onto the grip for a full swing. One is not necessarily better than the other. Find one that is a little more comfortable and stick with it.
One way to hold onto the club is the overlap, where the right pinky overlaps between the left index finger and middle finger.
Another is the interlock, where the left index finger locks in between the right index finger and pinky.
Finally, the 10-finger grip is when all 10 fingers are wrapped around the grip.
With all three different full swing holds, unlike with putting, hold onto the grip in the fingers, not in the palms. Also, the fingers should all be touching — no gaps.
To practice the correct hold, take the club and hold the shaft out in front of you first with your right hand, having the shaft parallel to the ground and the club face square with the sole of the club up to the sky.
Now with your left hand, place the heel pad, the pad near your pinky, not your thumb, on the top part of the grip. If there’s a company logo on the top of the grip, go ahead and cover that with the heel pad of your left hand, giving yourself about a half inch gap from the very top of the grip.
Once the heel pad is on the grip correctly, most people will automatically become uncomfortable. They’re not used to that left hand being turned so much toward their right shoulder. This uncomfortable feeling is because they’ve been holding on with the grip in the palm and the heel pad on the side of the club.
Once the heel pad is on top, your left thumb should now be on the right side of the grip. Another visual is that you should be able to see at least one to two knuckles with your left hand.
If you don’t see any knuckles, the heel pad is not on top of the grip and the hand needs to be turned more toward your right shoulder.
Now the right hand should slide up the shaft and cover your left thumb with the “lifeline” or crease of your right hand. Your right thumb should now be on the left side of the grip.
Notice, neither thumb is straight down the shaft. They are opposite. Left thumb right side, right thumb left side of the grip. Now, lower the club to the ground and take small swings, gradually working into bigger swings.
Because of your new hold, you might start feeling your right hand and forearm cross over your left hand or forearm at the bottom of your circle creating rotation. Continue with this rotation without a ball and then try these swings with a ball. The ball should now go straight or produce a little draw because the club face is now square at impact.
However, if you hold onto the club too tight, which you probably will at first due to the new hold, you will still hit the ball off to the right. A good way to check for your pressure in your hands and forearms is to raise the club head to the sky creating the letter “L” with your arms and shaft.
By creating the “L,” you are hinging your wrists and also applying the correct pressure in your hands. This hinge is a great source of power in your swing.
If you find that your hands are usually sore after playing or practicing, you are probably holding onto the club too tight, making the rotation and hinge more challenging to create. This tight hold could be caused from grips that are slippery and old.
Before you invest in new grips, take a wet towel with soap and water and try to wipe off any oils, especially after this heat. If this doesn’t bring the tackiness back to the grip, it’s time to have it replaced.
So the next time you’re practicing and trying to hit straighter shots, check out how you are holding onto the grip. A little adjustment with your hands, can make a big adjustment on the course.
Kristin Sunderhaft is an independent contractor at the beautiful Anthem CC. She offers a two-students-for-the-price-of-one special, with all private lessons. To schedule a lesson with Sunderhaft, contact her by e-mail at kristin@sundergolf.com.
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