Golf Grip

The grip is the foundation of the golf swing.  This is the only connection point between your body and the club head.  If you want to hit as far as possible off the tee without sacrificing accuracy, it is important to know how to grip a driver.

Ultimately, your goal in adding distance to your shots is to gain club head speed.  The more that you have the fundamentals of the swing in order, the more you will be able to apply complex issues of increasing club head speed.

If you get your grip wrong, you may be making adjustments to your whole swing around the poor grip.  If you get it right, then you can feel confident that the rest of your swing is being built properly.

There are three grip styles: strong, weak, and neutral.

You can use any of the three.  There is not one correct way, but knowing which one you are implementing is crucial.

Most tour pros have a strong grip and most PGA teachers recommend a strong grip.  That will help you gain distance, but it also has its’ downsides.

Below is a definition of each grip type and then I will show you how to make the right choice:

Strong Grip:

A strong grip is when the V formed between your thumb and index finger when grabbing the club at setup point toward your right shoulder (assuming you are right handed).

Weak Grip:

A weak grip would have the V pointing towards your left shoulder.

Neutral Grip:

A neutral grip would have them pointing towards your neck.

Most PGA tour players use a strong grip.  They have the Vs in their hands pointing to their right shoulder which takes loft off of the club and helps them get into a position where their hands come into the ball at impact before the club head does.  This is a great way to gain distance.  The downside is that this creates less consistency.

This does not mean that a strong grip is right for you.  You should test all three and see what works the best for you.  Which one is most consistent?  Which one helps you hit the ball straighter?  Which one helps you add yards?

The key is to know which one works best for you so that you can build your swing around this grip.

If you tend to hit the ball inconsistently and you are mostly looking to increase your accuracy, you may lean towards the weak grip since it will help you hit it straight and keep it in play.  If you are only concerned with hitting it far, try the strong grip.

The only way you can really know how to grip a driver is to get on the range and spend at least one full practice session just focused on the grip.  Try each grip style and hit different shots with each.  Hit drives, hit irons, wedges and even try to shape your shots if you can.  Keep everything else the same and try your best to have little to no swing thoughts.  Just hit the ball as if you are not testing your grip and see if you can notice the difference between each grip.

If you are right-handed and you tend to slice the ball, try strengthening your grip.  If you tend to hook the ball, try to weaken your grip.  Just keep testing it out until you feel comfortable with your grip.  You can always change it later if the new swing you develop complements it, but for now, being aware of which grip is best for you, will help you in building a strong swing foundation.

Tip:   Put a tee in between your thumb and forefinger while practicing at the range.  This will help you see more precisely which way your “V” is pointing so that you know which grip you are using.

Also, pay attention to your grip pressure.  On a scale of 1-10, if squeezing the grip as hard as possible is a 10 and squeezing the grip so lightly that the club falls out of your hands is a 1, you want to grip the club around a 4 or 5 in most cases.  Light grip pressure helps you feel the club head which gives you more control of how your club head makes impact with the ball.

Here is a drill to help you get a feel for the right grip pressure:

Flip the club around so that you are gripping the club head instead of the handle.  Swing this way a dozen times feeling the lack of weight, then turn it the right way and swing.  If your grip pressure is light enough, you will be able to feel the weight of the club head.

Give these lessons a try and establish your correct driver grip.  If you start with a good foundation, your swing will be more consistent and your body will be in a better position to hit the ball farther.

The other teacher would say that it is best to have a light grip.  The point of light putting grip pressure is to have more feel and allow the putter head to do the work.

I researched it and found that the majority of top PGA tour players recommend the latter.  A light grip pressure helps you to feel the weight of the club head.  The more sensitive you are to where your putter head is, the more you allow it to do the work, and the more you are relaxed, comfortable, and confident.

If you hold the putter grip too tight, you will have trouble on your longer putts; especially lag putts.  Imagine locking your wrists and hands during the full golf swing.  You are very limited in how far you can take the club head back.  This significantly limits your distance.  The same is true in putting.  If you have a 70 foot putt and lock your wrists and hands, you may have trouble getting it there.

To perform a light grip on your putter, simply take your normal grip and lift the putter in front of you so that the weight of the club head has a chance to manipulate your hands and wrists.  Make your hands and wrists neutral and flexible.  Then, loosen your grip slowly until your putter drops and falls out of your hands.  Do it again and again until you can barely grip the club.

Now, practice putting with that grip.  This is an exaggeration of the right putting grip pressure.  Ultimately, you want to be about at 5 on a scale of 1 to 10 if 1 was dropping the club and 10 was as tight as you can grip it.

You want to be able to maintain control of the putter, while allowing the club head to do the work.

Here is a good video on putting grip pressure by PGA tour legend, Ben Crenshaw:

How to Grip a Putter:  Conventional Grip

To grip your putter using the conventional grip, place your left hand (assuming you are right-handed) on the left side of the putter handle with the handle running under the butt of your hand.  Place your left thumb on the flat part of the handle which faces the putter head and points to the ground.  The shaft line should go up your forearm.  This will prevent cupping or hinging of the wrists so that you can hit a consistent putt.

Next, place your right hand against the right side of the handle with your palm open and facing the left hand.  Wrap your right hand around the grip so that your fingers are below your left hand and your right thumb is also running down the grip pointed to the ground.

Lastly, move your left forefinger so that it wraps over your right fingers.  This is called the reverse overlap grip and it is used on tour to help maintain consistency.  This may be a little awkward at first since you are probably used to an overlap grip in your full golf swing.

Try this out and practice it for a while.  This is how the pros do it; look closely when you see them on TV.  Be sure to maintain a comfortable posture so that you minimize stiffness which results in inconsistency.

Here is a video I found on youtube that will show you the conventional grip if you are a visual learner:

3 Golf Mental Game Tips

1.  Visualize Your Shot

• By standing behind your ball and seeing the shape of the shot, the trajectory of the ball flight, and the landing spot or outcome of the shot, you will have a better understanding and higher level of confidence as you stand over your ball.  As you watch a PGA tour event, notice how the players take a few moments to look at their ball and then at their target, they are visualizing each shot.

2.  Learn From Each Shot

• Golf is not a game of perfection.  The smallest error causes a change in the outcome of the shot.  Start to track the shape of the ball flight in your mind with each and every shot; on the range and in play.  Make it a habit to learn from every shot.  If the ball shapes to the right when you meant for it to go straight, what in your swing caused that?  On your next shot, before you address the ball, take a few practice swings with the improvement.  Take your shot and now record that shape in your mind.  Eventually, through trial and error, your mind will help you improve your swing as long as you are intentional about recording this stuff in your memory.

3.  Realize What a Privilege Golf Is

• A good portion of people  in the world do not even have enough money to buy food.  We who golf must first have enough food, a place to live, a wide selection of clothes, money to buy a car, money for gas, insurance, etc. in order to get to the golf course to buy a round of golf.  It really is a luxury.  We do not need golf to survive, it is a gift from God.  A chance to connect with his creation, a chance to let go of our frustrations and stress.  What a waste it would be to take the game so seriously, that we get frustrated and stressed out.  Before each shot, thank God for this privilege.

Golf is not a stressful game unless you are not in control of your mind.  When you see the pros get angry, they have a good reason.  They are playing for a living, they have devoted their life to the game and every shot counts.  They are ultra-competitive and should be because they are competing against the best in the world.  That should not be a character trait that we admire and follow, rather we should enjoy the game and not take it so seriously.  Yes, take your job or your business seriously, but then, let go of that when you are on the course and have fun.

What’s interesting is, most PGA players do not get mad and overly stressed, they are in control of their minds.  The blow-up or expression of anger is actually the exception not the rule.  That we should model.

If you have been following my posts about my experience over the last few weeks, you know that I got frustrated because I didn’t add any yards to my drive.  I was hitting more consistently and straight, so I wasn’t dissatisfied, but I just had not accomplished what I had expected to accomplish.

Today, my friends, was a different story.  I had the weekend to rest and I felt good and ready.  I read the eBook as usual and learned today’s drill.  I started hitting balls and I noticed that I was hitting longer than normal.  I was not swinging harder than normal, in fact, I was probably swinging at 80% when I normally swing at about 90% of my capacity.

I got so excited that I forgot about the drill for the day and started hitting long-balls to make sure that I got the feel for the swing that was working so well.  I got into a groove and hit 90% of the shots straight and long.

Before the eBook a few weeks ago, I was hitting the ball on average around 240 yards.  Today I was hitting the ball about 250 yards+ on the fly.  I was rolling out to 270-280 yards.  On my longest drives, I was landing about 270-280 and rolling out beyond 300 yards.  My trajectory was excellent, I had a nice little draw on many of the shots and even the mis-hits were over 240 yards.

I was excited, to say the least.  In fact, I recorded a video right after I finished: