Your grip can make or break your golf swing – it’s that simple. Your hands are your only connection to the club and if they are not positioned correctly, delivering a square face on the shot becomes almost impossible. Here are five common golf grip mistakes to avoid.
Incorrect clamping pressure
Sam Snead famously said, “Hold the club like you had a little bird in your hands.” Not to discredit Snead, but I’ve only held a few small birds, and I certainly haven’t held them like I hold a golf club.
This concept of holding the club too loosely and gently can cause the club to slip during the swing. If you don’t add some pressure to the grip, you may not have enough control over the clubface to hit it square.
The best way to determine how much clamping pressure is sufficient is to test different pressures in the range.
Start by gripping the club with a lot of pressure and hitting a few shots. Now, loosen up a bit and hit some more. Keep experimenting by gradually releasing some pressure until you can consistently release the club and maximize power. Most golfers find a little extra pressure to be helpful in controlling the clubface.
Grip in the palm instead of the fingers
Placing too much grip in the palm of your hand weakens your grip. You will also notice difficulty with wrist hinge and even forearm rotation. The grip should rest on the fingers.
Incorrect hand position (weak or strong grip)
A weak grip is where your hands are turned too far to the left. This position can often lead to an open face at impact.
For a right-handed golfer, a strong grip causes the hands to rotate too far to the right, which can cause the putt or putt low and left. Some players with less hand and wrist strength need a firm grip. The strong grip is great for cutters.
A neutral control tends to work best.
The bottom line is to pay attention to how far your hands have moved left or right on the club.
For a neutral grip, the V shapes formed between the thumb and forefinger on both hands should be directed between the right ear and the right shoulder (for right-handed players).
When you look down at your hand, you should see two to two and a half knots in your left hand.
On the interlacing of fingers
It’s one thing to lace your fingers at the club. It’s another to force it.
The lock (for a right-handed player) simply allows the index finger of the left hand and the pinky finger of the right hand to come together.
If you drive too deep in that position, your hands will turn right into the club. This creates a grip that is very strong and your miss is often left and low.
Close your fingers and then let them be. Don’t force it.
If you overlap your fingers, hold the pinky on the tip of your index finger. Don’t let it start digging into the space between your two fingers.
Positioning the thumb on the handle
Finally, look at the thumb on your right hand (right-handed player). If it is too far to the left side of the club, you can compromise your control over the club face. This results in inconsistent ball contact and flight paths.
Leave your thumb positioned slightly to the left of the center of the grip. Keep it flat and do not wrap it completely. This will give you stability without interfering with a wrist hinge while swinging.
Final thoughts
Now, stop pretending you’re holding a bat in front of you as you read this and go to the range. Make some slight changes to your grip and see if it helps you have more control over the clubhead. Large grip changes can crash your game. However, you can make small changes like these in the range before you go out to play.
Post Are you holding the club wrong? 5 Golf Grip Mistakes to Avoid appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
