During your golf rounds, have you ever asked yourself what the best way to grip a golf club is? There’s not one golfer who grips the same way, in fact, most people don’t put much thought into the grip, and think that it has little impact on the game.
This belief is wrong, and you should put a lot of thought into how you grip your club.
A proper grip can help you eliminate that nasty slice, make you hit the ball more consistently and improve your game allround.
Read on to learn more about improving your grip and in turn your game!
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How To Grip A Golf Club Properly
So, where do we start? There are several approaches to this, but here is ours.
It all starts with your current grip. Are there any areas where you feel like you could improve? This could be a small discomfort that you would like to get rid of. Or the feel of pushing or pulling the ball when you hit it. Maybe your confidence just isn’t there when you’re standing there looking down at the ball.
Depending on what your struggles are, you might need to consult with a pro, but test out some things yourself first.
When you’re ready to pick up your club, hold it up in the air with the grip pointing downwards. Get ready to grab the club with your left hand if you’re a right-handed golfer. You should grip by placing the fingers first, then the pad and lastly the thumb.
Make sure that there is a bit of space between the thumb and the index finger, to make a good hinge movement. This will be the most natural wrist alignment and contribute to making your swing effortless but with force. Check out the video below featuring Michael Breed from Golf Pride.
Next up is correct gripping with the right hand. Lay it over your left hand with or without overlap of your left-hand index finger and right-hand little finger. It should fall naturally into place with a V-shape pointing down towards the clubhead.
There are many different ways to grip a golf club, and the above is just one of many iterations.
One advice from us is to not experiment too much with the golf grip without proper research beforehand. There are so many things that can go wrong, and it can be quite hard to comprehend what it is, without extensive knowledge.
How To Hold A Golf Club For Beginners
There are many ways to grip a golf club, so here we’ll go through a for golf grip tips for beginners.
- First and foremost, choose a grip that is comfortable for you.
It is very important that you are relaxed and feel good when preparing to strike the ball.
- Second, grab the club with your dominant hand – most golfers are right-handed. Then place your non-dominant hand first.
Grabbing the club with your dominant hand makes it possible for you to place the non-dominant hand first. You should grab the club so that the butt end of the grip protrudes about an inch out from your little-finger.
- The thumb of your non-dominant hand should now lay on top of the grip but a little to the opposite side. Make sure that the hand is moved slightly too, not just the thumb.
This allows for great hinge-movement on the top of the swing, for maximum power.
- Next, you’ll place your dominant hand on top of your other hand. It should be placed so that it is also moved slightly to the other side.
As you might have noticed both hands are moved slightly to the opposite side – meaning the right hand is moved slightly towards the left on the grip – and vice versa.
This is a simple yet effective method to get the most out of your grip. Feel free to ask questions in the comments below.
How To Grip A Golf Club To Fix A Slice Or Hook
There are A LOT of things in your golf swing that can impact the spin and in turn whether you’ll slice or hook the ball.
Be sure to be on top of your grip, as that’s a relatively easy fix. This is because you are in control of how you place your hands, and it can be much harder to be totally in control of your whole swing path. Naturally, because you can’t see the club while swinging it.
One key element that can impact slicing or hooking your shot is the placement of the non-dominant hand.
We will use a right-handed golfer as an example for explaining this.
If your non-dominant hand is too much to the side of the club, so the thumb is too much to the left, you will be prone to slicing the ball. This is because the clubface is easier opened. While your swing path might be straight an open clubface will put a spin on the ball and send it right.
If your non-dominant hand is rotated too much to the right, you will be prone to closing the clubface during the swing causing a hook.
This video explains it very nicely in detail.
How Tight To Grip A Golf Club
Some golfers have a tendency to grip the club tightly when something is wrong in their hand placement or they need to really launch the ball with all their power.
If you have a decent grip on the club and a good glove, it should not be necessary to grip with extensive force.
Actually a relaxed grip will be most beneficial to you since you won’t be too tense in your muscles during the swing. Being too tense will lead to not swinging freely, and can cause a number of collateral damaging incidents. So have a golf grip too strong or tight is not advisable.
If you do feel like you grip your golf club too tight, but you can’t find your way out of it, try some of the above suggestions, or get some advice from your local PGA professional.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
What’s The Difference Between A Strong Grip And A Weak Grip In Golf?
When talking about a strong grip it refers to both hands being rotated away from the target. A strong grip can be beneficial in several occasions. It will lead to a more closed clubface at impact giving the ball a lower flight path and it reduces the tendency to slice the ball.
A weak grip is – funnily enough – the opposite of a strong grip, and where your hands are turned towards the target. The weak grip will produce a higher ball flight and help if you hook the ball and want to battle that.
Your swing plane and whether you swing inside-out or outside-in will play a part in choosing whether to go with the strong or weak grip. An inside-out swing with a weak grip is a dangerous combination. The inside-out swing will send your ball on a path right of the target but curving to the left. Then there’s a high chance of also spinning the ball even more to the left with the weak grip.
So be aware and also try to find out in what category your swing falls.
Does Grip Pressure Affect The Golf Swing?
The short answer is yes. Having an increased grip pressure will limit you in your golf swing. It can both have an impact on the accuracy and the distance of your shots.
With unwanted tension in the muscles, your natural swing will be limited, and that might cause you to hit the ball with an open or closed clubface because you are constrained in your swing and you won’t be able to release properly through the ball.
You will also be limited in the total arc of your swing, and quite possibly you won’t be able to leverage the full potential of your powers since you put effort into tensioning some of your stabilizing muscles.
How Does The Actual Grip Affect The Golf Swing?
Having a good grip on the club is very important. Not only will it help you hold on to the club, but modern-day grips also come with various alignment aids and such. If your grips are several years old, chances are that they’ve become stiff and the tacky feel is gone.
There’s also the possibility that the size of the grip isn’t one fitting you at all. So there’s plenty of reasons to pay attention to what grip you’re using.
If you’re on the lookout for new grips, check out our article on the subject. You can even exchange the grips yourself at home with minimum requirements for tools and space.
