Great Golfing Tips: The Grip

GRIP

GREAT TIP 1:  Don't hold the club too tightly. If you hold it too tightly you’ll struggle to get the clubhead square at impact, the ball will keep low and hook to the left.

Note: These tips are described for right handed players – left handed players will be the same but opposite.

Some people give the analogy of gripping the club in the same way you would grip an egg, whilst others talk about not squeezing the toothpaste out of the tube – both are about right – but only YOU will know how firm to hold it to get the right result.

GREAT TIP 2: To find the ideal grip strength for you – go to your local driving range and do some experimenting. Try holding the club very tightly and see what happens. Then try holding it quite loosely and see what happens. After a while you’ll find the tightness of grip that suits your swing and style of play – one where the ball goes exactly where you want it to.

As a general rule if you grip too tightly the ball will go left and if you grip too loosely the ball will go to the right – try it out and see for yourself.

GREAT TIP 3:  Don’t be afraid to try different things. It doesn’t matter if you use the overlapping grip or the interlocking grip – if it feels uncomfortable or you don’t hit the ball very well – try the other one and see how you get on.

All the instruction books, videos and teachers will tell you how the club should be held – and there’s nothing wrong with that – but to get the best out of YOUR game you have to find out what works for YOU.

EXAMPLE :  A few years ago a top professional golfer – having just topped the Order of Merit and one of the youngest players to have been selected to play in the Ryder Cup at 21 – said his swing was not good enough and decided to change it completely. He changed his grip, his stance and his swing and everyone thought he was mad, but 18 months later he won his first major and then went on to win another 5 after that!

His name? Nick Faldo. Even at that level he wasn’t afraid to make changes and discover what worked for him.