I remember when I was starting out with golf and some old pro would bang on about the importance of getting to grips with the golf club. Man that struck me, at the time, as boring. But they were right, of course, and I curse myself for being a slow learner in this regard when it comes to golf and the grip. How you hold the club handle determines largely your golf swing. Your grip shapes how you hit the ball. This is your connection to the club and through that to the golf ball.
How You Grip The Golf Club Matters
I was at the range the other day and a young guy was hitting balls next to me. He was dead keen, I could tell by the way he went about things, and put a lot of energy into striking those range balls. Unfortunately, most of his shots went hard left into the trees on that side of the practice range. This young fella was fit and had the physical attributes to hit the ball a long way. I didn’t want to bore him with my schtick about golf. I know that to a large extent we all have to make the golf swing journey on our own.
Your Grip Determines The Nature Of Your Golf Shots
However, right at the end of our sessions, as we had both run out of range balls, I said hi. We shared platitudes about the challenges of hitting good shots consistently and had a bit of a laugh at our own expense. Suddenly, I found myself saying that overly strong grip that the kid had would hold him back in golf, as I started with the same kind of grip and persevered with it for years to my detriment. I didn’t harp on it but told him that if he got some professional grip advice and went through the initial discomfort it would pay big dividends going forward with his golf swing. I think he listened but still made it his business to tell me that he would master this game. Good on him, I thought, the young bloke had spirit.
Finally Gripping The Club Correctly
God knows, it has taken me too many years to learn this lesson. My golf grip is finally in a place I can hit some real golf shots. Not wanting to get out of my comfort zone has held me back in that regard for years. What I have learned about golf is that if you are willing to make important changes to grip, stance and swing it will greatly benefit you in the end. Indeed, the more structural and mechanical changes you make the easier it gets to make them. Stubbornly sticking to a strong grip actually encourages things like holding onto the club too tightly and not releasing it through impact. You can tell if this is affecting your golf swing if you always hit balls with a low ball flight and holding greens is a problem with your game. Trajectory control is not really possible with a bad grip.
Knuckling Down To A Good Grip
There will likely be too much tension in your golf swing per se if you play with a real strong grip. It is hard for your wrists to cock properly with this kind of grip. Check out the wear and tear on your golf club and if you get a hole from the butt of the club. This shows too much tension in your grip. That comfort zone is a false feeling because you actually don’t want to be holding onto the club handle that much in your golf swing. Make the change now and see a PGA professional about the correct grip for your hands. It will make a world of difference to your game, now and especially into the future. The number of knuckles you can see on your lead hand determines whether a grip is classified as strong or weak. 2 or 3 knuckles showing is a stronger grip. 1 or none showing is a weak grip.
“A lot of golfers are taught to play with a neutral grip, but if you look around on Tour, you’ll find elite-level golfers using every kind of hold under the sun. Pros know how important it is to match your grip to your swing, or how different holds either exacerbate or mute errors. Try this: Look down at your left hand at address. How many knuckles do you see?”
Real Golf Not For Cavemen
Golf is not about beating the crap out of the golf ball. Your grip is not supposed to be like a cave man holding onto a club to whack someone or something. Let the golf club do the work by gripping it properly so that you can release the club head through the ball. You will begin to hit higher shots around the course and your irons will work as they were designed to do so. Holding greens will not be such an issue and you will strike the ball further too boot. There is nothing quite so satisfying as beholding a perfectly struck shot soaring through the upper reaches and knowing that it was you who made it so. Seeing it hit the green and rolling up near the pin is pretty darn good too.
Getting to grips with the golf club is the first really important part of your golf swing. Everything else stems from that connection. Get the right grip for you for a much more enjoyable golfing life.
RSH
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