John Daly arrived at the 1991 PGA Championship as the ninth alternate. He hadn’t played a practice round at Crooked Stick and his caddie, Jeff Medlin, reportedly kept giving him a pretty simple instruction: “Kill it, John.”
Daly did. He won by three shots and, when asked afterward how he would describe the way he played golf, his answer was just as simple: “Grip it and rip it.”
The phrase became part of Daly’s identity but is it good advice for the rest of us?
I’ve always been a believer in speed
When I was younger, my grandfather always told me to hit the ball hard. I’ve given my kids similar advice as they’ve learned the game. I’d rather see them learn how to create speed and then figure out how to control it than spend their early years trying to steer the golf ball around the course.
Speed is a good thing to have.
Does that mean I think you should stand over every driver and swing as hard as you possibly can? No. But I think the basic idea behind “grip it and rip it” has more merit than golfers sometimes give it credit for.
We tested what happens when golfers swing faster
MyGolfSpy tested this exact idea in 2022. Fifteen golfers hit driver using three different intentions: a fairway-finder swing, their normal swing and a fast swing.
Every golfer in the test gained carry distance when they swung faster. One 66-year-old 14-handicap golfer gained 34 yards.
As you would expect, there was a tradeoff. The fairway-finder swing produced the highest Straight Shot Percentage and Playable Shot Percentage. When golfers swung faster, dispersion increased.
However, the faster swings still produced an 82-percent Playable Shot Percentage and the additional distance helped from a Strokes Gained perspective. Backing off may help you hit a few more fairways but that doesn’t automatically make it the better scoring strategy.
“Rip it” doesn’t mean lose control
There is a difference between swinging fast and making a swing you can’t control.
If trying to find another five mph causes you to lose your balance, miss the center of the face or bring a penalty area into play, that speed isn’t doing you much good. The goal isn’t to manufacture your fastest swing ever on the first tee. It’s to become comfortable using more of the speed you have.
If you want more speed, work on it. Get comfortable swinging faster on the range. Learn where the ball goes when you increase your effort and figure out how much speed you can bring to the course without making your misses unmanageable.
Jack Grout told a young Nicklaus to get power first and accuracy later. The plan worked quite well.
Final thoughts
Should you grip it and rip it? If you have speed, don’t be afraid to use it.
My grandfather’s advice was pretty simple: hit it hard. I still think there’s something to that.
Missed my other “Is That Even True?” golf cliché articles?
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