Are you still fidgeting with your golf grip, trying for perfect pressure and position? Sometimes a simple tip is all it takes to find the correct golf grip and feel more confident standing over the ball. While it’s important not to overthink your grip, investing time in mastering the correct golf grip will be well worth it.
Use a training grip for practice
Take an old club you don’t use anymore and put a training grip on it. Use it when you practice at home or throw it in the bag when you head to the driving range for practice.
Some players put a training grip on a weighted club and use it during their warmup before each round. Attaching the training grip ensures your hands are consistently in the correct position. Even if you play golf every day of the week, a quick reminder on where your hands should be placed is quite helpful.
Test the grip pressure
Light grip pressure isn’t always as effective as it’s made out to be. Gripping the club too loosely can make controlling the clubface at impact difficult. To find the right amount of grip pressure, you have to experiment.
Grab a 7- or 8-iron that you feel confident with and head to the driving range. Start by hitting a few shots with what feels like maximum grip pressure. Next, hit a few shots with very light grip pressure. Gradually adjust, working your way up from the light grip until you find a balance—enough pressure to control the clubface without creating unnecessary tension in your hands.
Avoid too much contact between the club and the palms
Try to hold the golf club with your fingers. Not the palms. Excess pressure in the palms reduces control and makes it harder to release the wrists through impact.
To rotate the club properly in your swing, get the club out of your palms.
Check your hand alignment
Ensure the “V” shapes formed by your thumbs and index fingers point toward your trail shoulder. It’s a simple checkpoint that works to help you find a neutral grip position. If you’ve been struggling with a slice, you may find the Vs are pointed more toward your lead shoulder.
Use grip pressure points
Once you have your hands positioned on the club, you may also want to think about which fingers are going to feel the pressure. Use a little extra pressure on the last three fingers of your lead hand.
In the trail hand (right hand for the right-handed player), the middle two fingers of your right hand will do most of the work. The thumb and forefinger are more relaxed. Some players also feel a little more pressure overall in the lead hand versus the trail hand.
Grips have gotten stronger
The same golf grip that professionals today use is a bit different than what we saw in the past. While the neutral grip was always considered standard and the V shapes formed by the hands pointed to the right ear, the modern golfer has a little more strength in the grip.
The hands are rotated further to the right, towards the trail shoulder.
These slightly stronger grip allows for a bit more clubhead speed and reduced slicing. If you are still gripping your club the way you learned to years ago, it may be time to add a little strength (rotation to the right) to see if it helps you gain control in your game.
Check for wear on your glove
Look for wear patterns on your glove. If you keep the same glove in play for a few months, it’s going to wear down but if you notice the palm of the glove deteriorating, you may need to adjust your hand placement so the club is more in the fingers.
This isn’t about saving the glove. It’s about making sure your hands are in the right place.
Final thoughts
When working on your grip, make the adjustments small. If you plan to adjust the position of your fingers, rotate them just slightly one way or another. Make grip adjustments on the driving range and pay close attention to any differences in distance or accuracy. Going through a major grip change is a big deal that can throw your game off for a while but the end result will be worth it.
Chuck
1 year ago
do you know of a grip trainer for Jumbo Max grips? I can’t find one on line…thanks