Get A Grip! Beginner Golf Swings

Your golf grip is arguably the most important element of your entire swing. The purpose of the golf grip is to allow you to hold onto the club. Your golf grip creates a foundation for your golf swing and it’s the only connection you have with your club. It is important to figure what type of golf grip works for you.

What will happen without a proper golf grip?

· Without gripping the club firmly, it could fly out of your hands on the backswing (I’ve seen this happen before).

· A poor grip also affects the path the club takes going back and coming down. (3)

If the grip that is too strong the ball is more likely to hook.

If the grip is too week the ball is more likely to slice.

· A poor golf grip affects the timing of your swing and whether you are able to consistently strike the ball squarely.(3)

· A poor golf grip also affects the curve of the ball when it is in flight. (3)

· A golf grip that is too tight makes it difficult to swing freely and create maximum clubhead speed.

Do you hold the club with your Left-Hand or Right-Hand?

The golf grip is the same technique for lefties as it is for right-handed golfers, but the hand-placement is opposite. For right-handed golfers your right hand will be at the edge of the handle, while your left hand will be closer to the head. For left-handed golfers the opposite is true.

If you’re left-handed, you’re probably used to living in a world built for right-handed people. Luckily, this isn’t the case in golf. Golf club manufacturers make left-handed clubs for people just like you.

To determine if you’re more comfortable swinging left-or-right-handed, you might want to try out a few clubs. Some lefties, like Phil Mickelson, find they prefer to swing right-handed, because it allows their stronger arm to pull the club down towards the ball.

There’s no right or wrong way. Do what feels natural and comfortable.

There are orthodox, unorthodox methods when considering which golf grip to have. Predominately there are three orthodox ways to grip a golf club and they are the 10 Finger Grip, Interlocking Grip and Vardon Grip. It is important to note that the Vardon Grip when first developed was considered unorthodox and later became widely used and acceptable, thus becoming an orthodox method.

A common reason players choose one grip over another is their desire to create unity between their hands. It is important to note that when you swing your club, your wrists act as a hinge. However, if your hands become separated during the swing, each wrist can act separately, and your hands can interfere with each other.

Experiment with different grip pressure levels until you don’t feel tension building in your forearms or shoulders--but still have total control of the club during the swing. (1)

10-Finger Grip (Baseball Grip)

Background

It’s called the “10-finger grip” because every one of your fingers is on the club. Not many professionals use this grip, but some newcomers to the game find it comfortable.

How to Do the 10-Finger Grip (see video below)

It can be a powerful grip because each of your fingers are touching the surface off the grip and can be a well-suited grip for a golfer with small hands.

Advantages

1. As mentioned, it is an easy grip for beginners. There are a lot of things to focus on when you first start playing golf, from swing to posture, to club selection and everything in between. Using a neutral, natural grip feels comfortable, can lead to a more relaxed stroke in general and means one less thing to worry about for the time being. (1)

2. It has greater impact power. All ten fingers are holding the club, which means all ten fingers can transfer power from the arms to the club at point of impact. Combined with more wrist flexibility and a bigger snap-through in the swing. If the grip is handled correctly, it allows for a lot of shot power.

Disadvantages

1. The hands can operate independently. With a neutral grip, your hands aren’t really connected and can move somewhat independently of each other. Without the right strength and discipline, this can result in a power imbalance or messing up the swing sequence, resulting in a poor shot.

2. Although wrist freedom can be a blessing for extra shot power, it can also be a curse for control. Power should come from the entire swing, and an overreliance on the wrists can entrench bad habits as well as cause mishits. (2)

Interlocking Grip

Background

Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods use the interlocking grip, and other professional golfers such as Tom Kite, Michelle Wie and 2011 U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy use the interlocking grip as well.

How to Do the Interlocking Grip (see video below)

Interlocking grip starts with the 10-finger grip; you simply interlock one hand’s pinkie finger with the other hand’s index finger to get your hands closer together.

It also allows even players with stronger hands to keep a firm grip without a lot of tension in the hands and forearms. Keeping those muscles relaxed during your swing is essential to creating clubhead speed. Relaxed muscles can move more quickly. An interlocking grip may help you develop more clubhead speed without losing control of the club.

Advantages

1. The biggest advantage is that this ‘locks’ your fingers together so both of your hands work together, which can give your golf swing some added power.

2. Nicklaus said that he had relatively small hands, and that the interlocking grip allowed him to get a better grip with them. Golfers with smaller hands often prefer the interlocking grip.

3. Nicklaus also recommends the interlocking grip for players with weak hands. When your interlocked hands wrap around that cushioned grip, the club is locked in place with very little effort.

Disadvantages

1. This type of grip does not work for people with large hands.

The Vardon Overlapping Grip

Background

The overlapping grip, also called the Vardon Grip because it was popularized by British Open champion Harry Vardon. This grip is the choice of the majority of professional golfers.

How to Do the Vardon Overlapping Grip (see video below)

The overlapping or “Vardon” grip is one of the most common in golf, especially amongst professionals. You grasp the golf club in your left hand and then place the right hand on the club, so the right little finger fits snugly in the crevice between your left index finger and middle finger. The only difference is that the left index finger and right little finger are intertwined or linked together. When you look down at your hands you will see that the thumbs and index finger form a “V” shape. (2)

Advantages

1. It combines freedom and control. By making the hands a little more unified, the Vardon grip increases the amount of control you have over both wrists, helping them move as one but without reducing their freedom entirely.

2. It’s good for bigger hands. Those with longer fingers and bigger hands will find the overlapping grip more comfortable, as it partially wraps around the leading hand and not just the club.

3. It’s easier to follow the professionals. Modeling your swing and grip on what the professionals do is always a good idea. Adopting the most popular golf club grip will make this easier to do.

Disadvantages

1. The only drawbacks are that it can be slightly awkward for small hands to reach all the way around and that it sacrifices the extra squeeze of power available from a ten-finger grip. (3)

Unorthodox golf grips, can they be effective?

Professional Players with Unorthodox golf grips:

The Left Hand Low

Patrick Welch would argue that left hand low is actually the key to his superb short game. “It means your wrists won’t break,” he said. With a smile, Welch adds that it feels so natural, because in baseball, a sport he loves to play, he hits left-handed (yes, left hand on top), so all he does in golf is keep the hands in that position and move to the right side of the ball. (4)

Right Hand Ring

J.B. Holmes sees a somewhat strange right-hand position with his forefinger reaching around the club to touch the tip of his thumb (forming a ring around the golf club with forefinger and thumb).(5)

Intermesh Grip

Greg Norman said that he uses a '"naturally symmetrical" golf grip. He describes his golf grip further in a YouTube video at the 04:00 mark on the video. He also uses an improvised version of the interlocking grip, what he describes as "intermesh grip" (6)

https://youtu.be/9A4JL6mEpxc

Gripping your Driver

For a beginner golfer there are two important components when deciding how to grip your Driver. The first is gripping to create mobility in your wrists. This mobility will help you to create speed when you tee off. A tight wrist will not allow you to do this.

https://youtu.be/PJWZCLway1I

Holding a Putter

There are a host of different grips for putters. More important for a beginner golfer is the stroke and not the grip. As long as your stroke is consistent you can use any six or more grip styles. It’s how you approach the ball and the placement will determine how effective you are on the green.

Many novice golfers don’t pay enough attention to how they are gripping the club. They opt for what feels comfortable, or what grip they have always used, rather than employing a grip that will allow them to hit straighter, longer shots.

Of course, there's no one-size-fits-all grip when learning how to hold a golf club, but it helps to know the differences. (7)

Sources

(1) Three Common Grips in Golf with Pros and Cons or Each, https://www.foresightsports.com/blog/the-3-common-grips-in-golf-with-pros-and-cons-for-each, Three Common Grips in Golf with Pros and Cons for Each, Foresight Sports, April 05, 2020.

(2) Golf Grip Fundamentals, https://golftips.golfweek.usatoday.com/golf-grip-fundamentals-1514.html, USA Today, April 05, 2021, September 29, 2020.

(3) Three Common Grips in Golf with Pros and Cons or Each, https://www.foresightsports.com/blog/the-3-common-grips-in-golf-with-pros-and-cons-for-each, Three Common Grips in Golf with Pros and Cons for Each, Foresight Sports, April 05, 2020.

(4) With unorthodox grip, Patrick Welch finds unique path to success in junior golf, https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2016/06/23/junior-golf-patrick-welch-northeast-amateur-grip/, USA Today, April 05, 2021, June 23, 2016.

(5) Unorthodox golf grip positions, can they be effective? https://thesandtrap.com/forums/topic/75043-unorthodox-golf-grip-positions-can-they-be-effective/, The Sand Trap.com, April 05, 2021, June 05, 2014.

(6) Unorthodox golf grip positions, can they be effective? https://thesandtrap.com/forums/topic/75043-unorthodox-golf-grip-positions-can-they-be-effective/, The Sand Trap.com, April 05, 2021, June 05, 2014.

(7) Golf Grip Fundamentals, https://golftips.golfweek.usatoday.com/golf-grip-fundamentals-1514.html, USA Today, April 05, 2021, September 29, 2020.