If you have a bad grip, you want to have a bad swing, because you need to make compensations to a golf swing due to the poor grip. When building a golf swing, no other part of the swing is as important as the grip. There is no one grip for everyone, but rather three variations on how to hold the golf club.
The first is the baseball or ten finger grip, where all five fingers of each hand are on the handle. This grip is very common for people with smaller hands, including juniors and ladies. It is a particularly easy grip to teach brand new students, but is not ideal for players who have stronger hands or swings.
The next grip is the overlapping grip, where the little finger sits in the depression between the forefinger and middle finger of the top hand. This grip is common among better or more experienced golfers.
The third and final variation of the golf grip is the interlocking grip. With the forefinger of the top hand interlocked between the little and ring finger of the bottom hand.
The latter two grips are the more popular of the grips among top golfer and amateur golfers alike. There are two important factors to a good grip. First is that the top hand thumb not be on top of the golf club but rather slightly to the trailing side of the golf club. This will help place the right hand in the correct spot, as well as put the thumb in a good position to help control the club at the top of the swing.
The second major factor for every golf grip is that the hands must be together. They should feel like they are melted or welded together so that one hand doesn’t over work and dominate the club during the golf swing.
The last factors to mention about grip, is grip pressure and grip size. Ideally grip pressure should be pretty light, but if you are the sort of golfer who burns through a lot of gloves it could be because the grip is moving in your hand during the swing. If the club is moving in your hand during your swing, try a firmer golf grip. Your grip size can also play into how you grip your club. If you have larger hands, you may be required to build up your grip or buy a larger grip. Hands are pretty unique to each of us, so it is important that you buy a grip that you can wrap your fingers around completely. You don’t want your fingers to be overwrapped around the handle and you don’t want the handle to be too large to hold onto.
For further information on grip please read Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons. try our your new grip at http://www.bluedevilgolf.com
Cameron Latimer, PGA of Canada
Assistant Golf Professional
HeatherGlen Golf Course