Your link to the golf club. This vital union must be made with care and precision.
Practice the grip with patience and it will reward you.
Try this for me. Remember when you were a kid and you were playing cowboys with your
brother, you used to shoot each other with guns made out of your hands? Make one now and
shoot something. What did you see? I'll bet you saw a thumb pointing straight up, and a
finger pointing straight ahead. If you make another one with the other hand and put them
side by side you will have a pair of six shooters, huh?
What's interesting here is that you have the essentials of a grip right there in front of
you . You could slide a club into the 2 "pistols" you have formed and make a
grip on the club that is almost right. The thumb and index fingers on each hand play a
supporting role in the grip. The grip is really the work of the last 3 fingers on each
hand.These are the digits that hold the shaft. The others only hold down the fingers on
the shaft and support your ability to hold the club.
The single most important thing about the grip is the pressure you use to apply it.
Squeeze something as hard as you can and we'll call that 10. Hold on as gentle as you can
without letting go and we'll call that 1. Holding a grip on a club requires a pressure of
about 3 or 4. Try to imagine that you are holding a bird, as to keep it from flying away.
OK, how do I form a grip?
Make a gun with your left hand and point to something in front of you. Take your club with
your right hand and put it into the three fingers that are remaining on the left hand.
Make sure that the shaft is pointing skyward and the club head is pointing to your head.
Once you have established that you can hold it with three fingers, simply and gently close
the index and thumb on the club. The index will automatically close correctly on the shaft
acting as a cradle of sorts to the shaft at that point. It will be separate from the other
digits, slightly. Your thumb should lay on the right side of the shaft and parallel to it,
pointing towards the head. Experiment with the different lengths that you can make your
thumb. If you stretch it up the shaft towards the head you will have a "long"
thumb. If you shrink it to the hand , you will have a "short" thumb. I advise a
long, comfortable thumb. This will promote a closed hand and comfortable wrist.
Notice this important detail also. The heel of the club rests in the "V" of your
palm above the "pad" that is opposite the thumb pad. Never let the heel of the
club ride high on the pad. It should stay in the fingers and locked under that pad. It is
possible to cradle the club in the crook of your index finger and under the pad of the
palm. The importance of this. is good exercise and great training on a good wrist
position.
OK, you should have formed a decent left hand. Take care to form the left hand grip
exactly the same way each time. This is the arm and hand that do most of the swinging in
golf. The right hand plays a supporting role right up until the moment of impact. The left
hand needs to be a consistent and solid link to the shaft.
Hopefully, your club shaft is still pointing to the sky,about 45 degrees and the clubhead
pointing at your head.
OK, now the right. Put your good left hand grip on a club and make another gun with your
right. OK, open it a little and keep the thought in mind. Hold the club shaft straight up
and place the right hand on top of the left thumb like you are going to hold the thumb
down with your right hand. If you need to, look at your right palm. See the lines in your
palm? One of them, the life line, goes toward the wrist between the 2 pads at the bottom.
Place this line on top of the left thumb in a comfortable way. You will feel like you are
trying to hold the left thumb down to the shaft with your life line. This is why the left
thumb is slightly on the right side of the grip, so that the right hand fits comfortably
on top. Now you need to find a comfortable way to unite the index finger of the left hand
and the pinkie on the right. Most of us put the left index on the club first and then lay
the pinkie on top of the space between the index and middle finger of the left hand.
Others like to interlock the index and pinkie. Still others like to have all fingers on
the club. You decide which is the best for your size hand and feel. Take the time to
adjust it so that your hands are molded together comfortably with minimal pressure.
Here are some things to remember. Visualize the six shooters. Remember that the 6 shooters
will be straight up and down and that the thumb and index fingers on both hands don't do
the work. The last 3 in each hand do the actual gripping. When you fit the other fingers
on they should never exert as much or more pressure than the others. Remember, you are
holding a bird.
The final thing to tell you is that the grip pressure should NEVER vary when you swing.
Remember this always. Never change, loosen, fix or manipulate the grip once you have
started the swing. As you will learn, you are not swinging with the hands. The hands
should always feel comfortable and relaxed and stay a passive participant in the golf
swing.