The first and most important lesson in golf has to do with how we grip the golf club. To be able to play well, or at all for that matter, we have to know precisely how to hold a golf club correctly.
Many golfers who have been playing for some time find that they are not improving. And when they inevitably turn to a pro for lessons, it usually turns out that they have been gripping the club all wrong. This causes them to lose both power and accuracy.
By understanding how to hold a golf club correctly, we can avoid these pitfalls and give ourselves the best chance to score out on the golf course.
There are several different grips that we can employ to be able to strike the golf ball correctly. But there are many incorrect ways to hold a golf club as well. Let’s take a closer look and examine how we should and should not be holding the club. As well as some of the benefits of holding the club correctly.
How Not To Hold A Golf Club
The most common mistake that new players make when gripping the golf club is that they have a weak grip. That is to say, that they have their hands turned significantly left on the grip.
Another frequent error stems from them gripping the club way to tightly. Meaning that their hands turn way too much to the right side of the grip. When a player holds the club this tight, it is often a sign that they don’t fully understand the fundamentals of how to swing. And that they are trying to hit the golf ball way too hard, as if it were a baseball.
These mistakes can be easily corrected. But it is crucial to make sure that we fix them before our muscle memory has been trained incorrectly. Or we could be giving ourselves more work than is necessary in the long run. Let’s take a look and how to hold a golf club correctly, and examine some of the benefits of doing so.
The 3 Correct Golf Grips
The following three techniques have proven to be effective when executed correctly. By understanding the proper methods and the pros and cons of each, you will be able to decide which will work best for you, and when put into practice correctly, this will certainly transform your entire golf game for the better.
The Overlapping Grip
The overlapping grip, also known as the Vardon grip, is the preferred golf grip of most PGA professionals. For right-handed golfers, you want to hold the club with your left hand.
Position the little finger from your right hand in the space between the first and middle fingers on your left hand. Ensure that your thumbs are both in alignment with the shaft of your golf club.
The trick is to have a ‘goldilocks’ hold on the club, meaning not to weak, not too strong, but just right. Think of it like a proper handshake– firm but not aggressive, and certainly not meek. This grip uses both hands in tandem and has been tried, tested, and proven to boost the golf swing’s accuracy.
Pros and Cons of the Overlapping Grip
Some advantages of the overlapping grip are as follows. Number one, you have improved control, because your wrists are working together, it can be easier to guide the club and maintain a proper swing plane through impact. Number two, you have added consistency.
This grip is naturally conducive to applying the right grip strength and pressure. It will be easier to make sure that we can hold the golf club properly throughout our whole swing. Being the recommended grip by most professionals, this grip does not have too many drawbacks.
There is a small sacrifice in power with this grip versus using a ten-finger grip. Also, players who have particularly little hands might be better suited with an interlocking grip since this hold requires the golfer to reach fully around the golf club when gripping the shaft.
The Interlocking Grip
Some of the greatest golfers of all time have employed this technique, and if done correctly, it can aid with striking the ball powerfully. Grip the golf club with the left hand. Now, take the smallest finger from your right hand and interlock it with your left index finger.
Pay attention and ensure that your thumbs are both running parallel down the length of the shaft. Again, you want to make sure that your grip strength is neither too strong nor too weak.
Understanding how tightly we should hold a golf club is of the utmost importance regardless of which grip we elect to go with.
Pros and Cons of the Interlocking Grip
There are some significant advantages if you choose to hold a golf club with an interlocking grip. Because your hands and wrists have become one unit for all practical purposes, you have eliminated the need to pay attention to your wrists throughout the swing entirely.
Also, this type of grip decreases the amount of tension placed on the club. Because you have all of your fingers on the grip, you will not need to apply as much pressure on the shaft as you would with an overlapping grip, which will decrease the likelihood of you choking the club or using too much torsion in your follow-through.
Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods both have an interlocking grip, and I think it is safe to say they have done pretty well for themselves.
This grip does have some significant downsides to consider also. To begin with, it can feel a little unnatural, especially until you get used to it. Additionally, this grip can accentuate existing problems with your posture throughout the swing because it forces you to use your entire body in order to generate power.
The Ten-Finger Grip
Most golfers who are brand new to the game will intuitively employ this grip; however, once they have garnered a little bit of experience with striking the golf ball, they will typically switch to either an overlapping or interlocking grip instead.
That being said, some golfers will employ this grip for the rest of their lives. And as long as they are comfortable with it and are doing it correctly, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with this type of hold. So what is the correct way to execute the ten-finger grip?
For those who are right-handed, you want to hold the grip with both of your hands, thus the name, in the same manner in which you would grip a baseball bat.
Position the right hand just below the left along the grip. Both thumbs should be wrapped firmly around the circumference of the shaft.
Pros and Cons of the Ten Finger Grip
There are actually some great benefits that come along with holding a golf club like this. This is the most natural feeling grip. By controlling the club in this way, we won’t have to worry about what your hands are doing throughout our swing.
Also, this grip, when used correctly, will allow for more power than any other type of grip. But be very careful if you decide to go this route.
The ten-finger grip requires that your wrists work independently of your hands. Although this can give you more power, it can significantly decrease your accuracy, leading to poor shots. Remember, power should be generated by the whole body throughout the entire swing and not just by your wrists at impact.
Training Aids
Regardless of which type of grip you choose to go with, there are many grip training aids available. These will help you learn the correct technique and train your muscle memory. Some of these grip aids fit over your golf club’s shaft, and others are simply the size of your golf clubs regular grip.
Either way, both types work in nearly the same fashion. Think of them as being molds that require you hold on to them in one specific manner.
I would recommend that brand new players spend a fair amount of time at their local practice facility using grip aids. After a few weeks of incorporating the aids, you should be able to grip the club properly and will no longer need them.
Grip aids are typically relatively inexpensive. But can be worthwhile if you find that you are struggling to hold a golf club correctly.
A Great Grip Drill
For this drill, what you want to do is place a golf tee under your leading hand’s heel pad. You want to make sure that you hold the tee right between the pad of your palm and the shaft of the golf club. Throughout your swing, try to maintain the pressure between your lead hand’s last 3 fingers and the heel pad.
This will make sure that the tee will remain in place. By doing this, you will ensure that the clubface doesn’t change its position in your hand. If the tee should fall, you will know that you’re releasing too much pressure from your grip at the apex of your swing.
If that should be the case, make a conscious effort to maintain enough pressure to hold onto the tee through your backswing.
Gripping The Putter
The correct way to hold a putter is a very much a matter of personal taste and preference, but one thing is certain. You do not hold your putter in the same way as you would the rest of your golf clubs. There more than 20 different recognized putter grips, each having it’s own respective pros and cons.
We won’t dive into all of that right now. But as a beginner, know that the most important considerations, when determining how best to hold your putter, are how comfortable the grip feels and which type of putter you have.
Practice moving your hands around until you find something that seems to work well for you and build on that. There is really no one size fits all approach when it comes to the putting grip. Practice and trust your intuition.
In Conclusion
Knowing how to hold a golf club is essential if you want to play the game at all. Half of all golf errors stem from an improper grip technique. And if you eliminate the potential for such mistakes, you will dramatically improve your results week in and week out.
Whether you choose to go with an overlapping, interlocking, or ten-finger grip. Make sure that you train your muscle memory with a grip aid. As well as put the time in out on the range or at your local courses practice facility. Once you adjust to one of these correct gripping techniques, you will see a dramatic improvement in every aspect of your game.
Every great golfer has understood precisely how to hold a golf club correctly. And now you have that in common with them.
If you enjoyed this guide we hope you check out some of our others. Such as our guide to flat golf swings or fixing slices in golf.
