Golf Tip
Steve Colt
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The topic for today is proper grip. The grip is our only connection to the golf club, if it is not correct; you have little to no chance of hitting the ball where you intend. A proper grip will not ensure good shots, but a poor grip will guarantee bad shots.
Grip picture one demonstrates the most common grip flaw that I see, notice that the grip runs through the groove between the pads on the hand and across the palm. Having the club in this position, will inhibit a proper face rotation, wrist hinge, will commonly result in a weak fade and cause you have the clubhead lead the downswing not the butt of the club.
Grip picture two demonstrates the proper grip for the left hand, the club runs more through the fingers and under the pad with the thumb straight down the shaft. This allows you to properly rotate the face, properly hinge your wrist throughout the swing and lead the downswing with the butt end of the club, not the clubhead.
Grip picture three shows that when you take a proper grip, you can leverage the grip between the pad and index finger and remove the other fingers (you can also remove the thumb if you become very good at this.
Grip picture four demonstrates proper placement of the right hand on the grip, it does not matter if you overlap, interlock or use a baseball grip, but the thumb of you left hand should run through the groove between the pads on your right hand, the right thumb should be across the shaft and the "V" that the thumb and index finder form on each hand should point to the right shoulder.
Steve Colt is the head golf professional at Bass Rocks Golf Club in Gloucester.
