| Last month we began with the importance of alignment. As important a skill as this it, this must now coincide with the correct grip. These two fundamentals are a must for any chance of consistent golf. As your hands are your only point of contact with the club, why not try to make it as sound as possible. A good grip should allow you to: Control the angle of the clubface at impact Create your maximum clubhead speed Release both of the above consistently regardless of club being used i.e. driver or wedge - both require you to use the same grip. Every player I teach is different in gripping the club, there is no 'one size fits all' but the basics are similar. Start square, the clubface must start off with the correct alignment. The club will be placed in the left hand diagonally across from the top of the first finger to the pad of the left hand. Rotate the hand and forearm over to a point of seeing 2 to 3 knuckles of the left hand with the crease of thumb and first finger running towards the right shoulder. The left thumb will be short and placed just to the right of the centre. As your right hand is placed lower than your left, your right hip and shoulder will be naturally lower than your left. For overlapping style, place the little finger of the right hand into the groove of the index and middle finger of the left hand (or piggyback style, I call this) then place the grip across the middle of the two central fingers. The hand will be brought up and over so that the crease once again between thumb and first finger is central to the chest. The first finger of the right hand will move up slightly to meet the tip of the right thumb. The interlock style follows much of the same as with overlapping but as the name suggests the first finger of the left hand and small finger of the right hand interlock. The choice of style is dependant on how the player feels, for instance, Ernie Els overlaps, Nick Faldo overlaps but Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods interlock ! Grip pressure is equal between the two hands 50-50, the sort of pressure applied to the steering wheel of your car could be a good guide. So much has been written about these fundamentals but one word comes to mind which must apply to the hands and that is they are NEUTRAL. |
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