How to Grip a Golf Club
Hitting a Draw Step-by-Step Checklist:
Blog Post:
Sean is the co-founder of My Golf Tutor, the top golf instructional blog helping weekend golfers play better golf. He played on the Irish National team that produced major champions like Rory Mcllroy, Graeme McDowell, Padraig Harrington, and Darren Clarke before playing professionally for 5 years around the world.
———————-
Have you ever wondered how to grip a golf club?
If you watch the pros on television, you’ve likely noticed that all of them have different golf grips. So, is there a “right” or “wrong” way to grip the club?
AJ had a similar question after watching a golf telecast:
Hi Sean, I was watching the PGA Tour on television this weekend and the commentators were talking about a strong, weak, and neutral grip. Could you please explain the differences between these three grips and suggest which one you think is best?
Strong Golf Grip
The first grip we’ll talk about is a strong grip. (right-handed golfer)
When we hear commentators on TV talking about a strong grip, they are typically referring to how a golfer places their left hand on the club (i.e. a strong left hand grip).
When you look at your left hand, you will see a “v”, which is created between the index finger and thumb. This “v” will typically point somewhere outside of your right shoulder.
When you look down at your left hand, you should see three to four knuckles.
There are some great players who use a strong grip and have had a lot of success. David Duval used it when he was world number one and Paul Azinger used it as well.
It’s important to note that you can also have a strong right hand grip. You will still see a “v” created by the relationship between the index finger and and thumb, which will also point to outside of the right shoulder. You may hear some commentators refer to this as the right hand sitting “slightly under.” If you are someone who is left hand dominant, you may want to consider placing your right hand “slightly under” on the club.
Again though – when we hear commentators talk about a strong grip, they are typically referring to how the left hand is placed on the golf club.
Weak Golf Grip
The second grip we’ll talk about is a weak grip. (right-handed golfer)
With a weak left hand grip, when you look at the knuckles on your left hand, you’ll likely see only one knuckle after you place your hand on the club. Also, the “v” created on the left hand will be pointing somewhat towards the left shoulder.
This is a grip used by Jose Maria Olazabal, which he has used very well.
Regarding a weak right hand grip, you will see the right hand sit a little more on top of the club and the “v” will be pointing towards the left shoulder.
Neutral Golf Grip
The last grip we’ll talk about is a neutral grip. (right-handed golfer)
With a neutral left hand grip, when you look at your left hand you will see either two or two half knuckles on the left hand, and you’ll see the “v” pointing at the right shoulder.
With a neutral right hand grip, when we put our right hand on the club, we still want to see this “v” pointing at the right shoulder as well.
A must have for all grips…
One final thing I want to share is the importance of where we place the left hand heel pad on the golf club. No matter what grip you use, it is absolutely vital that the heel pad sits on top of the club (for a right-handed golfer).
Additionally, make sure that this part of your hand is sitting on top of the shaft.
We don’t want it sitting to the side because this is going to make it very difficult to hinge the club on the backswing. We will not be able to create good lever points during our golf swing, and this will rob you of distance.
When the heel pad sits correctly on the club, it will also provided great support for the club. It makes it easy to stabilize and keep the club under control at the top of the backswing.
If we have it to the side, we won’t have the same support, and you’ll be able to see the grip moving around in people’s hands; this will cause your golf glove to wear out much quicker.
To review, no matter what grip you use the one thing I would like you to concentrate on is keeping the heel pad on top of the shaft. I believe this is the most important part of the grip.
Forward this blog post to someone you know who is wearing out their golf glove, so that they can learn how to grip a golf club.
What kind of grip do you use – strong, weak or neutral? Let me know in the comment section below.
