Improve Your Golf Grip in 7 Steps

If you want to swing a club correctly, then you’ll need to grip it correctly. A good grip will amend your slice, give you better consistency and help you to improve your game. So, with this in mind, how can you improve your golf grip?

Take a Look at Your Current Grip

Before getting into the technicalities of your golf grip, the first place to begin is with how you currently hold your club. It’s important to look at your existing grip and assess what kind of grip you have. So, consider how you pick it up, how you hold it, and the position of your fingers. Does it feel comfortable, and are you confident that you are going to hit an excellent shot?

If you accept that there is room for improvement, then you are ready to learn.

The Grip Size

All clubs will come with rubber grips, and they are all of a standard size. However, that doesn’t mean that they are the right fit for you. There are different sized grips available, and they are there for a reason – because everyone has different sized grips. Therefore, it can help to seek expert advice to determine whether you need new grips and what size you require. This alone can help to make a significant difference in your swing.

The Position of Your Hands

Now it is time to pick up your club and begin perfecting your grip. You should begin by picking up your club in your weaker hand (which would be a left hand for a right-handed golfer). Now turn your hand over so that you can see two knuckles on your left hand and a V shape made by your thumb and index finger that should be pointing towards your right shoulder.

Around half an inch of the club should poke out from the top of your grip. Your left thumb should point down the right-hand side of the shaft. Take your right hand and grip your club with your right thumb placed on top of your left thumb. Your right thumb should sit on the left-hand side of the club and should face downwards.

This is likely to feel unnatural. There are moulded grip trainers that you can use should you find yourself struggling.

Use a Pen

It’s ok to carry a marker pen in your bag because you can use this to mark your glove. Using the pen, you can draw lines on your glove at the correct angle. This can help remind you of where the clubs should sit in your grip, and it will give you more confidence in the fact that you are not getting it wrong.

You won’t be breaking any professional rules if you do choose to use this method. It’s entirely within the rules of the game to do this. It is the same way people mark their golf ball to help get their putts on line. So, marking the glove will enable you to learn how to grip the club correctly over time.

Interlocking or Overlapping Golf Grip

The final part of getting your grip right from a positional perspective is to decide whether you want to link your hands together with your fingers, as some players will do this and others won’t.

Despite this, linking your hands has become the most popular choice for many golfers. This enables the wrist to hinge better while also delivering a better overall grip.

The most common grip method that involves linking the fingers is known as the Vardon Grip or the Overlapping Grip. Using this grip, your hands are joined together by the small finger on the right hand being linked between the index finger and the middle finger of the left hand. Once this has been done, the thumb of your left hand needs to be placed in the groove of your right hand as you close it over your left thumb.

Pressure

The force at which you hold your golf club will impact your swing. You won’t want to grip the club so hard that your knuckles turn white. But then you don’t want to hold it too lightly either. If the club is held too firmly, you might find that the heel of the club makes contact with the ball. This will cause inconsistent shots and a lack of control with every club you use in your bag.

One sign that indicates that you’re going to hold the club too tightly is when you address the ball as you will feel your forearms tense up. If you take a shot like this, there is almost every chance that it will end badly. So, focus on relaxing your arms. Keep your hands gently gripped on the club, even wiggle the club a little if you need to. This can release some of the tension in the arms and wrists.

Keep With The Neutral Grip

The grip and technique discussed here is known as the neutral grip. The neutral grip is one of the most natural and common ways to hold a golf club. This is probably the best way to learn the basics. Once you progress and become confident, you can maybe consider a few other styles that will enable you to improve and adapt your game.

The amount that you rotate your left hand will depend on the strength of the grip. If you can see more than two knuckles. This is considered a strong grip, resulting in the club face closing on impact. If you rotate your left hand counter-clockwise so you cannot see any knuckles. This is known as a soft grip that causes the club’s face to open up. Once you have mastered the basics, you can then play with grip strength, but for now, it makes sense to keep it neutral and practice hitting that ball straight.