Every year millions of dollars are spent trying to make accommodations for poor ways to hold on to the golf club, a.k.a., the grip. In the first episode, I wrote about the importance proper position of the club in your fingers. The second key is proper grip pressure.
Too little pressure and the club might fly out of our hands. Too much pressure and the club can’t do its job. And when the club can’t do its job the golfer tries all types of manipulations to make up for the bad grip. And when the golfer tries all types of manipulations the golfer tenses up which hurts his back. And when the golfer hurts his back he spends lots of time at the chiaropracter in traction trying to improve his back. Want to not spend time in traction? Learn to take a proper grip.
In our Beginner Golf School classes, we spend time in each lesson helping students larn to take proper grip pressure. So, how much is too much? Here are several ways to tell.
- First, are your forearms tired after hitting a couple dozen balls?
- Second, on a scale from 1 to 10, is your grip pressure closer to 1 (loose) to 10 (tight)?
- Third, can you feel the weight of the club head during your swing?
When asked about grip pressure, Sam Snead often commented that he imagined holding on to a small bird. Too loose and the bird will fly away. Too tight and the bird will die.
You also might consider another analogy if you were taking the children to the grocery store, you would want to hold their hand as you went through the parking lot together. Too tight they will holler and people will look at you like you’re the worst dad in the world. Too loose and they’ll slip away into traffic. Just right and they’ll feel secure and want to be held. The same is true for your golf club.
When holding a club think of holding the club with a “grip pressure” of 2 or 3, on a scale from 1 to 10. The club can do its job, if you let it.
Practical Practice: Practice every day for a week griping and re-gripping each of your clubs 2-3 times making sure that both position and pressure are proper. At the end of the week you’ll find that you and your clubs are on the same team.
