Instruction

The 5 Biggest Misconceptions in Golf Instruction: The Grip

Published

8 years ago

Jul 14, 2016

Note: This is the first article in a 5-part series on the Biggest Misconceptions in Golf Instruction.

For decades, the grip has been the most talked about part of the golf swing. Everyone has heard of the three styles: a neutral, strong and weak grip, and the effect each has on the golf ball. The neutral grip has always been the prescribed grip for all players, as it’s said to give golfers “the best chance of squaring the face.” I’m here to tell you all three grips can work depending on the player’s preference of ball flight, as well as their rotational ability and face orientation at impact.

After spending time around more than a dozen PGA, LPGA, and European tour players, as well as researching hundreds of others, I can confidently say that there is no “neutral” or standard grip on the professional tours. The majority of tour players have all done a fantastic job of either consciously or subconsciously syncing their grips with the natural rotational abilities of their bodies. This allows them to compete at the highest level, because they have a predictable ball flight they can trust.

Through my research and experience, I’ve identified three different rotational abilities that will dictate how each golfer should hold the club.

Low-rotational ability
High-rotational ability
Neutral-rotational ability

Low-rotational players

At impact, a low-rotational player has hips with less turn compared to the shoulders. This player could be considered more of an arms swinger. Due to this, their tendency is to close the club face at impact. A weaker grip is usually ideal for this style of player.

High-rotational players

At impact, a high-rotational player will have hips that are more rotated, or open, when compared to the shoulders. This will cause the club face to stay open for a longer time leading up to impact. A stronger grip is usually ideal for this style of player. An example of this type of player on the PGA Tour is Dustin Johnson or Zach Johnson.

Neutral-rotational players

At impact, a neutral-rotational player will have hips and shoulders that match at the moment of impact. I’ve found this to be rare in my search, as one of the segments is typical either open or closed to one another at the moment of the strike. This style of player is usually best suited for the neutral grip that most golf books have described over the years.

Which grip is best for you? Here’s how you find out.

Have a friend video your swing using a smartphone from a down-the-target-line view, as well as from the face-on position. Pause the video at impact. Are your hips and shoulders matching, hips open to the shoulders, or shoulders open to the hips? This will tell you which grip is best suited for your game.

If the shoulders show more rotation than the hips at impact, a weaker grip is most likely the best fit. This player’s natural ball flight will typically be a fade, because the face is open to the path. For the right handed golfer, this would be a ball that would start to the left of the target and then curve rightward toward the target line.

If the hips show more rotation then the shoulders at impact, a stronger grip is likely best. This golfer’s natural ball flight will typically be a draw, where the face would be closed to the path at impact. For the right handed player, this would be a ball that would start to the right of the target and then curve leftward toward the target line.

If the hips and shoulders are matching at the moment of impact, a neutral grip is likely the best fit. This player’s natural ball flight would be one that would have very little curvature. This ball would begin very close to the target line, if not on the target line, and then show very little curvature either way.

If you find this article interesting, I suggest you take a look at my book, The 5 Tour Fundamentals of Golf. It’s an interesting look into what the best players in the world are all doing alike while maintaining their own natural swing signatures.

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Bill Schmedes III

Bill Schmedes III is an award-winning PGA Class A member and Director of Instruction at Fiddler's Elbow Country Club in Bedminster, the largest golf facility in New Jersey. He has been named a "Top-25 Golf Instructor," and has been nominated for PGA Teacher of the Year and Golf Professional of the Year at both the PGA chapter and section levels. Bill was most recently nominated for Golf Digest's "Best Young Teachers in America" list, and has been privileged to work and study under several of the top golf coaches in the world. These coaches can all be found on the Top 100 & Top 50 lists. Bill has also worked with a handful of Top-20 Teachers under 40. He spent the last 2+ years working directly under Gary Gilchrist at his academy in Orlando, Fla. Bill was a Head Instructor/Coach and assisted Gary will his tour players on the PGA, LPGA, and European tours. Bill's eBook, The 5 Tour Fundamentals of Golf, can now be purchased on Amazon. It's unlike any golf instruction book you have ever read, and uncovers the TRUE fundamentals of golf using the tour player as the model.

11 Comments

Jim

Jul 25, 2016 at 12:51 am

There’s two parts to the golf swing. The body & the hands. We CAN play golf without legs, but ya need hands & fingers. While the body needs to produce a consistent path and is responsible for creating POWER & making the swing more athletic, the hands & fingers are responsible for creating SPEED and ultimately releasing the clubhead. I teach my students (10,000 hrs in the past twenty years) based on
each persons physique and potential, but key in on the one
thing all good golfers have done in common for the past
hundred years – how the hands ‘work’. 80% of my students
arrive without truly understanding HOW important the lead
hand is. I’ve suffered through too many geniuses “quoting” Hogan & how “he wished he had two right hands”… only
problem being they never read the next few sentences
where he said providing of course the left hand is being
used correctly…

I’ve also heard “the left hand is the gas peddle & the right hand is the steering wheel” – WRONG. I can tell you as a therapist – more so than a PGA Professional that it’s the
other way round! The strong hand is the gas & the lead
hand is the steering wheel; when driving’you steer into &
through a curve THEN step on the gas coming out…How
many people ‘suffer’ from the dreaded ‘chicken wing’? If so
many people do it it has a name, there must be a major
attributable cause…It’s being pushed through impact by the
‘power hand’ and NOT actively steering. There’s NO WAY
the power hand will rotate the lead hand properly through
impact IF the lead hand isn’t participating. It’s purely a
matter of functional human anatomy. At speed, bending of
the lead wrist/hand is simply easier than turning.

The hands are essential to playing golf well, and I’ve had many highly athletic golfers who were playing to <14 hcp but had hit a wall. In almost every case they had no idea how to really use the hands correctly.

The grip is an important issue as it can really hurt ones ability to square & release the club, and hard to 'tweek'. Even a 10 week beginners hands are comfortable in the position they've assumed, so making subtle changes to the grip and being able to assess the effect is predicated on having a pretty sound and repetitive swing to begin with.

If thatvs the case, everything's pretty good elsewhere, now wrist size, range of motion, flexibility – radial flexion
especially – need to be assessed, as well as the finger size & length relative to palm size when building the grip size of the clubs…this is one of the most neglected aspects of club fitting, yet to achieve the maximum results I assume most
people reading stuff like this are looking for – ie: getting to single digit level hcp / breaking 80, this is when nitty gritty stuff matters. So, if your foundation is solid and your looking for a break through, now's the time to focus on grip and hands at an advanced level

Get GRIP FIT by a true Master Club Fitter – as I'm sure if you're still reading this – you no doubt are aware of the eccentricities of tour players and all the wraps of tape they have applied – many times differently under each hand.

So, in closing, make sure WHAT you're gripping – or about to change your gtip ON is REALLY sized to assist your hands in doing what they're supposed to do. As Jack said "You've got two hands, use them both!"

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Jo

Jul 20, 2016 at 12:58 pm

I disagree with your ball flight analysis.

I’ve seen guys use weak grips with an over the top swing and create pulls. I’ve also seen strong grips that still push slice. There is more to it than just grip I think. The forearm rotation, where the elbow is pointing, how the elbow is pointing influencing the forearm rotation. There is also folks who roll/twist their hands. Huge list of issues other than just grip.

An avid pool player would want to use a strong grip regardless of his shoulder/hip at impact. The reason why is he has developed a natural tendency to twist his wrist with a pool cue, so he will naturally twist his wrist with a golf club. So for him a square/closed face at address with a strong grip is essential. Otherwise, everything will start right of the target and either push, slice, or push slice. Then if he comes over the top, with the same grip, he would hook, pull, or pull hook every shot.

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Andrew Cooper

Jul 17, 2016 at 3:27 am

Bill, all good golfers will have their hips more open than their shoulders at impact yet will make weak, strong and neutral grips work?

Reply Report comment
Rick

Jul 16, 2016 at 8:56 am

I am not sure I follow your article. Ben Hogan was a high rotational player and he played with a weak grip.

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- Hogan Hero
  
  Jul 20, 2016 at 12:49 pm
  
  Supposedly. There are several articles out there by people who said during his prime he had a stronger grip, and as he aged he slowly adjusted to a weaker grip. At the time he wrote his book on the 5 fundamentals he was using a weaker grip.
  
  Reply Report comment
Paul

Jul 15, 2016 at 8:07 pm

I thought this made perfect sense. I use a more neutral grip on my upper hand and a stronger grip on my lower hand (fast rotation guy). I found that when i moved my thumb about a 1/4″ stronger without moving my entire upper hand i got a massive case of the hooks. Like, 30 yards with a PW. Experimenting to fix it. But in my last range session i lost 5-10 yards but straight shots were ridiculously common, and small push draws made up a majority of the not straight shots.

Reply Report comment
Bob Pegram

Jul 15, 2016 at 3:23 pm

The author sounds like an excellent teacher. He fits technique to a player’s natural tendencies rather than trying to make every player’s swing fit a standard set up.

Reply Report comment
Phil McKeown

Jul 14, 2016 at 9:59 pm

You just made the whole thing more complicated! Comparing hip and shoulder rotation as a generalisation is making those looking for a change force a change. There is no right grip just the one that works for you. People should know the different grips and the shape then tend to produce (again a generalisation) as it all depends on impact. I can be crazy with my arms and square up with any grip or rotate like a Tasmanian devil and do the same

Reply Report comment
- Snoopy
  
  Jul 16, 2016 at 6:03 am
  
  I agree. As long as you hold the club in a fundamentally sound way, I don’t think it matters a whole lot if your grip is strong or weak. Control, Comfort, and Confidence is key in the grip I think.
  
  Reply Report comment
Deejaymn

Jul 14, 2016 at 10:35 am

I couldn’t agree more with what you wrote the big mistake I often see golfers make myself included for years is mistaking a neutral grip for a strong grip until I tried a truly strong grip I assumed I already was and when I went to a truly strong grip my iron game changed way more for the better the problem I now see with my game now is I draw the ball nicely with all of my irons but have a tendency to really hook the driver and have to weaken my driver grip

Reply Report comment
- Justin
  
  Jul 14, 2016 at 4:05 pm
  
  .().,,.,.
  
  That’s what’s missing IMO
  
  Reply Report comment

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Instruction

Clement: Laid-off or perfect fade? Across-the-line or perfect draw?

Published

20 hours ago

Apr 24, 2024

Shawn Clement

Some call the image on the left laid off, but if you are hitting a fade, this could be a perfect backswing for it! Same for across the line for a draw! Stop racking your brain with perceived mistakes and simply match backswing to shot shape!

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Instruction

The Wedge Guy: The easiest-to-learn golf basic

Published

4 weeks ago

Mar 29, 2024

Terry Koehler

My golf learning began with this simple fact – if you don’t have a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, it is practically impossible for your body to execute a fundamentally sound golf swing. I’m still a big believer that the golf swing is much easier to execute if you begin with the proper hold on the club.

As you might imagine, I come into contact with hundreds of golfers of all skill levels. And it is very rare to see a good player with a bad hold on the golf club. There are some exceptions, for sure, but they are very few and very far between, and they typically have beat so many balls with their poor grip that they’ve found a way to work around it.

The reality of biophysics is that the body moves only in certain ways – and the particulars of the way you hold the golf club can totally prevent a sound swing motion that allows the club to release properly through the impact zone. The wonderful thing is that anyone can learn how to put a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, and you can practice it anywhere your hands are not otherwise engaged, like watching TV or just sitting and relaxing.

Whether you prefer an overlap, interlock or full-finger (not baseball!) grip on the club, the same fundamentals apply. Here are the major grip faults I see most often, in the order of the frequency:

Mis-aligned hands

By this I mean that the palms of the two hands are not parallel to each other. Too many golfers have a weak left hand and strong right, or vice versa. The easiest way to learn how to hold the club with your palms aligned properly is to grip a plain wooden ruler or yardstick. It forces the hands to align properly and shows you how that feels. If you grip and re-grip a yardstick several times, then grip a club, you’ll see that the learning curve is almost immediate.

The position of the grip in the upper/left hand

I also observe many golfers who have the butt of the grip too far into the heel pad of the upper hand (the left hand for right-handed players). It’s amazing how much easier it is to release the club through the ball if even 1/4-1/2″ of the butt is beyond the left heel pad. Try this yourself to see what I mean. Swing the club freely with just your left hand and notice the difference in its release from when you hold it at the end of the grip, versus gripping down even a half inch.

To help you really understand how this works, go to the range and hit shots with your five-iron gripped down a full inch to make the club the same length as your seven-iron. You will probably see an amazing shot shape difference, and likely not see as much distance loss as you would expect.

Too much lower (right) hand on the club

It seems like almost all golfers of 8-10 handicap or higher have the club too far into the palm of the lower hand, because that feels “good” if you are trying to control the path of the clubhead to the ball. But the golf swing is not an effort to hit at the ball – it is a swing of the club. The proper hold on the club has the grip underneath the pad at the base of the fingers. This will likely feel “weak” to you — like you cannot control the club like that. EXACTLY. You should not be trying to control the club with your lower/master hand.

Gripping too tightly

Nearly all golfers hold the club too tightly, which tenses up the forearms and prevents a proper release of the club through impact. In order for the club to move back and through properly, you must feel that the club is controlled by the last three fingers of the upper hand, and the middle two fingers of the lower hand. If you engage your thumbs and forefingers in “holding” the club, the result will almost always be a grip that is too tight. Try this for yourself. Hold the club in your upper hand only, and squeeze firmly with just the last three fingers, with the forefinger and thumb off the club entirely. You have good control, but your forearms are not tense. Then begin to squeeze down with your thumb and forefinger and observe the tensing of the entire forearm. This is the way we are made, so the key to preventing tenseness in the arms is to hold the club very lightly with the “pinchers” — the thumbs and forefingers.

So, those are what I believe are the four fundamentals of a good grip. Anyone can learn them in their home or office very quickly. There is no easier way to improve your ball striking consistency and add distance than giving more attention to the way you hold the golf club.

Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!

Published

2 months ago

Mar 4, 2024

Shawn Clement

Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?

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