5 Grip
Overlap or interlock
Both holds do the same job. They remove the gap between the hands. The only choice is where the trail pinky goes.
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The situation
You want the two hands to move together, and you are choosing between an overlap and an interlock. Neither one is a promotion. Long fingers often prefer the overlap. Short fingers, or a pinky that slips off, often prefer the interlock.
If both feel like a knot, use the ten-finger grip instead. Pain in a knuckle is not a checkpoint.
A check you can do
Look at the trail pinky while you hold the club. If it rests calmly on the lead index finger and the hands feel full, overlap. If it is short, or it slides off as soon as you swing, interlock. Make the choice before you hit, not in the middle of a series of bad shots.
The fix
- 01Build the lead hand the same way either time Handle from palm to fingers, thumb slightly to the trail side, about two knuckles visible. The join does not fix a lead hand that is turned the wrong way. Check a weak grip if the ball leaks right.
- 02Overlap: lay the pinky in the channel The trail pinky rests between the lead index and middle finger. It lies on top. It does not wrap under the handle. The other three trail fingers hold the grip, and the trail palm covers the lead thumb.
- 03Interlock: hook pinky and index The trail pinky and the lead index hook together. The hook is a link, not a squeeze. The lead middle, ring, and pinky do more of the holding, because the lead index is busy.
- 04Keep the palms facing However the pinky joins, the palms still face each other. The Vs still point up toward the trail shoulder.
- 05If the join hurts, switch A sore knuckle means change the join or go back to ten fingers. Then make a few half swings. If the forearms are already hard, the problem is pressure, not the pinky.