7 Grip
Grip pressure
Most tight holds are a 7 or an 8 pretending to be control. A full swing wants something closer to a 4.
The situation
The forearms feel full of cement before you move, or the handle has turned in your hands by the finish. Both come from pressure. Too much, and the clubhead gets thrown at the ball, which is a common way into a shank. Too little, and the face twists open, which feeds a slice.
A check you can do
Rate the hold from 1, where the club could fall, to 10, a handshake that wins. Then try to wiggle the trail elbow a little without retaking the grip. If the elbow will not move, you are too tight. If a small waggle makes the clubhead flop because the shaft spun, you are too loose.
The fix
- 01Let three fingers carry the club The last three fingers of the lead hand, middle, ring, and pinky, close first. They are the hold. The lead index and thumb guide. They do not clamp.
- 02Match with the trail hand, do not add a second squeeze The trail hand copies that pressure. It does not clamp again at the top of the swing. If the join of an overlap or interlock is where you squeeze, the pinky is doing the wrong job.
- 03Exhale and find a 4 Before the swing, soften the trail thumb until the number is about a 4 or a 5. You should still feel the handle in the fingers, not floating.
- 04Stop at the finish and look Make a slow swing and hold the finish. The handle should not have spun. If it has, the 4 was really a 2. Add only enough pressure to stop the spin.
- 05Go quieter for chips and putts A chip and a putt sit closer to a 3. The same hands, less clamp. If the fingers dig into the palm the whole time, the handle may also be the wrong thickness. That is grip size.