How to Properly Grip a Golf Club for Control and Distance

Ever since the game came into the picture, golfers have been particularly fascinated by one thing, and that is: how to properly grip a golf club. A player’s grip is as important as anything else in the game. It’s a timeless fundamental thing to master.

For a consistent game, making sure you have the correct hold on the club is essential. It’s been often said that a “bad grip” can ruin an otherwise “good” golf swing.

If you read our article on how to swing a golf club, you’ll see that one of our 6 key fundamentals is the grip! The golf grip will have a lot of variance from player to player, but even with those subtle differences, there are similar factors that almost every good player has in common.

If you’re a serious player working hard on your game, you would want to learn how grip adjustments affect not only direction but also distance.

Since your grip influences the rate at which your club face closes on the downswing to a great extent, an improper grip of the golf club will greatly, and negatively, impact your ball flight.

A poor grip can directly cause hooks, slices, and many other bad shots that make improvement extremely difficult, and needlessly inflate your scores.

When it comes to power, if your grip prevents the proper hinging and releases through impact, you will lose distance.

Keys to Properly Gripping a Golf Club

• Palms should be parallel so that they can work together.
• Try strong and weak grips to find what works best for you.
• Adopt an overlap or interlock grip to make the hands one unit.
• Don’t grip so tightly that your hands cannot move. Have a firm grip instead of a tight one.
• Don’t be afraid to choke down. Also, never have your hands hanging off the end of the club.

Here’s the good news: there’s no one way of gripping a golf club for success. Instead, it’s all about the game of trial and error when it comes to choosing a grip that works best for you. So, depending on your talent level and other mechanics, you may find that a stronger grip works better, or like Ben Hogan, you might find a weaker grip more suited to your game.

“Whatever works best for you is the right grip!” However, there are some fundamentals you should keep in mind. And if you’re a beginner, or struggling with your game, then assessing your grip might be a very important checkpoint.

Fundamentals to Keep in Check

Here are a few basic things you need to keep in mind:

• For a right-hander, a grip is said to be “weaker” if the hands are turned more to the left on the shaft, with the hands more on top of the grip.

•  A “stronger” grip will have both hands turned more to the right, under the grip more than on top of the grip.

•  Another thing to keep in mind is that a weaker grip tends to have the club gripped more in your palms, while a stronger grip will be felt more in your fingers!

• No matter which grip suits you better, stronger or weaker, the palms of each hand should generally face each other.

• If they are facing in different directions they will “fight” each other during the swing causing inconsistency.

• Grab the club with your left hand hanging by your side, then bring the club up in front of you and lay the right hand on top of the left. In a good grip, the thumb of the left hand should rest perfectly in the lifeline of the right hand (the opposite for lefties).

• Next, make sure that your fingers wrap around the grip of the club, with your thumbs pointing generally in the same direction. With your palms facing each other and your thumbs pointing in the same direction, your hands will work as a unit.

• Connect your hands with either an interlocking grip or an overlapping grip. Even though some players have played well with a “baseball” grip, it does make the hands more independent which we wouldn’t recommend.

• In terms of grip pressure, have a firm hold on the club, and avoid gripping it so tightly that you restrict the proper cocking and uncocking of your wrists. In general, you want the club to be under control but not restrained.

• Consider how far down the club you want to take your grip. The end of the club should be visible when you take your grip. Avoid your hands hanging off the end of the club. You can “choke down” a little if it helps you control the club better.

A great example of this is Brooke Henderson. She is one of the greatest players in the modern era and grips down quite a bit on the club.

Final Thoughts

Stick to the fundamentals we outlined above. Also, make sure you get to the range and work with your grip to find the subtle differences that could make a huge impact on your game! Good luck!