A poor golf grip is a surefire way to ruin your shot and your game.
Most problems start with the grip. Your hooks, slices, tops and more can usually be traced back to the way you hold your club, taking precious strokes off your game every time you play.
Even though the golf grip is one of the first techniques taught to new golfers, it’s notoriously easy to mess up.
Thankfully, if you’ve fallen into bad grip habits, there are things you can do to get your grip back into a good position and get your game back on track.
Here are 5 simple tips to improve your golf grip:
1 - Look for two knuckles
2 - Mark your glove
3 - Don’t grip too tight or light
4 - Test between a soft and strong grip
5 - Try alternative golf grips
1 - Look for two knuckles
The ‘two-knuckles’ rule is common advice passed from golf pros to young golf upstarts early on.
When you pick up your golf club, you start with your opposite hand (left hand if you’re a righty, right hand if you’re a lefty).
If you're a right-handed golfer, hold the club straight with your left thumb pointing down the shaft. Then, slowly turn your hand until the knuckles of your first two fingers appear in view.
This is the ideal position for your base hand. From here, you can bring your other hand into position.
Your right thumb should cross over the top of your left, while you interlock the index finger from your left hand with the little finger of your right hand. This is known as the ‘neutral’ grip.
Or, you may have been taught an ‘overlapping’ grip, the only difference being the little finger sits atop the index finger.
(If you’ve not yet started learning, don’t worry, it always sounds daunting at first. But you’ll pick up the basics in no time.)
Keep an eye out for those two knuckles before moving into the other stages of your grip.
2 - Mark your glove
No, this isn’t cheating, and you won’t be thrown off any golf courses any time soon. But a lot of players who struggle with their golf grip benefit from a visual aid.
Drawing a line on your golf gloves is a nifty way to remind yourself where your club should sit in your hands.
Take a permanent marker and draw a straight line along the back of your glove. The line should stretch from the knuckle of your index finger to the bottom of the glove in line with your little finger.
It should be a diagonal line and is representative of how the club should sit in your hands. When holding the club, peep over at your glove and see if everything lines up if you’re unsure.
3 - Don’t grip too tight or light
It’s natural to want the most control over your clubs as possible. But that doesn’t mean you need to grip them like you’re holding on for dear life.
If your grip pressure is off the charts and your knuckles are turning white, you’re gripping the club too hard. This tension will cause issues in your golf swing and often results in players catching the heel of the club.
At the other end of the spectrum, if you hold your club with a weak golf grip like the club is made of glass, you’ll have no control over your swing whatsoever and will likely top the ball.
There should be a little room for movement in your grip, but not so much that your club wobbles all over the place as you swing.
Firm yet relaxed is a good way to think of it. But what’s most important is that your grip feels natural to you.
The more you play, the better your understanding of how tight to hold your grip will be.
4 - Test between a soft and strong grip
Remember those two knuckles we talked about earlier?
Focussing on only seeing those two knuckles is a great way to start. But as you gain experience, you can begin to test how ‘strong’ or ‘soft’ to hold your grip.
For example, if you can see more than two knuckles, with your hand and wrist twisted beyond the standard grip, this is what’s known as a strong grip. The positioning of your hand in this way will cause the club face to close in your downswing and may result in your shots veering slightly left, or with lesser loft.
Alternatively, moving your hand in the opposite direction will create what’s known as a soft grip. This opens the club face. This may result in your shot veering slightly right or, in extreme cases, a slice.
Golfers switch between a strong and soft grip, or somewhere in between, for various reasons. Usually, it’s to find a grip that’s most comfortable or to solve problems with their striking.
If you’re struggling to find a grip that works, try a few variations of strong or soft grips the next time you head out for a game and see if there’s any improvement.
5 - Try alternative grips
This one’s for the most experienced players among you. As a general rule, it’s recommended golfers begin with the neutral grip taught by most pros, before trying something new.
But if you’ve been using the standard grip for a long time and think a new grip might help your game, there’s nothing wrong with experimenting.
A lot of experienced golfers enjoy using the baseball grip, which is exactly how it sounds. Rather than interlocking your fingers, simply hold the club with one hand above the other, as you would a baseball bat.
While this grip can offer a boost in power, it forfeits the control and alignment assistance offered by the neutral golf grip. So players who use this grip need to be confident they can bring the club face square in their downswing before impact.
It can be fun testing out new ways of holding the club, but never forget the basics and why they work so well for so many. Why not see if you can incorporate elements of the neutral grip into new grips for the best of both worlds?
Perfect your golf grip at Clarkes Golf
At Clarkes, we’re home to a professional 27-bay driving range, for you to find the perfect golf grip for you and try out new grip techniques to your heart’s content.
If you’re near Rainford, stop by and squeeze in some practice before your next round. Or check out our impeccable golf shop, where you’ll find a plethora of amazing golf clubs, bags accessories and more.
