A golf grip is our only connection with the golf club. An incorrect golf grip will impact all areas of the backswing and impact. With the importance of a great golf grip, it’s worth your time to invest some time into this area of the game.
Our guide to the proper golf grip will show you the right way to grip a golf club, different types of golf grips, and how to know that your grip is good.
What is a Proper Golf Grip?
A proper golf grip is one in which your hands are placed squarely on the club, and they do not impact or manipulate the face of the club at setup. In addition, your golf grip will be more in the fingers of your hands to promote more of your larger muscle involvement in the swing. The proper golf grip has the right amount of pressure to maintain a firm hold on the club without decreasing the amount of extension and reach in the swing.
Three are several different types of golf grips that golfers can choose from, and each will impact the playability of the golf course. If you are a great player, you can grip the club in various ways, but there is almost always a version that fits the needs of your hands and your swing the best.
Types of Golf Grips
The three main types of golf grips are the 10-finger grip, the overlapping grip, and the interlocking grip. The 10-finger grip can also be called the baseball grip, so don’t confuse these two when you see them.
10-Finger Grip
The 10-finger grip includes having all ten of your fingers on the club in some capacity. There is no connection between the left hand and the right hand when you look at the underside of the club. Many beginners will use the 10-finger grip as it is relatively easy to learn.
As players develop, they find that the 10-finger grip gives a little too much power and control to the right hand, and it is often traded out for the overlapping or interlocking grip.
Overlapping Grip
The overlapping grip allows the right hand’s pinky to sit on top of the index finger of the left hand. This grip is an excellent choice for those with a larger hand or players struggling to keep an overactive right hand out of the swing. The overlapping grip does a great job of letting the left-hand lead.
Many professional golfers use the overlapping grip as it has been known to help improve overall feel.
Interlocking Grip
The interlocking grip is where you will take the pinky from the right hand and place it between the index and middle finger on the left hand. This creates a very firm connection with the golf club and will help players to keep their hands in place on the club. Many golfers with smaller hands use this interlocking grip.
In addition, the interlocking grip can be a good choice for those with quite a bit of power who need to maintain a strong connection with the club.
Step by Step Guide to Gripping a Golf Club
Now that you have the basics of the different types of grips and the importance of these grips, it’s time to look into more of the specifics as to how to hold a club properly. Once you have these steps down, you can start to have more confidence in the way you swing the club on the course.
Step 1: Position The Club
It’s much easier to work on the grip when you are not in the address position and instead when you have the club in front of you. Start with the club at waist height held parallel to the ground in front of you. Make sure the clubface is square, as you will always want to set up in this position.
Step 2: Left Hand First
For right-handed golfers, the left hand is the most critical part of the grip. If you are working on your grip, always start by putting your left hand on the club first. Put the club in the fingers of your left hand so that the club cuts across the palm of your hand at an angle. When bent, your fingers have a natural angle to them, and the club should fit in with the butt end of the club resting on the pad of your palm.
Step 3: Rotation
Now that you have the left hand on the club, you want to position it to ensure it is in the right spot and ready for the right hand to grip the club. The proper position will allow you to look down and see two knuckles on your left hand. This will typically require a slight adjustment or rotation to the right. Looking down and seeing two fingers is a neutral grip.
Step 4: Right Hand Addition
Next, you will want to take the pad of your right hand and fit your thumb in the center. You can close your right hand around the thumb and then choose to interlock or overlap your fingers on the back end of the club. The right hand addition will also need some rotation, but if your left hand is on correctly to begin with, this becomes considerably easier.
Step 5: Check the V
Once both of your hands are close to the club, you will be able to see that your thumb and forefinger create a V position. This V is supposed to point to the middle of your chest if you are looking for a more neutral grip.
Step 6: Adjustments for Strong, Neutral, and Weak Grip
We gave you all the information you needed to create a neutral grip, the type of golf grip that most golfers want to start with. However, there are other types of grips, like strong and weak, that can help when players have difficulty with slicing or hooking the golf ball.
The strong grip requires you to turn your hands to the right, which will, in turn, take the small V that was pointed to the middle of your chest and point it to your right shoulder. The strong grip helps players that struggle to release the club, making it easier to square up the clubface.
The weak grip is for golfers that struggle with a hook, and their hands need to take a bit more of a neutral role in the swing. The V created by a weak grip will point more towards the left shoulder. Playing around with different grip types on the range is an excellent way to learn how the grip impacts swing planes and paths.
Difference Between Driver and Putter Grip
When it comes down to the driver grip, you have the option of interlock, overlap, or neutral, but all three grips are similar for the most part. However, when it comes to the putter, there is really no standard grip.
Golfers will use things like the claw grip, reverse overlap even cross-handed putting grips. The putting stroke is a vital part of the game as it is the only way we can get the ball in the hole and score. It makes complete sense to find a putting grip that feels good to you, regardless of the type.
Many professional golfers will make changes to the putting grip and their putters after a bad tournament. It’s much different than making a complete swing grip change, and sometimes it can help mentally just as much as it helps physically.
If you have some time, take a few golf balls and head to the putting green, experimenting with different ways to grip the putter. Chances are you will find some things work much better than others. There is, however, no single putting grip that is truly the best.
Grip Pressure – How Hard Should you Grip the Golf Club?
It’s often been said that the lightest grip possible while still maintaining control of the club is the best. However, we tend to disagree here. After so many years of seeing players try to grip the club lightly, we have noticed a fine line between gripping the club lightly and gripping it so that you can control it.
If you take this concept or idea of gripping the club lightly a bit too far, you could end up losing control of the clubface and not being able to manipulate the club enough through impact. Sometimes if you have good control over the club but make a poor swing, you can kind of save it. If your grip is too loose, this won’t be the case.
The idea of a lightweight grip pressure came about because of players that truly squeeze the club as they set up to hit. If you are not this player and you have a reasonable amount of pressure on the grip, this will not hurt your game. Squeezing the golf club does nothing for you, but holding the golf club with no pressure also cannot help.
What is Considered the Most Common Golf Grip?
The most common grip in golf will likely be a tie between the interlock and the overlap. The 10-finger grip is not quite as popular as it can be hard to get the proper grip pressure and involvement of the hands with the 10-finger grip. However, this is not to say that the 10-finger grip is a bad place to start. Many golfers are successful with this grip when they first start the game.
Final Thoughts
We hope you now feel a bit more knowledgeable about how to grip a golf club. This is, unfortunately, an area of your game that will require some practice and time. You must be certain that you are holding the golf club properly before you pick the club up and start swinging it back.
So many great players find that most of their swing issues are related to how they are standing or the way they are holding the club. Eliminate these issues for yourself and start to give the time and attention necessary to the proper golf grip.
