Fundamentals might be boring to practice, but they are the foundation of every good golf swing. Watch any great golfer and you’ll notice that they have an incredible grasp of the fundamentals. This is no coincidence.
One of the most important fundamentals comes in the form of your grip. Your hands are your only connection to the club, so it’s crucial that you hold the club in a way that promotes consistency.
Next time you see World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler on the range, take note of how much he works on his grip. Before each and every shot, he’s making sure that his hand placement on the club is correct. With that attention to detail, it’s no wonder he’s been the best player in the game for the last several years.
The correct grip won’t be the same for everyone’s swing, but there are a few fundamentals you should keep in mind when holding the club. In the video below, GOLF Top 100 Teacher Debbie Doniger shows us a few tips and tricks that can help make sure we are gripping the club perfectly on every swing.
When readying to grip the club, allow your arms to dangle naturally by your side. Notice where your lead hand (the left hand for righties) sits and then let the club rest in your hands. When you do this, the grip should settle right into your fingers.
“You’ll notice you want to hold the club in your fingers,” Doniger says. “You have this nice little alignment aid that’s ribbed [on the backside of the grip], and you can almost feel it in your fingers.”
The biggest mistakes Doniger says she sees in her students is that they will either grip the club too much in the palm of their hand or they will overdo holding it with their fingers and not allow the club to rest naturally in their hands.
“If we hold [the club] at a 45-degree angle, you can really feel the ridge in your fingers,” she says.
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A good checkpoint for checking this is to take your grip with just the lead hand and then take every finger off the club except your pointer finger. You should be able to still hold onto the club with just your pointer finger as the butt end of the grip is resting on the heel pad of your hand. You can also do the opposite and take off just the pointer finger and thumb as you grip the club with the other three fingers and your heel pad.
For the trail hand, once again, hold the club up at a 45-degree angle. Grab the club a bit up the shaft with your fingers wrapped around it and then simply slide it down until both hands are touching. The key checkpoint here is getting the heel pad of your trail hand just on top of the thumb of your lead hand.
“The biggest connection point is this lifeline,” Doniger says. “It forms a pocket for your left thumb.”
Now that you have both hands on the grip, you can check to make sure they are aligned correctly. Make sure your right thumb is across the grip and just on the left side of the Golf Pride logo. Your left thumb should be just on the right side of the logo as well — and make sure it isn’t stretched too far down the grip. Sometimes when it gets too extended, it will cause you to grip the club too much in the palms of your hands instead of the fingers.
“You’re trying to have a nice connection with both hands onto the club,” Doniger says. “That is a basic grip.”
If you can follow these checkpoints, you’ll be well on your way to creating a consistent grip for your golf game.
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