Golf Grip Pressure And Overall Grip Tips

In the game of golf there are three major types of grips you should consider using. However, before we talk about the grip, let’s talk briefly about a topic most people forget about and that is golf grip pressure.

Too much grip pressure and not only will you end the round with a lot of blisters but you are much more likely to consistently push the ball past the hole and over-swinging.

Too little grip pressure and you run the risk of the ball always ending up short of the hole and also increase your chance of slicing or exacerbating your slice even more.

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the strongest grip and one being the lightest, it’s best to end up around a 2-3. A famous golfer once said you should hold your clubs like you are holding a baby bird. Hold it tight enough that it doesn’t get a way but not too tight to injure the baby bird.

The Overlapping Grip

The first type of grip to talk about is the overlapping grip. This is the grip most players will use and it was made popular by Harry Vardon so you may hear other golfers refer to it as the Vardon Overlap. This is also the grip you are most-likely to be taught by golfing professionals. See the photo below as an example of the overlapping grip.

 

 

 

 

The Interlocking Grip

The second most-common type of grip used today is the Interlock or Interlocking grip. As you can see in the photo below, this grip actually locks the two hands together on the club. This tends to be the grip which is most-preferred by a majority of the pros playing on the tour today.

However, there is a risk in using this type of a grip. Many golfers can find the handle of the club straying into the palms of their hands which can cause their grip and shot to be unsteady. Generally, if you are the type of person with weaker than normal hands and forearms and your hands are on the smaller side, this probably isn’t the grip for you. Also, if you are a true beginner, this isn’t the right grip for you either. Start off with our next grip and as you become a stronger, more-confident golfer, you can switch to the Interlocking grip.

To use the Interlock grip, take the little finger on the trailing hand (the trailing hand for right-handed golfers is the right hand) and intertwine it with the index finger on the lead hand. The lead hand thumb should fit in the lifeline of the trailing hand.

 

 

 

The Ten Finger Grip

This grip is also called, many times, the baseball grip because it mimics how a baseball player holds a bat.  While this is the least-preferred of all the grips by golfing pros and instructors, it definitely has its place in the world of golf grips. While that being said, there are still many tour pros who use this grip on a daily basis and find it to be the best option for them.

Most of the time, you will hear teaching professional tell their beginner students to use this grip as it’s the simplest to learn and allows for the quickest path to playing, which is what most of us want to do. Also, if you experience any type of joint pain or arthritis, or if you have fairly small hands (as most women and juniors do), this is the right grip for you.

To position your hands properly using a Ten Finger grip, start with a perfect lead hand grip, and then place the little finger of the trailing hand close against the index finger of the lead hand. One of the major mistakes most beginning golfers, using this type of grip have to overcome is allowing a space to be created between their two hands on the shaft of the club. Be sure to keep your hands together at all times. Cover the lead hand thumb with the lifeline of the trailing hand.

 

 

 

 

Follow these tips and you’ll be sure to be off on the correct path to hitting the golf ball straighter and more consistent.