The golf grip is fundamental to having a good swing, so here is how to get a good golf grip with these free golf tips for beginners. The more experienced golfer should also find these golf tips useful if you want to re-examine your grip. By understanding the description of the nine different grips you will be able to identify any swing faults you may have, such as a slice, and be able to fix it.
The three basic grip types are the interlocking grip, the overlapping grip, and the ten finger grip (or baseball grip.) Each grip has three different grip angles; distance, neutral, and control. There are also three different grip strengths; a weak, strong, or neutral grip. The grip you should use will depend on your strength, hand size, finger length, and how you want to shape your shot - just find the grip that suits you and that is comfortable.
The Three Grip Styles
The baseball grip is not used by many golfers because the overlapping or interlocking grips are far more adaptable. It is a grip that gives you good leverage but the problem is that it produces less club head speed which translates into less distance. Some beginners, children or women use this grip but I would recommend they either of the other two grips.
Considered by many professionals as the best grip to unify your hands, the overlapping grip is ideal if you have larger hands or longer fingers. With this grip, when you bring your right hand under the club, you slide it up and hook your pinkie on top of your left hand index finger or between the index and middle finger.
The interlocking grip is similar to the overlapping grip except that the pinkie of the right hand interlocks with the index finger of the left hand. It is the preferred grip of golfers with small hands or short fingers. With this grip, the tendency is to grip the club in the palm of your right hand instead of at the base of your fingers.
The Three Grip Angles
The distance grip maximizes the wrists flexibility and is good for distance and also offers sensitivity. Place the grip across the base of the fingers, from the base of the index finger to the pad at the base of the little finger on the left hand. The disadvantage is that it requires more strength and skill to keep the club head square through impact.
The neutral grip is most likely the best grip angle for most golfers. This grip runs diagonally from the base of the index finger to a point below the heel pad of your palm. The neutral grip offers a good compromise between distance and control as you have the most flexibility to undertake any type of shot making.
With the control grip you will achieve maximum control for more accuracy but as you will have less flexibility in the wrists you will attain less distance. The club runs across the base of your index finger to the top of your heel pad on a more diagonal path.
The Three Grip Strengths
Finally, with regards to grip strength, the first is the strong grip. When looking down at your left hand, the "V" between your thumb and forefinger point towards your right shoulder and the point between the two tendons in the wrist should be in line with the right side of the shaft. The strong grip is used to eliminate slicing and is also good for distance. Don't use this grip if you want to fade the ball.
The neutral strength grip is the preferred grip for most golfers. The "V" should now point towards your right ear and the point mentioned before of your wrist lines up with the center of your shaft. With this grip you can move the ball right to left (draw) or left to right (fade.) It requires a bit more strength to square the club at impact.
The weak grip is when the point in your wrist is lined up with the left side of your shaft and the "V" points to your chin. This grip can be used to eliminate hooking the ball but you won't be able to hit a controlled draw. It also requires more strength to square the club at impact.
To Summarize
Which ever grip you use, remember that the palms of your hands face each other. The grip is held in the fingers of the right hand and the palm and fingers of the left hand. Also, when gripping the club, leave a half inch of the grip protruding beyond your left hand. Your hands should fit snugly together and feel unified and you should grip the club tightly and consistently throughout the entire golf swing. I hope these free golf tips for beginners for gripping the club will help you with your golf.
