Before you even consider picking up a golf club and giving it your best swing you must learn how to grip a golf club properly.
A proper golf grip could be the difference between that snap hook tee shot and hitting that golf ball with a beautiful high draw.
Problems that most amateur golfers deal with are easily fixed with just a simple adjustment to the golf grip. In my experience it could be as simple as just moving the left thumb to a better position. Right thumb for all of you lefties.
For the instructional purpose of this article I will attempt to use words like non dominant and dominant hands or leading and trailing hand when describing things.
How To Grip A Golf Club Properly Is Always The First Lesson
Before investing thousands of dollars in new golf equipment you should start with the basics. It doesn’t get much more basic than first learning how to grip a golf club.
Most golf instructors will always test the grips of new students first.
A good grip allows you to feel the weight of the club head. It lets you keep the club face square at impact, keep soft hands around and on the greens, and your swing will happen with more fluidity.
Understanding the correct golf grip can help you improve your golf skills and become more consistent in shooting your best score.
Types of Golf Grips
We will start with the basic knowledge of the golf grip.
The basic types of golf grips are the interlocking or overlapping grips. Either grip is fine. It is more about how the golf club feels in your hand as a golfer.
I have known golfers who refuse to stray away from using the ten finger grip because when they started that is what they learned and what they are comfortable with.
To each their own but a proper golf grip, a perfect golf grip, is the interlocking grip or the overlapping grip.
No matter what golf grip you choose it will feel weird at first. Especially if you are switching from one grip style to another. It is ok that it doesn’t feel right at first.
Keep practicing. Keep playing golf and I promise it will start to feel natural to the point that any other grip feels wrong.
How To Grip A Golf Club: Interlocking Grip
The interlocking grip is considered one of the 2 proper golf grips but statistically speaking it is nowhere near the most popular grip among PGA golf professionals. Only about 10% of professional players on the PGA Tour actually utilize this grip.
For a right handed or left handed golfer the steps are the same. You will put the pinky finger of your dominant hand (should be the hand at the bottom of the golf club grip) in between the the index and middle fingers of your non dominant hand.
As you surround your golf club with the rest of hands and fingers the interlocked fingers and the crease between your fingers and palms will be roughly where the golf club grip will rest.
The thumb of your non dominant hand will come over the top of the grip and be cupped by that thick part of you palm just underneath the thumb of your dominant hand.
If the above steps are done correctly then your dominant hand thumb should be pointing straight down the shaft.
If you are practicing while reading then you should be holding a golf club properly with an interlocking grip. Congratulations!
Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and even Rory Mcllroy all use the interlocking grip. In case you want to know the math, that is 37 combined major championships.
Pretty tough statistics to argue with when asking if the the interlocking grip works.
Benefits of the Interlocking Grip
Perfect golf grip for players with smaller hands.
Can keep the hands from slipping during the swing path.
Makes the hands act as one unit.
How To Grip A Golf Club: Overlapping Golf Grip
Vardon or overlap grip is the most common grip among low-handicap or professional players.
The name comes from Harry Vardon famously championing this golf grip throughout 18th century golf. It is now considered the “golden standard”.
Start with gripping the golf club with your non dominant hand. This should be the hand that holds the grip towards the top.
Now grip the club with your dominant hand and place your pinky over the crease between the index and middle finger of your non dominant hand.
The pinky finger will lay over top not interlock.
The ring finger of your dominant hand will be touching a portion of the non dominant index finger’s surface.
That is it you now have the knowledge to use the overlap grip.
Golf instructors tend to teach this grip when teaching new students. This is because it is considered easy to learn and teach.
Benefits of the Overlapping Grip
Ideal grip for players with larger hands.
Gives players the feeling of having good grip pressure.
Provides players with nice comfort level while gripping the golf club.
How To Grip A Golf Club: 10 Finger Golf Grip
It is called the baseball grip because the 10 fingers in the grip have the same grip as holding baseball & softball bat.
This isn’t taught on a typical golf courses. Most golfers just starting to play golf especially children start with this grip.
Golf is all about timing when we get down to it. I have seen players with absolutely wild swings but they knew their swing and how to time when that square club face would come into contact with the ball.
Why does my grip make such a difference to the club face?
The better you hold the golf club, the more precise you will be when making contact with the ball.
With the correct grip it will be much easier to make the club face square at impact. With improper grip styles the club can have entirely too much wiggle room during the swing.
This is when things like a closed club face angle causes a hook or an open face causes a slice.
How To Grip A Golf Club: Grip Strength
The phrase grip strength gives the user a sense of grip pressure but it’s actually the hand’s posture. It is composed of neutral, strong, and weak grips.
Neutral Golf Grip
The neutral grip allows easy swinging of the golf club in both directions with minimal manipulation.
With this grip pressure players will normally be able to see 2 to 2 and a half knuckles of their non dominant (leading) hand when addressing the golf ball.
Strong Golf Grip
Usually if a player is having trouble with a strong slice this is due to them using a strong golf grip.
Players will be able to see 3 or more knuckles of their non dominant (leading) hand.
Weak Golf Grip
On the opposite side of the strong golf grip players who struggle with a bad hook will usually be utilizing the weak grip pressure technique.
During a players set up to the golf ball they will see 2 or less knuckles of their leading hand.
What Grip Pressure Do I Use?
Just like with the style of grip you use, grip pressure is in the eye of the beholder. It is all about what feels right and natural to you.
That being said there are many reasons why a golfer would change the grip pressure they are using.
Think of grip pressure like a scale.
Strong Grip – Neutral Grip – Weak Grip
If a player is having problems with a slice they are probably using a strong grip and should loosen their grip a little more towards the neutral grip. It is the opposite side of the spectrum with the weak grip.
The neutral grip is becoming the most popular among golfers. If you start with the neutral grip and get comfortable using it, then when you begin to learn about shaping shots strengthening and weakening your grip may come easier.
Summing Up Grip Pressure
Besides good grips, proper traction is necessary. It is important to know that your grip pressure determines what happens to your shot.
Pressure is how tight or loose your fingers are applied to the club.
One of the major mistakes most amateurs and novices make is holding the golf club too tightly. It can create unnecessary and detrimental stress on the forearm and shoulders if you hold it too tight.
This can result in unnatural swings. The club needs proper grip to maintain its position as well as applying pressure to its proper areas.
Play around with different grip styles and grip pressures and see what works with your golf swing path. Hold a golf club with the club face square and see what grip pressure lets you maintain that.
Differences in Holding a Driver Vs Other Golf Clubs
There are six basic courses of a golf club: driver, putter, fairway woods, iron, hybrid and wedge. Of course you shouldn’t hold the driver on tee the way you would hold the putter.
For the majority of golfers the actual grip style doesn’t change from the tee box to the green. If you use an overlapping grip with your driver then ideally you would have the same grip with your other clubs.
There are many different variations of grips for the putter but we will get into those later.
The biggest change in your grip from tee to green come with the grip strength. If we go back to the scale strong – neutral – to weak grip then this can make sense.
Depending on the shot shape that is needed throughout the hole you may change your grip strength and footing.
Once you get around the green you may have heard the saying “soft hands”. Feel around and on the greens is very important and a weaker grip gives you that.
How To Grip A Golf Club: Putter Grip
Alright so the golf grip used while putting has a lot of different styles that are used but in my experience there are 4 main styles that are the most popular.
How To Grip A Golf Club: Traditional Grip
This putting grip is the most common among all levels of players from beginner to professional. This is simply because for most golfers the traditional putter grip is the one we learn with.
Of course this means the golf club will feel the most comfortable to most golfers.
It is simply the lead hand below the trail hand on the putter grip.
There are some variations some players use for this golf grip. For example some people use the same interlock or overlap grip that they use with every other club. While others may put their lead hand pointer finger over their trail hand pinky finger. Let’s call it a reverse vardon grip.
Benefits
Typically this feels the most comfortable since it usually mirrors the way the players grip a golf club on the rest of the course.
Gives players the feeling of having a bit more freedom with their arms and hands. This can also be a bad thing if you are not careful.
How To Grip A Golf Club: Claw Grip
I remember being in high school watching Chris DiMarco take the PGA by storm with this grip. All my friends and players at my local course just had to try it out.
Personally back then and to this day it just feels weird to me but there are still a large number of players that swear by this technique.
The way to use this style is your lead hand is holding the top of the grip. The trail hand is gripping the bottom between the thumb and fingers (pretend you’re holding a cheeseburger and grip the bottom of the grip). Or as the name suggests, make a claw with your trail hand, Index finger to the sky and grip the bottom.
Benefits
Essentially takes your trail hand out of the equation completely, so less variables in play to mess up the stroke.
Gives all the power to the lead hand hand, arms, and shoulders to guide the putter on a smooth even swing path.
How To Grip A Golf Club: Cross Hand Grip
More commonly know as the left hand low grip is extremely popular today.
This grip is essentially just the reverse of the traditional golf grip. The lead hand goes below the trail hand.
Just like the traditional grip certain players have different variations of how they utilize this cross hand grip style.
Benefits
Takes all the fear of the lead hand breaking down during the putt.
Has the easiest adjustment period if switching your putting style.
How To Grip A Golf Club: Wrist Anchor Grip
This style can be hard to spot someone using because from afar it looks pretty similar to the traditional style.
The proper golf grip is the lead hand grips towards the bottom of the golf club grip and the rest of you lead hands forearm rests against the grip.
With your trail hand you hold the putter grip below the lead hand.
Benefits
Just about takes the hands completely out of play meaning the player must rely on their arms and shoulders for a buttery smooth putting stroke.
Takeaways of Golf Grips
Just like the rest of the sport there are so many different different styles and variations of a proper golf grip.
How in the world are you supposed to know whats right and whats wrong? What style should you as a beginner or even experienced golfer go with?
I get it, it can be overwhelming. The honest answer here is the choice is yours and yours alone. Instructors can guide you down the path they want to teach but if that style doesn’t feel right then try something else.
The only way a player can truly know what grip style or swing style works for them is by trying them all out and seeing what is the most comfortable for their play style.
FAQ
What grip does Tiger Woods use?
Tiger prefers the neutral, interlinked grip of his hand which means the pinky of his leading palm is between the index finger and pinky of his trail hand.
Do any pros use a 10 finger grip?
Scott Piercy has been playing golf professionally since 2001. He is currently the only PGA golf professional that uses the 10 finger grip.
Do pros use overlap or interlock grip?
Most golfers use overlapping grips when holding the golf club. Also called the Vardon grip, about 90% of golfers have used these grips at least once.
How hard should you grip a driver?
Your grip should be firm but not overly tight to allow for proper control and feel. This should be a consistent golf grip.
How do I get the perfect golf grip every time?
Simple, practice practice practice. Golf is a game of discipline, consistency, and repetition. I have never met a really good player that didn’t have all 3 of these traits.
If you want to get good at not only gripping your clubs but the actual sport of golf you have to practice and take the time to learn.
How should a beginner grip the club?
This is really personnel preference on what feels the most comfortable to you with your swing. Once you get your swing dialed in the grip style you initially had may change.
Need some more knowledge? Check out some of the other articles in the golf blog.
Keep your head down, and hit em’ straight!
Regular guy with a crippling addiction, love, and passion for the sport of golf. I am here to share my experiences, and maybe just maybe help you drop a few shots from your game. I will do this with insights, tips, tricks, and product reviews of the best equipment in the game.