What is the best golf grip for you?
What is a firm grip? Or Why does my weak grip cause me to slice? You’re in the right spot. This article will cover the differences between strong and soft golf grips. It will also explain how they impact your game and help you to choose the proper grip.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of golf grips?
The strength of your grips is how your hands are placed on the golf clubs. This includes how far they can be twisted or turned to the side. Grip strength can be thought of as a continuum that runs from very powerful to very poor. (See the graphic below).
What does it mean to have a strong or weak grip on the golf course?
Look at the pictures below. The graphic shows how your grip strength is linked to your club face angle at impact and ball flight.
The left side has a firm grip. This promotes a closed face at impact, encouraging a draw and hook. The middle has a neutral grip which enables straight shots and a square clubface. On the right, we have a weak grip. A soft grip can lead to an open club face at impact, which often leads to a fade or slice.
Other factors such as timing, release, and ball position will all affect how open or closed your club face at impact. Your golf grip is essential in determining the club face angle at impact.
You should also know that a 4-6o open club face can cause a prominent cut or hook. It could be that your grip is too twisted in one direction.
This is why you might hear it often: “Your weak golf grip causes your slice.” You can also say, “You’ll never stop hooking it when you have a strong grip.”
What impact can strong and weak grips have on golf swing performance?
Many golfers need help understanding the difference between solid and weak grips. This is what I will try to explain. It can help you have great control over your future golf shots.
Watch the video to see how your arms and hands naturally hang inwards. This is the position that your hands and arms will return to when you swing the golf club fast. A neutral grip is when both hands look slightly twisted and rest on each other. This is their natural position.
You can set up with a firm grip so that your arms reach their natural position. When you hit the impact point, the club will be closed.
You can set up with a weak grip so that your arms reach their natural position. When you hit the impact point, the club will be open.
Do I need a strong, weak, or neutral grip?
Extreme grip positions can present some challenges. However, I often coach great players with weaker or stronger grips. If a player struggles to align the club face, I encourage them to use a firm grip.
Strengthening your grip 2-3o can improve your golf swing mechanics and ball flight.
The culprit for a weak left or right-hand grip is often the reason you are having trouble with a hook. Sometimes, weakening one or both hands can magically straighten your ball’s flight.
We’ll discuss strong and weak golf grips and how to achieve your preferred position. For a detailed guide to grip building, check out our complete guide on creating your grip. We have a step-by-step guide.
What makes a firm grip on the golf course?
The firm grip for golf is where your left-hand rests on top of your grip and your right under the clasp. This process should result in a grip that matches what is shown below.
You can use many cues to check your grip strength. Below are arrows that show where the V’s in your thumb and hand point. The closer they point to your right shoulder, the more robust your grip.
It is also possible to see how many knuckles your left hand has. A firmer grip is defined by having more knuckles in your left hand. The key is hand position relative to the club. Your hold will be stronger if your left hand is higher than your right and your right hand is lower than the club. This approach is the best and most reliable.
What is a weak grip on the golf course?
A weak grip on the golf course is when your left-hand rests below your golf grip and you’re right-hand rests more on top. This results in your V’s pointing towards the left shoulder, as the images below demonstrate. In the left-hand image, you’ll notice that we can only see half a knuckle in our left hand.
What is a neutral grasp?
The neutral grip is somewhere in the middle of strong and weak holds. The image below shows both hands slightly bent inwards. The Vs. on both hands represent your right shoulder and chin.
