Get a Grip

One thing I am having trouble with (as a beginner) is the grip I have been taught to use by my mates with the little finger of the right hand intersecting with the index (nearest the thumb) of the left hand - there is a name for it but I can't think of it.

I find this very unconfortable to use and find I tend to ignore this and grip with both hands close but seperate.

I've seen some things on the web which suggest thee above grip although generally accepted is not mandatory and I wonder what other people do - Does the type of grip matter?

Any of these will do. Vardon is generally the most popular, then interlocking and finally the baseball grip. I started with interlocking but went to vardon soon after being shown by my pro how to grip the club properly. A lot of the comfort has to do with hand /finger sizes I believe.

Interlock Grip - That's the one I cn't get on with.

Think you might be right - I have quite small hands and fingers so think that's why I find it diffcult.

Will try the Vardon Grip tommorow and perhaps revert to 10 Finger Grip - That's what I do now (didn't know it had a Technical name as well).

Hi Wayne,

I start an Academy this week which goes back to basics (and I realy realy need that!) after that completes (5 weeks) I intend taking professional lessions.

My mates were the first to acknowledge they are not professionals and encouraged me to take professional lessions they were just trying to help me out using the experience of lessions they have taken from Pro's until such time as I could get into classes of my own - I didn't want to start Lessions until I did the Academy as I am such a novice.

Regards,

Dave.

martins words are wise,i use vardon overlap,hand size, finger length/girth is an important matter i believe,i bought some ping i3s 2 year back, every shot was a fade or worse, except my 5 and 7 iron,on closer inspection the writing on the top of the grip were different colours,white for the 7&5 gold/yellow everything else,looked online discovered the were different sizes,white/standard,gold oversize,got a few  changed to white and they straightened up a little,and felt more comfortable in my hands,after buying a 7 wood from ebay it came with a red{under-undersize} ping grip,its also ladies flex(tempo can be an issue with me,)and its the first wood that i can hit with any real consistency/accuracy,tried an undersize grip on my 6 iron,it felt dreamy sitting in my hands,just right, it helps me rotate the club head through impact better thus making it easier to get your weight of your right side

where the club sits in your left hand is very important,if you hold the club in the palm of your hand your pretty much locking that wrist(good for pitching&chipping)

im not a big fan of lessons, reminds me too much of school,i believe in being my own teacher, its the only way i learn,but you must arm yourself with good knowledge,i downloaded some david leadbetter aj bohn dvds, before that i thought the only way to hit a good shot was to keep the clubface rigidly square at all times, after learning that you dont the game became less bemusing/painful

hope this helps 

Hmmm,

I'm a bit sceptical of the last poster, the name seems to ring a bell?? http://www.golfshake.com/scripts/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/embaressed_smile.gif" title="blush" />

Interesting your point about the coluring of the grip - I'll have to check mine.

The clubs I have (which I bought 2nd Hand becuase i wasn't sure whether I would like golf or not) are called 'Oversize' and I had assumed that referred to the Club Head (i.e. it was bigger then normal to help make contact with the ball) but wondering now whether it actually means the Grip?

Know what you mean about lessons but at this stage I don't even know what all my clubs are for so feel a good grounding can only help me improve!

Dave,

The Grip on a Club can be changed anytime so if the Club has "Oversized" on the head, it means the Clubhead and not the Grip.

The position of the hands in 'The Grip' determine the alignment of the Clubface so is a very importent part of the whole package. Most Pro's will advise the "Interlocking Grip" for smaller hands and totally stear you away from the "Baseball Grip". The idea when gripping your Club is to have the hands working as a Unit but the Baseball Grip allows the hands to work independantly. Try and stick with either the "Interlocking" or "Overlapping" grip.

TheLyth

Thanks for the clarification - Thought that was the case but not sure (so much to learn, so little time!).

Having just had my first lession has been a real boost and the coach has recommended the Interlocking Grip and now I know how to do it properly it's not so bad (hit my best shots tonight on the range) and I will persist with it.

Thanks Wayne -Only played a couple of games and a few goes on the driving range but already addicted And keen to improve!