Grip Pressure - What Should It Be?

[mikeg_74]

Freddie-

I've read and heard about grip pressure and what the club should feel like in your hands. Some say on a scale of 1-10 you should never be more than a 6/7. Others say you should feel as if the club is gently resting in your hand. With the various swing speeds and more importantly swing tempo's what is your "rule of thumb" for grip pressure? My biggest fear is gripping too light and the club goes flying through the air at impact. I catch myself almost committing 'felony assault' sometimes with how tight I grip the club, but I immediately take a step back and take a deep breath. This relaxes me & in turn losens my grip.

 

[Awkward silence]

I remember an episode of the golf fix about this exact topic. Michael breed held two waterbottles in his hands and attepmted to swing practice swings. your pressure shouldnt change throughout your swing so if you make a swing and bottles make that crunch sound you know you have something to work on. As for actualy pressure I would have a firm 5 to 6 out of 10. You want to be able to swing freely and I think an overlly tight grip can affect your shot making slightly more than a looser grip can. Althought not an expert just my .02

 

[Spiritomb]

My pro always said. Your grip pressure should be enough, that some one can easily pull the club out of your hand.

 

[Erky]

Remember the old adage "It's like holding a baby bird. Not firm enough the you crush it, but firm enough to keep it from flying away."

 

[ohio_striker]

I remember an episode of the golf fix about this exact topic. Michael breed held two waterbottles in his hands and attepmted to swing practice swings. your pressure shouldnt change throughout your swing so if you make a swing and bottles make that crunch sound you know you have something to work on. As for actualy pressure I would have a firm 5 to 6 out of 10. You want to be able to swing freely and I think an overlly tight grip can affect your shot making slightly more than a looser grip can. Althought not an expert just my .02

i never really got that when people say it stays at a 5 thoughout the swing. how can it be the same at adress as it is when your swinging 90 mph and taking a divot? i would think your body would just adjust the pressure so the club doesnt move. because thats a real possibility with a 5 out of 10 especially in the rough.

 

[Awkward silence]

i never really got that when people say it stays at a 5 thoughout the swing. how can it be the same at adress as it is when your swininging 90 mph and taking a divot? i would think your body would just adjust the pressure so the club doesnt move. because thats a real possibility with a 5 out of 10 especially in the rough.

Thats why i put my disclaimer at the end I think this drill might be meant for ideal fairway conditions or tee box's.

 

[O'Carroll]

Another tip I heard was to picture yourself holding a tube of toothpaste upside down with no cap--you should be able to swing without squeezing any toothpaste out of the tube.

 

[ohio_striker]

interesting video about grip and grip pressure from sean clement. he has helped my game a lot. i know instruction is subjective but he shoots under par righty and lefty so i hope he knows what hes talking about. lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFGrmHocmjM

 

[Shook]

If you ever find yourself out on a driving range all alone, you could experiment with loosening your pressure. If the club eventually does fly out then at least no one will be around to get hit (or laugh at you).

 

[Tadashi70]

Freddie-

I've read and heard about grip pressure and what the club should feel like in your hands. Some say on a scale of 1-10 you should never be more than a 6/7. Others say you should feel as if the club is gently resting in your hand. With the various swing speeds and more importantly swing tempo's what is your "rule of thumb" for grip pressure? My biggest fear is gripping too light and the club goes flying through the air at impact. I catch myself almost committing 'felony assault' sometimes with how tight I grip the club, but I immediately take a step back and take a deep breath. This relaxes me & in turn losens my grip.

I'll explain it like this, the body will not let you through the club so you don't have to worry about that. When get in pressure situations my grip gets tight. I know this because my right arm is almost as straight as my left. My shoulders are shrugged and my take away is way outside the line.

I have checks before I pull the trigger.the main one is making sure my right arm is relaxed and that my arms are hanging freely under my shoulders. If they aren't, I loosen my grip and my right arm falls into place.

To answer your question 6 is a good grip. But how do you gauge a 6 vs 8. The age old quote is hold the club the way you would hold a baby bird. Tight enough to appreciate but not to tight to smoother.

The bottle drill is good but to a man, PGA stars grip pressure changes through out 60% of their swings. This is not fact but an observation. Errant shots at that level are usually cause by very small flaws. Increased grip pressure is so involuntary that under pressure the body will take over. The difference between them and us, they miss in feet and we miss in yards.

 

[sparksjr]

Great question and great answers folks. I love learning from other peoples questions.

I know this: when I finally stopped choking my driver I started hitting the best drives of my life. A small child could pull my driver out of my hands at address.

 

[baldguy]

I'll explain it like this, the body will not let you through the club so you don't have to worry about that. When get in pressure situations my grip gets tight. I know this because my right arm is almost as straight as my left. My shoulders are shrugged and my take away is way outside the line.

I have checks before I pull the trigger.the main one is making sure my right arm is relaxed and that my arms are hanging freely under my shoulders. If they aren't, I loosen my grip and my right arm falls into place.

To answer your question 6 is a good grip. But how do you gauge a 6 vs 8. The age old quote is hold the club the way you would hold a baby bird. Tight enough to appreciate but not to tight to smoother.

The bottle drill is good but to a man, PGA stars grip pressure changes through out 60% of their swings. This is not fact but an observation. Errant shots at that level are usually cause by very small flaws. Increased grip pressure is so involuntary that under pressure the body will take over. The difference between them and us, they miss in feet and we miss in yards.

I'd normally agree. at least until the other day when I saw/heard someone follow through hard enough to send the club flying. It made a lot of noise in the PGA store. Thankfully only his pride was hurt!

 

[Tadashi70]

I'd normally agree. at least until the other day when I saw/heard someone follow through hard enough to send the club flying. It made a lot of noise in the PGA store. Thankfully only his pride was hurt!

Not to get off track, but anyone can have a slip-up. The norm on normal swings, the body will tend to grip a bit tighter prior to impact

 

[beerman]

I believe it also helps to keep your thumb and pointer fingers of both hands fairly loose. This allows your wrists to move freely no matter the grip pressure of the rest of your fingers.

 

[Mystery Meat]

:act-up:Grip pressure is so individual..some light grippers..other firm. Find your happy medium and go out and have fun. I would suggest researching the "bio kinetic grip" on the net. Some great old threads to read that go way in depth on grip pressures..but excellent info never the less

 

[tahoebum]

:act-up:Grip pressure is so individual..some light grippers..other firm. Find your happy medium and go out and have fun. I would suggest researching the "bio kinetic grip" on the net. Some great old threads to read that go way in depth on grip pressures..but excellent info never the less

Yes, Snead certainly gripped with less pressure than Hogan. I think many golfers are forced to grip it tighter because their grips are worn out. I always regrip all my clubs each April and when I'm playing a lot, I'll regrip the clubs that need it a second time during the season.

 

[Trout Bum]

I'm totally with Freddie on this one, grip pressure changes during the swing. Even though we generally start off with a soft touch it changes as soon as the club goes back and then again on the way down and again at the release, it's such an overlooked ingredient of the swing too and can cause many issues.

 

[mikeg_74]

So while on the launch monitor yesterday I was very conscious of my grip pressure. What I found was that in those swings that I gripped too strong the hit was not great and did not feel solid or smooth. When I adjusted to a lighter grip pressure I made solid contact and felt like I had a smooth stroke. My tempo felt better and the ball went farther.

To Freddie's comment the body will adjust. I purposely gripped light but did notice during the downswing the body applied pressure to make sure the club didn't slip. It defiantly felt weird at first, but if you trust it, it works out.

 

[Smallville]

Remember the old adage "It's like holding a baby bird. Not firm enough the you crush it, but firm enough to keep it from flying away."

This here.

Wish I could remember to do this.

 

[Tadashi70]

I believe it also helps to keep your thumb and pointer fingers of both hands fairly loose. This allows your wrists to move freely no matter the grip pressure of the rest of your fingers.

On the contrary, the thumb and index finger are actually where the firmest pressure comes from.

 

[Tadashi70]

I'll add this to the conversation. The proper size grip with help with proper grip pressure. The tips of your fingers should just be touching the palm of your left hand

 

[Mystery Meat]

I'm totally with Freddie on this one, grip pressure changes during the swing. Even though we generally start off with a soft touch it changes as soon as the club goes back and then again on the way down and again at the release, it's such an overlooked ingredient of the swing too and can cause many issues.

Agree a a million percent.. But the more you play this great game,,the more you will have unique "feelings and pressures" for certain shots and situations.. Unique to you and only you. A lot of factors to take in account..

 

[Jackal]

"Like holding a loaf of bread " . Enough pressure to pick it up, but not squash it.

If your grips are clean and tacky, good glove, nothing to worry about.

The grip is larger on the butt end to prevent it from sliding out of your hands.

I find myself from time to time doing a death grip. Especially after a layoff due to weather, etc.

Jackal

 

[mikedean441]

Bumping this thread

My pro and I have talked a little bit off and on about grip pressure. Im gripping the heck out of the club, I have blisters where I shouldnt and when my pro grabs the club from me to show me a drill he has commented about how hot the grip feels.

Ive also caught myself right before my takeaway starting to grip the club even more tighter, and I know this is not good.

A few questions:

1. Any easy to do drills (both range or at home) to help alleviate this? I know some of it has to be your brain telling yourself to stop gripping the crap out of the club.

2. Would I person benefit from playing a larger grip? Meaning would that alleviate the need for some of that additional pressure?

Thoughts?

 

[Harvmp28]

Bumping this thread

My pro and I have talked a little bit off and on about grip pressure. Im gripping the heck out of the club, I have blisters where I shouldnt and when my pro grabs the club from me to show me a drill he has commented about how hot the grip feels.

Ive also caught myself right before my takeaway starting to grip the club even more tighter, and I know this is not good.

A few questions:

1. Any easy to do drills (both range or at home) to help alleviate this? I know some of it has to be your brain telling yourself to stop gripping the crap out of the club.

2. Would I person benefit from playing a larger grip? Meaning would that alleviate the need for some of that additional pressure?

Thoughts?

I just got new irons and regripped immediately with Midsize REL 3Gens. I feel like it has alleviated a bit of my oversqueezing. I used to get blisters on the inside of my right thumb after just 18, I played 27 a week ago and 18 two days later and I truly feel my grip is more relaxed with midsize because there are no blisters to be seen

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