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TurboStang

TurboStang

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I've been experiencing some pretty severe pinky pain, so I'm considering switching from my current interlock grip, to the overlap. I have never used anything other than the interlock, but I tried gripping a club last night with the overlap, and it felt quite comfortable.

My questions for those who have made the switch are as follows...

1) How long did it take you to get comfortable making full swings with the overlap?

2) Did you work at the range for awhile before hitting the links, or start playing right away?

3) What were the positives and negatives that ensued from the grip change...less distance, more feel, etc.?

Any help, or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
 
I have not been playing long, but I made this switch and then back again and I felt totally comfortable with it.
 
You'll get used to it, you'll just need to practice it some and then eventually it'll just feel natural to you :)
 
I played an interlocking grip for many years as a teenager/young adult, then I read this article by Steve Jones about the overlapping grip being an "anti-slice" grip so I felt I needed to try it out. The hardest part was not interlocking the grip out of habit, but the actual grip itslef was not hard to get used to. A couple of range sessions and it should feel natural. I tried it on the range a couple times before taking it to the course. The first round or two I found myself using a mix of both until I felt completely comfortable.

As far as results go... this was the point where I went from playing a fade to playing a draw, I can't attribute it all to the grip but I do believe it played a small part. Feel was about the same with the two grips, distance didn't seem to change.
 
Craig Mac said:
I played an interlocking grip for many years as a teenager/young adult, then I read this article by Steve Jones about the overlapping grip being an "anti-slice" grip so I felt I needed to try it out. The hardest part was not interlocking the grip out of habit, but the actual grip itslef was not hard to get used to. A couple of range sessions and it should feel natural. I tried it on the range a couple times before taking it to the course. The first round or two I found myself using a mix of both until I felt completely comfortable.

As far as results go... this was the point where I went from playing a fade to playing a draw, I can't attribute it all to the grip but I do believe it played a small part. Feel was about the same with the two grips, distance didn't seem to change.
Click to expand...

+1000

Perfectly stated and almost identical to my switch. My dad had taught me an interlock but my hands are way too large so I switched to an overlap last season, it took me a couple of rounds but now its second nature. Like Craig Mac said, the hardest part is beating the instinct at first to automatically interlock, but, you'll re-wire yourself in no time.
 
I made the change two seasons ago and haven’t thought of going back. I got used to it during a couple of range sessions but for more it seems natural and comfortable from the beginning. I didn’t notice a distance change.
 
Jman215 said:
+1000

Perfectly stated and almost identical to my switch. My dad had taught me an interlock but my hands are way too large so I switched to an overlap last season, it took me a couple of rounds but now its second nature. Like Craig Mac said, the hardest part is beating the instinct at first to automatically interlock, but, you'll re-wire yourself in no time.
Click to expand...

I putt crosshanded too and made the same switch about the same time, I was so confused on how to hold the damn clubs for about a month before I got used to it. I was chipping crosshanded and putting interlocked :laughing:
 
Craig Mac said:
I putt crosshanded too and made the same switch about the same time, I was so confused on how to hold the damn clubs for about a month before I got used to it. I was chipping crosshanded and putting interlocked :laughing:
Click to expand...

HAHA! Now that's funny. I tried crosshanded on my putting and just cannot get comfortable with it, I dunno though, could have been lack of practice time at that time.
 
I use the inter-lock on all but my putter , which is more like a triple over lap for it. I have pretty much the same distance with both grips on all shots but for the past few weeks I have been playing around on the range with a full 10 finger grip on my driver. Most of the driver shot's are a slight fade , very controlable but with little roll out. By going to a 10 finger grip I think my right hand is getting into the swing a bit more allowing me to turn the club over more and now I have a nice straight ball flight with some roll at the end. I know I will have to keep the right hand under control or the flight will turn into a very ugly snap hook very quick.

Thomas "Hitman" Heitman
 
I made the switch from interlocking to overlapping a few years back. What I can tell you Turbo is that it's really a matter of retraining your mind and becoming familiar with it all over again. What helped me is that I kept a club right by my closet in my bedroom and every night before I went to bed I just gripped and took my stance and made a few mock back swings with an abbreviated follow through, this helped a lot. By the time I took it to the range it already felt normal to me so it wasn't long at all before I was able to just make that switch.

Good luck!!
 
Jman215 said:
HAHA! Now that's funny. I tried crosshanded on my putting and just cannot get comfortable with it, I dunno though, could have been lack of practice time at that time.
Click to expand...

I did take a couple months to get completely comfortable with, but my putting was so bad at the time it didn't matter. I was very "wristy" on the long putts and never made anything outside of 5-6 feet so a change was needed. I switched about 13-14 years ago and never looked back.

I think it relates back to the OP's question about making a grip change, you just need to give time for any change like that and give it a chance.
 
I initially overlapped (after the good ol' 10 finger days of course). At some point in highschool, I found out Nicklaus interlocked, so I changed to it. About a year or so later, I was working with someone, and they said my fingers were too long, and I needed to overlap. Then he gave me the best piece of advice possible for changing a grip...

When your sitting at home watching TV, hold the golf club. Dont even go to the range or hit any shots for a couple days. Just spend time, sitting, holding the club with the new grip. Then when you do go out, it feels natural.

Was very helpful for me personally
 
Thanks for the input, I'm anxious to try it out. Might actually give it a shot this afternoon if I can get free.
 
I switched about 2 years after starting golf for the exact same reason Craig stated. I heard that it was an anti-slice grip so I decided I would switch on the 11th hole during a round I was playing. I was having a bad day slicing and I decided, fine, I am going to switch, I promptly topped my next drive. By the end of the round I was pretty comfortable with it.

Interestingly I have tried to switch back to interlocking, but I have not felt comfortable with the change.
 
Started off with the interlock, went to 10 finger grip and now am using the overlap grip. When I interlock I tend to hit more fades but when I overlock I get more draws. The only thing I find is that my right hand has a tendency to move off the left thumb and slide to the side appearing in a stronger position post swing.
You will adjust quicker by having a club next to you when watching TV as others have mentioned.
 
Interlock grip.....if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
 
I changed in high school about the time Blondie hit the charts, and it really helped cure a slice. I think it's much easier to release the hands with an overlap grip, and that makes it easier to work the ball.

Kevin
 
I used the interlock since I learned the game in the 70's- but I found a few years ago that it was actually hurting my hands/fingers. So I switched to a 10 finger grip.

I used that the last two seasons and it worked well with almost no transition period. However, I have noticed now that my hands are starting to seperate and giving me too much right hand. It's one more thing I have to concentrate on druing a swing.

As a result I am trying the overlap (Vargen?) grip. I am hoping that will get my hands working together again without the awkward feeling I was getting from interlock.

Moving from a 10 finger to any kind of overap seems to take more transition.
 
i changed about 2 years ago from interlock to overlap.

i found with interlock my right hand was taking over and i was casting quite badly and hooking the ball. also found my right hand sat too far over the shaft as i have quite long fingers.
with an overlap my right hand seemed to take over less and i felt i had more control. my grip is much stronger now as well (hand position)
took a couple of months to get used to it but no issues now.
 
I have small hands and tend to hook the ball. I use an overlap grip but will try the interlock to see if that helps.
 
I also have small hands... and I use the 10 finger grip! Bad I know, but growing up in a place where the only lesson I ever received was "Good swing, great shot" from our local pro doesn't help. I have tried both the interlock and overlap and neither feel natural to me now.
 
I switched this year from overlap to interlock. I found with the overlap the club rotated too much in my hand, and then to compensate for it I would squeeze the crap out of the club the next shot. So I switched to interlock and have been swinging great. I am the exception most likely as I have large hands and was taught to use overlap from my local pro, but it just never felt right to me and I struggled the second half of last year with it.
 
I used an interlocking grip for over 30 years until I injured my ring finger on my right hand. I switched to an overlapping and it helped ease the pain in the finger. This was about 15 years ago and several times I have tried to go back to the interlocking grip but it has never felt right for some reason. The only disadvantage I found was it was a little harder to keep my hands in unison during the swing. My right hand wants to take over the club far too often with an overlapping grip.
 
Changing from Interlock to Overlap

Changing from Interlock to Overlap

I didn't know if this was the right spot for this, so please move if it needs to be.

I'm new to this forum and was curious what people thought. I have been playing with an interlock grip for probably the last four years, 10 finger before that. I just recently switched to an overlap in the last few months and seem to be able to hit it straighter. I may have lost a bit of distance, but it's nice to be in the fairway! Has anyone had any similar experience?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for getting this moved for me, a typical noob mistake, I didn't use "SEARCH", I think the comfort for me will come with practice. Did anyone find a drastic loss in distance with a change like this?
 
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