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Grip Pressure

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colorado_wade

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So, I keep getting told that I am gripping the club too tight, which isn't allowing the club head to release, which is why everything is short and right. How loose do you guys hold the grip, and how did you train yourself to do that? I think I am fine until I start my downswing. That's when I put the death grip on it.
 
I really wonder about this also. I tend to grip quite tightly on my downswing.
 
One drill my pro taught me to get the correct grip pressure is:

1. Grip club and hold at a 90* angle to your body - this pressure is too tight
2. Hold club up parallel to your body - this is too loose
3. Hold club at 45* angle - this is just right

Have to concentrate on the pressure your hands are exerting in each position
 
I've always heard of if you're squeezing the grip as hard as you can, that being a 10, and if the club would fall out of your hand, that is a 1.

I always heard grip around a 4-5
 
Visualize holding a tube of toothpaste upside down with no cap on it. You want to hold it tight enough not to drop it, but not so tight that you'd squeeze toothpaste out.
 
O'Carroll said:
Visualize holding a tube of toothpaste upside down with no cap on it. You want to hold it tight enough not to drop it, but not so tight that you'd squeeze toothpaste out.
Click to expand...

That makes a lot of sense, I will have to think about this and try it tonight. Thanks.
 
It's not really so much about grip pressure as it is about tension in the arms, most pros probably grip the club tighter than we think, but they keep their arms soft, that's the key.
 
You will naturally grip harder in the downswing so being loose in the setup and takeaway is what you should shoot for. Something to try is which your normal grip slowly release the pressure in your hands til you don't feel any tension ind hand/forearm. Then use that as your starting grip pressure
 
Like holding a ripe banana. If impact is dead on we don't have to grip so tightly, we won't feel a thing.
 
Michigan Slice said:
I've always heard of if you're squeezing the grip as hard as you can, that being a 10, and if the club would fall out of your hand, that is a 1.

I always heard grip around a 4-5
Click to expand...
This is what I was taught!
 
I've really been working on this. For whatever reason I've found that once I get all set to start backswing, I completely open my grip then slowly grip again until it's nice and light. Seems to be working for me.


Though I may try a few of the thoughts above, we all end up with our quirks.
 
grip pressure doesnt matter IMO. if you have tension in your forearms and wrists that will hinder your release. you can grip the club tight and have a fluid golf swing and release. i would guess you are trying to steer the club causing tension in your wrist and forearms, instead of letting it release naturally on the downswing.
 
Something I have really been working on with my instructor. The best thing i have found is that after I address the ball I will loosen my grip to a super light grip. This just reminds me to not employ a death grip.


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When I think about grip pressure I try to remember what Jack Nicklaus wrote about it in Golf My Way; I haven't read that book in years. Anyway, he stressed light grip pressure too. If you Google him and his book you'd probably find what he wrote about it years ago.
 
I've tried gauging grip pressure using all the popular ideas (bird, toothpaste tube, etc.), but found they didn't help. What did help was getting into the correct grip (midsize for me) and gripping as lightly as I can. Generally, the lighter I grip, the straighter and farther the ball goes. I don't intentionally think about releasing the club or trying to turn the hands over, the release happens automatically when the grip is relaxed enough.
 
I struggle with this. I can tend to man handle the grip; maybe strangle is a better word. I think I continue to make slow progress toward more consistently using a lighter grip. But it isn't a binary option for me that I can just stop doing.
 
Left hand pressure should be tighter than the right, about a 7. The right "goes along for the ride" and helps guide the club, so it should be about a 3. You should be able to hit balls with just the left hand, then just attach the right to help steer the club and square the clubface. Keep your forearms rotating thru impact, right over left ... that's where the release comes from. A drill I used to think of was to "point your right index finger to the target" as you come through the shot. This reminds you to rotate your forearms and come through the shot. You should never strangle the club to where you see the "whites" of your knuckles either.
One old adage used to be "if you were to hold a bird in your hand, tight enough as to not fly away but not so tight it would kill it either" or "the tube of toothpaste drill" is always a good one too.
 
golfinnut said:
Left hand pressure should be tighter than the right, about a 7. The right "goes along for the ride" and helps guide the club, so it should be about a 3. You should be able to hit balls with just the left hand, then just attach the right to help steer the club and square the clubface. Keep your forearms rotating thru impact, right over left ... that's where the release comes from. A drill I used to think of was to "point your right index finger to the target" as you come through the shot. This reminds you to rotate your forearms and come through the shot. You should never strangle the club to where you see the "whites" of your knuckles either.
One old adage used to be "if you were to hold a bird in your hand, tight enough as to not fly away but not so tight it would kill it either" or "the tube of toothpaste drill" is always a good one too.
Click to expand...
I cannot, for the life of me, swing a golf club with just my left hand and hope to hit a golf ball. I've tried, and the club just whips around every which way like an unmanned fire hose.
 
Hamfist said:
I cannot, for the life of me, swing a golf club with just my left hand and hope to hit a golf ball. I've tried, and the club just whips around every which way like an unmanned fire hose.
Click to expand...
Not saying that it's going to be consistent hitting balls. It's just an idea to get you used to thinking that the left hand controls the golf swing and the right hand is just a guide and stabilizer.

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Hamfist said:
I cannot, for the life of me, swing a golf club with just my left hand and hope to hit a golf ball. I've tried, and the club just whips around every which way like an unmanned fire hose.
Click to expand...

i think thats because you are trying to guide it. you have to let gravity and centrifugal force take over. think ball twirling at the end of a string. once you let it happen you just have to place the clubs natural path in the way of the ball.
 
I try to think of holding a paper towel roll to tight i will crush it
 
It is going to be different for everyone. I had the issue of gripping way to light, then regripping on the downswing. Kind of snatching at the club especially with my right hand. I have since increase my grip pressure and tried to maintain it through the swing. Results have been very positive.

I like O'Carrol's toothpaste analogy, the other I have heard it is like holding a bird. You want to make sure it doesn't fly out of your hands, but you don't want to go Mice & Men Lenny on it either.
 
mancest said:
It is going to be different for everyone. I had the issue of gripping way to light, then regripping on the downswing. Kind of snatching at the club especially with my right hand. I have since increase my grip pressure and tried to maintain it through the swing. Results have been very positive.

I like O'Carrol's toothpaste analogy, the other I have heard it is like holding a bird. You want to make sure it doesn't fly out of your hands, but you don't want to go Mice & Men Lenny on it either.
Click to expand...
Bonus point for the Lenny reference.
 
I was watching a GC instructional show (with Marting Hall), and Ian Woosnam stated that he, opposed to most people, kept a pretty firm grip on the club throughout the swing.
 
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