We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Anybody ever experiment with a grip change?

Dave Alvarado

Dave Alvarado

New member
Joined
Jan 12, 2015
Messages
2,035
Reaction score
4
Location
DFW, TX
Handicap
27.3
I don't mean going from Golf Pride to Lamkin, I mean how you hold the club.

I've always been an interlock guy. Never understood how people could do anything else. At my last lesson, my coach had me strengthen my grip a little and fixed something I was doing with my right index finger. With those changes, my swing went all wonky. So I started experimenting--I tried overlap and ten-finger, and found that I'm *way* more comfortable with ten-finger.

I spent some time on the range and in a hitting bay working with it, and I think I'm a convert. I just feel like I have a lot more control of the club that way. My coach linked a video (I take lessons at GolfTEC) explaining the differences in the different grips, and it confirmed what I felt--with ten-finger you have more fingers on the grip, so for some people it feels like you have more control.

Anybody else experiment with a grip change? How did it work out for you?
 
Last year during my MC prep, I was consistently pushing everything. I neutralized my grip by bringing my thumb across a little more and it straightened everything out for me. Combined with going to a mid size grip so I wasnt strangling the club.
 
I had used an overlap up until last fall. I was having some issues with hooks, and was reading up about weakening my grip and found that Jack Nicklaus, because he had smaller hands, preferred using an interlock grip. I have small hands so I tried the switch and immediately noticed it put my hands in a more natural/neutral position than the overlap grip.
 
FWIW, changes won't typically feel comfortable when working on the swing and with lessons. Most times its breaking bad habits that have become ingrained and as such things can go wonky before they improve.
 
For me, changing a grip was something that I tried a few times here and there because I thought it would be a magic cure for my game. Instead, I took a look at my fundamentals, setup, etc and worked hard to find a repeatable swing that would lead to solid results.
 
Jman said:
FWIW, changes won't typically feel comfortable when working on the swing and with lessons. Most times its breaking bad habits that have become ingrained and as such things can go wonky before they improve.
Click to expand...
Ain't that the truth.

Every week I tell my coach I must be doing something right because it feels all weird. I groove it for a few practice sessions until it feels natural, then he gives me something else new that feels weird again.
 
Yes sir, switched from an interlocking grip to an overlap grip last year. Felt absolutely terrible for the first couple days/weeks and I kept thinking I was going to throw the club when I swung so I only tried it every now and then. Started with my wedges since you swing the slowest on those and worked it into every couple swings with my irons until I finally got it with everything. After I got used to it, I ended up holding the club lighter and actually felt more powerful than before. With the interlock I was gripping way too tight and it caused a lot of blisters. Now with the overlap I don't have those blisters anymore and everything feels better. Now when I try to go back to an interlock it feels terrible.
 
I went back to interlock late last year in the hopes that it would mitigate my tendency to regrip at the top. Felt weird for a while, but seems to have helped.
 
When I first started playing golf, I used an interlocked grip - that was around the age of 11 or 12. Then in late high school, I switched to a 10 finger grip and have been using it since - about 20 years. I started to play around my grip last summer and tried going back to the interlock grip and then the overlap grip, but ultimately I stuck with the 10 finger grip. It feels the most natural for me.
 
I seem to try it every year. Some times it sticks longer than others. Just always been an interlock guy. For me the grip change is trying to get a stronger grip instead of a neutral/weak one. That's the battle for me.
 
Went 10 finger this spring on all my clubs. Used this grip before with my touch shots. Really liking the results.
 
I have a strong grip, but my trailing hand is much stronger than the leading hand. I've been trying to weaken that hand's grip, getting it more "on top" of the shaft. My grip causes me to close the club face too quickly and if I don't time it right, it is hook city. Sure it feels weird to change, but getting the fundamentals better is important. It is going to feel weird for a while, but should net me more consistency.

Not really an experiment, just solidifying fundamentals.
 
The first 18 years I golfed I used the 10 finger grip. Two years ago I switched to interlocking and haven't gone back. I also put additional wraps on my clubs since I'm just shy of a midsize grip.
 
I changed my grip from ten finger to overlap when I was 15 and I haven't changed a thing since. I have smaller hands but big knuckles and my pinkies are as crooked as a Chicago politician which really limits dexterity so interlock is very uncomfortable for me.

Bottom line is go with what works for you. Can't argue with results
 
captaincaution said:
I have a strong grip, but my trailing hand is much stronger than the leading hand. I've been trying to weaken that hand's grip, getting it more "on top" of the shaft. My grip causes me to close the club face too quickly and if I don't time it right, it is hook city. Sure it feels weird to change, but getting the fundamentals better is important. It is going to feel weird for a while, but should net me more consistency.

Not really an experiment, just solidifying fundamentals.
Click to expand...

I struggled with the exact same thing. I forget what I was watching but they mentioned something about hand positioning and what made a grip "strong" and "weak" and however they were teaching it just made it finally click. I noticed that my right hand was extremely strong and it took a while to get it to feel any what normal to be more on top of the shaft. Won't lie, it was terrible at first, but in the right position (or at least closer to the right position) it feels better now and allows me to swing much more freely.
 
Dave Alvarado said:
I don't mean going from Golf Pride to Lamkin, I mean how you hold the club.

I've always been an interlock guy. Never understood how people could do anything else. At my last lesson, my coach had me strengthen my grip a little and fixed something I was doing with my right index finger. With those changes, my swing went all wonky. So I started experimenting--I tried overlap and ten-finger, and found that I'm *way* more comfortable with ten-finger.

I spent some time on the range and in a hitting bay working with it, and I think I'm a convert. I just feel like I have a lot more control of the club that way. My coach linked a video (I take lessons at GolfTEC) explaining the differences in the different grips, and it confirmed what I felt--with ten-finger you have more fingers on the grip, so for some people it feels like you have more control.

Anybody else experiment with a grip change? How did it work out for you?
Click to expand...

I used the baseball grip for the first 20ish years of my golf career. Decided to switch to the vardon and I am very pleased that I did.

Shouldn't take long to get comfortable with a change. Just trust it.
 
cbaker2882 said:
With the interlock I was gripping way too tight and it caused a lot of blisters. Now with the overlap I don't have those blisters anymore and everything feels better.
Click to expand...
This is one reason I've been experimenting. Even with midsize grips I try to choke the club to death--after a couple rounds I feel like I've got arthritis in my hands the next day. I'm trying to find something that lets me keep my hands looser and so far ten finger is doing that for me.
 
I went from a strong (V's from my finger and thumbs pointing to my right shoulder), baseball grip to a neutral interlock grip when I was a Freshman in High School. That was hard and took time, but I'm glad I did. In the evenings when it was dark and I couldn't practice outside, I'd sit and watch tv with a club in my hand with the new grip. As dumb as it sounds, it worked for me. The more you work on a change, then faster that change starts to feel normal.
 
Dave Alvarado said:
This is one reason I've been experimenting. Even with midsize grips I try to choke the club to death--after a couple rounds I feel like I've got arthritis in my hands the next day. I'm trying to find something that lets me keep my hands looser and so far ten finger is doing that for me.
Click to expand...

Definitely. I have had hand injuries and some great genetics which has caused early onset arthritis. The overlap grip has made my hands feel so much better.
 
I started playing golf with a ten finger, then went to interlock and now I'm an overlap, on every club, including putter!

Each time I made a change it felt weird for a little while, but eventually I got used to it, I say go with what feels comfortable and you're seeing the results you want to see.
 
this is something i've been meaning to take some pictures of and ask freddie about.

i was invited to a clinic out at annika sorenstam's academy here in orlando, and one of the instruction stations was for full swings where annika's coach would give you some pointers. the first thing he questioned was my grip. i've always used ben hogan's grip as taught in his "five lessons" book. i would lay the club across my my fingers at an angle, close my left hand around the grip, and make sure my thumb pinched the base of my forefinger creativing a "v" that pointed up toward the logo on my shirt. pretty standard stuff. but the instructor said this type of grip doesn't utilize the "6th finger" in your left hand, which he defined as the pad. so he taught a grip that looked more like this, where your thumb goes more down the shaft, and there is more of a gap between your thumb and the base of your forefinger. it might look and sound like a subtle distinction, but it felt completely different. i've been gaming it ever since, but it's been an adjustment. i tried to go back to the hogan grip a couple times, and hook city (which is odd since hogan built his game around NOT hooking the ball).
 
Every once in awhile I switch from a interlocking grip to a overlapping grip and feels weird to do it above wedges. I actually really like using a overlap for really short pitches around the green.
 
I played my first five years with an interlocking grip and then 30 years with the traditional Vardon grip.

I'm one of the rare golfers that now uses a double overlap grip like Jim Furyk. When I originally switched I only used it on wedges but it quickly became obvious that it helped me hit it straighter with all my clubs. You need to have fairly strong hands to make it work but it helps me with getting a fuller wrist cock, makes the hands work in unison, and prevents the right hand from getting involved to quickly on the downswing. It has taken away my hook when hitting swinging hard as well. I've probably only hit 1 or 2 hooks that got me into O.B or hazard trouble in the last 25 rounds.

nov30-jfuryk-grip_400x600_0.jpg
 
Last edited:
Started with an interlocking grip. Switched to an overlapping grip, then back to an interlocking grip.
 
I have toyed but always come back to the interlock


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top