Grip pressure-----EUREKA!!!!

[toad37]

I wonder what the correlation between grip pressure and overall arm/torso/shoulder flexibility is? I'm not flexible and my backswing ends somewhat abruptly. If I hold the club at the 1/10 "holding a baby bird" pressure, the clubhead/grip moves all over the place at the top of my backswing. Those with greater flexibility would likely not have this problem, and could get away with lighter pressure.

 

Not sure, but have you tried "softening" your wrists to make a smoother transition from backswing to downswing ? Might help...

[TurnHard Langer]

I wonder what the correlation between grip pressure and overall arm/torso/shoulder flexibility is? I'm not flexible and my backswing ends somewhat abruptly. If I hold the club at the 1/10 "holding a baby bird" pressure, the clubhead/grip moves all over the place at the top of my backswing. Those with greater flexibility would likely not have this problem, and could get away with lighter pressure.

 

Don't take it back to a place where you're uncomfortable or you will have too much tension all over your body let alone the grip. There is zero actual physical correlation between the two, but if most of your body is tense and uncomfortable it's really hard to be relaxed and comfortable with anything else including your hands. I recommend yoga and a more comfortable backswing wherever that is for you on that day.

[tdub36tjt]

I just really started thinking about grip pressure in my game. And I really accessed my pressure. I realized I'm probably a 3 with my left hand and a 7 or 8 with my right. I've had issues hitting the ball high and then fat shots thinking I've been flipping. Might this be it? I always seem to have nice practice swings and when concentrating on my grip pressure there I seem much more relaxed. I don't really set up and take a practice swing I kinda just loosely swing and might even have more grip.pressure in my left hand than the right. Took a couple dry swings with like a 7 in the left hand and a 3 in the right and seems like it's resulting in a better feel much more like my typical practice swing. Excited to try it swinging at a ball. Might be a process to keep that grip pressure down with the right hand but gonna really work on it.

[Macogardy]

One thing I'll add is you can only hold it light if you got nice tacky grips. I recently played a borrowed set on vacation that had old hard slick grips which made you grip it tight and it really affected my swing and shots

[Swisstrader98]

This worked great for me a day ago, meaning I was bombing drives, but today, not so much!

[Zurb]

I have been focusing on grip pressure quite a bit lately for a different reason. I find that if I am on-plane with the appropriate tempo that I don't need to strangle the club. My grip pressure can be slight if I'm manipulating the momentum of the clubhead appropriately. When I start getting quick, or I have a fundamental swing issue, I have to hang on much tighter to the club. Really bad things start happening.

 

A lighter grip pressure for me promotes good habits. A death-grip does the opposite.

[* J Y *]

Its amazing how much improvement Ive seen from using a light grip.

 

Funny story- The #11 tee box at my club is really elevated over a ravine. It rained like hell on us for 30 mins at the outset of all the Harvey stuff. I didn't realize how wet my glove was, and since Ive started using such a light grip my driver flew straight out of my hands into the ravine and landed perfectly in the top of a tree. I had to climb down into it basically through a jungle to get to the tree. I shook the driver down and it landed a foot away from my head. Played the rest of the round with no glove.

[Carter033]

I have only been playing a few months and I know pretty much especially with the irons whether or not I’m going to hit it well at the address. Just recently at address I have the feeling that I’m going to shank this with the feeling I have and I do.

 

I have just reduced the pressure in my right hand grip and the great feeling is back and guess what boom I’m hitting the ball again.

 

It’s taken 3 months of pain and even my instructor couldn’t put his finger on it.

[Birdie Mac]

As far as golf tips go, this has got to be in the hall of fame. When I play my best, and hit my best shots, I'm out with the guys having fun and I'm relaxed. When I'm in a tournament and one bad shot leads to another until I feel lost on the course, I'm tense and have a death grip on the club.

 

I got a reminder last week about relaxing and getting rid of tension - which is the enemy of a good golf swing - before I address the ball. This is the best thing to happen to my game in ages. Looking forward to putting this to use this year and lowering my cap.

[jurr80]

I find that it’s not the firmness of the grip that has anything to do with it.

It’s the structure of your grip in the first place.

Are the hands really working together? Does the club REALLY feel secure in your hands during the entire swing?

 

When that security feels better, usually grip firmness decreases because trust increases.

[Klat5259]

I’m guessing all y’all with light grip

pressure probably don’t swing over 100 mph... there’s no way you could hold onto the club much less control the clubface swinging a club 110mph+ with a light grip. 

[nsxguy]

2 minutes ago, Klat5259 said:

I’m guessing all y’all with light grip

pressure probably don’t swing over 100 mph... there’s no way you could hold onto the club much less control the clubface swinging a club 110mph+ with a light grip. 

 

I'm guessing y'all don't realize that "light" is a relative term.

[Bocaji]

13 minutes ago, nsxguy said:

 

I'm guessing y'all don't realize that "light" is a relative term.

Or that grip pressure changes as a response to the clubs momentum. I feel like I hit it best when I grip it ‘light’ but pressure defo increases at the apex of the swing 😱. Crazy, right? Whoda thunk it?

[nsxguy]

14 minutes ago, Bocaji said:

Or that grip pressure changes as a response to the clubs momentum. I feel like I hit it best when I grip it ‘light’ but pressure defo increases at the apex of the swing 😱. Crazy, right? Whoda thunk it?

 

Or that lightening one's already light pressure on the PUTTER can make a difference.

 

The OP was relating grip pressure to distance but it also makes a difference with the putter.

 

I've been experimenting lately with my putter grip pressure.

 

"Soft hands", i.e. grip pressure, was already part of my pre-putt "reminders" so I've never had a death grip on the putter to begin with.

 

But lately I've been experimenting with an even lighter grip pressure on the putter - seemingly barely enough to hold onto it - and I'm seeing some really nice results in "letting" the putter swing. 🙏

[mgoblue83]

45 minutes ago, Klat5259 said:

I’m guessing all y’all with light grip

pressure probably don’t swing over 100 mph... there’s no way you could hold onto the club much less control the clubface swinging a club 110mph+ with a light grip. 

 

Exactly... Anything less than a very firm squeeze and the club is slide or rotating in my hands.

[Mr_Wolfe]

1 hour ago, mgoblue83 said:

 

Exactly... Anything less than a very firm squeeze and the club is slide or rotating in my hands.

 

False. With the correct grip, you can grip the club REALLY loose and you will not let go of the club. Yes, I am referring to way above 100 mph. As with almost everything golf-related, it's having the correct technique. When I used to play with a 10-finger grip (baseball grip), then yes, I had to death grip it or it would slide in my hands.

 

Mr. Wolfe

[b.mattay]

5 hours ago, Mr_Wolfe said:

 

False. With the correct grip, you can grip the club REALLY loose and you will not let go of the club. Yes, I am referring to way above 100 mph. As with almost everything golf-related, it's having the correct technique. When I used to play with a 10-finger grip (baseball grip), then yes, I had to death grip it or it would slide in my hands.

 

Mr. Wolfe

I'm sure Brooks grips it lightly...NAAAT (Borat Reference)

 

As pointed out before-light is a relative term. Grip pressure should definitely be "secure", which is a fair amount of pressure. For He-Man, that might feel like a 3/10. For me, a puny weakling, I get my best results with a 9/10 grip pressure.

[dlygrisse]

To me the key is loose shoulders and arms. Tight grip pressure is bad, but I want it to feel secure.  

[jamie]

TPI did a study and pros gripped the club twice as hard as amateurs.  A lot of the amateurs, without even swinging, couldn’t grip it as hard as the pros do while hitting balls.

[nvr3putt]

8 minutes ago, jamie said:

TPI did a study and pros gripped the club twice as hard as amateurs.  A lot of the amateurs, without even swinging, couldn’t grip it as hard as the pros do while hitting balls.

Thanks for confirming my suspicions. I will continue to choke the chicken. 😂😂

[Mr_Wolfe]

10 hours ago, b.mattay said:

I'm sure Brooks grips it lightly...NAAAT (Borat Reference)

 

As pointed out before-light is a relative term. Grip pressure should definitely be "secure", which is a fair amount of pressure. For He-Man, that might feel like a 3/10. For me, a puny weakling, I get my best results with a 9/10 grip pressure.

 

This is at the release of the swing which is where you NEED to hold onto the club. Grip the club as lightly as possible - your hands will not let you lose grip in the downswing and follow through. I realize it's difficult to understand, but you want as little tension in your arms as possible coming into the ball. After that, it doesn't matter zilch and you will automatically be holding on with everything you have at the release (aka, when this picture was taken).

 

Mr. Wolfe

Edited February 3, 2021 by Mr_Wolfe

[b.mattay]

3 hours ago, Mr_Wolfe said:

 

This is at the release of the swing which is where you NEED to hold onto the club. Grip the club as lightly as possible - your hands will not let you lose grip in the downswing and follow through. I realize it's difficult to understand, but you want as little tension in your arms as possible coming into the ball. After that, it doesn't matter zilch and you will automatically be holding on with everything you have at the release (aka, when this picture was taken).

 

Mr. Wolfe

I agree grip pressure is really high at that point in the swing. Was meant to be a general comment, not a scientific one. I also agree that you want minimal tension in your arms, particularly upper arms and shoulders. However, you can grip the club quite firmly with your forearms and intrinsic hand muscles without radiating tension upwards. Too loose can lead to bad habits, like letting go of the club at the top (I still struggle with this at times as a plus cap). 

[dlow206]

I had this eureka moment today as well. I was death gripping and had the grip too much in the palms. When I relaxed my grip a bit, the fat shots went away. Also, the weird 45 degree to the right toe shanks went away as well. I didn't go to the opposite end of the spectrum and adopt a loose grip, just not as tense of a grip as previously.

 

I think the fact that I have been using undersized grips wasn't helping the issue. Based on hand size/glove size, I am right on the border between undersized and standard. Ping would say I am undersize, Golf Pride says I would be standard. Going to switch back to standard grips. 

[5baytjd]

On 2/2/2021 at 7:09 PM, b.mattay said:

I'm sure Brooks grips it lightly...NAAAT (Borat Reference)

My lord, look at the forearms on that dude. That sumb!tch is RIPPED !

[nlk10010]

On 7/3/2014 at 3:48 AM, Tony772 said:

A good deal of the clubhead speed (which is directly related to distance) comes from hinging the wrists. It's very hard to hinge your wrists if your hands and forearms are tense from gripping the club too hard. I grip at 3/10 at most.

 

I agree. Keeping loose wrists and letting the speed of the arms relative to the club generate lag will give you the best chance at hitting it far. My problem (and I presume that of many others) is that I insist on using my arm and shoulder muscles to "steer" the club through impact. My wrists are essentially frozen and I get very little swing speed (essentially, just what I can generate with my arms). A loose grip can take my mind off my arm and shoulder muscles and let the wrists "snap" through impact. But steering and the hit impulse are hard habits to break.

 

This idea of light grip pressure certainly can help a lot of people, and I hope the OP (and you) continue to benefit from it. But for me, the only "Eureka" moment in golf I've experienced is that there ARE no "Eureka" moments. 😞

 

 

Edited March 29, 2021 by nlk10010

[uscheese]

On 7/10/2014 at 8:51 AM, uscheese said:

Last week I went out as a single and paired up with a guy almost 20 years older than me (I'm 42). On the first bunch of holes we played together he was 10 or 15 yards ahead of me on every drive and as usual I was swinging out of my shoes and averaging 220 yards off the tee and fighting a hook. On hole 7 or 8 I decided to loosen my grips and more importantly loosen my arms and just let them hang from my shoulders. The rest of the round I hit some of the longest drives I've ever hit on my home course (260 to 280) and found my distance drastically improved. I hit a few shots thin as I hadn't gone to the range or hit balls with such a loose feel in a long time but it's amazing what stress in your arms and hands and your body in general can do to a golf swing. Anyone who asks why they hit their short irons long but their long irons and driver short should start here...loosen up!

 

Sorry to bump an 8 year old thread but I've had what I consider to be my biggest breakthrough in my golfing life this year.  Over the years I've come back to this thread trying to figure out what had happened to me on that magical July day in 2014 and why I couldn't find it again.  Well this year I've found it again and it's been working for me for a couple of months and not just one round.  The key to me in grip pressure wasn't starting my swing with a light grip on the club...it was not choking the crap out of the club in transition.  My transition has always been quick and violent which made me cup at the top of the swing and come over the top which was killing my distance and causing massive hooks.  This year I almost feel like the club might fly out of my hands in transition (feel...not real) and I have gained 10-30 yards on all of my clubs.  My average drive over the last month has gone from 225 to 260 and my irons are easily two clubs longer.  My home course has four par fours on the back over 410 which were close to unreachable for me and now I'm not only getting to those consistently, I'm also green high on my pars 5's in two.  So much more fun for me to golf right now.

[NoTalentLefty]

On 2/2/2021 at 9:09 PM, b.mattay said:

I'm sure Brooks grips it lightly...NAAAT (Borat Reference)

 

As pointed out before-light is a relative term. Grip pressure should definitely be "secure", which is a fair amount of pressure. For He-Man, that might feel like a 3/10. For me, a puny weakling, I get my best results with a 9/10 grip pressure.

This picture says nothing of grip pressure at setup. That is during the transition from swing to hit. Grip pressure is not constant thing. He may grip at 9 out of 10 at startup he may not. 

[80sFredriksson]

51 minutes ago, uscheese said:

 

Sorry to bump an 8 year old thread but I've had what I consider to be my biggest breakthrough in my golfing life this year.  Over the years I've come back to this thread trying to figure out what had happened to me on that magical July day in 2014 and why I couldn't find it again.  Well this year I've found it again and it's been working for me for a couple of months and not just one round.  The key to me in grip pressure wasn't starting my swing with a light grip on the club...it was not choking the crap out of the club in transition.  My transition has always been quick and violent which made me cup at the top of the swing and come over the top which was killing my distance and causing massive hooks.  This year I almost feel like the club might fly out of my hands in transition (feel...not real) and I have gained 10-30 yards on all of my clubs.  My average drive over the last month has gone from 225 to 260 and my irons are easily two clubs longer.  My home course has four par fours on the back over 410 which were close to unreachable for me and now I'm not only getting to those consistently, I'm also green high on my pars 5's in two.  So much more fun for me to golf right now.

 Are you working with any drills

or just a swing thought?

[uscheese]

1 hour ago, 80sFredriksson said:

 Are you working with any drills

or just a swing thought?

no drills right now and I've stopped taking video of my swing because I don't even want to know what it looks like...in my practice swing I start with a very loose grip and consciously almost try to have it feel looser as I change direction...I just had a range session where I was hitting the ball so well I wanted to stop half way through the bucket because I was afraid I'd overthink it and mess it up 🙂.   

[Ri_Redneck]

I was always taught that my grip pressure should be so light that if I held the club out in front of me, someone should be able to yank it out of my hands. After 30 yrs, I found out that was MUCH too light for me (along with a ton of other stuff that didn't work). Better late than never I guess.

 

BT