Grip Pressure

[KD1]

TL;DR: This is a multipart question: How firmly do you grip? Do you grip with equal pressure in all of your fingers? Do you grip with equal pressure in the fingers of each hand? What's your story?

 

I think I've finally discovered why I've been hooking like crazy lately. (I'm referring to just my lead hand fingers here) I address the ball with reasonably firm pressure in my thumb, pointer, and middle finger while leaving the pinky and ring finger pretty much loose. I've discovered that somewhere in my back swing I grip down with my pinky and ring finger and shut the face about 20-30 degrees! I know exactly where this habit originated, from a tip from certain yt video that I've managed to screw up. So that leaves with me with two possible solutions: should I more firmly/equally grip in all fingers from the start OR should I try to focus on not gripping down with said fingers during the swing? It seems obvious that I should grip more firmly from the start but I figure it doesn't hurt to get others opinions.

Edited February 9, 2023 by KD1

[Ri_Redneck]

First off, if increasing your grip pressure makes the face close, you need to change your grip. Grip pressure will almost always increase as you move to impact because of the forces in play. Your grip should allow you to increase your grip pressure to maximum without changing the presented face angle at all. Once you get your grip right, you'll stop worrying about pressure.

 

BT

[Zitlow]

If your hands are too tight your elbows and forearms will block the flow of energy down the shaft and into the clubhead. 

 

 

[GungHoGolf]

Most instructors teach that grip pressure should be mostly applied with the pinkie, ring, and middle fingers of the lead hand, and the ring and middle fingers of the trail hand. 

 

Grip it just tight enough to maintain control of the club and not have the grip shift around - if you have a worn spot on the bottom pad area of your glove, your lead hand grip isn’t secure. 

 

The real trick is to maintain a grip that’s tight enough while allowing your wrists to be fluid and loose so they can work correctly to both set the club and release it through impact. Since the same forearm muscles are involved in both, that’s easier said than done. 

[KD1]

2 hours ago, Ri_Redneck said:

First off, if increasing your grip pressure makes the face close, you need to change your grip.

 

Agreed! 😂

 

I was effectively taking what I thought was a good grip in my fingers at address and unknowingly changing my grip to be slightly more in my palm somewhere in the back swing.

[Ri_Redneck]

For those who like numbers. By my best estimation and using a small hand dynamometer, my upper (left) hand grip pressure is 15-16 lb at address. That is approximately 13% of the maximum gripping capacity of my left hand (130lb). Is that right for anyone other than me? Who the heck knows. I just know I have total control of the club and no trouble generating speed. YMMV.

 

BT

[Pepperturbo]

I am old school.  You can find my grip in Ben Hogan's 5-lessons.  It works, I don't fix it. 

 

Back learning, a relative that played on Tour, told me to grip the club firm enough that someone can't pull it from my hands; similar to how Hogan explained it.  An abstract, grip it, like it was a baby bird without killing it... There you have the grip pressure of my large hands.

Edited February 10, 2023 by Pepperturbo

[Kuuuch]

I "feel" like I have a pretty light grip pressure but I'm sure its firmer than I think. I think that too tight can 100% affect how the wrists work in a negative way. My preshot routine is always the same, hold club upright and get grip, waggle the club as I'm approaching the ball to loosen everything up (but still firm enough to maintain full control of the club), 2 waggles and go. 

 

It's maybe one of those things that I value for myself but may not fully understand why or exactly what I'm doing. Nonetheless, that's one of the reason I like to waggle the club before hitting my shot, I think it encourages the right grip pressure where you aren't death gripping it but at the same time its keep what needs to be loose, loose!

[dvq9654]

I don’t mean this to minimize the question, but I’ve never really thought about it. I just grab the club in a way that feels comfortable and swing. I would think this means my grip pressure is somewhere between and 4-6 on a scale of 10, because I’m certainly not trying to grip either light or hard. 
 

That said, I think it’s because I have a pretty decent grip that doesn’t require any one finger or hand to overreact. If you feel like you are doing weird things with your fingers, I’d bet it’s cause your grip is off and requires it. 
 

Do you feel like your grip is good? 

 

[GoGoErky]

 

[KD1]

3 hours ago, dvq9654 said:

Do you feel like your grip is good?

 

It's good when I don't get sloppy with the pinky finger.

[KD1]

Question about the trail hand grip.

 

At setup, and coming into impact for that matter, I hear the trail hand is supposed to be on the side of the grip.

 

How much in the right hand fingers do you go?

Is pressure pushed into the grip/shaft through the knuckles or the first finger bones? (proximal phalanges)

 

Just judging from the pics in this slide show I would guess pressure is behind the index finger finger bone and the middle finger knuckle.

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by KD1

[tthomasgolfer605]

6 minutes ago, KD1 said:

Question about the trail hand grip.

 

At setup, and coming into impact for that matter, I hear the trail hand is supposed to be on the side of the grip.

 

How much in the right hand fingers do you go?

Is pressure pushed into the grip/shaft through the knuckles or the first finger bones? (proximal phalanges)

You pull up with the middle two fingers of the trail hand and the forefinger (bottom pad) guides the shaft forward from the side of the grip.

[KD1]

4 minutes ago, tthomasgolfer605 said:

You pull up with the middle two fingers of the trail hand

 

How do you mean pull up? Like a firm pressure wrapping underneath the grip or you're literally trying to pull the club up back toward the sky?

Edited February 17, 2023 by KD1

[wagolfer7]

Still one of the best golf channels on YT.  Highly recommend watching both of these.  

 

You should be able to squeeze the grip without the face closing or opening.  Grip pressure will fluctuate a bit during the swing.  And also changes for different types of shots.  I use a very light pressure grip when trying to hit soft chip shots. 

 

The videos should clarify a lot of your questions and give you a start on a fundamentally sound grip which is the first starting point for any golfer looking to improve.  

 

  

 

 

[tthomasgolfer605]

1 minute ago, KD1 said:

 

How do you mean pull up? Like a firm pressure wrapping underneath the grip or you're literally trying to pull the club up back toward the sky?

When you're establishing your grip. Pulling up with the middle two fingers secures the grip so you don't have to think about grip pressure. Same with last three fingers of lead hand. Any pressure on top of the shaft or around will cause major problems.

[tthomasgolfer605]

 

[KD1]

28 minutes ago, wagolfer7 said:

a fundamentally sound grip which is the first starting point for any golfer looking to improve.

 

I really wish someone would have come up to me and thumped me upside the head and told me my effing grip was too lose months ago. I almost feel like my coach should have picked up on this... It's kinda hard to make swing corrections if I'm constantly making different compensations for a shaft that reorients itself on me midswing. Talk about "be an athlete", lol! Frankly, I'm amazed at some of the stuff I've been able to pull off.

Edited February 17, 2023 by KD1

[Zitlow]

31 minutes ago, KD1 said:

Question about the trail hand grip.

 

At setup, and coming into impact for that matter, I hear the trail hand is supposed to be on the side of the grip.

 

How much in the right hand fingers do you go?

Is pressure pushed into the grip/shaft through the knuckles or the first finger bones? (proximal phalanges)

 

Just judging from the pics in this slide show I would guess pressure is behind the index finger finger bone and the middle finger knuckle.

 

 

Interesting catch His extended arms and side bend are a reaction to the clubhead pulling away from him. Without the resistance the clubhead would pull him down the fairway.

 

 

 

 

[wagolfer7]

2 minutes ago, KD1 said:

 

I really wish someone would have come up to me and thumped me upside the head and told me my effing grip was too lose months ago. I almost feel like my coach should have picked up on this... It's kinda hard to make swing corrections if I'm constantly making different compensations for a shaft that reorients itself on me midswing. Talk about "be an athlete", lol! Frankly, I'm amazed at some of the stuff I've been able to pull off.

 

I played some pretty good golf with a grip that would close the face when I increased pressure.  But it did prevent me from moving forward and eventually I had to address it.  Padraig's video in a nutshell hit all the important pieces I learned through a bunch of different resources and trial / error.  

 

I had to start with a looser grip, to get my wrists / arms to move as Pardraig describes.  Eventually getting it to where I am now, without restricting wrists / arms.  

 

It's your only connection to the club and it's certainly worth putting in the time to make sure you got it right.  It's hard for a pro or other person to verify this for you.  What looks right, can still be flawed.  And interesting enough that this is about the only thing that can't be measured through tech yet.  

 

I'm sure we'll learn a lot more in the years to come about the importance of grip and pressure throughout.  

[KD1]

16 minutes ago, wagolfer7 said:

It's hard for a pro or other person to verify this for you.

In the videos that you linked he has you do a couple practice swings and then check to see if your club has shifted on you. That happens to be exactly how I stumbled into this on my own. It looks like that little exercise is going to have to be part of my pre-shot routine for a while now.

[wagolfer7]

Just now, KD1 said:

In the videos that you linked he has you do a couple practice swings and then check to see if your club has shifted on you. That happens to be exactly how I stumbled into this on my own. It looks like that little exercise is going to have to be part of my pre-shot routine for a while now.

 

Yes the checkpoints are how you confirm you are doing it correctly.  

 

Hold the club with the lead hand with pad and forefinger.  Squeeze the club at address to make sure it's not moving.  And yes take a few swings and check it again.  

 

It didn't take too long for me to get this to automatic.  And I ended up changing my grip quite.  It was very strong with a trail hand nearly underneath the club.  Now I'm a lot closer to neutral.  

[tthomasgolfer605]

8 minutes ago, wagolfer7 said:

 

Yes the checkpoints are how you confirm you are doing it correctly.  

 

Hold the club with the lead hand with pad and forefinger.  Squeeze the club at address to make sure it's not moving.  And yes take a few swings and check it again.  

 

It didn't take too long for me to get this to automatic.  And I ended up changing my grip quite.  It was very strong with a trail hand nearly underneath the club.  Now I'm a lot closer to neutral.  

Ben Hogan's 5 lessons chapter 1 covers this in detail. 

[wagolfer7]

1 minute ago, tthomasgolfer605 said:

Ben Hogan's 5 lessons chapter 1 covers this in detail. 

 

Yes there is lot's of good stuff in 5 Lessons.  

 

I just think it's easier to learn from a video, made by another accomplished golfer, in Padraig Harrington.  But Hogan's stuff is great, especially the description of pressure points.  

[tthomasgolfer605]

6 minutes ago, wagolfer7 said:

 

Yes there is lot's of good stuff in 5 Lessons.  

 

I just think it's easier to learn from a video, made by another accomplished golfer, in Padraig Harrington.  But Hogan's stuff is great, especially the description of pressure points.  

Not many people know that Hogan learned that from Henry Picard. He's the one who suggested the grip change to get rid of the hook. 

Edited February 17, 2023 by tthomasgolfer605

[b.mattay]

Like all things in golf it depends. However I would specify my range of gripping strength as: 

 

-10/10 firmness for sending a driver 

-6 to 6.5 firmness for a delicate short game shot

 

Note: I'm defining 10/10 as the point right before tension starts to radiate into the upper arm and shoulders.

If you're getting a tricep or delt pump after a small bucket there are obviously issues 😂

Edited February 18, 2023 by b.mattay

[moehogan]

Increase the pressure in the trail hand ring finger to hit a fade. Increase the pressure in the trail hand middle finger to hit a draw.