Golf Grip
In golf, one way of determining newbies is by their golf grip.
Intermediate players are familiar with their golf clubs and their golf grips. These people over time develop their own way of how to grip a golf club. Novice players that haven’t undergone formal tutorials tend to grip the golf club somewhat like one gripping the baseball bat, known in the golf parlance as baseball grip.
The baseball grip, though, is an actual working grip of golf, and in fact quite a few professionals do employ baseball grip successfully. But because of its general weakness, as being to stiff on the wrist hinge, this grip is generally discouraged.
Do you know the most common kinds of golf club grips?
The Vardon Overlap is undoubtedly the most well recognized proper golf grip. The founder Harry Vardon made exemplary use of the golf grip around the turn of the 20th century and in a short while, many golfers, pro and novices alike found out the boons of employing the Vardon Overlap. The use became the textbook approach on how to do a correct golf grip.
To do the Vardon Overlap, the club handle is set to touch the base of the little finger. The rest of the handle is then set that the first joint of the index finger touches part of the golf club handle. Thus there would be a discernable angle and if gripped, the fingers more hold the golf club handle than the palms. The trailing hand takes the little finger over the first knuckle or the index finger.
What’s the advantage of the Vardon Overlap? It gives control of the golf club to the fingers where the golf club can react accordingly.
Another most recognized golf grip is known as the Interlock or Interlocking Golf Grip. Many professional Tour golfers use the Interlock or Interlocking Golf Grip almost exclusively, including Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
To do the Interlocking Golf Grip, the same procedures of the Vardon Overlap are used. There would be still be a discernable angle that if gripped, the fingers hold the golf club handle in the same way. The only different approach is the interlocking of the little finger of the leading hand to the index finger of the trailing hand. The rest is the same: the lead hand thumb still fits in the lifeline of the trailing hand.
The advantage of this golf grip method is that it binds the hands together, thus giving a more secure grasp of the golf club. There is little stiffness, as the intertwining grip allows a better space for the golf club to rotate accordingly. The only disadvantage is that it also risks the handle to straying into the palms of the hand. Practice, though, always eliminates such problems.
This poses as advantage to people having smaller hands in relevance to the clubs they’re currently using. It also allows compounded arm strength, with each arm lending to the strength of the other.
Though the Ten Finger Grip or more popularly known as the Baseball Grip is known as the noob method of golf gripping, there are other professional tour golfers that use this golf grip with relative ease and success. These people include Beth Daniel, golf Hall of Fame Member, Dave Barr and Bob Estes both PGA Tour members, and Masters Champion Art Wall Jr. These people use the Baseball Grip with success, implying that these golf grips if used correctly can offer several advantages. And one obvious advantage is firmer (not better) grip.
The Baseball Grip is held in a way just like any baseball, the leading hand goes before the left hand.
Bear in mind that golf grips do contribute to success; that they do help deliver lower scores. Adjust your grips to any of the first two golf grips and you’re a step nearer to becoming a pro.