For many golf instructors, the first lesson they teach their students is how to grip a golf club correctly. Why? Because if you do not grip the golf club correctly, it may cause you to slice the golf ball. Some amateur golfers who often slice the ball badly have reported that their slice "magically" fixed itself when they fixed their grip. Imagine that, instantly improve your golf swing just by learning the correct golf club grip.
There are actually three main ways of gripping the golf club correctly - the overlapping grip, the baseball bat grip and the interlocking grip. The overlapping grip is also called the Vardon grip - this is the grip which many golf instructors teach. In this grip, you place the little finger of your trailing hand (right hand if you are right-handed, left hand if you are a lefty) between the index and middle finger of your lead hand. Both thumbs should point towards the club head. This grip is great if you have large hands.
If you find that you have trouble with the overlapping grip, maybe you can try the baseball grip. This is also called the ten finger grip. You basically place both hands side by side, with the index finger of your lead hand right up against the little finger of your trailing hand. Remember that the trailing hand is the right hand for most people. This is usually considered the easiest way to grip the golf club, and if you have arthritis, joint pain or small and weak hands this is probably the best grip for you. A common mistake made by golfers using the baseball grip is that they separate their hands. When you do this, you may lose control of your club. It becomes harder for your hands to swing the golf club together as one unit.
The interlocking grip is widely used by many professional golfers like Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. When you grip your golf club this way, it definitely ensures that both hands will swing the club together. In the interlocking grip, you intertwine the little finger of the trailing hand with the index finger of the lead hand. In other words, you literally lock your hands together.
Regardless of how you grip your golf club, do not grip the club too tightly. This is one of the most common causes of slicing the ball. For a start, just grip with a medium force. One way of doing this is to grip the club as tightly as you can. Rate this as a 10. Then grip your club lightly - this is a 1. What you want is in between - a 4 or a 5. You should feel relaxed and free from tension in your hands and forearms. This gives you the best blend of power and control.
Something which can affect the way you grip your golf club is the size of your golf club's handle. When you buy a new club, the golf shop should measure your grip for you. However, if you bought second-hand clubs or are using hand-me-downs, then you may need to re-size the handle of your golf clubs. This can really do wonders to improve your golf swing. In fact, one thing you can do after your beginner's golf lessons end is to buy a number of cheap drivers (same brand and model), put different sized grips on them and just swing away at the golf ball. This will help you to figure out the best grip size to use. Then you can replace the grips of all your other clubs. A good, quick way of knocking some strokes off your handicap.
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