I began searching Youtube for grip lessons, but that proved useless, because it seems as if every teacher has their own philosophy as to why their grip is the best. As it turned out, a day after I set out to find the perfect grip, Golf Magazine did a special on proper grip technique for their January issue. An answer to prayer.
On the same day that I received my latest issue, I went out to my laboratory and started working on my grip. One of the guys that I see out there all the time was walking by and he said, "Nice swing. The only thing that bothers me about it, is your grip. Hi, my name is Larry." Hmmm...Here we go again. Someone trying to fix my swing.
Normally, I tune people out who try to give me advice about my swing. In my last post you met Coach Terry Crick, and you might remember that his favorite saying is, "Amateurs teach amateurs to play golf like amateurs." I am very hesitant to listen to anyone who claims to have the "magic fix", but since my grip is exactly what I am struggling with, and the fact that he recognized that just by looking at my swing, I allowed him to go on.
Larry pointed out that my left hand was rotated to far to the right. I thought my grip was okay because I heard that I should be able to see the two knuckles of my index and middle finger. He said, "Exactly, but your perspective is all messed up." He took his club and gripped it like I did and asked me what I saw. I was surprised. What I saw was four knuckles.
From my perspective it looked like two knuckles, but when I looked at it from Larry's perspective, I could see what he saw. A poor grip. He rotated my left hand to the left and put my right hand in more of a neutral position. I had a very weak grip.
It took some time to get used to this hand position, which I can understand. I had never held the club like this before, so of course it would feel a little foreign at first. I told him that it felt like my right hand was too far underneath the club on my downswing. He said, "Exactly. This grip promotes more of an inside to out swing path. It will help get rid of going over that top."
Larry had me hit some shots trying purposely to hook the ball to the left. He said that with my old grip I was probably forced to "hold off" my swing so that the club would not be closed at impact. Now that I am swinging from the inside, I don't have to hold the club off. After a while, I started hitting some draw shots. Something that I never experienced before.
I think this little lesson, coupled with what Mike has been teaching me, will help take me to the next level. The one-piece takeaway that Mike introduced me to feels a little smoother now. I used to hit good shots, but I was still lacking consistency. Mike, being a "virtual instructor", never had a chance to get a close look at my grip. I am sure that he would have pointed it out right away. I plan on getting some new footage for Mike to look at in the near future so that he can evaluate my progress thus far.
The following pictures are from the Golf Magazine article. The last two pictures are a great teaching tool that anyone can use. Check out the article so that you can read the description that coincides with each step for yourself. Hopefully it will help you get a grip on this game as well. Have a great round and always hit your target.
Read the Golf Magazine article here.
On the same day that I received my latest issue, I went out to my laboratory and started working on my grip. One of the guys that I see out there all the time was walking by and he said, "Nice swing. The only thing that bothers me about it, is your grip. Hi, my name is Larry." Hmmm...Here we go again. Someone trying to fix my swing.
Normally, I tune people out who try to give me advice about my swing. In my last post you met Coach Terry Crick, and you might remember that his favorite saying is, "Amateurs teach amateurs to play golf like amateurs." I am very hesitant to listen to anyone who claims to have the "magic fix", but since my grip is exactly what I am struggling with, and the fact that he recognized that just by looking at my swing, I allowed him to go on.
Larry pointed out that my left hand was rotated to far to the right. I thought my grip was okay because I heard that I should be able to see the two knuckles of my index and middle finger. He said, "Exactly, but your perspective is all messed up." He took his club and gripped it like I did and asked me what I saw. I was surprised. What I saw was four knuckles.
From my perspective it looked like two knuckles, but when I looked at it from Larry's perspective, I could see what he saw. A poor grip. He rotated my left hand to the left and put my right hand in more of a neutral position. I had a very weak grip.
It took some time to get used to this hand position, which I can understand. I had never held the club like this before, so of course it would feel a little foreign at first. I told him that it felt like my right hand was too far underneath the club on my downswing. He said, "Exactly. This grip promotes more of an inside to out swing path. It will help get rid of going over that top."
Larry had me hit some shots trying purposely to hook the ball to the left. He said that with my old grip I was probably forced to "hold off" my swing so that the club would not be closed at impact. Now that I am swinging from the inside, I don't have to hold the club off. After a while, I started hitting some draw shots. Something that I never experienced before.
I think this little lesson, coupled with what Mike has been teaching me, will help take me to the next level. The one-piece takeaway that Mike introduced me to feels a little smoother now. I used to hit good shots, but I was still lacking consistency. Mike, being a "virtual instructor", never had a chance to get a close look at my grip. I am sure that he would have pointed it out right away. I plan on getting some new footage for Mike to look at in the near future so that he can evaluate my progress thus far.
The following pictures are from the Golf Magazine article. The last two pictures are a great teaching tool that anyone can use. Check out the article so that you can read the description that coincides with each step for yourself. Hopefully it will help you get a grip on this game as well. Have a great round and always hit your target.
Read the Golf Magazine article here.
Step 1: Placing the handle
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