Maintaining that "light grip"

[chessbum]

To all,

I understand precisely how important it is to have this "light grip" on the club. I think it is one of the most important fundamentals to a great golf swing. My problem is maintaining it.

Try as I may, I seem to get into my backswing and then I seem to tighten up on my grip. I know this is affecting my swing and making it not as effective as it could be.

Last year, I got into a groove where I could maintain this light grip. I remember thinking that if I keep the grip just light enough that the club will not slip out of my hands, that would be correct and I think it was. My swing was about the best it had been through the whole season during this time.

I know the old adage about "hold the club as if you had a live bird in your hand" but a lot of times I forget this.

Anyone have any advice or comments on how to maintain this light grip and not let the subconcious take over and grip the living &%$* out of it?

Thanks for your advice,

Chessbum....

[golfonenemesis]

Re: Maintaining that "light grip"

I think it is natural to tighten up thats why you begin light but if you will try pulling down rather than hitting down, it helps keep things relaxed. Also, check your grip and alignment as they can cause this hitting mentality, ie. grip too strong and alignment too far right.

[jweighell]

Re: Maintaining that "light grip"

try pulling down rather than hitting down

This is exactly what I've been focussing on the past few weeks, and my play has been so much better!

It seems to get my hands automatically into the RHD drill position as well, with my hands ahead of the club-head at impact without forcing my wrists to stay cupped.

[chessbum]

Re: Maintaining that "light grip"

Thanks all,

I am going to try it.

Chessbum...

[B11NONGOLF]

Re: Maintaining that "light grip"

it is a question with no a exact answer!!!!??
some (most) said keep like holding a egg firm but without crush the shell
others from 1 to 10 =5
others from 1 to 10 =8
others from 1 to 10 =3
so try all the options and keep what is fell right for personal swing tempo
you will improve a lot that way!! good luck

[Robert O' Keeffe]

Re: Maintaining that "light grip"

Chessbum,
My coach says it is impossible not to tighten up at the top, to some degree as the whole swing sequence makes the hands tighten somewhat at the top. Only focus on a soft grip at takeaway. Try looking for tempo rather than concentrating on grip. I am sure this will help

[chessbum]

Re: Maintaining that "light grip"

Thanks Robert,

I will give it a try. Like you said, it seems so hard to maintain that constant light grip pressure...

chessbum...

[kalio]

Re: Maintaining that "light grip"

I have also been trying to maintain a light grip on the club throughout my swing, but it doesn't seem to work for me as advertised. I must be doing something wrong because at the point of impact, the light grip causes the club to move or "wiggle" in my hands resulting in a bad shot. The only solution I can come up with is to maintain a tight grip on the club to prevent unwanted movement of the club at the point of impact. Can someone explain what I may be doing wrong or give any advice? Thanks.

[jweighell]

Re: Maintaining that "light grip"

Experimenting further, I've found that I play much better if I do not conciously do anything with my hands and wrists in the downswing...

In the back swing, you cock your wrists, but on the way back down, just allow the centrifugal force to naturally un-cock your wrists. This seems to generate loads of club head speed with no effort!

[BrianW]

Re: Maintaining that "light grip"

I read an article that said imagine the grip has small holes that a gas leaks out of, you should try to just stop the gas flow with your grip pressure.

Regards
Brian

[mattpodger]

Re: Maintaining that "light grip"

I recently read an article in 'GolfPunk' magazine in which Henrik Stenson said that amateurs should grip the club tighter rather than looser.

[chessbum]

Re: Maintaining that "light grip"

Dear Mattpodger,

Thanks for the info. I have never heard of the publication that you are referring to. It's hard for me to believe that anyone would recommend holding the club "tighter rather than looser". Every book I have ever read including info from the golf channel suggests a lighter grip is better.

In my mind, if you grip it tightly, it's impossible to release the club properly.

Also, if you hold the club in the address position and simply loosen and then tighten the grip, you can't help but notice that the club head moves up and down. Once you see this you have to ask yourself, if I change the grip pressure during the golf swing, how in the hell can the clubhead arrive back in the correct position at impact???

Am I full of it????

Chessbum.....

[mattpodger]

Re: Maintaining that "light grip"

Dear Mattpodger,

Thanks for the info. I have never heard of the publication that you are referring to. It's hard for me to believe that anyone would recommend holding the club "tighter rather than looser". Every book I have ever read including info from the golf channel suggests a lighter grip is better.

In my mind, if you grip it tightly, it's impossible to release the club properly.

Also, if you hold the club in the address position and simply loosen and then tighten the grip, you can't help but notice that the club head moves up and down. Once you see this you have to ask yourself, if I change the grip pressure during the golf swing, how in the hell can the clubhead arrive back in the correct position at impact???

Am I full of it????

Chessbum.....

Chessbum

Not at all. I too have read everywhere that a lighter grip was preferential. the point that was trying to be made in the article was that quite often amateurs tend to go the 'other way' and grip too lightly, with the club flying out of their hands! Stenson said that what needs to be remembered is that tour pro's due to their training, will have a firmer grip than the average player anyway, so the '5 out of 10' rule (or whatever) for them would more likely be and '8 out of 10' for mortals.

I think, as with all these things, it is a comfort issue, with the emphasis on staying relaxed. It's another case of finding what works for you.

Cheers

Matt

ps check the link if you're interested, details on how to subscribe

http://www.golfpunkonline.com/

[Timothy Slaught]

Re: Maintaining that "light grip"

Hello Chessbum:

Grip pressure is definitely something worth experimenting with. Obviously the practice range is the place to work on this. Probably the most effective pressure will be somewhere about 5 on the scale of 1 to 10.
It is true that some players grip too lightly and the problem manifests itself in lack of control of the club especially at the top of the backswing.
Too tight a grip will cause all sorts of tension issues as the rest of the muscles of the body react to the grip tension. The trick is being able to try to maintain an even pressure throughout the swing. The tendency is to try and steer the club with a grip pressure that is too tight. You also cannot release the club properly when the grip pressure is excessive. This being said you will need to have enough pressure to maintain some control of the club during the swing. This is why experimentation is vital. Unfortunatley some players never consider this issue and probably use the death grip as a rule. There is a good training aid that is a circular rubber pad that fits over your existing grip. You position it on the club's grip where the right thumb and index finger would be on the grip (assuming a right handed player). The pad will not allow the player to overuse the right index finger and thumb which is a big problem in the golf swing. It trains you to be able to swing the club without having the right thumb and index finger destroy the proper swing path especially from the top of the backswing into the downswing. It is a great training tool for using the correct grip pressure and hand action during the swing. Also it can be used on any club. It is called the accu-hit and only costs about $10 US. I hit some shots with it then take it off and recreate the feel. It really helps to prevent casting also.

Good luck.
TS

[james.welsh]

Re: Maintaining that "light grip"

My instructor suggested a firmer rather than less firm grip. For what it's worth, I make sure there's no inside space between the thumb and index-finger-side-part (whatever that's called) also the right hand life-line must be snugly on top of the underlying thumb. If I forget to check my grip I might find myself "re-gripping" at the top of the swing (death!) or the impact is not firm enough and my shots will tend to push right.