Changing how I grip the club

[northern33]

In my 5 years of golfing I've always gripped the club using ten fingers (baseball style). Never taken a lesson and ten fingers just felt natural to me. Tried the interlock a couple times on the range but never felt comfortable so just stuck with the ten finger grip.

Played 9 holes tonight and started experimenting with the interlock grip...mostly because I was spraying the ball all over. To my surprise the interlock grip straightened my ball flight out immensely. A lot of it was probably mental but now it has me thinking of making the switch to the interlock grip permanently.

For people who use the interlock grip currently I have a couple questions:
- do you interlock on chip shots (around the green)?
- do you interlock when putting?
- if you switched to interlock from the 10 finger grip...what obvious things did you notice after the change...i.e ballflight, consistency etc.?

[Hearzy]

I have used the interlock for about 2 years and this year I have switched to the overlapping.

But when I was using interlocking I used it on all my shots chips, putts etc. I still today use it for my putting as I feel I have more control and a better grasp.

As I never really used the baseball grip I can't comment on what it will change but if I had to guess your consistency should improve as it will help get your hands back to a natural position at impact. I think that the baseball grip would hinder your performance on hinging and releasing. But what works for someone will not work for another...

[BC MIST]

Having used an overlap grip for 35 years, a 10 finger for 12 years , have now switched back to an overlap.

Whether interlock or overlap, these grips will discourage a hooking ball flight as they more successfully unify the hands on the club and lessen the chance of the hands turning over prematurely.

[leafseh]

I learned to golf using the interlock grip. I used it for about 5 years. I have since been using the 10 finger (baseball) grip; running on 6 years now. I switched mid-round one day due to a blister that had developed on the inside of my right pinky. I find the 10 finger much more gentler on the hands.

I have not noticed any differences in my swing. I do find that I have more "flexibility" around the greens though. I'm a feel player and I'm a big user of the flop shot, and I find that the 10 finger feels very comfortable. More free-flowing, if you will.

The interlock feels restrictive and very "systematic" (which is probably a good thing). But being a feel player, I enjoy the full flexibility that the 10 finger provides.

As a reference - I'm a 7 hdcp (and if I could putt, well....)

[northern33]

Thanks for the input. I have always felt the interlock grip to be more restrictive than the 10 finger. I may stick to the 10 finger grip when I'm around the green...otherwise use the interlock on full shots. The interlock seems to keep my arms and wrists more in unison. Going to to take some getting used to.

[quinner]

I use an interlock grip and have been for the past 8 years. I use it for around the green however I have a different grip for my putter. I find it makes my hands feel more unified during the swing and it makes my grip feel more stable.

[Chambokl]

Interlock grip except for chipping and putting.... 8 hdcp...

[BC MIST]

The interlock feels restrictive and very "systematic" (which is probably a good thing). But being a feel player, I enjoy the full flexibility that the 10 finger provides.

If a golfer is looking for better consistency, then having the left wrist FLAT and the right wrist BENT, from address through impact, is best achieved with an interlock/overlap grip. The restrictive or systematic description IS a good thing, even though it MAY cause the hands to feel powerless coming through. This IS a good thing.

Just what is a FEEL player?

[leafseh]

If a golfer is looking for better consistency, then having the left wrist FLAT and the right wrist BENT, from address through impact, is best achieved with an interlock/overlap grip. The restrictive or systematic description IS a good thing, even though it MAY cause the hands to feel powerless coming through. This IS a good thing.

Just what is a FEEL player?

Haha... I completely agree (sorry if my post sounded differently). It helps with the whole unison thing. To be honest, having learnt the game using an interlocking grip, it probably gave me a fairly sound swing to work off of.

Feel player eh? Nice jab In all seriousness though, I think it's someone who just looks at the scenario presented in front of him, says "ok, put it there" and then goes up and hits the ball. No thinking, no checklists, no second guesses etc.

I found this article.. http://www.ultimategolfsystem.com/blog/?p=23

I do believe however, that solely relying on feel will only bring you so far (as far as your natural abilities will let you go). Fine tuning and practicing would still be required to bring your game to the top level (maybe that's why I've plateaued at a 7 hdcp )

[jsttaylor]

Can you explain the flat left wrist and bent right wrist to me? Does this mean when holding the club, your left wrist/hand is flat facing the target or target line? And your right wrist is bowed backwards opposite of the left? Or the right wrist is bowed up or ???? Thanks.

[BC MIST]

Feel player eh? Nice jab In all seriousness though, I think it's someone who just looks at the scenario presented in front of him, says "ok, put it there" and then goes up and hits the ball. No thinking, no checklists, no second guesses etc.

I found this article.. http://www.ultimategolfsystem.com/blog/?p=23

I do believe however, that solely relying on feel will only bring you so far (as far as your natural abilities will let you go). Fine tuning and practicing would still be required to bring your game to the top level (maybe that's why I've plateaued at a 7 hdcp )

In the context of playing the game, feel does not exist and has no scientific basis for being correct. A preshot thinking process where you use memory to recall past experiences, i.e., golf shots, before another part of the brain (basal ganglia??) creates an action programme for the upcoming shot. You cannot perform a shot that you have never performed before because you have no electrical circuitry established.

You must first learn to do good on the range, then on the golf course and finally in competition. Each level stores memories of good or success and only then will you be able to make the shots under pressure.

It is fairly easy to develop sound mechanics but the key is to learn how to bring them out when you play on the course and particularly in competition. A sound plan established in preshot (not to be confused with a preshot routine), the silencing of the mind when you grip, setup and swing, that is, NOT thinking of your swing or results, allowing your true subconscious swing to take place, and lastly, controlling the FEAR mode that all but the youth amongst us, have developed. Feel has nothing to do with any of this.

Simple example:
-Decide that the best shot for the circumstance is a high lob.
-Your target is a blemish on the green.
-Grip, setup and swing humming "Mary had a little lamb..."
-Watch the ball roll to the hole. Why? because you have done this a "thousand" times before, is permanently established in your subconscious so there is no need to think about it. If this is what you mean by feel, then OK, but it's not feel. I eat my food then by "feel" because in the last 60 years I have never missed my mouth with my fork.

[BC MIST]

Can you explain the flat left wrist and bent right wrist to me? Does this mean when holding the club, your left wrist/hand is flat facing the target or target line? And your right wrist is bowed backwards opposite of the left? Or the right wrist is bowed up or ???? Thanks.

Extend your left arm (for righties) so that the back of your left wrist is FLAT, neither bent back toward the back of the arm nor forward where the palm would move toward your chest. Now, from this flat position hinge your wrist UP. this is where it should be at the top of the backswing. Put you right hand next to your left simulating a grip and the right wrist will then be bent back and up a little as well. This is where you want to be at the top and maintaining this configuration deep into the downswing and just beyond impact, will produce powerfully straight shots. Most golfers allow the right wrist to straighten and the left wrist to bend back, way too soon.

[Chieflongtee]

Can you explain the flat left wrist and bent right wrist to me? Does this mean when holding the club, your left wrist/hand is flat facing the target or target line? And your right wrist is bowed backwards opposite of the left? Or the right wrist is bowed up or ???? Thanks.

Take a look

http://www.zenchili.com/2010/02/01/a...f-swing-drill/

[BC MIST]

Take a look

http://www.zenchili.com/2010/02/01/a...f-swing-drill/

Mr. Hogan's wrist is BENT/supinated forward, which he learned to do to combat his severe hook. Achieving a FLAT left wrist at the top and maintaining it to and just after impact, is all one needs to do to achieve the desired results.

[Chieflongtee]

Mr. Hogan's wrist is BENT/supinated forward, which he learned to do to combat his severe hook. Achieving a FLAT left wrist at the top and maintaining it to and just after impact, is all one needs to do to achieve the desired results.

Easier said than done. It's all about timing no matter which grip you use. Golf is not a game of perfect. Even the best of the best spray them. What Hogan and others are saying is in order to hit a decent shot you have to hit down on the ball. Hogan had a weak right hand grip to help him fight the hooks
He once hit 18 fairways and greens in regulation so he must now a bit about what he is takling about.
http://www.practicerange.com/Hogan-v...-DVD-P518.aspx
One fights the hooks the other the slices.(demons) So one must learn to adjust to what Mother nature has provided him(her) with

When you try to help the ball up is when really bad shots happen.
http://www.dooleyduffer.com/tour_striker_review.html
Nobody hits it dead straight all the time. If you can keep it within dispersion then you are on your way to better scores. Short game.flat stick and couse management is what it all about.

[BC MIST]

Easier said than done.(1) It's all about timing no matter which grip you use. Golf is not a game of perfect. Even the best of the best spray them. What Hogan and others are saying is in order to hit a decent shot (2) you have to hit down on the ball. Hogan had a weak right hand grip to help him fight the hooks
He once hit 18 fairways and greens in regulation so he must now a bit about what he is takling about.

One fights the hooks the other the slices.(demons) So one must learn to adjust to what Mother nature has provided him(her) with

(3) When you try to help the ball up is when really bad shots happen.

(4) Nobody hits it dead straight all the time. If you can keep it within dispersion then you are on your way to better scores. Short game.flat stick and course management is what it all about.

(1) When I hear/read someone mention that it's about TIMING, there is an inference that the golfer must CONSCIOUSLY do something to time the release in order to hit the ball straight. Rather, it is really about P.S.M., proper sequential motion. Have the club pass through proper positions, both back and down, eliminates having to make the necessary compensations if you don't. The unfortunate problem is that there are varying opinions as to what the proper positions are. Hogan knew, George Knudson knew and Moe Norman, three of the straightest ball strikers ever and they all did the same thing. The other essential is P.T., proper tempo. "Never strive for one more yard of distance that a smooth, centrifugal force swing will produce." How many golfers that you have played with have a smooth, effortless swing? Very few, I would guess.

(2) Correct. Hitting down on the ball where the low point of the swing arc is 1" to 4" past the ball can only be done IF the left wrist is FLAT or supinated. Bobby Clampett's book is a great resource.

(3) Helping the ball up is the opposite to (2) and is caused by the incorrect use of the right arm/shoulder, that is, right shoulder roll, right arm thrust and right wrist cast. The right arm must be passive.

(4) Agree to a great extent. However, as much is accomplished by conquering the FEAR mode. Anytime a golfer thinks about HOW he is swinging, about the trouble he may get into, his score and so on, he usually gets diminishing results because these kinds of thoughts interfere with and negatively affects PSM and PT.

[Chieflongtee]

Hogan's grip taught in his 5 lessons is a slicer's grip. I have tried it for many years to no avail.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJP_VS-F0wY
Now I have come across this video where they show 2 kinds of overlap. One the pinky is on top of the index and the other the pinky is jammed between the index and the other finger.

Back to tempo or PSM or timing. There are days when after the first 3 shots you know you will be having a good round and other days you know you will be struggling. On the struggling days you will have to find a way to score or adjust to it. Yes confidence is big factor and fear as well.