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Regripping at top of backswing

post #1 of 19
10/31/09 at 8:31pm
Thread Starter 
Hey guys,
I've noticed (especially with my irons) that I have a tendency to regrip at the top of the backswing. On my short irons, at best, gives me a strong pull, and at worst I clunk the ball with the toe of the club. The best way for me to hit a controlled shot for me these days is to set up with the toe of the iron pointing about 45 degrees or so from neutral. How can i break the bad habit of letting myself regrip the club?
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post #2 of 19
10/31/09 at 8:45pm

Re: Regripping at top of backswing

Check your left hand grip

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post #3 of 19
10/31/09 at 8:52pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Regripping at top of backswing

i grip it well initially, i just regrip the club right before the downswing
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post #4 of 19
10/31/09 at 8:53pm

Re: Regripping at top of backswing

Originally Posted by kilbyman View Post
Hey guys,
I've noticed (especially with my irons) that I have a tendency to regrip at the top of the backswing. On my short irons, at best, gives me a strong pull, and at worst I clunk the ball with the toe of the club. The best way for me to hit a controlled shot for me these days is to set up with the toe of the iron pointing about 45 degrees or so from neutral. How can i break the bad habit of letting myself regrip the club?
Could you regrip an entire set? That would be seriously impressive. What exactly do you mean by regrip? Is the club flopping out of your hands and then you are tightening the grip causing the face angle to change at the top? You should be starting with a good left hand grip where the last 3 fingers of the left hard are pretty snug. Keep the first two loose, but try to draw blood with the last three. Your grip will tighten automatically, so it's better IMO to start with it tight. Just don't let the tightness work it's way above your wrists too much. Then take the club back by pushing with your left hand. Your right hand can pretty much come off the club if you do this. Better keep it on, though. It's better for the club to be slightly closed at the top than slightly open. If you are closed, the club will open more naturally as you start down. If you are open, you will have to rotate the forearms through impact to close the clubface. When you take the club back, check the face when the shaft is horizontal. It should be at roughly a 45* angle with the ground.
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post #5 of 19
10/31/09 at 9:05pm

Re: Regripping at top of backswing

The two things I can think of are to not overswing and let your wrists break down at the top, and the other thing that helped me was going to a mid-size grip, as my hands are a little big....The bigger grip helped with struggling to hold the club....
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post #6 of 19
10/31/09 at 9:30pm

Re: Regripping at top of backswing

KS8829..brilliant vid from YouTube. That was the best explaination I have seen of a very key fundamental. Great Post!! Kilbyman,,,watch the vid..
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post #7 of 19
11/6/09 at 4:39am

Re: Regripping at top of backswing

Everyone does it to some degree. Go to the range and focus only on maintaining a light grip and don't regrip in the backswing...it's hard to do but practice will help you out.
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post #8 of 19
11/6/09 at 6:21am

Re: Regripping at top of backswing

Originally Posted by kilbyman View Post
i grip it well initially, i just regrip the club right before the downswing
This is a simple fix....

STOP THAT!

Just like that SNL skit where the people are in therapy for one minute.

STOP IT!

That will be $1.
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post #9 of 19
11/6/09 at 6:21am

Re: Regripping at top of backswing

Originally Posted by mcman1 View Post
Everyone does it to some degree.
Disagree. I don't. I don't even think the majority of the people I know do.

Too many people do it, I'll agree with that.
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post #10 of 19
11/6/09 at 6:38am

Re: Regripping at top of backswing

I always ask someone who inquires about this problem if I can take a look at their glove. Invariably the wear marks will show an improper left-hand grip if the player is re-gripping. So, check your glove, and if you have wear marks or tend to wear out your glove on a spot right on top of the fat pad on the right base of your hand, you should change your grip and move the club under the fat pad of the heel of the hand (more into the base of the fingers, with the fat pad on top of the grip.)

If the left hand is right, you can hold the club level out in front of you and release all the fingers but one and ask someone to pull the club our of your hand -- it should be difficult. A really bad left hand grip will cause the club to fall out of your hand when you open up all but the index (or some say the second finger, either should hold it securely.) You do not need a strong (rotated right) grip for this test to work. It works for weak grips and neutral grips quite well.
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post #11 of 19
11/6/09 at 3:35pm

Re: Regripping at top of backswing

I had/have the same problem, badly at times. In my case, I had a ridiculously steep swing and would "ungrip/regrip" in order to lengthen the swing (yes I know it's absolutely unnecessary). I really didn't know I even did this until I taped my swing.

When you say you're regripping, are you sort of hinging with your fingers to get more "wrist hinge" and then regripping, or literally adjusting your grip on the backswing? Either way, I'd say that if you're regripping/hinging in any way, there is probably a bigger issue then simply the grip, you're compensating for something which causes the regrip. If you swing out to in, you may regrip to try to square the club (if you normally slice), for example. I'd have someone look at your swing as a whole rather then assume it's just a grip fault.
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post #12 of 19
2/10/13 at 3:42pm

I do this, I worked out today that it is due to a tight grip with the right hand. As you backswing you loosen the left and the fingers of the right rotate the club a little, then as the downsing starts your left hand tightens but the club is now rotated closed in the left hand... hook city! Try a really light right hand grip and slightly tighter left grip!

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post #13 of 19
4/25/13 at 9:58pm

I just finished a private lesson and this was covered in depth.  I do the same thing.  I re-grip on the backswing.  My teacher told me to watch my hands on the pull back to make sure I don't move them.  This is a habit that is going to take concentration to stop.  I knew I did this from time to time and just got sick of it.  The private lesson was helpful and I'll be practicing the light grip and NO regrip to gain competency.   

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post #14 of 19
4/26/13 at 1:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ks8829 View Post

Check your left hand grip


Ben Hogan seems to completely disagree with what Mark is saying in this video about grip of top hand...
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post #15 of 19
4/26/13 at 2:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MyrtleBeachGolf View Post

Ben Hogan seems to completely disagree with what Mark is saying in this video about grip of top hand...

 

In what what? I see the same advice in both. Heel pad more on top and not beneath or to the side.

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post #16 of 19
4/26/13 at 3:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iacas View Post

In what what? I see the same advice in both. Heel pad more on top and not beneath or to the side.

Hmm. Ok. I'll defer to the experts. Maybe I was misinterpreting Marks video. He seems to suggest the grip of the club go straight through the base of the fingers. He's demo shows his fingers parallel to the floor, and the club perpendicular to the fingers. Almost as if the club is at a right angle to the fingers.

In the Ben Hogan illus. you can clearly see the butt end of the grip is below the base of the pinky finger while the grip is above the base of his first finger.

I guess I was misinterpreting the video from Mark, as it seemed to not be in line with the illustrations from Hogans book.
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post #17 of 19
4/26/13 at 5:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MyrtleBeachGolf View Post

Hmm. Ok. I'll defer to the experts. Maybe I was misinterpreting Marks video. He seems to suggest the grip of the club go straight through the base of the fingers. He's demo shows his fingers parallel to the floor, and the club perpendicular to the fingers. Almost as if the club is at a right angle to the fingers.

In the Ben Hogan illus. you can clearly see the butt end of the grip is below the base of the pinky finger while the grip is above the base of his first finger.

I guess I was misinterpreting the video from Mark, as it seemed to not be in line with the illustrations from Hogans book.

 

He shows a teeny bit more in the fingers than the Hogan illustration. Hogan's grip wasn't particularly strong, though, and even a neutral grip would have it appear a bit more down in the fingers with the heel pad a bit more on top.

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post #18 of 19
4/28/13 at 6:14pm
Back to the OP's problem: myself, I'm constantly working on the issue of 'regripping', i.e. loosening and then re-tightening my grip at the top, and have made some good progress. In my case it comes from 'overswinging', by which I mean letting my form break down at the top by trying to move my arms and the club further back, after my shoulder turn is complete.

The solution: when your shoulder turn is complete, DO NOT try to move the club further back - you are DONE with that. If you want a bigger, more powerful arc, use more shoulder turn but keep the geometry of your arms and wrists constant after your wrist cock is set.

In theory it ought to be easy to stop regripping/overswinging, but in practice it's a difficult habit to lose. It might also help if you focus more or a smooth, accelerating DOWNSWING than on a big backswing for power. If you've made a decent shoulder turn and you've got good lag on the downswing, your stroke will be plenty powerful.
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