The grip--what's important

I was told that when your back swing is about 3/4 of the way complete (club facing the sky and your arms parallel to the ground), you should only see about 2 knuckles on your left hand... Is this true? If so, how do you accomplish this? I can not find a way to do this no matter how I swing or how I grip.

Btw, Jim Mclean says this in his 8 step video.

To the OP, you say last three fingers of the top hand, and then first three fingers.  Which is it?

What makes a good grip, what ever can get clubhead on the golf ball consistantly period. You can play againts someone you think has a shitty golf grip, but then he kicks your butt all over the course, its because he knows what he does with that grip and that swing. So it doesn't matter to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by saevel25 

What makes a good grip, what ever can get clubhead on the golf ball consistantly period. You can play againts someone you think has a shitty golf grip, but then he kicks your butt all over the course, its because he knows what he does with that grip and that swing. So it doesn't matter to me.

I agree with you there, but there will always be a cap on how well someone will play with a poor grip. Having a neutral grip (V's of both hands pointing to your right shoulder - if you're a righty) will allow you to consistently hit the ball straight. It is the foundation of a good golf swing as it allows you to take the club back on the proper path, keep the club face square through impact, and maximize distance.

As for the knuckles, here is what I do:

When addressing the golf ball (club on the ground), you should only be able to see 2-3 knuckles of your left hand. If you see more than that, this indicates a strong grip and if you see less, this indicates a weak grip. Use this self-check drill before every round to ensure your grip is where you want it.

Actually Neutral grip is were the left hand V points closer to the chin, as the right hand, maybe between the chin and right ear. Strong grip is both hands pointing to the right shoulder. Weak, is to the left of the chin.

Just to clarify the definition of the grip types.

For one thing, there is no such thing as a straight ball, quoted by Ben Hogan. Trying to hit a straight ball will lead to faults. Just think about it, to get perfect perpendicular to the swing path, and having your swing path perfectly parallel to the target line, at the millisecond the club hits the ball. The odds are tough. The best thing is to know your curve and play your shot type. Having a curve alows you to play inside a cone, and allow for some error.

Also, a neutral grip fits only a neutral swing, weaker grips fit a different type of swing, and a strong grip fits another. It depends on the swing. You try to put a different grip on dustin johnson and he might not keep the ball on the course anymore. His grip fits his swing.

As for me, i play with a slightly strong left grip, and a strong right grip.

Quote:

Originally Posted by uttexas 

Next time you go to the range (for a righty), really focus on pressing your right palm into your left thumb, keeping pressure with the last three fingers of your left hand, and feel pressure where your index finger of your right hand grips the club. Focus and feel this pressure throughout the swing.

The pressure points are a way to feel the club lagging behind, not something you should conciously press down. The right hand trigger finger pressre occurs because the hands are moving fast and the clubhead lagging behind, not from the finger pressing down on the grip. I don't try to feel pressure points on the backswing, they start on the downswing as a result of the hands moving fast without the wrists unhinging. I don't work on the armpit pressure points or left hand ones. It's mostly #3 and #1.

Quote:

Originally Posted by saevel25 

 

For one thing, there is no such thing as a straight ball, quoted by Ben Hogan. Trying to hit a straight ball will lead to faults. Just think about it, to get perfect perpendicular to the swing path, and having your swing path perfectly parallel to the target line, at the millisecond the club hits the ball. The odds are tough. The best thing is to know your curve and play your shot type. Having a curve alows you to play inside a cone, and allow for some error.

 

Also, a neutral grip fits only a neutral swing, weaker grips fit a different type of swing, and a strong grip fits another. It depends on the swing. You try to put a different grip on dustin johnson and he might not keep the ball on the course anymore. His grip fits his swing.

 

As for me, i play with a slightly strong left grip, and a strong right grip.

Really? I've hit lots of straight balls. Perhaps not straight down to a centimeter, but as straight as my eye could tell, and the ball ended up right next to the flag. If you hit the ball straight, your cone will maybe be two yards left and two yards right. If you draw the ball, it may be four yards left, never right. How is one more accurate than the other, as long as the size of the cone is the same?

Hitting a shaped shot require the same amount of precision to get the ball close to the flag. It's not like you can hit the ball with a clubface 2º off and still hit it close, just because the ball is moving right to left.

The grip can affect grip hinge, flying wedges, clubface angle etc. For me, it's mostly about clubface angle. My current grip tends to close the clubface, so I've been trying to get the right hand more over the left to prevent it from turning the clubface over.

Pressure points are important, but can be hard to find and feel. It took me some time before I really felt #3PP, but now that I do, I can tell why it's important. It can be the difference of hitting the ball fat and perfect. 

Well your good enough to hit a straight (little curve) ball, but i always found it tough to maintain. I rather know that my ball is going to go from left to right or right to left because it takes out one side of trouble. What if you have to hit a shot and you error on the wrong side and you sraight goes a tad to far right. If you know your going to hit a right to left, then you know you will be away from that trouble.

As for pressure points, to much for me to think about, i just try to be loose.

i beleive that pressure points are important as well as grip pressure as i remember hitting the ball farther than i ever have, but i have a problem trusting that my grip pressure will still manage to hold the club on the down swing thru impact. also that with such a light pressure i will be able to maintain a faster speed!

Played last night and spent awhile focusing on this topic.  Not sure if it just took my mind off other things, but most shots were crisp.  Thanks to the OP.

A good grip is, very simply, one you can trust

1.  Won't let the golf club fly out of your hands

2.  Won't interfere with the natural hinging of the wrists

3.  Won't interfere with the natural release of the club

4.  Won't prevent you from applying power with your trailing hand

5.  Won't alienate you with no feedback

If your grip satisfies those 5, it's hard to argue against it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bunkerputt 

A good grip is, very simply, one you can trust

 

1.  Won't let the golf club fly out of your hands

2.  Won't interfere with the natural hinging of the wrists

3.  Won't interfere with the natural release of the club

4.  Won't prevent you from applying power with your trailing hand

5.  Won't alienate you with no feedback

 

If your grip satisfies those 5, it's hard to argue against it.

Thanks this is how I feel about my grip. I have a bit of an overlap where my pinky squishes the skin of my left index finger. Ive been told its not a "real" golf grip but it works for me and true overlap/interlocking grips make me feel like the club could go flying.

Ill use this to tell off the naysayers.

A good grip is one that makes it easy for the right swing movements to occur. 

Because we are all built differently, different size, different muscular development, etc., none of us will have identical grips. 

But a grip that does not suit your body forces you to put adjustments into your swing that just make the game harder to play.

One of the guys I play with all the time has a grip so weak it would make Johnny Miller blanch. Another one has a right hand that is trying to slide underneath the club to meet the left hand from the long way around. Neither of them hit the ball too good.

I use the standard right hand pinky overlap grip ... and the middle finger on my right hand KILLS ME after playing a round.     I have a sneaking suspicion I'm supporting practically all the force of my swing by my 3 right hand fingers (the middle being the strongest).    Curious if this rings a bell with anyone, and if this may be a common problem (and what can be done to fix it) ... thx

OP, I play with feel so I'm always looking for something to key into during my swing.  I'll definitely try these pressure points next time at the range.