Grip Confusion

[Zippo]

I started working with a Evolvr golf instructor and he's been great. One of the things he suggested for me was the grip - he would like me to strengthen my left hand and weaken my right hand. Where I am struggling is the connection between the left and right hand. Also, just for info, I'm missing the end of my right pinkie finger - the part with the fingernail is gone shortening my right pinkie some. I have a conceptual understanding of the overlap and interlock grip but not a functional one. When I was young and all my digits were intact I would interlock my right pinkie into my left index finger but, back then, the left hand was much weaker on the grip and my pinkie was longer making it feel pretty comfortable. Now, with the stronger left hand and weaker right it feels least awkward if I overlap the left index finger over the top of my right pinkie. Am I heading for trouble if I continue gripping in that manner?

[boogielicious]

8 hours ago, Zippo said:

I started working with a Evolvr golf instructor and he's been great. One of the things he suggested for me was the grip - he would like me to strengthen my left hand and weaken my right hand. Where I am struggling is the connection between the left and right hand. Also, just for info, I'm missing the end of my right pinkie finger - the part with the fingernail is gone shortening my right pinkie some. I have a conceptual understanding of the overlap and interlock grip but not a functional one. When I was young and all my digits were intact I would interlock my right pinkie into my left index finger but, back then, the left hand was much weaker on the grip and my pinkie was longer making it feel pretty comfortable. Now, with the stronger left hand and weaker right it feels least awkward if I overlap the left index finger over the top of my right pinkie. Am I heading for trouble if I continue gripping in that manner?

It will feel a little awkward at first, but after a while, it will feel correct. Gripping the club has a lot to do with hand size, finger length and thickness. I have long fingers that are thin. I used to use the interlocking grip, but my right pinky nail would dig into the pocket between my left index and middle finger. So I switched to the overlapping grip, or Vardon. But with either one, your instructor is recommending to strengthen the left hand and move the right hand to match. I would work on that. It will help with the backswing and the downswing.

You can keep a club with you at home and just work on gripping even without swinging. It will feel right in a couple of weeks.

Below is a thread that has a lot more information.

 

[Zippo]

5 hours ago, boogielicious said:

It will feel a little awkward at first, but after a while, it will feel correct. Gripping the club has a lot to do with hand size, finger length and thickness. I have long fingers that are thin. I used to use the interlocking grip, but my right pinky nail would dig into the pocket between my left index and middle finger. So I switched to the overlapping grip, or Vardon. But with either one, your instructor is recommending to strengthen the left hand and move the right hand to match. I would work on that. It will help with the backswing and the downswing.

You can keep a club with you at home and just work on gripping even without swinging. It will feel right in a couple of weeks.

Below is a thread that has a lot more information.

 

That's a great thread @boogieliciousand I thank you for it but it does not show how the options of how the fingers are connected under the club. My question is - Now, with the stronger left hand and weaker right it feels least awkward if I overlap the left index finger over the top of my right pinkie. Am I heading for trouble if I continue gripping in that manner?

[Vinsk]

3 hours ago, Zippo said:

That's a great thread @boogieliciousand I thank you for it but it does not show how the options of how the fingers are connected under the club. My question is - Now, with the stronger left hand and weaker right it feels least awkward if I overlap the left index finger over the top of my right pinkie. Am I heading for trouble if I continue gripping in that manner?

Spieth has a reverse over lap or interlock. Furyk overlaps last two fingers. You’re fine.

[Zippo]

6 hours ago, Vinsk said:

Spieth has a reverse over lap or interlock. Furyk overlaps last two fingers. You’re fine.

Ahhhh.Thank you, sir. Much appreciated.

[slprrex]

Having similar issues here zippo.  Had my 2nd lesson with our pro and he suggest strengthening my left. I've felt very awkward with this and a little sore on my leading wrist after a round. 

Performance wise, MUCH better striking with irons last 2 rounds since the lesson.  More carry with all clubs (especially 3W and rescue) and my about to turn is almost instantly solved. 

Other issue I'm having is periodic pulling my driver bad.  Worked a little on the ranger earlier which I worked most of it out. 

Anyone else notice soreness with changing grip?

[saevel25]

On ‎4‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 12:29 PM, Zippo said:

Now, with the stronger left hand and weaker right it feels least awkward if I overlap the left index finger over the top of my right pinkie. Am I heading for trouble if I continue gripping in that manner?

Nah, you will adjust. If it still bothers you, then try an interlocking grip. I switched to an interlocking grip because an overlap was bothering the right side of my right hand. It was weird for a bit, but now its just something I don't even feel is different.

 

[barooo]

So this thread was staring me in the face.  I had my first lesson (post-reboot) last night, and the fundamental thing the instructor changed was getting my left hand in the fingers, specifically getting the pad on top of the club.  I had been thinking about my fingers but was basically just wrapping them around further which just meant more in my palm instead of less.  I'm pretty sure I glossed right over a picture in Hogan's 5 lessons that says to do this as well.

This fix made it much easier to get a nice natural early wrist hinge without having to fight for it or pull it with my right hand.  This fixed my tendency to "hinge" late in the backswing and break my left arm.  Now when my arms are parallel to the ground, the club is at or under 90 degrees to my arms.  The other thing was not taking the arms out and away at the start of the takeaway, instead staying close to my right leg, thus getting deep hands and staying on plane, which also was much easier with the automatic wrist hinge, which... was all more or less fixed by a grip change.  Last shot of the night was a beautiful 160 yard 7i baby draw with an apex about 28 yards high that finished dead on target.  If I could make that my standard full swing 7i shot, I think I'd be pretty happy with that part of my game.

[Zippo]

On ‎4‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 8:04 PM, slprrex said:

Having similar issues here zippo.  Had my 2nd lesson with our pro and he suggest strengthening my left. I've felt very awkward with this and a little sore on my leading wrist after a round. 

Performance wise, MUCH better striking with irons last 2 rounds since the lesson.  More carry with all clubs (especially 3W and rescue) and my about to turn is almost instantly solved. 

Other issue I'm having is periodic pulling my driver bad.  Worked a little on the ranger earlier which I worked most of it out. 

Anyone else notice soreness with changing grip?

I've been working at the grip change for over a month now and it's finally starting to feel more "normal". I am still very conscious of it every time I grip the club just to ensure I don't lose it. I appreciated Vinsk pointing out that my reverse finger overlap is not unknown - it was just unknown to me but it seems to be working OK.

[slprrex]

I've been interlocking for some time now which certainly seems to be an advantage for me.  Over the last month I've decreased the severity of angle(assuming I'm explaining this correctly) and decreased my grip pressure to minimize my soreness to near zero.  Small adjustments making my shots a lot more confident.  Now onto the next change in my swing from my pro....😞