Neutral Grip vs Strong Grip

[mdouet]

If you hit the ball straight and well then great. For me a strong grip was very confortable but hitting hooks and no greens weren't. When I changed I felt like the club was going to fly out of my hand. But it didn't and don't regret the change.

I have never had a problem hitting hooks. I have alway struggled with making solid contact and getting the ball in the air. Now I seem to have fixed that because I can make solid contact, but with a neutral grip it goes right, with a strong grip it seems to be going straight (so far). Like I said, only time will tell if it's just a false positive.

I will take the advice given and talk to my instructor about it, thanks for everyone's help.

[SpacklersEdge]

I have never had a problem hitting hooks. I have alway struggled with making solid contact and getting the ball in the air. Now I seem to have fixed that because I can make solid contact, but with a neutral grip it goes right, with a strong grip it seems to be going straight (so far). Like I said, only time will tell if it's just a false positive.

Changing this topic back to a helpful one...

I think having a neutral grip will allow you to...in the LONG run...learn to have a neutral swing. What I mean is you will be able to draw the ball, and fade the ball with a neutral grip when that shot is needed. With a stong grip you may have trouble hitting a controllable fade, or even worse a controllable draw. If you try to draw with a grip that is too strong you may end up shutting the face down so much it turns out to be a low hook instead of a nice high controlled draw. Also, with a strong grip you may have trouble fading the ball at all.

[Golfing]

Changing this topic back to a helpful one...

"ALL OF THESE PLAYERS AND MANY MORE HAVE A STRONGER LEFT HAND"!!! The right hand just dictates control of the face. David Duval - 2009 US Open Sectional http://www.davidduval.org/images/Duval%20-%20Driver.avi Tom Lehman Lee Trevino - Interview Jim Furyk Sergio Garcia Tiger Woods Ben Hogan Moe Norman

[iacas]

"ALL OF THESE PLAYERS AND MANY MORE HAVE A STRONGER LEFT HAND"!!!

No, they didn't.

Tiger's grip is as close to neutral as it gets. Ben Hogan as an example of a player with a strong left hand? C'mon, you're joking, right?

[RC]

Yeah, I had to do a double take on the accusation that Hogan used a strong grip. His actual right hand grip was weaker than the book's illustrations, which define a neutral grip.

[Williamevanl]

Yea, your loud post is completely wrong.

Can you imagine trevino with a strong grip and his swingplane hitting cuts???

Good advice?!?
While there are a few occasions when a strong grip is desired (or required), in most instances it should be avoided. In fact, most people don't realize that they are using a strong grip and that their grip is causing them swing and shot issues.
*copypaste*

As I said in an earlier post it just compensates for a faulty swing. BUT it makes the whole thing a lot easier to pull off in the beginning. Reminds me of bowling, I can put two fingers in a ceramic house ball, spin my wrist and throw at the 2nd from the left triangle and get a lot of strikes and average around 200 a game but I'll never be really good because I refuse to learn to do it correctly. I don't want that same scenario with golf, I wan't to learn to play as properly as possible.

People tend to gravitate to what's easy at first, the downside is what's easy at first isn't better in the long run.

[Golfing]

No, they didn't.

Neutral grips don't put an arch in the left wrist, you can see plain as day that Hogan left hand was stronger and he weakend the right. There are many people out there that have thought that for years but with new videos and photos you can see it. As for Tiger he is not neutral, Anthony Kim is neutral but Tiger likes to see 2 1/2 knuckles which is not nutral. Got to come up with somthing better than Tigers grip is as close to neutal as it gets

[Williamevanl]

So are there any pro golfers with a weak grip then? Maybe post some vids/pics of golfers that utilize a nuetral and weak grip so I can see the difference.

I realize he says in the vid that he has a strong grip but I don't understand how he has the lowest swing plane I have ever seen coupled with a strong grip and yet he still fades the ball. Also, his grip doesn't look as strong as *strong grip* usually means. Like all things golf, Pro's are usually talking millimeters while amateurs are talking inches.

[Golfing]

So are there any pro golfers with a weak grip then? Maybe post some vids/pics of golfers that utilize a nuetral and weak grip so I can see the difference.

http://www.performbettergolf.com/ima...lmes-swing.jpg

[iacas]

you can see plain as day that Hogan left hand was stronger and he weakend the right.

I disagree.

Uh, yeah, that's not a strong grip. It's on the weak side of neutral - with both hands.

Sorry, but you're not gonna win this one. Hogan himself talked about the changes he made to the already slightly weak grip he recommended to weaken his personal grip.

[Golfing]

I disagree.

The left "V " is pointing at the right shoulder, and the right " V " is at the chin. He used the weak right grip to control the face from closing. All he said about the left hand is he made the thumb shorter, but he said he put the right on like he was holing a gun.

[iacas]

The left "V " is pointing at the right shoulder, and the right " V " is at the chin. He used the weak right grip to control the face from closing. All he said about the left hand is he made the thumb shorter, but he said he put the right on like he was holing a gun.

Yeah - that's the grip he promoted, which is slightly weak. His own grip was even weaker than that.

[RC]

Whether the left wrist is arched or not is not a Weak/Strong factor to any great degree. I try to be neutral, and my left wrist is very arched at address.

The back of the glove facing generally forward toward the target is a neutral grip, and Hogan did that. A strong grip has the back of the left hand facing more toward the ball at address.

I think we still have a misunderstanding of terms here. Trevino said he used a strong grip, but only because it was slightly stronger than Hogan's, nothing like Azinger's, which really was strong. Trevino had the back of his left hand at impact facing down the line and slightly left of target and pushed the ball. If he had a truly strong grip, facing his left hand down the left side of the fairway would have hit the ball hand left.

Hogan was the gold standard and, as Icarus has essentially said, Hogan used a weaker grip than he advocated. Other players who were slightly stronger than Hogan tended to call their grips strong, but in relative terms. Compared to a true strong grip, which I freely admit many young players start out using today, most tour guys are within the range of what is commonly called a neutral grips with an arched grip. Anytime the butt of the club is under the heel pad, your wrist will arch or you will drop the hands well below a normal address.

I have seen many strong grips over the years. As players evolve and squaring the club becomes more natural in their swings, most (but of course not all) evolve to a more neutral grip. They may not get much higher than the right shoulder, but that depends on the hand size, finger length, how much in the fingers one holds the club, and the phase of the moon, for all I know. I am quite confident that it takes more control to play with a truly strong grip than something that fits into the range of a neutral grips. Most of us are not skilled enough to play with a strong grip and hold off shot after shot without hitting wild shots from time to time. It takes an amazing lower body to play with a strong grip, but it you can do it, fine -- you are very skilled at controlling the club.

Maybe we just agree to disagree, and have different definitions of what is strong and weak. Words are not nearly as good as seeing how someone actually grips a club. No big deal.

[Leftygolfer]

I just went from a very very strong grip to a neutral one. My logo on my glove was facing the ball. This was a result of many compensations. I came over the top, I aimed left, I had an extremely open club face at address. With the grip I had I could not fix the other issues and hit good shots. Our subconscious is strong. I was aware of none of this. I had a lesson. I felt like I couldn't even hold the club. Now it is confortable. I like a neutral grip. I can release the club and not go right. I am trying to take the wild shot out of my bag.

[Golfing]

Whether the left wrist is arched or not is not a Weak/Strong factor to any great degree. I try to be neutral, and my left wrist is very arched at address.

Thank you! That is what I have been waiting for, "how strong is strong"? I'm sorry to have went through all the back and forth but no one was saying it... How strong is strong. 1/2 knuckle, or 3 knuckles. But you are right, and it made for some interesting reading, since the number of people looking at the post jumped alot. It's not that I like to be dificult, it's just I don't want to just give the answer away, what fun is that! Now everyone has done all this researching and want forget this post or this website.

[cutshot878]

Try keeping your left hand grip "strong" but weakening your right hand grip. By weakening the right hand that means you want to turn it more counterclockwise (left). It will feel stronger but this is actually weakening the grip. This will give you a more neutral grip. You want to keep your grip strong or at least neutral for the short irons and gradually weaken your grip for the long irons and hybrid and 3 wood and driver. It mostly depends on what your miss is. If you're hooking it try weakening your grip. Slicing it, try making it stronger. I think if you want to shape the ball (fade or draw) the easiest way is to modify your grip. . Practice it at the range. Watch out for the really super weak grip. I tend to shank some of those. It is virtually impossible to hook it with a weak grip. You can stilll hit it from the inside but the clubface will be open. A good technique if water is on the left. Even if you block it and miss the green, at least you ain't wet. The same if there's water right and the block or push is the danger shot. Really strengthen your grip and even start it over the water and watch it draw beautifully. The ball will hook if your grip is strong enough. And you take it inside. Good Luck.

[Odogesq]

Hi there, for what it's worth, I don't think you should necessarily change instructors. It's difficult to really help anyone with only one lesson at anything. I would talk to your instructor, tell him your concerns, and see what he has to say. If it sounds like he is trying to teach you a specific "swing" then look for someone else. A good instructor will work with you to find your natural swing. But you need to give him a chance and let him work with you over a period of time. Based on the ball flight you are describing, it sound like your issue is more a swing issue as opposed to a grip issue. If you have a tendency to swing with an open club face into the ball, then a stronger grip will encourage the club face to close as it comes through the ball, but the real problem is likely a swing/clubpath issue,, not really the grip. I.e., you are likely either coming into the ball straight with an open clubface, or swinging on an outside in swing path. It will take an instructor time to fix these things along with lots of practice. Also, the best investment you will ever make in your golf game is lessons from a good pro, and not just one lesson, but a series of lessons. You could ask if the instructor will cut you a deal on a series of 5 or 6 lessons. I'm 3 lessons into a six lesson package and I couldn't be happier with the progress and am kicking myself for not doing this when I first started playing golf last year. Lessons will give you the knowledge and feedback you need to practice on your own and improve.

[notsohard]

boys, aint this thread 3 years old ????