ruining my grips

[eltigre-21]

i guess i have a problem with griping my clubs a little tight i have gone through a few pairs of grips.. today i went to the range and got a large bucket of balls(170) and after my hands hurt this seem to happen often but never after a round of just playing any pointers besides try not to grip it as hard lol

[deronsizemore]

170 balls is a LARGE amount of balls. If you think about it, being a 4 handicap, I'm guessing a lot of your rounds are high 70s to 80ish? Half of those shots are from 100 yards and in, so you're not swinging hard on those. With 170 balls you're essentially playing like 4 rounds of golf all at once only with no putting strokes. If you're like most people, when they go to the range, they get the overwhelming urge to swing hard with every club in the bag. So, it's not wonder your hands hurt after a range session and no wonder your grips are worn out.

I go to the range about 3 - 4 times a week and get 40 or so balls each time. Any more than that I think it's difficult to keep concentration.

I use my wedge a lot in practice and a couple other clubs more than others on the course. I typically change grips on the most used clubs once a year and the other clubs just as needed.

So, aside from not gripping it as tight, don't hit so many balls. Visit the putting green instead.

[tim31x]

yea 170 golf balls is alot to hit at the range, but hey i used to do the same thing. if you're hands hurt after hitting 170 golf balls...they should. think of how much ur hands rotate around the handle and how much the rubber(and cord in some cases) rotates with or against the skin on our hands. grip the club a little looser and hit maybe 60balls at the range. believe me hitting 60 good and concentrated shots is alot better than hitting 170 golf balls and getting tired thus forcing bad habits. the driving range should be place to work on your mental game as much as your golf swing.

-tim

[Jay-Bird]

Try not to grip the club so hard .

You're robbing yourself of distance and accuracy.

[pherg]

There are lots of different tips to prevent the old death grip. I don't know how good any of them are but there are things like imagining you're holding a tube of toothpaste; the theory is you've got to hold it tight enough so you don't drop it but not too hard so that toothpaste would come out. Another is imagine a scale of between 1 and 10, 10 being death grip, hold your club at about a 3. One other is hold it firm enough so that it can't be gently pulled out of your hands by a mate.

But, ultimately I agree with the other guys. You're probably hitting way too many balls. You may be gripping fine to start with but as you get more and more tired, you will be gripping tighter and tighter until you're shredding your grip, your hands and your glove if you wear one.

Go easy tiger, and remember that the object of the game is to have as few shots as necessary, not as many as you can. That goes for the course and the range.

[Zeph]

I used to get a lot of calluses on my hands, my gloves always went black fast from the grip. A looser grip and less handsy on the swing helped me fix the problem. Today I don't have a signle calluse on any of my hands, but still hitting it better than ever. I could feel the grip twist in my hands on the downswing, could have been other flaws that contributed also, but I definately have a lighter grip today.

[eltigre-21]

thank you all for your responses/ ideas!which all of your comments made me think of my game and i thought what do i really need to work on? not hitting 170 balls! so i make good contact with the ball usually. when i do mess up it is wrong judging of distance or miss shaping of shots so today. I will go with only a few clubs and less balls and take my time.i will chip around the green, and putt. i will let you know how it goes later. thanks

[golfbarefoot]

I hit some balls to stretch and get acclimated at the club before my round, but usually do not work on anything technique oriented until after I have played. Then I usually do a more serious range session.

Sometimes hitting so many balls is an indication someone is not taking enough time and setting up as they would normally with their routine on the course. If they did, 170 balls could take a long time.. that's almost 45 holes excluding short game..

[Zeph]

Except you don't walk 10 000 yards...

I don't see the problem with hitting lots of balls. If you got some detail in the swing to work on, only way to ingrain it is by hitting lots of balls. No problem hitting loads of balls without ruining the grips.