Holding club in fingers?

[Gibby]

I noticed while practicing my swing today (indoors, just swinging in front of a mirror), that at the top of my backswing and at the end of my follow-through, that both my palms actually come of the grip to an extent. Is this wrong? Does anyone else do this? I tried making a few swing focusing on keeping my grip exactly the same throughout the swing and i felt a lot of tension in my forearms and it just didn't feel natural, flowing, smooth etc. At the top of my backswing, my right hand (im a right hander player) is basically holding onto the club with just my four fingers, and the upper half of my thumb supporting the bottom, basically no part of my palm is touching the grip, with the pad of flesh under the thumb barely making contact with the top of my left thumb.

I don't know why I suddenly onticed this. It doesn't feel wrong at all, I was just curious if most people are like this. I don't really have a problem with that aspect of my swing so I'm not looking to change anything, but i wanted to know if this was the norm. I use the overlapping grip btw if it makes a difference.

[OJsakila]

Yes this is wrong. It's called "re-gripping." Improper grip. Make sure you are using a proper grip. Consult your PGA pro.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Yeah..i still have a habit of regripping like that from time to time. In my grip i have a habit of putting my left thumb too much down the middle of the shaft and the club will get unstable through the swing. So i end up regripping at the top of the swing alot, which usually closes the face. I got one of those leadbetter reminder grips on a old demo six iron and i practice with it as much as i can remember to.

[Fatphil]

Yeh that is pretty common, but not for a 9 hndcper. Like OJ says you better get that looked at by a pro..you may just be taking "hold the club loosely" advice to an extreme.

[Shanks A Million]

The grip naturally gets more tense at the top of the backswing. In your case, it was probably the fact that you were practicing in front of a mirror, not hitting balls. When you aren't actually hitting balls in the normal way, your swing changes quite a bit. The tension that you unconsciously feel when going to hit a ball is gone, and the club will be loose.

Only one way to know for sure, head to the range, and bring a camera. Film your swing, and see if the grip is loose when you're actually hitting balls.

[WUTiger]

Grip coming loose at top can also be associated with overswinging, and coming over the top. I know this from a previous swing era.

[MikeLowry5]

I've noticed that on my downswing my hands will change positions. Is this also a symptom of a grip that is too loose?

[OJsakila]

I've noticed that on my downswing my hands will change positions. Is this also a symptom of a grip that is too loose?

It is. Go find a PGA pro. Be careful of the term, "too loose," as it would seem to denote really gripping the club

too tight...It's a double edged sword...Go find a PGA pro.

[MikeLowry5]

It is. Go find a PGA pro. Be careful of the term, "too loose," as it would seem to denote really gripping the club

Been to 3 and they've all liked my grip. I have never mentioned anything about the hands shifting on the downswing. They loosen up more and more as the club goes back. At the top of my back swing the club is in my fingers and the top wrist is cupped a bit.

[OJsakila]

Been to 3 and they've all liked my grip. I have never mentioned anything about the hands shifting on the downswing. They loosen up more and more as the club goes back. At the top of my back swing the club is in my fingers and the top wrist is cupped a bit.

Is it possible to see a video? Obviously I am quite reluctant, (at extreme annoyance to other posters around here lol), to offer hurtful and incorrect swing advice. We really need to be standing on the tee together. Ask one of these pros you took a lesson from to look at you for one quick second concerning this "regrip." He should have no problem looking at you for a moment...considering you have already paid for his services in the past...don't believe everything you read around here..

[Shanks A Million]

Been to 3 and they've all liked my grip. I have never mentioned anything about the hands shifting on the downswing. They loosen up more and more as the club goes back. At the top of my back swing the club is in my fingers and the top wrist is cupped a bit.

Do you have any wear spots on your gloves? And, could you take a picture of a used glove with a wear pattern? Most regripping will show up as wear patterns in gloves. There is always the possibility you only feel like your hands change positions, but there's just as real a possibility that they do. I find that on very cold days, my hands re-grip the club, and I end up with a different grip when I am in the finish position. It only happens when the temperature gets lower than about 50°.

[Fatphil]

Been to 3 and they've all liked my grip. I have never mentioned anything about the hands shifting on the downswing. They loosen up more and more as the club goes back. At the top of my back swing the club is in my fingers and the top wrist is cupped a bit.

I laid off golf for a few years (kids, work etc) and my first lesson back about 6 yrs ago the first thing the pro did was laugh and say "damn you're regripping the club at the top". Basically I had lost a lot of hand and finger strenght combined with the "incorrect" swing thought of hold the club loosely, resulted in a totally messed up transition.

The pro I use spotted this error after 3 swings....correcting it unfortunately, took 3 years.

[MikeLowry5]

Do you have any wear spots on your gloves? And, could you take a picture of a used glove with a wear pattern? Most regripping will show up as wear patterns in gloves. There is always the possibility you only feel like your hands change positions, but there's just as real a possibility that they do. I find that on very cold days, my hands re-grip the club, and I end up with a different grip when I am in the finish position. It only happens when the temperature gets lower than about 50°.

Don't normally wear a glove, only when hands start getting beat up on the range. I did notice on the one I have a distinct wear spot on the thumb right below the bendpoint of my finger.

I'm playing tomorrow and will get a few videos of my swing hopefully.

[Woodtek]

As a carpenter for 30+ years, I can tell you that is exactly what you do do when swinging a hammer. It's the "whip" factor. You bring the hammer back letting the hammer's weight open your fingers, swing down, and tighten your fingers at or just before impact. Less effort most gain. When I took my first lesson last spring the pro watched me swing a couple of times then asked me what I did for a living. After I told him he then asked my how I swing a hammer, he told me that a lot of contractors he teaches have the same problem, they hold the club too loose and to tighten my grip. When I'm swinging the hammer it will actually work it"s way down to the end and the only thing keeping it in my hand is the little nub at the end. I did the same thing with my golf clubs and when I managed to hit right it worked great, very long, but that wasn't very often.