hold the club like a live bird is........

[saevel25]

If i had to rank it on a scale of one to ten, i would grip at a 6 or 7, but i can grip at that with out much tension in my arms. my guess would be grip as hard as you can then try to see the range of motion you use. Ease up on the grip till you get your full range of motion that you want, there is the tighest you want to go, and the lightest would be so the club wont turn or fly out of your hands.

[sean_miller]

I'd rank my grip as a 6 or 7 in my right index finger (trigger finger) then cascading down to I have no idea for the rest of my fingers. I leave a gap between my index and middle finger (still talking r. hand), take a second to make sure those two fingers are solid on the grip, and the rest of the fingers seem to just fall in line.

[out_in_30]

i took the 'live bird' analogy as basically not strangling the club... being loose and having a rather light grip is very important for me. i used to grip tight but now have a pretty light grip on the club when i swing and try to be as free and loose as i can because being tight leads to missed fairways and greens.

[golfclubmaker7]

On 5/25/2010 at 5:18 PM, kevinbomb123 said:

A LOAD OF CRAP just got back from a demo day in orlando for nike and paul casey was there along with a few club pros. They had some type of pressure monitor and pauls grip pressure was at 11 psi while the other pros where around 8 to 9 psi i dont know where the hold the club like a live bird came from but...

to me gripping it lighter allows your wrists to hinge naturally without thought to club position and other mentally straining dopey thoughts,the tighter grip promotes tension ai the arms and stops a non restrictive release....just try it might sound too easy but lighter is better!

[Vinsk]

2 hours ago, golfclubmaker7 said:

to me gripping it lighter allows your wrists to hinge naturally without thought to club position and other mentally straining dopey thoughts,the tighter grip promotes tension ai the arms and stops a non restrictive release....just try it might sound too easy but lighter is better!

I’ve done this before too....but you realize you’re responding to a post that’s 8 years old?

[Carl3]

I read a story where Arnold Palmer was on a tour with a group at Ft. Knox. As was customary at the time, the tour guide pointed to a stack of gold ingots and announced that anyone who could pick one up with one bare hand could keep it. Everyone failed the test except to the tour guide’s astonishment, the great Arnold Palmer. They would not let him take the gold home.

[iacas]

4 hours ago, golfclubmaker7 said:

to me gripping it lighter allows your wrists to hinge naturally without thought to club position and other mentally straining dopey thoughts,the tighter grip promotes tension ai the arms and stops a non restrictive release....just try it might sound too easy but lighter is better!

Gripping the club firmly doesn't mean the "firmness" has to translate up your arms at all. One can learn to squeeze their fingers fairly tightly while remaining loose above the wrists.

Also, I disagree that "gripping it loosely" does anything to "allow" your wrists to hinge naturally. I disagree with both sides of that one. Loose wrists won't really hinge on their own at all, and it's far from "natural." I see more golfers who hinge the club improperly than those who hinge it properly by an order of magnitude. It's not natural.

Here's a good topic for you @golfclubmaker7.

[Buckeyebowman]

On 11/17/2018 at 6:44 PM, Carl3 said:

I read a story where Arnold Palmer was on a tour with a group at Ft. Knox. As was customary at the time, the tour guide pointed to a stack of gold ingots and announced that anyone who could pick one up with one bare hand could keep it. Everyone failed the test except to the tour guide’s astonishment, the great Arnold Palmer. They would not let him take the gold home.

I once read a story by a sportswriter who had been introduced to Ben Hogan. He shook hands with Hogan and said that it felt like he put his hand in a steel vise! One might expect those with strong hands, like golf pros, to be able to grip the club a little more lightly. They don't have to grip it hard to keep it under control. 

BTW, the original quote, "hold it like a live bird" comes from Sam Snead. 

It doesn't surprise me that Palmer could pick up that gold ingot. He was strong as an ox! I saw a pic of him where he came up behind another Tour pro and gave him a big bear hug. His hands and forearms were enormous! My Uncle, who was a country club pro before WWII, was the same way. Claude Harmon, Butch Harmon's Dad, was described as having a pair of hands like "two bunches of bananas"! 

You grip the club as hard as you need to to keep it under control. 

[billchao]

On 11/17/2018 at 6:44 PM, Carl3 said:

I read a story where Arnold Palmer was on a tour with a group at Ft. Knox. As was customary at the time, the tour guide pointed to a stack of gold ingots and announced that anyone who could pick one up with one bare hand could keep it. Everyone failed the test except to the tour guide’s astonishment, the great Arnold Palmer. They would not let him take the gold home.

This is OT, but a standard gold bar is 400 troy-ounces (about 27lbs) and a little bigger than an iPhone Plus. It doesn't sound hard to pick up with one hand at all.

[Carl3]

4 hours ago, billchao said:

This is OT, but a standard gold bar is 400 troy-ounces (about 27lbs) and a little bigger than an iPhone Plus. It doesn't sound hard to pick up with one hand at all.

I think they about 4” across, beveled and very smooth. Not like picking up a thin 25 lb weight. Oh well, maybe it was fake news

[rehmwa]

I hold as firm as I need to without restricting my swing (in my best estimate).  One key is I don't want to see my forearm muscles 'flexed' - I want to hold the club in my hands, not with my arms.  meh, I hope that's good.

If I'm hitting in thick stuff, I hold much tighter (I don't want the club to twist).

So anywhere from holding a sick sparrow to holding an angry turkey, I guess.

I do rock climb, so I suspect I hold harder than needed.  However, it also has taught me how to relax my grip even when I need to be firm.

(I think the 'bird' thing is just intended for teaching those that have a death grip - it's custom for them to try and create a feel.  I don't see any 'hints' or cues for a 'feel' that is universally applicable.  People are just not that uniform in how they perceive things.  Frankly, if someone spits a generic cliche at me, the first thing I ask myself is whether I'm really a target audience for that specific gem.  Most of the time.....no.)

Edited November 20, 2018 by rehmwa