Grip Questions

[The Gill]

I've been using an interlocking grip for quite awhile, but I've noticed that my right hand is pretty disconnected from my left hand. In fact, if I grab my club I could switch to a baseball grip without moving my hands. I feel that this is contributing to my flipping.

I have my 5 Lessons in hand and trying to improve my grip. I now realize that my right hand should be much more over and up my left thumb.

1. For those who interlock, where is your right pinky in relation to your left web between your first two fingers?
2. Does the pad below your right pinky touch the club? Should the hand be far up enough so that the right pinky pad does not touch?
3. This grip change is is pretty drastic. Does switching to an overlap offer any advantage in a S&T; swing?

[Zeph]

1: Hard to specify, I guess it depends on your hand size and finger length.

2: Yes. Not sure if I understand where the pinky pad could be, if not on the grip. Do you mean up on the left hand middle finger?

3: Grip affects wrists and clubface, but it does not make a difference to the swing pattern you are using. It may make a difference on how it feels or how you take the club back, but S&T; can be utilized with any grip.

If the right hand is too far rotated to the right, the tendency can be to pull the ball, since the hand naturally wants to rotate back towards neutral, closing the clubface. I like a neutral grip. Clap the hands together all neutral and form the grip, no twisting or rotation of the hands. I sometimes struggle with a pull, which is partially caused by a weak right hand (rotated to the right).

Any chance you could take a picture of your grip so we can see what it looks like? Grip is a matter of style, if it works for you, it's OK. So it's hard to say if one or the other grip is wrong. If you have ball striking issues directly related to the grip, I would advice taking some actions.

[The Gill]

I think grip is way more than a matter of style. It sets the action for the entire swing. Yes, I know the Andy and Mike have pointed out that there are lots of different grips, but each variation requires some variation to the rest of the action. Right now I'm a handsy player; my right hand is too active in the swing. I'd like some of the knowledgeable people here to share anything that might help take the right hand out of the swing. When I go to an overlap grip, my right hand has much less leverage: it's much more than style at that point.

[saevel25]

Do the opposite of what your thinking.

I would say keep that V pointing at your right shoudler, but make sure the grip is in the fingers of the right hand not the palm. The reason is that a strong grip will bring in the right hand more in the swing, but thats a natural thing. So you can take your mind off your right hand and not think about it, which will take away your over dominant right hand. If you go to a weaker right grip, you will have to be concious of the right hand, because its harder to get the club from not staying open. So now you have to do it by hand eye coordination and instead of letting the swing do it.

[Gerald]

When I changed from interlocking to overlapping I lost my slice and fade instantly ......

[iacas]

Originally Posted by The Gill

I'm confused. Those are both interlocking grips. One just has a much weaker right hand (and, perhaps, a very slightly stronger left hand).

[The Gill]

So the proposed is too weak? You use an interlocking don't you Erik? Does the right pinky pad (circled below) actually touch the club? Do you have some pictures of your grip so I can get an idea of what works for you?