Grip and Matching Fundamentals

[HawkeyeDan]

Hey guys - long time reader/follower, finally pulled the trigger on getting a login so I could interact with you guys.  Thought I'd make my first post on the grip.

I have played most of the last few years with a neutral to weak grip with lots of forearm rotation to square the face at impact. My swing was very timing dependent, and on good days it was great, bad days were miserable. I found the forearm rotation to square the face method to be really easy for me to over or under cook. Over the winter, at the suggestion of two separate pros I changed to a strong grip. When I look down, I can see 3-4 knuckles on my left hand. Looks really strong from my perspective - however when I look at it in a mirror it doesn't look as strong as it is, FWIW. I tend to hold on for dear life through impact so I don't hit the smother hook. I love the ball flight off the tee, fairways, and longer irons. Where I struggle though is with basically anything lofted higher than a 7 iron. I am not sure if I am getting too steep or what but I tend to hit more wipes than before. The answer for me may be that I just take a weaker grip for the higher lofted clubs - although I hesitate to do that - I'd like to take the same grip for any stock shot. I guess what I am asking is what resources do I have at my disposal? Most likely my issue is a set up issue - but I am not really sure how to diagnose it or fix it. Is there a good place that I can turn to that would explain, "well, if you are a strong gripper, swing like this ___" and vice versa? Many of you have mentioned that a grip change effects the entire swing - if you then are making the change, how do you know what the "new" swing is supposed to look like? Appreciate your thoughts!  Eventually I'll try to post a swing video for dissection and encouragement/discouragement.  Thanks!

[saevel25]

I am not sure if the grip will change the entire look of the swing. I know a stronger left will get the club to turn over earlier in the swing, while a weaker left will make the club turn over later. Its because of the amount of rotation in your forearm of your left hand. Turn your left hand so its facing down, then rotate to palm up. Look how much it can rotate freely. Now if you put your hand so palm if facing right, it cant rotate over as much.

As for swing path, i think it effects little. Maybe if you put the club in the palm rather than the fingers, but that has nothing to do with a strong or weak grip. Thats just my experience. I went from a neutral left hand to a strong left hand, and my swing didn't change at all, its still to much forearm rotation in the backswing, getting the club stuck behind me.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by saevel25

I am not sure if the grip will change the entire look of the swing. I know a stronger left will get the club to turn over earlier in the swing, while a weaker left will make the club turn over later. Its because of the amount of rotation in your forearm of your left hand. Turn your left hand so its facing down, then rotate to palm up. Look how much it can rotate freely. Now if you put your hand so palm if facing right, it cant rotate over as much.

The grip will affect things a little bit with regards to the way the club cocks and hinges and rotates in the backswing (and thus the downswing). The odd thing is that some people with a stronger grip (hinge pin rotated more right) will tend to roll the club behind them more, while others will do the opposite. Same can be seen - players doing opposite things from the same adjusted attachment - for things like cocking rates, hinging rates, folding rates, etc.

But that's what players do naturally. In reality, if we learn a pattern, there's nothing to say we can't learn a different pattern, or apply the same pattern with a different attachment.