Club turning in hands

[Onoku]

Hi,

I haven't golfed much recently, but the last few times I have gone I've been having issues that I can't seem to fix. No matter how tight I grip the club, it turns over in my hands when I swing. If I look at my club head after my follow through, it will have turned almost 90 degrees. Does anyone have a clue what could be causing this and how I might fix it?

[Goonsidious]

Do you use a glove? Maybe the grip is just too small for your hands.

[Onoku]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I use a glove. Also my hands are actually kind of small, so the size of the grips should be fine. This is a fairly recent development. I haven't had this in all the time I have been golfing until now.

[Onoku]

My clubs are Nike Ignites btw. Maybe I just need to change my grips? They are a bit more slick than the Wilson Pro-Staffs I used previously. I can't remember whether or not this started when I changed clubs though.

[rustyredcab]

Clubs are designed to stay in balance during the swing. You should not need to grab on to a club -- choke a chicken. Squeezing the club causes tension in your forearms (and elsewhere) and that creates lots of problems including a loss of freedom in the hands which kills distance.

If the club turns before you get to the ball, something is wrong with the position of the clubhead during the swing. Again, the clubs are designed to remain on balance throughout the swing. You should be able to hold the club with just a few fingers in each hand. My "drill" is to use the thumbs and the pinky and ring finger on my lead hand and the trigger finger on my trail hand. I let all others try and stay off the club.

If the club turns when you hit the ball, you are missing the sweet spot badly enough to have it try and turn. Often on the toe. Solution here is not to squeeze harder.

That said, newer grips will allow you to hold the club lightly and not have it slip or feel like it could slip.

[Onoku]

Ah, I should have mentioned, the club turns inward, rather than outward.

[xmanhockey7]

You're probably not hitting the center of the club face. You're not strong enough to grip it tight enough so it doesn't move at impact if anything you need to have a lighter grip and focus on hitting the ball on the center of the face.

[Onoku]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I have tried a lighter grip as well, though I think I'd have to get back out to the range and try it again. If it is due to missing the sweet spot though, I'm not sure how the club would turn inward. If anything, that would cause it to turn outward wouldn't it?

[cooke119]

This is very bizzar. I grip my clubs very lightly using three fingers on my left hand and two on my right (I am right handed) and I never have had the club "turn" in my hands. I change my grips once a year (but I play and pratice a lot). I would recomend going to a pro and have him or her check you out. In New York, on Long Island, you can see a pro for $35 for half an hour. Probably all you need to figure out what is going wrong.

[boogielicious]

Onoku,

Try this test.  Grip the club as you normally do.  Remove the right hand.  Then squeeze and release the left hand from a light to hard grip and watch to see if the club face moves a lot or a little.  If it moves a lot, you may not have a secure grip in your left hand.  Hitting off center may allow the club face to move or as you grip harder the face closes.

Also try this.  Grip as normal and  take the club back to the top, then slowly bring it to just before impact like a slow motion swing.  Look at the club face angle.  Is it where you set it at address or did it close?

This happens to me occasionally.  I just go back to basics on the grip.  For me, to correct this, I balance the club in my left hand with only my left index finger under the shaft and the heel of my hand on my pinky side on top.  Then I grip as normal.  The club face doesn't move when I squeeze or close during the downswing.  the grip shouldn't be too much in the fingers or too much in the palm, but in between.  There is a better explanation thread in this section where Erik took a picture of his left hand to show this.

Hope this helps.

[sean_miller]

You're probably not hitting the center of the club face. You're not strong enough to grip it tight enough so it doesn't move at impact if anything you need to have a lighter grip and focus on hitting the ball on the center of the face.

Poor impact gets my vote as well.

[Audaxi]

Since nobody has asked this, I might as well. Does the club actually slip in your hand, or does it just force you to turn it over? Where does the toe point when you're at parallel in your follow-through? If the club isn't actually slipping, then the toe should point straight up, which might seem unfamiliar to you. Also, if you use cord grips, when was the last time you regripped? Cord grips can get VERY slick over time if they aren't replaced.

[burner]

Originally Posted by Onoku

Thanks for the replies everyone. I have tried a lighter grip as well, though I think I'd have to get back out to the range and try it again. If it is due to missing the sweet spot though, I'm not sure how the club would turn inward. If anything, that would cause it to turn outward wouldn't it?

Depends on which side of the sweet spot you miss it. But that is irrelevant as you would have to be swinging awful quick with an awful light grip for a mishit to dislodge the club.

The club face should turn inwards post impact as it seeks to lie against the imaginary inclined \ plane line.

We all need to grip the club firmly so forget all that holding it like a little bird in your hands malarkey.

[rustyredcab]

Originally Posted by burner

Depends on which side of the sweet spot you miss it. But that is irrelevant as you would have to be swinging awful quick with an awful light grip for a mishit to dislodge the club.

The club face should turn inwards post impact as it seeks to lie against the imaginary inclined  \  plane line.

We all need to grip the club firmly so forget all that holding it like a little bird in your hands malarkey.

Firm maybe. Not squeezing the grip. Squeezing tightens forearms and restricts hand movement.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by rustyredcab

Firm maybe. Not squeezing the grip. Squeezing tightens forearms and restricts hand movement.

It doesn't have to.

Learn to have a VERY firm grip and relatively soft wrists and forearms.

The finger muscles don't extend into the forearm. Learn to control your hand muscles independently of your wrist and forearm muscles.

[Onoku]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boogielicious

Onoku,

Try this test.  Grip the club as you normally do.  Remove the right hand.  Then squeeze and release the left hand from a light to hard grip and watch to see if the club face moves a lot or a little.  If it moves a lot, you may not have a secure grip in your left hand.  Hitting off center may allow the club face to move or as you grip harder the face closes.

Also try this.  Grip as normal and  take the club back to the top, then slowly bring it to just before impact like a slow motion swing.  Look at the club face angle.  Is it where you set it at address or did it close?

This happens to me occasionally.  I just go back to basics on the grip.  For me, to correct this, I balance the club in my left hand with only my left index finger under the shaft and the heel of my hand on my pinky side on top.  Then I grip as normal.  The club face doesn't move when I squeeze or close during the downswing.  the grip shouldn't be too much in the fingers or too much in the palm, but in between.  There is a better explanation thread in this section where Erik took a picture of his left hand to show this.

Hope this helps.

Just tried the grip test and the club doesn't move really at all. As for the swing in slow motion, it doesn't close at all. It only seems to happen during a full speed swing.

Originally Posted by Audaxi

Since nobody has asked this, I might as well. Does the club actually slip in your hand, or does it just force you to turn it over? Where does the toe point when you're at parallel in your follow-through? If the club isn't actually slipping, then the toe should point straight up, which might seem unfamiliar to you. Also, if you use cord grips, when was the last time you regripped? Cord grips can get VERY slick over time if they aren't replaced.

I just did a few swings and it seems like the club is actually slipping a bit during my downswing before impact. I have the stock grips on my Nike Ignites, and they haven't been used all the much so I'm not sure if the grips need replaced or not.

[rustyredcab]

Originally Posted by Onoku

Just tried the grip test and the club doesn't move really at all. As for the swing in slow motion, it doesn't close at all. It only seems to happen during a full speed swing.

I just did a few swings and it seems like the club is actually slipping a bit during my downswing before impact. I have the stock grips on my Nike Ignites, and they haven't been used all the much so I'm not sure if the grips need replaced or not.

Those slick grips may be doing you a favor by pointing out a swing flaw.  I am taught that proper placement of the hands on the club, combined with the proper movement of the club and hands through the swing, should keep the club close to in balance and it should not want to turn. Therefore, I'm guessing something is off with your club-face during the swing.

Even with a bad swing, the club should not slip. Time for new grips too.

[Onoku]

This is a bit anti-climactic, but I think I may have figured out what was causing the slippage. Because it has been several years since I have really golfed, I thought maybe I should just go back to the basics. When I went to the driving range yesterday, I was using the interlocking grip. Today my pinky and forefinger were pretty sore. When I first started golfing, I used to use a ten finger grip, so I decided maybe I should give it a try again. I just took several swings with it and got almost not movement. I switched back to interlocking and it slipped again. I think that the gap created by my fingers being interlocked was reducing my grip and allowing the club to slip. I will have to look into this further, but it seems like the solution may have actually been pretty simple.