Interlocking vs overlapping

[HackerUpNorth]

I was wondering something very similar, I have a very strong grip and have always used a interlocking grip. Today I was to if you have bigger hands ( mine aren't huge but 8 1/2" are above average) that you should use overlapping and that would also make my grip less strong and allow my wrist to break and so far it's helped. Was wondering if anyone else heard that?

[mvmac]

I have heard that players with smaller hands like the feel of the interlocking grip more.  I started with interlocking and switched in high school to overlap.  I don't think it effects the wrist hinge/cock one way or another, just a feel thing.

[iacas]

I have larger hands and have interlocked my whole life. I don't know that it does much at all - on that I agree with @mvmac .

[saevel25]

I was wondering something very similar, I have a very strong grip and have always used a interlocking grip. Today I was to if you have bigger hands ( mine aren't huge but 8 1/2" are above average) that you should use overlapping and that would also make my grip less strong and allow my wrist to break and so far it's helped. Was wondering if anyone else heard that?

I went from overlap, to interlock, back to overlap. For me it is just a matter of comfort. I am sure that smaller hands feel more secure on the club when using interlocked, but I think its more of a preference.

[MiniBlueDragon]

Agree with the above.

I started out 10 finger, got pushed into overlap but it always felt alien and then decided to try interlock. I use a men's "s" size glove and I have shorter little fingers than a lot of people and the interlock puts more of my right hand in contact with the club at the base of the right little finger so it feels more secure to me.

It's basically whatever feels secure to you when you swing the club. :)

[Ernest Jones]

I started with an interlock but switched to Vardon or overlap because I feel it gets my grip pressure in the right places. I agree with everyone above, it's a preference thing, use whatever grip works.

[HackerUpNorth]

Thanks for the help! I'm going to experiment with overlapping because from testing it out it's pretty obvious I can't grip as strong with my right hand which I've been fighting for years.

[GaijinGolfer]

I always found that interlocking reduces my wrist action.  You can experiment with it and see how it works for you but most instructors advise staying away from the interlock and going with the overlap instead.

[arturo28mx]

I have very short pinky fingers and overlap becomes very uncomfortable for me. So I have used interlock all the time and now holding a club is second nature to me with interlock.

[rehmwa]

was interlock since junior high - switched to overlap two years ago

took QUITE a bit to get used to, now it feels normal

certainly reduces blisters for me and I "feel" that it makes my swing and grip more comfy

do what works

[newtogolf]

When I first started to take lessons I was taught to interlock.  After reading some books I decided to give overlap a try and found it much more comfortable.  I have used an overlap grip for last 18 months and when I try to go back to interlock it just feels too uncomfortable and more restrictive.

[dchoye]

I tried overlap but I feel more settled with interlocking.

This is the second year of interlock and im more comfortable each year

I wear middle size gloves.

i dont think hand size should be a determination factor, you can also use thicker grips or thinner grips and make your hand size relative small/large

[Russtopher]

I started out interlocking last year but realized that I was trying to get the webbing between my fingers on opposite hands to touch. This was getting my right hand far too underneath the club. I tried to modify that but it felt like I was regripping on the backswing, so I switched to an overlap and haven't looked back since.

[birlyshirly]

My hands are small enough to supposedly benefit from an interlock grip. I've tried it, but always come back to overlap. I don't know that I've ever seen a convincing explanation as to why one style would be better than another. I'm pretty sure that placement and alignment of the hands is way more important than whether you interlock or overlap. Maybe the problem is that a decent golf grip can feel pretty uncomfortable when you're first learning - so any slight variation that makes it any less awkward would be welcomed.

[saevel25]

Different grips can effect how the right wrist works in the swing. In an interlock grip there is less of the club in contact with the right hand so the right wrist will have a bit less effect on the swing compared to a 10 finger grip. Overlap should be very similar to the interlock, but overlap you can get a bit more space between the top and bottom hands on the grip, so there is a bit more freedom of movement there.

[MiniBlueDragon]

Weird; interlock puts *more* of the club in contact with my right hand than overlap, especially at the base of my little finger as the tip of my left hand index finger no longer sits underneath the webbing between my right hand ring and little fingers.

[birlyshirly]

Different grips can effect how the right wrist works in the swing. In an interlock grip there is less of the club in contact with the right hand so the right wrist will have a bit less effect on the swing compared to a 10 finger grip. Overlap should be very similar to the interlock, but overlap you can get a bit more space between the top and bottom hands on the grip, so there is a bit more freedom of movement there.

Weird; interlock puts *more* of the club in contact with my right hand than overlap, especially at the base of my little finger as the tip of my left hand index finger no longer sits underneath the webbing between my right hand ring and little fingers.

This is what I find too. More RH contact with interlock. Sandy Lyle used to talk about changing to an interlock to promote a slightly more active RH for speciality shots.

I agree that when I interlock my hands are ever so slightly more compact on the grip - although given that a golf club is basically a weight at the other end of a stick, I tend to think that the more compact grip would give, if anything, more freedom of movement - though perhaps at the expense of control.

[saevel25]

This is what I find too. More RH contact with interlock. Sandy Lyle used to talk about changing to an interlock to promote a slightly more active RH for speciality shots.

I agree that when I interlock my hands are ever so slightly more compact on the grip - although given that a golf club is basically a weight at the other end of a stick, I tend to think that the more compact grip would give, if anything, more freedom of movement - though perhaps at the expense of control.

Well I think of it this way. If you are very right hand dominant. Then I think that person might struggle more with a 10 finger grip, or a grip were the right hand is further down the grip. This is because it creates a larger lever between the right wrist and the left wrist. So if your right wrist starts to break down early, there is extra force applied to the left wrist because of the larger moment, perpendicular force x the distance to the pivot point.

Given in a good swing the left arm stays straight and the left wrist stays flat or slightly bowed. So that pivot point isn't active till in the follow through.

Lets not forget as well that size of grip will effect this. If you have smaller fingers and go to an undersized grip, then the effect of having smaller fingers is diminished compared to a standard grip, and mid size grip.