Left Thumb Outside

[Joe Mama]

I've been placing my left thumb underneath the right hand heel pad, similar to Gene Sarezen's grip. I don't interlace or overlap any fingers, however. All my fingers touch the shaft. Has anyone on this forum tried it? What works well for me is to show four knuckles of the left hand at setup, a square stance with right foot pulled back two inches, a straight (not board stiff) left-arm driven one piece backswing along the 10:00-4:00 o'clock direction, and a down swing along the same direction. The ball is located about two inches to the right of center stance.

[Joe Mama]

Note: the right hand must be rotated just as far clockwise as the left hand, otherwise there will be a strong tendency of the wrists to catastrophically rotate counter-clockwise, resulting in a pull of the ball.

[vangator]

So, what do you shoot with this grip? Your HCP says 17.

[David in FL]

How in the world did you come up with that, and more importantly, why?! :-\

[saevel25]

That is just plan confusing, must go watch Rory hit golf balls to cleanse the mind. [quote name="David in FL" url="/t/76486/left-thumb-outside#post_1039267"]How in the world did you come up with that, and more importantly, why?! :-\[/quote] I agree, I would say please post a video of your swing.

[Joe Mama]

So, what do you shoot with this grip? Your HCP says 17.

I should have explained that I only use this grip with my wedges and short irons. My scores typically are between 86 and 94.

[Joe Mama]

How in the world did you come up with that, and more importantly, why?! :-\

I assume you're referring to the four knuckle aspect of the grip, not to Sarezen's thumb out. Necessity was the mother of my invention. I've always had trouble bringing the clubface square to the target line at impact. The grip I use allows me to keep the face square to the swing arc longer going back, and feels like (but probably is not) it's square to the arc up almost to the top (a 225 degree arc). The grip also allows me to feel like I am bringing the club face down square to the arc. When it feels square on the way up and down--whether it really is square or not doesn't matter, the face IS square to the ball at impact. If my hands are not massively rotated right at setup, I am not able to feel like the face is square to the arc during the entire swing, and, as a consequence, I don't strike the ball square. Hands in the neutral position, for example, at setup, make it impossible to take the face back square to the arc for more than about 30 degrees. Having the square to the swing feeling for as much of the swing as possible means--to me--that the amount of forearm roll is minimized, which I think fosters a better ball strike. Many will disagree. I doubt that this is a grip or swing that good players should try because release happens less fluidly than with the more orthodox grip, and that translates to lower clubhead speed. But, for those higher handicap players who struggle just to make a decent contact with the ball, and who care less about speed than they do about not shanking, hooking, or slicing the ball, it may be a viable option. I love the swing, but it's only good for wedges and short irons.

[Joe Mama]

That is just plan confusing, must go watch Rory hit golf balls to cleanse the mind. I agree, I would say please post a video of your swing.

I will be out of town until Friday, without my clubs, but when I return I will consider making a video of the swing, but only if at least one forum reader in the meanwhile shows enough interest in this discussion to try the swing and post his opinion to the forum. It should be easier for reader to reproduce my swing than it is for me to video it, unless my description of the grip and swing (in an earlier post) is unclear. If so, ask me a question about it and I will attempt to make my explanation clearer.

[Joe Mama]

I want to emphasize, again, that the grip and swing I'm describing is NOT for the good player--a player who almost always strikes the ball flush, and can hit the nine iron 150 yards or more, and who has a handicap of less than 10. It is for the hacker, the person who struggles to break 100. Remember, the grip and swing is only for wedges and short irons.

[Joe Mama]

If there are no hackers in this forum, I'm wasting everyone's time. :doh:

[BENtSwing]

If there are no hackers in this forum, I'm wasting everyone's time.

There are plenty of part-time and full-time "hackers" here...but we prefer the commonalities of a functional golf grip.

[Joe Mama]

There are plenty of part-time and full-time "hackers" here...but we prefer [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/t/75436/how-to-grip-a-golf-club-commonalities-of-a-functional-golf-grip/54#post_1025239]the commonalities of a functional golf grip. [/URL]

Here's another uncommon grip: Moe Norman is regarded as one of the greatest ball strikers ever: his hands are rotated extremely clockwise, similar to mine.

[saevel25]

Here's another uncommon grip:

Moe Norman is regarded as one of the greatest ball strikers ever: his hands are rotated extremely clockwise, similar to mine.

Moe looks to have just the normal weak golf grip, nothing out of the ordinary except he extends his arms more at address then most people.

Also please multi-quote. It keeps the forum looking cleaner. So if you see multiple responses above that you want to respond to. Hit "multi" for each and then hit "quote" to reply to them all. Thanks!! See bellow how I have another quote box.

There are plenty of part-time and full-time "hackers" here...but we prefer the commonalities of a functional golf grip.

Yep, I would recommend that thread for anyone who wants to get more information on gripping the golf club.

[iacas]

Moe Norman is regarded as one of the greatest ball strikers ever: his hands are rotated extremely clockwise, similar to mine.

We teach some guys who knew Moe pretty darn well. His grip was not unusual, nor was it incredibly strong. Heck, he interlocked (like in your picture) for years before he went ten-fingers later in his life.

His hands aren't rotated much in that picture. I'm not sure what you're seeing.

P.S. Please do multi-quote: .

[David in FL]

I should have explained that I only use this grip with my wedges and short irons. My scores typically are between 86 and 94.

One of the keys to good golf is consistency.  Changing to a completely different grip based on the club selected seems to fly in the face of that.

What do you use for your "normal" full swing grip?  Why not simply identify the swing flaws that crop up with your shorter clubs and address those, rather than reach for a band-aid in the form of a completely different grip that's likely doing nothing but reinforcing those flaws?

[Joe Mama]

One of the keys to good golf is consistency.  Changing to a completely different grip based on the club selected seems to fly in the face of that.   What do you use for your "normal" full swing grip?  Why not simply identify the swing flaws that crop up with your shorter clubs and address those, rather than reach for a band-aid in the form of a completely different grip that's likely doing nothing but reinforcing those flaws?

I don't use a completely different grip for each of the clubs, of course. I use one grip (the one I'm describing) for wedges and short irons, and a different grip for woods, hybrids, and driver. Two different grips. For the shorter clubs, the ball is right of center and four knuckles show; for the longer clubs, the ball is left of center, and fewer knuckles show. The more knuckles that show, the greater is the tendency for the face to close before impact, so with the longer-arc swings with the long clubs, fewer knuckles are necessary. I agree that it would be better if one could develop a single grip and stance that works well for all clubs. It would be great if I could find a grip and stance that allows me to efficiently cause a descending nine iron blow down into the ball, while also allowing me to equally efficiently make an ascending strike with the driver. Maybe lots of good players can do this, I don't know, but so far, I have been unable to do it. I wish to emphasize that I do NOT advocate this grip or swing to anyone who wants to shoot in the mid-eighties or below, because while greater impact consistency is fostered, swing speed is sacrificed. I recommend my grip and swing mainly to those occasional golfers whose primary goal is not to embarrass themselves on the course, to golfers who just wants not to shank the short iron into the woods. My grip and swing style is a bandaid that works extremely well for me. It is a compensation for unrecognized or uncorrectable swing flaws. But, don't all golfers compensate?

[David in FL]

But, don't all golfers compensate?

Perhaps to a certain extent.  But without even understanding their own swing flaws, few would advocate their own compensatory "band-aid" to others who, even if they demonstrate the same symptoms, may not (likely don't) have the very same root swing flaws that result in those symptoms.

It's also worth noting that band-aids are meant to be temporary and shouldn't be considered a permanent fix.  They might get you through a bad round on the course, but as soon as possible, you should get to the range to figure out what the root cause was.

It is a compensation for unrecognized or uncorrectable swing flaws...

I remember from your earlier posts that you've only been playing for a relatively short time now.  Have you considered finding a professional to help recognize, and subsequently correct those flaws rather than trying to figure it out yourself?

[dchoye]

I want to emphasize, again, that the grip and swing I'm describing is NOT for the good player--a player who almost always strikes the ball flush, and can hit the nine iron 150 yards or more, and who has a handicap of less than 10. It is for the hacker, the person who struggles to break 100. Remember, the grip and swing is only for wedges and short irons.

I watch Tommy Gainey strike his driver 290-300 yards with the left thumb wrap around the the handle like you describe standing behind him at a driving range I seen every type of grip. If it works for you fine. don't assume its only for certain type of player and for certain clubs