Question on Grip Pressure

[Marty2019]

...and anyone else with an opinion. 

I am a little confused about grip pressure.  I was under the impression that you grip the club with very little pressure so that, on the downswing, centrifugal force will cause the club to swing itself.   My impression was that you should not be actively trying to use your hands to help speed up the club.   But I read the thread on grip force, which said the pros grip the club a lot harder than amateurs, and amateurs really grip the club too lightly, and that gives me the impression that your hands have some active role to play in speeding up the club.  

So my question is, are my hands supposed to do anything more than just hanging onto the club?   My experience is that I drive the ball the farthest when I am just hanging onto the club without my hands helping it speed up on the downswing.   But then, maybe my hands are just too weak to go any faster than the club will go by itself and if I try to use my hands to speed things up, I just wind up slowing things down instead.  

Jack Nicklaus in his book Golf My Way says, "Finally, just before impact, I reach the point where no further acceleration is possible and, because of centrifugal force, I must release the club into the ball..  At that point my wrists are forced to unhinge spontaneously."   In other words, his hands aren't "helping." 

Ben Hogan, on the other hand, in his book, says, "Hit the ball as hard as you can with both hands.  You must hit as hard with the left as with the right."  That sounds like he's using his hands to accelerate the club. 

 

So, what's the answer?   Are my hands supposed to be helping the club speed up, or are they only supposed to be hanging on?  

 

 

 

 

[boogielicious]

15 minutes ago, Marty2019 said:

...and anyone else with an opinion. 

I am a little confused about grip pressure.  I was under the impression that you grip the club with very little pressure so that, on the downswing, centrifugal force will cause the club to swing itself.   My impression was that you should not be actively trying to use your hands to help speed up the club.   But I read the thread on grip force, which said the pros grip the club a lot harder than amateurs, and amateurs really grip the club too lightly, and that gives me the impression that your hands have some active role to play in speeding up the club.  

So my question is, are my hands supposed to do anything more than just hanging onto the club?   My experience is that I drive the ball the farthest when I am just hanging onto the club without my hands helping it speed up on the downswing.   But then, maybe my hands are just too weak to go any faster than the club will go by itself and if I try to use my hands to speed things up, I just wind up slowing things down instead.  

Jack Nicklaus in his book Golf My Way says, "Finally, just before impact, I reach the point where no further acceleration is possible and, because of centrifugal force, I must release the club into the ball..  At that point my wrists are forced to unhinge spontaneously."   In other words, his hands aren't "helping." 

Ben Hogan, on the other hand, in his book, says, "Hit the ball as hard as you can with both hands.  You must hit as hard with the left as with the right."  That sounds like he's using his hands to accelerate the club. 

 

So, what's the answer?   Are my hands supposed to be helping the club speed up, or are they only supposed to be hanging on?  

 

 

 

 

There is a thread below where this was discussed just recently.

 

 

 

[DaveP043]

Well, the golf club isn't going to accelerate unless something applies some force to it, and the only "something" that can do that is the hands.  When you read the thread that @boogielicious has referenced, you'll read @iacas talking about a feeling of freedom in his wrists at the same time his hands are gripping the club firmly.  That's the best description I've read of good grip pressure, including Mr. Hogan's.

[Marty2019]

 

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

There is a thread below where this was discussed just recently.

 

 

 

That thread was what confused me a little.   It's something I've been wondering about for a while.   Are the hands just a hinge, or are they supposed to actively add force to the swing? 

http://www.real-world-physics-problems.com/physics-of-a-golf-swing.html

That website says the club accelerates without help from the hands.   You just release at the right time, and the club straightens out on its own and thus reaches top speed.   Your arms and the club are a double-pendulum.   Your hands are just a hinge.   So I would think that if the hands are just a hinge, the correct grip pressure is whatever is just enough to hold onto the club, because any more would actively impede the swinging of the club. 

 

Edited January 15, 2016 by Marty2019

[natureboy]

IMO Hogan's feel of 3 right hands was really more about applying pressure to the handle through impact to drive his hands well ahead of the ball to de-loft the club & maintain some right wrist cup. The momentum of the club will still release it 'automatically' even with that approach - possibly a hair later than Niclkaus'.

Hogan said, "What Sam (Snead) isn't telling you is the bird is a Hawk. Snead may have had (as many long drivers do) unusually strong wrists that allowed him to apply such a light feel.

Edited January 15, 2016 by natureboy

[iacas]

The simple truth is that some players have to feel they're doing something with their hands, and some players do not.

Slow down the hands too early and the club lines up and flips too early. Keep their speed up late enough and the club will line up at the right time.

But you seem to be asking different questions @Marty2019: are you asking about what the wrists are doing? Grip pressure (the fingers)? What? Can you clarify?

The hands can't help but apply some force. They have to or the grip would fly from your hands.

[Marty2019]

6 hours ago, iacas said:

The simple truth is that some players have to feel they're doing something with their hands, and some players do not.

Slow down the hands too early and the club lines up and flips too early. Keep their speed up late enough and the club will line up at the right time.

But you seem to be asking different questions @Marty2019: are you asking about what the wrists are doing? Grip pressure (the fingers)? What? Can you clarify?

The hands can't help but apply some force. They have to or the grip would fly from your hands.

I probably shouldn't have asked the question.   I have come to an opinion since I started the thread.   And my opinion is-

The hands and wrists don't do anything active.   They just hold onto the club.   The wrists should not apply any force, they should just hinge.  The reason pros hold the club tighter is because they swing harder.    Your grip pressure should be based on your swing speed.   If you have a slow swing speed, holding the club tighter will only slow down the club head.   

Well, that's my opinion.   I know my question was kind of vague and all over the place.  Sorry.  I've been struggling with a lack of power so I've been wondering if there's some important component to the golf swing that I have been leaving out of my swing.   That's why I asked the question.  

 

[iacas]

2 hours ago, Marty2019 said:

I probably shouldn't have asked the question.   I have come to an opinion since I started the thread.   And my opinion is-

The hands and wrists don't do anything active. They just hold onto the club. The wrists should not apply any force, they should just hinge. The reason pros hold the club tighter is because they swing harder. Your grip pressure should be based on your swing speed. If you have a slow swing speed, holding the club tighter will only slow down the club head.

• Hinging applies a force.
• Beyond that, we often have students do something with their wrists. Sometimes it's arching the wrists. Sometimes it's speeding the hands up. I just did a video on that, in fact… (linked below).
• I disagree about the slow swing speed affecting how firmly you grip the club. Tension in your fingers does nothing to slow or speed up the clubhead speed. Tension in your forearms? Sure. Then again, the long drive guys are applying tension and forces through their wrists, fingers, forearms, everything… They're not just passively letting the club swing down.

In fact that last point may be the best one there… everyone is actively applying forces with just about all parts of their body, but certainly the shoulders, arms, wrists… Nobody swings to the top and then just lets everything be "tension free" and swing down with centrifugal force or something. You'd generate very little speed doing that. The trail elbow straightens, the lead arm pulls across the chest, the works. All sorts of pressures and forces and tension (you can't pull a weight with a slack string, nor can you push something with a string) are created.

What a player feels may very well be different, but… I prefer to deal in the realities when discussing things in the abstract. In a lesson, absolutely, it's all about whatever feels produce the best reality, whether they align or not.

2 hours ago, Marty2019 said:

Well, that's my opinion.   I know my question was kind of vague and all over the place.  Sorry.  I've been struggling with a lack of power so I've been wondering if there's some important component to the golf swing that I have been leaving out of my swing.   That's why I asked the question.  

You likely lack power because your sequencing is off, not because you need to supply less forces or something. Ultimately you likely need to supply more force, or at least apply it at better times and/or in better directions.