New grip causing alot of blisters, reasons

[kamachi923]

I had my first lesson a few days ago and one of the man things was fixing my very weak grip to strong/actually normal. That first day with the new grip I must have hit 250-300 balls, most of them didn't get off the ground as I was still trying to get used to the new grip. Anyways my question is when you guys first started playing golf did you have alot of blisters. I think part of the problem was with the new grip cause me to have a death grip because it felt so uncomfortable, but just wandering if this was common or was I still doing something wrong. I am right handed and have a blister on my left middle finger at the inside second joint from the tip, on my right hand pinky second joint from tip more towards my ring finger, on my ringer finger on the outside inbetween the top joint and middle joint caused from rubbing my pointer finger on my left hand, and lastly on my right thumb inside/toward pointer finger inbetween tip and first joint. thanks for all the replies in advance.

[Big_M]

I don't know if you're wearing a glove, but I would... Also, chances are your holding the club too tight. Remember on a scale of 1-10, hold the club with a 5. Lastly, don't put that right hand thunb on the top of the club, just let it rest on the side. It shouldn't be pushing on the grip.

300 balls is a lot too... maybe just hit 150 and take your time.
-good luck

[kamachi923]

yeah i know 300 is alot, the instructor gave me a huge bucket/basket i've seen ones that hold about 100 ones that hold 200 and this one looked like it could hold 300-400 easy. he after the lesson he said i could just hit the rest so I did, I think I was out there for 2.5-3 hours not hitting full swings all the time. so i think that my blisters mostly came from a very tight grip amplify that by a large number of balls. I was just wondering how common it was to get blisters for ppl just starting out. but im sure after i losen my grip it will be better. thanks for the response.

[AnalogAG]

Hey, same problems here!

If haven't play for a long time and I start playing too much in the beginning I tend to get blisters aswell.

Since I started my lessons I grip way lighter than before, so this might help me. Of course did not try it yet!

In the past time, the only cure for me was take my time and not play too much in the beginning until my hands got used to it!

[Bignose]

Well, as been said grip pressure is probably the prime culprit here. I don't completely like thinking about a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10; if only because what one person thinks of 10 is different from another. I like Sam Snead's old quote about gripping it like you would a bird. Tight enough that the bird isn't going to get away but loose enough that you don't crush and kill the bird. But, that really is just a starting point, you need to find what works for you, though I wouldn't go too much tighter or looser from Snead's basis point.

Also, not just your starting grip pressure, but your grip pressure throughout the swing can affect this too. A lot of people grip down tighter on the transition from the backswing to the forward swing. It really should be the same all the way through. A nice drill is to swing back and forth, a little more than half way each way, and concentrating on keeping the exact same pressure you had when you started the entire way through. That is, if you started with a 5 (or a 4 or a 2.5), then when you swing back make sure you are still at 5 (or 4 or 2.5) and then on your way down make sure you are still at 5 (or ...) and then at the end once again make sure you are still at 5 (or ...). If the club is moving at the transition, and that's making you re tighten you grip at the top, that can definitely cause blisters.

Lastly, I want to explain a little why too tight is very bad for a golf swing. The muscles in your forearms and wrists tighten up when you grip something, and hence there is a loss of flexibility. You don't want to lose flexibility in your wrist cock, for example, because that is the source of generating lag in your swing which turns into power. In a book written by Cochran and Stobbs called Search for the Perfect Swing they measured how large the range of motion in the cocking-uncocking direction correlates with grip tightness. A maximum tight grip has a zero degree range, as you might expect. Three-quarters maximum has a 26 degree range, half maximum tightness has a 57 degree range, one-quarter maximum tightness has a 70 degree range, and no tightness at all had a 77 degree range. You can see how too tight can really disrupt the cocking of your wrists and rob you of power.

Ultimately, you'll probably learn how everything seems to work better in the golf swing if there is a looseness or a flow to the swing. It is a hard habit to overcome, but there is also some truth in the saying "give up control to gain control" That includes holding on to the grip really tight.

[mikelz]

Hey, same problems here!

3M / NexCare makes a great 1/2" wide paper tape. I don't even notice it's there. When I practice, I know I'm going to hit 200 shots in a couple of hours. I tape the areas that tend to blister before practice.

[AnalogAG]

3M / NexCare makes a great 1/2" wide paper tape. I don't even notice it's there. When I practice, I know I'm going to hit 200 shots in a couple of hours. I tape the areas that tend to blister before practice.

I do the same until I am ready for such a load!

[extremeld]

maybe you are as we say in scotland just a big jesse

[mikelz]

maybe you are as we say in scotland just a big jesse

I would take a swing at that softball is I wasn't already in trouble with Iacas

[mikelz]

I had my first lesson a few days ago and one of the man things was fixing my very weak grip to strong/actually normal. ... ...

Oh, you are stressing skin on your hands in places you never used before with that new grip.

[ahnh666]

only time i ever had blisters was when i was first learning golf....first half of a year....most of the problem was in my club control...taking the club back too fast...and forcing the club on the down swing...

once i was able to control to a slow accelerating back swing...and to a "natural" stop as the body coils back....to a accelerating uncoil of the body with max power at impact with ball....

instructor told me....your swing is key...the hands should only be the connecting attachment between your arm and club....you get blisters when your hands try to control the path or force of the swing...(also..i notice people who have more of a "baseball bat grip" tend to have callus or get blisters)

not sure if this make any sense..but it did for me..and i no longer get blisters...and hands are baby soft....