Should I keep using a stronger grip?

[Dylan Yowell]

So I’ve been golfing for about 7 years and I’m 19 years old, no physical limitations other than forearms and wrists being somewhat weak. I have found that the biggest problem I cannot overcome is that my hands never turn over in the swing and my post impact feel is very forced. I come through without forearm rotation, almost like a square release, but it’s so bad that at about a 45 degree angle past the ball both of my arms are bent severely. With most iron shots I have a miss where I block the ball EXTREMELY to the right or I hit far off the toe and pick the ball. I don’t know what my problem is, but even focusing on it it’s like I just don’t have the means to finish squaring the club face, I just can’t do it. Even if I’m trying as hard as I can. And trying to swing naturally and freely to square the wrists with a loose grip results in a fat shot. I tried taking a stronger grip, just slightly, and all of a sudden I immediately felt a better release and straighter, more consistent shots. Question: should I continue to use this stronger grip, or not? Is it a bandaid for another swing fault, or is it just a little help since I seem to not be able to square the club? 

[Puttin4Dough]

I ran across some threads about grip pressure and it appears there are wildly different schools of thought.  

[colin007]

You mean gripping more tightly? Or a stronger grip as in turning the hands more towards the backside of the grip (to the right for a righty)?

[Buckeyebowman]

I think he means strong as in turned "clockwise". If you would look at people's grips on the course, you'd see that most of them have much too weak a grip. Of course, you'll always run into the guy who has a weak left hand and his right underneath the club! You have to wonder what he thinks he's going to do with that!

[p1n9183]

I had the same problem, if i swing normally the club face end´s open to the target while hitting the ball.
That make me start swingin more from the outside to inside in order to at lease hit a fade into the target.
Like you said I took a stronger grip and now i can swing from the inside with much more accuracy.

Note: Watch out for your old block shots fears, you will not release your hands and you will start hitting nasty hooks.

[Dylan Yowell]

On 5/8/2018 at 8:06 PM, Buckeyebowman said:

I think he means strong as in turned "clockwise". If you would look at people's grips on the course, you'd see that most of them have much too weak a grip. Of course, you'll always run into the guy who has a weak left hand and his right underneath the club! You have to wonder what he thinks he's going to do with that!

Yeah I mean clockwise you’re right. But will I give up the ability to hit a fade consistently with a stronger grip? I feel like I may not be able to keep the club face open enough to hit a controlled fade. Or is changing to a slightly weaker grip to hit a fade an ok way to do it?

[Buckeyebowman]

My advice would be not to make drastic changes, make incremental changes. Turn your left hand clockwise just a millimeter or two. Take lots of practice swings with no ball to get used to the feel of it, then go hit some balls. See what happens.

Case in point. I was teamed up with a pair of black guys (race is not the issue here), where one of the guys was a really good golfer. Hit the ball a long way, but his drives tended to drift a little right and end up in the rough just right of the fairway. We teed off on the 10th while his buddy was still in the clubhouse taking care of whatever. He, again, drifted one a little to the right and started moaning about it.

He had his left Thumb laying right down the top of the grip. I had him tee up a ball and turn that left hand just a tad to the right. Just get that left Thumb a little on the right side of the grip.  He striped one right down the middle, which he continued to do the entire back nine! After the round, he grabbed me in a big "bro hug" and thanked me for helping his game!

I never thought I was that brilliant, it just seemed common sense to me!