Tighten grip in the through swing

[The Recreational Golfer]

One thing that helps me not grip too tightly is having clean grips. They get washed with warm, soapy water before every round, restoring the tacky feeling that makes me confident my hands won't slip if I hold lightly.

[boogielicious]

8 hours ago, The Recreational Golfer said:

One thing that helps me not grip too tightly is having clean grips. They get washed with warm, soapy water before every round, restoring the tacky feeling that makes me confident my hands won't slip if I hold lightly.

I use isopropyl alcohol from the drug store. I put it on a rag and rub the grips. When dry, it really restores the tack and takes all the grime off. For older grips, I use a scrub sponge, which roughs up the surface and brings the tack back too.

[Buckeyebowman]

On 12/31/2018 at 8:13 AM, boogielicious said:

I think for some newer players, they tighten their wrists when they grip too hard. So instructors are trying to get them to stop that. What Erik is referring to is to keep a firm grip with the main contact fingers while keeping the wrists loose.

A quick demonstration you can do for yourself is to grip a club lightly and swing it back and forth through your whole swing range keeping the wrists loose. Then gradually increase the grip firmness on pinky, ring and middle finger of your top hand and the ring and middle of you bottom hand. You will see that you can squeeze pretty tight and still keep your wrists loose.

The issue with too light a grip can be demonstrated at address. Take your stance and grip lightly. Then squeeze your grip tighter. You may see the club face angle change. For me, it closes a bit. Now if you do that during the downswing, you will have an effect on your intended ball flight.

I agree with this. I guess you could call it "compartmentalized" effort! You can grip the club firmly with your hands without tightening up your wrists, forearms, triceps, shoulders, etc.