How To Grip A Golf Club
[The Ultimate Guide to Perfecting Your Grip]
Are you looking to find out how to grip a golf club so you can take your game to the next level? If so, you’ve come to the right place!
Our team has spent countless hours researching and testing the three most common grips, and we will guide you on picking one that works best for you. Finding the golf grip that best suits your swing is one of the most important things to consider when perfecting your swing.
Not only does finding the ideal golf grip allow you to get the maximum distance on your shots, but it can also lead to increased accuracy on the golf course. Most amateur golfers tend to struggle with finding the perfect grip; however, ultimately it comes down to preference on what is most comfortable to you when holding the golf club. If you want to achieve success on the golf course, we recommend becoming familiar with the most commonly used grips and how they can potentially impact your game. Fortunately for you, we’re covering everything you need to know when learning how to grip a golf club properly.
So let’s get straight into learning how to grip a golf club.
The 3 Most Common Golf Grips
When learning how to grip a golf club, there are three main types of golf grips we recommend experimenting with. These are known as the interlocking grip, the overlapping grip, and the ten-finger grip. We will cover the basics of all three grips so that you can practice with each grip and find one that you’re most comfortable with.
Interlocking Grip
Golf legend Tiger Woods prefers using the interlocking grip when playing on tour. To use the interlocking grip, you will need to interlock your left hand’s index finger with your right hand’s little finger. This creates a connection with both hands and ensures you hold the club comfortably. It is the ideal grip for golfers who have small or medium-sized hands.
- Grab the shaft at the top of the grip of the golf club with your right hand and hold it at a 45-degree angle.
- Wrap the pinkie, ring, and middle fingers of your left hand around the grip.
- Roll the pointer finger and thumb of your left hand over the grip.
- Move your right hand on the club, making sure that your right pinky finger goes under the left pointer finger. Your right pinky finger should interlock with your left pointer finger.
- The palm of your right hand should be placed over your left thumb and the pointer finger of your right hand should be wrapped around the grip.
- Move your right thumb to the left side of the grip so that it faces up the club.
Overlapping Grip
This grip that most professional golfers favor is the overlapping grip. To use the overlapping grip on the golf club, you must ensure your right hand’s little finger sits between the notch of your left hand’s middle and index finger. That creates an overlap. Golfers who have large hands and don’t feel comfortable interlocking their fingers should use this grip.
- Grab the shaft at the top of the grip of the golf club with your right hand and hold it at a 45-degree angle.
- Wrap the pinkie, ring, and middle fingers of your left hand around the grip.
- Roll the pointer finger and thumb of your left hand over the grip.
- Move your right hand on the club, making sure that your right pinky finger goes over the left pointer finger.
- The palm of your right hand should be placed over your left thumb and the pointer finger of your right hand should be wrapped around the grip.
- Move your right thumb to the left side of the grip so that it faces up the club.
Ten-Finger Grip
The ten-finger grip is commonly recommended to junior golfers because it is the easiest grip to use. To use the ten-finger grip, all you need to do is place your right hand fingers directly beneath your left hand fingers on the club. There is no overlapping of the fingers, and the player needs to place all ten fingers on the club. This grip allows for easy swings; however, you may notice a decrease in distance and accuracy on your shots.
- Grab the shaft at the top of the grip of the golf club with your right hand and hold it at a 45-degree angle.
- Wrap the pinkie, ring, middle, and pointer fingers of your left hand around the grip.
- Move your right hand on the club, making sure that your right pinky finger is sitting flush on your left pointer finger.
- The palm of your right hand should be placed over your left thumb and the pointer finger of your right hand should be wrapped around the grip.
- Move your right thumb to the left side of the grip so that it faces up the club.
Applying The Right Amount Of Pressure
Most golfers are guilty of gripping their clubs too tightly, regardless of which grip style they use. An excessively tight grip can negatively impact your performance on the golf course. Even with the proper grip, if you’re gripping the club too tightly you will have difficulty obtaining the maximum distance and accuracy from your shot.
When thinking about how to grip a golf club, it’s important to know how much pressure to apply. It’s helpful to imagine gripping the golf club as gently as you would hold the hand of a child while helping them cross the road. To ensure you have complete control, apply a firm grip; however, do not exert excessive force to the point where the child is in pain. The same logic applies when learning how to grip a golf club. It has often been taught that the ideal grip pressure is between 5-7 on a scale of 10.
You’ll be amazed how quickly your shots will improve when making a slight adjustment to your grip pressure.
Also, we recommend focusing on keeping your hands in a position that allows your fingers to fit snugly around the club. When using a proper golf grip, you should feel the club sit comfortably in your hands, allowing for an uninterrupted swing. This is one of the secrets to hitting the ball with greater distance and increased accuracy on the golf course.
MAMBA TIP: Once you have found a grip that you're comfortable with, stick with it!
Over time, you will notice a considerable difference in your golf game. Focusing on perfecting your golf grip will help to prevent slicing the ball, which in turn will lead to a lower overall score.
Simple Tips - Learning How To Grip A Golf Club
Even the professionals struggle to find the proper grip for their golf club, so don’t feel bad if you find yourself struggling. You will find your ideal golf grip once you have spent some time practicing the three common golf grips outlined above. Here are some simple tips for gripping a golf club and finding the grip that best compliments your swing:
One of the most common mistakes that amateur golfers make is with the placement of their hands when gripping the golf club. Amateur golfers tend to grip the club with their palm instead of cradling the club in their fingers. By ensuring that the club is positioned in the crease of your hand where your fingers and palm meet, this will allow you to form a solid grip around the golf club.
When you grip the club with your palm, you’re actually making it more difficult to get power in your shots because it’s not allowing your wrists to rotate as needed. That will result in you losing a significant amount of power in your shots, and may lead to difficulty with striking the ball out of the middle consistently. We recommend focusing on aligning your fingers on the club and cradling the club in your fingers.
You ideally want the club to be sitting firmly in your hand but not gripping with your palm.
Step-By-Step Guide
CHEAT SHEET – HOW TO GRIP A GOLF CLUB
1. Place the club so it’s directly in the midline of your body
2. Place top hand next to grip
3. Line the club up so that it lies in the middle of your index finger and continues to the base of your pinky finger
4. Wrap your fingers around the club with your thumb pointing straight down the shaft
5. Choose bottom hand grip (overlapping, interlock, or ten finger)
CHECKPOINTS
Is your club head straight?
Can you see the top of the club?
Can you see atleast 2 knuckles?
Are both creases in your grip aiming towards your back shoulder?
Are you holding the golf club with the correct pressure?
Ensure You Have a “V” Shape When Gripping the Club
For greater consistency in your shots, you should look to create a “V” shape between your arms when you are gripping the golf club. The “V” shape ensures you are holding the club at the right angle and will generate optimum power from your swing. It’s not an exact science, but you will manage to create a “V” shape when using a proper golf grip.
Check Your Hand Placement
Often times golfers are so concerned about their grip and shape that they forget about hand placement. Improper hand placement can be detrimental to the outcome of your shot.
You don’t want to grip your club too high as it won’t be in perfect alignment with the shaft. That means you won’t get any power on your shots and will also lose all stability and control of your club face at the point of impact, most likely resulting in a sliced shot.
Without proper hand placement, your grip will fall apart. We recommend positioning your hands on the golf club just far enough down so that you’re able to see the end of the club.
Ensure There Are No Gaps in Your Grip
Regardless of which type of grip you are using, whether it is an interlocking, overlapping, or ten-finger grip, the one thing you don’t want is a gap between your hands.
When there are gaps in your grip, it allows the club to move around more freely during your swing. This means the club head may rotate in your hands, leading to an open club face or closed club face at the point of impact with the ball. Anytime you hit the ball with a club face that has not been completely squared up will result in an undesirable shot.
This is one of the main things that happens to professional golfers when you see them slice their ball into a hazard or out of bounds. It is all too common for golfers of all handicaps to forget about gaps in their grip, causing them to lose control of the club. Thankfully, it’s an easy mistake to avoid; however, it does require you to be aware when setting up your grip.
Final Thoughts
When practicing to become a great golfer, it is extremely important to find the perfect grip that best compliments your swing. Remember to always grip the golf club in a manner that is most comfortable to you. Learning how to grip a golf club takes practice. Unfortunately, there’s no “one size fits all” grip.
As we mentioned earlier, we recommend practicing with each commonly used golf grip – interlocking, overlapping, or ten-finger grip. Over time it should become apparent as to which golf grip works best for you by the feeling and outcome of your shots.
MAMBA TIP: The best golf grip for you would be one where your hands sit closely together and where you can apply neutral pressure on the golf club, while still feeling comfortable.
Many golf professionals experiment with their grips on tour to get their desired results. You should do the same if you have ambitions of improving your golf game. As always, we hope you’ve found this guide helpful in learning how to grip a golf club.
If you’re interested in learning more about golf, checkout our ultimate guide on golf terminology.
