The Grip
Problem: Griping the club in the palm of the led hand, left hand for right handers or turning the led hand in sideways, fingers pointing back behind you
The Grip is the foundation of having the club and body being properly connected. The following is a great way to make sure your hands are working together during the swing, get into your stance and assume your normal grip on a club, now open both hands, straightening your fingers while continuing to keep the grip between your palms. Are your palms parallel, facing each other?
If not, this is something you need to correct. A neutral grip, the back of your left hand and the palm of your right hand are facing slightly higher then your target line. With a slightly weak grip the back of the left hand and the palm of the right will align more towards the target and just the opposite a slightly strong grip the back of the lead hand will be turned a bit towards the sky.
In any grip you use just remember, palms face each other, otherwise they will be working in the swing separately. Get a club and during commercials while watching your favorite TV show, practice getting both hands on the grip with the palms facing each other, after about a week of this practice the grip will feel much more comfortable.
Another aid that will help get your hands on the grip where the palms are facing each other is pinch a golf tee between the thumb and forefinger of each hand before griping the club. Then after gripping the club make sure the tees are over each other in a perfect line and the palms are facing each other as described above, this is accomplished by turning the lead hand then aligning the trail hand tee under the lead hand tee. You also want to make sure the grip is not in your palm, it runs from the first pad on the index finger along the knuckles at the base of the fingers. When using the tees look at where they are inline with your collarbone, weak grip they point towards the chin, neutral grip in the center of the collarbone and strong grip towards the shoulder, never outside of the shoulder or pass the forward side of the chin,
Grip Pressure
Problem: Grabbing the club to tightly or too lightly: Creating tension in your arms – grabbing too tightly – and draining power from the swing – or to lightly and losing control of your club.
Practice: Start by holding the club out in front of you in a upright position – now hold the club as lightly as you can without it being able to slide out of your hands – that pressure will be your starting position. On a scale of 1 -5 progressively grip more firmly with each count, making sure the tension increase is equal though each number till you reach 5 – a very tight squeeze – most all golfers will find somewhere between 2 and 3 as being the right grip pressure on most shots but you need to find your own comfort – so hit shots while your practicing with all the different grip pressures till you find the one that gives you your best results. The same grip pressure you choose to use needs to be held from the beginning of your swing to the finish. The pressure will naturally tighten on the down swing in the beginning but train yourself to keep the same grip pressure throughout the swing without increasing the tightness. Also make sure you have the same pressure in all fingers of both hands, never let the lead hand grip the club tighter then the trail hand.
Posture Drill
Problem: The player’s address position is either too stooped over or too upright resulting most times in a posture hard to keep throughout the swing. Having a good set up position – posture – is an especially important role in the outcome of your swing.
Practice: Stand in front of your full length mirror – up right – with your feet shoulder width apart – arms at your side – bring your hands out in front of you – at a height like you were holding a club – now clap your hands together – next bend from your hips – not your stomach – you’re looking for about a 20 to 30 degree angle difference between your spine and your legs – next flex your knees and tip your head slightly downward – just enough to see an imaginary ball – lastly – RELAX YOUR SHOULDERS AND ARMS – check the tension in your legs by moving your toes inside your shoes – don’t move your shoes – repeat this setup until you can get into this position naturally every time – when practicing also look at your spine angle in the mirror from a side angle – your hands should hang under your chin. To practice your swing while in this set up, fold your arms across your shoulders then, while watching yourself in the mirror do your back and forward swing slowly while keeping your angles in place. The best way to practice this set up with the swing is to do the moves in slow motion. This will allow you to stretch out your muscles being used and make sure the angles are being keep. You can also stand with a wall behind you and slightly touch your backside. Feel the wall on each side of your backside as you rotate without ever losing contact with the wall or pushing into the wall.
Ball Position
Problem: Guessing where the ball is in your stance which changes the bottom of the swing ark leading to inconsistent shots.
Practice: Stand with your feet together and in the notch created by the feet touching, line the face of and club with the lines, grooves, running to the middle of the notch. What to pay attention to, step out with the left foot first for right handers, just the opposite for left handers, shoulder width then back foot shoulder width. Your club face should now be in the center of your stance and the ball just slightly in front of center. The club face should still have the groves running directly back to the middle of your stance. Your left hand, again for righthanders, should have the back of your left hand in line with the inside part of your left thigh. Always set up to the ball before every swing and you’ll never have to wonder if the ball is in the right position, remember the ball out of position changes the bottom of the swing ark when all other body positions are set correctly