| p>It can't be emphasized enough how important a | | | | review, or anytime their game is suffering. Because |
| proper golf grip is to enjoying the game of golf and | | | | of its importance, an improper golf grip is often the |
| shooting lower scores. I remember reading Jack | | | | cause of various golfing maladies. |
| Nicklaus' book when I was a kid and studying the | | | | A proper grip is when the club is held in your fingers, |
| words and pictures he used to describe the different | | | | not your palms. The pressure shouldn't be overly |
| types of golf grips, and the grip that he used to win | | | | tight. Think of holding a small bird in your hand, you |
| all of his major championships. An entire chapter was | | | | want enough pressure so that they cannot fly away, |
| devoted to the proper golf grip, if Jack thought it | | | | but not so much pressure as to harm the bird. |
| was that important then you should too. | | | | Another way to look at the proper grip pressure is |
| Unfortunately most beginning golfers spending very | | | | to visualize a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is light and |
| little time, if any, learning the proper golf grip. In fact, | | | | 10 is tight. Try to obtain a pressure of 4 or 5 when |
| the majority of people who play golf do not seek | | | | you grip the club, just enough pressure to be able to |
| any form of proper golf instruction. These simple | | | | control the club but not enough to choke it to death. |
| facts are why few golfers every break 100 and why | | | | Besides not spending any time learning a proper golf |
| in general golf scores have not decreased in the past | | | | grip, the other common mistake of beginning golfers |
| few decades. | | | | is to squeeze the club much to tightly. Like most |
| Learning the proper golf grip is not difficult, it just | | | | things in the game of golf, what we intuitively think |
| takes a little time and practice. In a matter of hours | | | | we should be doing is not correct, and often is 180 |
| you can learn the proper golf grip, and use this | | | | degrees from what we should actually be doing. |
| knowledge for a lifetime of playing. As I did with | | | | Lighter grip pressure enables wrist hinge which is an |
| Jacks' book, read about the different types of golf | | | | important power source, and it also allows for the |
| grips and determine what method of gripping the club | | | | proper club head rotation to ensure a square club |
| is best suited to you. Study pictures of the proper | | | | face at impact. |
| way to grip a club and practice holding a club around | | | | To grip, hold the club in your left hand so that it is |
| the house. To keep from beating up our home | | | | across your fingers, right beneath your palm. Next, |
| furniture, I cut a golf shaft in ½ and used to | | | | grip the club with your right hand so the club is |
| practice while watching T.V. or relaxing around the | | | | across the fingers. Cover your left thumb with your |
| house. Then take it to the driving range and spend | | | | right thumb. |
| ½ hour reviewing the golf grip and practice | | | | You should work hard to get your grip right from the |
| hitting balls. | | | | beginning. Once you have found the correct grip, |
| It is always a good idea to review your golf grip. | | | | don't deviate from it. |
| Even advanced players can benefit from an annual | | | | |