strong grip pga tour players

What Golf Grips Do the Pros Use? Top 100 PGA Tour Player Guide (2023 update)

Written by Graeme Hay | Last Updated: 21/05/2024

While checking my clubs recently one thing I noticed was that I have a collection of different grips on my clubs.

Having swapped clubs in and out of my bag over the last number of years I’ve now ended up with different golf grips on my driver and fairway woods, compared to my irons and specialist wedges.

I had never really noticed it before and so prior to deciding whether to do anything about it I did some detailed analysis on what grips the top 100 pros on the PGA Tour are using to see what the best players on the planet are up to.

Golf Pride grips are the most used by the top 100 PGA Tour pros with 86% choosing them. Lamkin grips, used by Tony Finau and Justin Rose, are the next most common chosen by 6. IOMIC grips are picked by 4 pros while SuperStroke are used by Jordan Speith and Joel Dahmen. PING and Gripmaster grips are used by only 1 pro each.

Even though there seems to be a definitive consensus among the best players on the PGA Tour that Golf Pride are the best golf grips our research still found 25 different grip models being used by the top 100.

And when it comes to the number and types of wraps individual pros have under their grips it is obvious that the best players still have very detailed requirements when it comes to which grips feel and work best for them!

Most Popular Grips Used on PGA Tour? Golf Pride Take Pride of Place

The top 100 PGA Tour pros have a noticeable preference for Golf Pride golf grips and clearly consider them to be the best golf grips available to them.

Golf Pride (GP) Tour Velvet grips are the most used among the top 100 PGA Tour pros with 33 using them including Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay and Adam Scott. GP’s MCC grips are the next most popular with 19 using them including Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland. Tour Velvet Cord grips are chosen by 16 pros.

When we last did this analysis a couple of years ago Golf Pride grips were again shown to be the most popular among this elite group with 75% using them.

So with 86% now choosing them their dominance seems only to be growing.

But as we start to delve a bit deeper into the grip choices of the best players on Tour the precision with which they approach them is obvious and as exacting as it is with all their other equipment choices.

While the Tour Velvet grip continues to be the most popular choice among the top 100 on Tour fifty five of them choose other types of Golf Pride grips.

Rory McIlroy for example uses the MultiCompound (MCC) grip as does Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland.

Tyrell Hatton meanwhile prefers the MCC Plus4 which is designed to simulate 4 additional wraps on the lower hand to encourage lighter grip pressure.

Sam Burns and Cameron Young then use the ALIGN versions of the Tour Velvet and ZGrip Cord grips respectively to help them ensure they place their hand correctly on the club every time.

In simple terms ALIGN refers to a raised ridge along each grip which allows a player to find a consistent ‘feel’ and therefore hand placement each time they pick up a club.

The great Tiger Woods meantime has preferred a standard 58 round Tour Velvet Cord grip during his career with one wrap of build up tape and 1 wrap of double sided tape applied underneath.

Others such as Taylor Pendrith, Andrew Putnam and John Huh also don’t use the same grip on all their clubs opting for different grip types on their woods and/or hybrids compared to their irons and wedges.

Pendrith for example chooses MCC grips for the longest clubs in his bag before switching to Tour Velvet Cord grips for his 3-iron through to 60º lob wedge.

It is  unlikely that golf grips are ever the main topic of conversation in the clubhouse among amateur golfers across the world but it is clear from looking at the golf grips chosen by the top 100 PGA Tour players that it is something they pay close attention to.

So for the sake of completeness and satisfy any curiosity for which exact grips the top 100 pros on the PGA Tour are using here is a complete breakdown.

[Note – Just so you know, and we are upfront as an affiliate program participant, Golfing Focus, at no cost to you, earns from qualifying purchases made through links on this page.]

What Size Grips Do Pros Use? Don’t Forget the Wraps!

The golf grip is the only point of contact every golfer has with the club so it makes sense that it should never just be a case of any player simply living with whatever grip comes on the clubs they choose.

The best pros on the PGA Tour clearly don’t and our in-depth analysis of the golf grips used by the top 100 found that the pros clearly spend a great deal of time ensuring their grip is as comfortable and suited to them as possible.

And a key part of that relates to the size of grip the pros choose.

The majority of the top 100 PGA Tour pros use standard size grips, including Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas. Others such as Sam Burns, Tony Finau and Jon Rahm use midsize grips, but each pro will also add varying amounts of tape under the grip to create a size that matches their specific requirements.

And that final point is the key one when it comes to discussions about the size of grips the pros use.

For some pros a midsize grip is too large for their liking but a standard size grip is too small.

That is why they will add extra wraps of tape underneath in order to get that grip size absolutely spot on.

Because the number of build up and/or double sided tape wraps a player uses under their grip gives it a different width and therefore size.

And not only that, the tape they use will give the club a different weight as will a cord grip which also means it is going to be a bit heavier.

2023 Masters champion Jon Rahm for example uses only 1 tape wrap underneath his midsize Golf Pride MCC grips but Scottie Scheffler uses 6 wraps of tape under his standard 58 Ribbed Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips. 

Tony Finau meanwhile opts for a near unbelievable 13 wraps under the right hand and 12 under the left hand of his Lamkin UTX Midsize Full Cord grips.

That suggests Finau is gripping the branch of a small tree rather than a golf club but his reasoning for doing this is to try and produce a near uniform thickness from grip to shaft compared to the standard taper in the lower hand.

In other cases Tour pros will opt for extra tape wraps only under the lower half of the grip.

Xander Schauffele is one such player whose Golf Pride MCC grips get progressively larger as they reach his lower hand.

While the left hand of his grip is ‘standard’ size he opts for one 4-inch tape wrap followed by a 6-inch wrap under the right hand to help him slow down club rotation and start the ball right for his ideal shot shape.

As a general rule, adding 4 extra layers of tape (in addition to the 1 wrap of double-sided tape needed to adhere the grip to the shaft) will take a grip from an Undersize to Standard, Standard to Midsize, and so on.

And you should also take note that building up grips with extra tape will stretch the rubber and make it feel firmer.

So when you start looking at what sizes of grip the pros use bear in mind that the ‘manufactured’ size they are shown as choosing does not tell the whole story.

Do Pros Use Cord or Non-Cord Golf Grips?

Watch the PGA Tour for any length of time and it won’t take long before you notice the various multi-coloured golf grips that many of the pros have on their clubs.

While all the main golf grip manufacturers produce multi-coloured grips these days the most common coloured grip is the Golf Pride MCC (New Decade MultiCompound) which is a hybrid grip with a standard lower section and cord upper section.

[Editor’s note – Hybrid golf grips are also known as ‘half cord ‘ grips]

And when it comes to cord grips it is interesting to see what proportion of the PGA Tour pros use them.

28% of the top 100 PGA Tour pros use full cord grips with 19% choosing hybrid grips, which have a cord upper section and normal rubber lower section. The majority of the top 100, just over 50%, choose non-cord grips however and among this group Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet grip is the most popular.

By choosing MCC grips on his woods and Tour Velvet cord grips on his irons and wedges Taylor Pendrith was once again an anomaly with his choice of a mixture of full cord and hybrid grips in his golf set.

But why do some of the pros decide to go for cord grips, whether that is just for their top hand with the hybrid grips or for both hands with the full cord options?

Pros choose full or half cord golf grips because of the extra traction they give to stop the club spinning in their hands when their hands are sweating or they are playing in wet conditions. Cord grips absorb more moisture by virtue of the cord strands that are sandwiched and moulded between two thin layers of rubber.

The key word when it comes to golf grips is ‘feel’ and with cord grips they have a lightly sanded feel.

And it is this that adds the extra friction with a player’s hands when they grip the club compared to a standard soft non-cord rubber grip.

Like every golf swing however, every player is different when it comes to which golf grip types they prefer the feel of in their hands.

I used to use full cord grips in the past simply because I saw a lot of the pros using them however I found that due to the additional roughness they caused my hands a few problems, especially when I was practising and playing almost every day.

I therefore switched back to the non-cord grips and have stuck with them since simply because I prefer the smoother feel in my hands and I have never noticed any problems with my hands slipping due to sweat or in wet weather.

Every player is different though and personal preference clearly plays its part also among the top 100 players on the PGA Tour.

Before you go …

In the modern game of course it is not just club grips that are paid close attention to by the pros.

The options for putter grips available have also exploded in recent years as new manufacturers have burst onto the putting scene.

Read our next article to find out what putter grips the top 100 PGA Tour pros are using and find out which model of putter is the most popular among this elite group.

What Putter Grips Do the Pros Use?

Other top posts related to this article:

• What Clubs Do Pro Golfers Use? Top 100 PGA Tour Player Guide
• What Driver is Most Used On the PGA Tour? Top 100 Player Analysis
• The Fairway Woods Used by the Top 100 PGA Tour Pros
• What Hybrid Golf Clubs Do the Top 100 PGA Tour Pros Use?
• What Driving Irons do the Pros Use on the PGA Tour?
• What Irons Do the Pros Use? Top 100 PGA Tour Player Guide
• What Wedges Do the Pros Use? Top 100 PGA Tour Player Analysis
• What Putters do the Pros Use? Top 100 PGA Tour Player Guide
• What Golf Balls Do the Pros Use? Top 100 PGA Tour Players Breakdown
• What Shafts Do Pros Use? Top 100 PGA Tour Player Breakdown
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• Most Popular Driver on LPGA Tour? Top 50 Player Guide
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• What Drives the Senior Tour Pros? Most Popular Driver on Champions Tour
• From Tee to Green: Analyzing What Golf Balls Champions Tour Pros Use
• How Do Pros Hit the Ball So Far? It’s Not About the Equipment!
• Should You Have the Same Grips on All Your Golf Clubs?

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How to Hold a Golf Club – The Complete Guide (With Tour Player Data for Comparison)

Although some golfers may say, “Grip it and rip it,” this isn’t giving the grip portion of the game the attention it needs. In fact, many would argue the grip is more important than many other parts of the golf swing.

The grip is your foundation; if it’s correct, it gets you started on the right track to make a great swing. If it’s incorrect, you will be left with a wide range of issues that can occur.

Before you start worrying about your swing plane and your timing, make sure your grip is correct.

I’ll show you how to hold a golf club, how tour players hold a club, and your options for different types of grips.

How to Hold a Golf Club – Too Long, Didn’t Read

Hold a golf club with the grip sitting mostly in your fingers. The left hand is the lead hand for right-handed players, and it will have the largest role in what the club does. The right hand sits directly below the left hand and also must be in the fingers.

Golf grips can get a bit complicated because there are different methods, and the proper golf grip for my swing may be a bit different than it is for yours.

Here are some key points to keep in mind when working on how to hold a golf club.

• The golf club should always be more in your fingers than in the palm of your hands.
• A correct golf grip can lead to a correct face angle at impact.
• Golfers with poor grip pressure and poor grip position will struggle with consistency in their game.
• Once you find a grip you love, check on it periodically, but keep it in place for years to come.
• Remember that how you hold a golf club can change based on hand size as well as grip size.

Overlap Golf Grip

Interlocking golf grip, 10 finger golf grip, are these the only choices i have, neutral grip, strong grip, how much pressure should i use to hold a golf club, what are pressure points, how to know which one is for me, which grip is better, why is proper grip important, does my grip make a difference to the club face, how does grip size impact grip type (what about hand size), how can i test the consistency of my golf grip, lead hand at address, lead hand at the top of backswing, lead hand – address vs top of backswing, lead hand – impact, trail hand – address, trail hand – impact, final thoughts on tour player grip data, what is a shortened left thumb, should i use the same grip for my irons and driver, how to change your grip, is a putting grip different, is the grip the same for left and right-handers, final thoughts, 1. what do you want to improve in your full swing, how to grip a golf club – step-by-step guide to holding a golf club.

If you want to understand how foreign or difficult it is to hold a golf club, try teaching this to a 5-year-old. When you tell most 5-year-old kids how to hold a golf club, they say, “But why?”.

What a great question!

Why do we hold the club the way we do? The simple answer is to try and return the clubface to square at impact.

However, we can do that in a few different ways, including the overlap grip, interlock grip, and the 10 finger grip.

The overlap grip involves connecting the left and right hand on the club by overlapping the left forefinger and the right pinky; here is how to get your hands into an overlapping grip position. (for a right-handed player)

• Start with your left-hand position; place the club across the base of your fingers so that when you wrap them around, the club sits mostly in the fingers and not in the palm of your hand.
• Next, make sure that your thumb is pointed just to the right of center on the club, have it point down the shaft, and do not wrap it around.
• Next, place your right hand directly underneath your left hand, take the pinky on your right hand, and place it between your index and middle finger on the club.
• Essentially your right-hand overlaps the left hand.
• Now close the right hand around the left so that the left thumb fits perfectly in the palm of the right hand.

These are the basics of the overlap golf grip, but there are a few things to know and understand.

First, this grip does wonders for your grip pressure. If you tend to grip the golf club too tightly, then you will want to hold a golf club with an overlap grip.

In addition, I like to take my pinky finger and actually rest it on top of my index finger, not between the index and middle. When it’s between the index and middle, I start to grip the club with more tension than necessary.

The overlap grip tends to be a great choice for golfers with larger hands, and many professionals seeking a better feel also gravitate towards the overlap golf grip.

• Reduces tension in the hands.
• Helps golfers with large hands.
• Increases feel around the greens.
• Feels more natural and incorporates the body more than hands and wrists into the swing.
• It can be harder to control the club.
• Some golfers with small hands will feel as though they can’t maintain clubface angle.
• Feels very weak initially.

The interlocking grip connects the left and the right hand on the club by interlocking the left index finger with the right pinky.

Interlocking golf grip is very common among golfers and is the preferred grip of Tiger Woods.

• Start with your left hand position; place the club across the base of your fingers so that when you wrap them around, the club sits mostly in the fingers and not in the palm of your hand.
• Next, place your right hand directly underneath your left hand and take the pinky on your right hand and interlock it with the index finger on your right hand.
• When doing this, it will feel as though you now don’t have your pinky on the club; it’s lying on top of your other fingers.

There are some great things about the interlocking grip, the most important of which is power.

You can get a lot of power when you have a firm and stable connection to the club. Golfers trust this interlock, and it takes away fears as your club travels through impact.

In addition, many players find that when learning a golf grip, the interlocking seems to be more natural than the overlap. When you get the hands into the proper position, they feel as though they were made to be positioned like that.

Finally, players with smaller hands tend to enjoy the interlocking grip because it increases the connection strength and makes it easier to wrap your hands around the club.

• Gives golfers a very firm connection with the club.
• Easy to get hands positioned even as a beginner.
• Beneficial for players seeking additional speed.
• Good choice for golfers with smaller hands.
• A firm connection can quickly lead to too much pressure in the grip.
• Feel around the greens may be a little more difficult to establish for some golfers.

The 10 finger golf grip removes the concept of connecting the two hands on the golf club.

Instead, the left hand sits at the top of the club, and the right hand under it, with no overlapping or interlocking.

• Next, place your right hand directly underneath your left hand.
• The index finger on your left hand and pinky finger on your right will touch, but they are just sitting next to each other.

I teach this grip to young kids when they first start playing because it can help with strength in the hands and increase the control they have over the club.

Many beginners start with this grip and then move to interlock or overlap as they develop more skills. My preference for beginners is to have them choose an interlock or overlap, as it can make a tremendous difference in the way a golfer swings the club.

The 10 finger grip serves its purpose, but the major problem is that golfers swing the left and right hand a little independently of each other. The results can be too much manipulation of the clubface angles in a way that is actually negatively impacting the player.

In addition, I’ve noticed many golfers with the 10 finger grip make more of an arms-based golf swing and lose some power that the legs and core can provide.

Again, some players can use a 10 finger grip and play quite well, but it’s best to be aware of these negatives.

• Very simple to learn.
• Can help younger golfers with small hands learn to hold the grip.
• Often taught to beginners who don’t have much experience.
• Can help with arthritis and golfers who have pain in their hands.
• The right hand tends to get a little too involved in the swing.
• Trouble with feel around the greens.
• Can cause issues with the takeaway.

Interlock, overlap, and 10-finger golf grips are the three choices that golfers have for the full swing. Of course, you could try and invent your own way to hold a golf club, but after a few hundred years, we have a pretty good handle on the fact that these are the most effective methods.

However, when you get to the putting green, things change. There are several types of putting grips to choose from.

Grip Strength Explained

Your grip could be neutral, weak or strong depending on how your hands are placed on the club (rotationally). The easiest way to think about this is while gripping a club and looking down at your hands.

Neutral grip has your hands directly in front of you with the thumbs pointed mostly down the center of the shaft. The strong grip takes that entire position and twists it to your right (as you are looking down at the club); the weak grip turns everything to the left.

A weak grip will have the right hand in a weaker position throughout the swing. The weak grip has nothing to do with grip pressure; it’s more about the position of the hands and their ability to work in your golf swing.

• Start by taking your left hand and putting it in a neutral position, with the club in the fingers as if you were going to take a neutral grip.
• Now turn your left hand a ¼ turn left (the amount of turn is up to you based on how weak you want the grip, but this will give you an idea).
• You will notice that you see fewer knuckles on your left hand and more on the top of your thumb pad.
• Put the right hand on the club in your preferred matter (i.e. interlock, overlap, 10 finger).
• With a weaker grip, you will see more of the knuckles on your right hand, as your right hand will be more on the top of the club.

The weak grip is great for golfers that hook the ball. Sometimes a hook is caused by that overactive right hand shutting the clubface through impact. If you can get the hands into a weaker position, it could square up the clubface.

Players who have a weak grip at address tend to have more flexion in their wrists. This flexion is a great thing to have at impact if a player can return the weak grip back in a flexed position.

• It can help to control a hook.
• Makes the left hand the lead in the swing.
• Some golfers will find that they can’t square the clubface at impact with a weak grip.
• The right arm can come too far over the top of the club and make it difficult to get the swing on plane.

A neutral grip is how you should hold the club the majority of the time. Having a slightly strong or slightly weak grip is fine, but when you can base most of what you do around neutral, it will help with consistency in your golf game.

The neutral grip is exactly as described above, with your hands centered on the top of the club.

A strong grip has the right hand in a more powerful position that can help golfers square the clubface at impact . If you are a golfer that slices the ball, this is a grip to consider using.

• Now turn your left hand a ¼ turn right (the amount of turn is up to you based on how weak you want the grip, but this will give you an idea).
• You will notice that you see more knuckles on your left hand and more of the top of your hand.
• Put the right hand on the club in your preferred matter (i.e. interlock, overlap, 10 finger)
• With a stronger grip, you will see more of the fingers on your right hand, as your right hand will be more on the bottom of the club.

• Strong grips can help to eliminate a slice.
• Players with a weaker left hand can feel like it’s easier to close the clubface at impact.
• Makes it easier for players to understand how to release a golf club.
• It can get too strong and cause a hook.
• Often makes the right hand get too active in the swing.

Grip Pressure Explained

Now that you have an idea of how to hold the golf club in regard to connection and position, we have to talk about grip pressure.

Chances are you have heard the concept of holding the club like it’s a baby bird.

I don’t agree with this concept; I think grip pressure should be enough to have a firm connection on the club but not enough to create tension in your forearms.

Grip pressure needs to be strong enough that you have control over the golf club. I’ve seen players try to loosen their grip pressure and have a terrible time trying to control the angle of the face through impact.

When you grip a club too tightly, it can actually cause you to lose some distance. The tension in your hands and arms builds up and will restrict overall motion in your swing.

You have to find a grip pressure somewhere in between too tight (with tension) and too loose (with lack of control. I recommend doing this on the driving range hitting ten shots with a 7 iron and gradually decreasing grip pressure until you find the ideal amount.

Pressure points in your hand are where the majority of your grip pressure should be. This diagram gives you a good indication of where the pressure is, and it will change a bit throughout the swing.

Remember that there should be no pressure in the palms of the hands; that’s not where you want to focus any of your strength. The pressure points are in the fingers.

Proper Golf Grip: How Grip Affects My Shots?

Your hands connect with the golf club and set the foundation for the rest of your swing. The grip is incredibly important as it has a large impact on the clubface angle.

With the new ball flight laws in golf , we know that the clubface angle at impact is what determines the direction of the ball.

The best way to know how to hold a golf club is to experiment with the different types and see where you have the most success.

There are some general guidelines to follow, and they act as a good starting point. However, you should still test each type.

If I followed the guidelines, I would most certainly use an interlock, but I don’t play golf as well with an interlock grip.

• Small hands: interlock.
• Large hands: overlap.
• New player: 10 finger grip.
• Slicer: strong grip.
• Hook: weak grip.
• Arthritis and hand pain: overlap or 10 finger grip.
• Strong hands: overlap.
• Weak hands: interlock.

There is no perfect golf grip; the best grip is the one that works for your game. Looking at the grips of professional golfers can teach us a lot about what works, what doesn’t, and how you have to match the grip style you choose to your hand size and natural talents.

What would you rather work on; your golf grip or driver distance?

Chances are your answer would be driver distance; the golf grip is a bit boring to work on.

However, what if I told you that the proper golf grip could impact your driving distance and your accuracy?

Makes the grip a bit more exciting, doesn’t it?

The golf grip lays the foundation, you don’t have to work on it, but until you do, you are wasting your time working on other fixes.

Your grip directly impacts the angle of the clubface at impact. If you want to hit the ball straight , you have to grip the club in a way that allows you to return the clubface to square at impact.

The game of golf used to be for the average-sized person. Clubs were made to fit average people, grips were made to fit average people, and even golf courses (tee positions) were made to fit average people.

Luckily this has changed.

Your hand size and your grip size will play into the grip selection you choose and how to hold a golf grip.

Grip size is usually standard, midsize, jumbo, or undersize. Most of the time, you can choose your grip size based on your glove size. The standard is for a large size glove, undersized is for small and medium, and then it goes up from there.

However, you can also fine-tune the size of the grip using layers of tape to get the exact width you need.

When it comes to hand size, the smaller your hands, the harder it is to wrap them around the club. The larger your hands, the harder it is to keep the grip pressure and strength under control.

Many golfers with smaller hands will choose an interlocking grip because they feel it gives them more power. I have an overlapping grip even though I wear a ladies-size small glove. The overlap grip just feels most natural when it comes to developing feel.

However, I did get undersized golf grips on all my clubs to help compensate for the smaller hand size.

If you find a grip position that allows you to deliver the clubface to impact in a square position, you will want to keep it as long as you can.

How can you do this?

Not all that easy, unfortunately. Consistency in golf is hard, but a tool like HackMotion can make all the difference. Although HackMotion is a wrist sensor, it has helped me to get my grip to a consistent position each time I swing.

When setting up with the HackMotion, I notice the amount of extension in my wrist, and it generally stays pretty consistent. Within a few degrees, I’m completely fine with the numbers.

However, if I set up and the numbers are well off, then I may have an issue with my grip getting too strong or too weak.

Use the HackMotion data to perfect your grip and develop something consistent.

How Tour Players Grip

How do the best players in the world “really” grip the club? How do they use their hands to hit the ball so solidly? Is there really a “more important” hand to be able to perform a good swing?

We have in-depth research on the 150 players considered the most “significant” today, namely the first 120 male players in the world order of merit (March 2022) and the 30 strongest and most influential players of the last 70 years (both men and women).

To help make this information a bit easier to understand, we will break it down by lead and trail hand data and the address, top of the backswing and impact positions .

If you remember, our guide on how to hold a golf club explains that the neutral grip is the goal for most players.

This information was confirmed when looking at tour player data.

• 57% of players have a neutral 2-knuckles position.
• 31% of players have a weak 1-knuckle position.
• 2% of players have a strong 3-knuckles or more position

Using HackMotion sensor, these positions might look like, roughly, the following:

Weak position

Neutral position

Strong position

Please note: the extension value measured by the sensor may vary with the position further back or forward of the hands at the address.

The majority of professional golfers have a flat wrist position at the top of their swing. With 57% of players able to get to this flat wrist position, it was important for us to know how they started their swing.

• 64% start with a neutral grip.
• 29% start with a weak grip.
• 7% start with a strong grip.

Nearly a quarter of all players in the study have an extended position at the top of their swing . Of the 24% of golfers that had an extended wrist position:

• 53% start with a neutral grip
• 29% start with a strong grip
• 18% start with a weak grip

The smallest percentage of golfers have a flexed wrist position at the top of the backswing . If you have ever attempted this you likely can understand it takes quite a bit of flexibility to get to this position. Of the 19% that had a flexed position at the top:

• 52% start with a weak grip
• 42% start with a neutral grip
• 6% start with a strong grip

Extended wrist

Flexed wrist

What do We Learn?

A weak grip can help lead to a more flexed position at the top of the swing, in addition neutral grips seem to be the best starting position to ensure a flat lead wrist, or a slightly extended wrist.

Now that we have information on the top of the swing and the address we can see what address positions lead to the top of the backswing positions.

Of the players with a weak 1-knuckle lead hand:

• 54% have a flat wrist at the top.
• 32% have a flexed wrist at the top.
• 14% have an extended wrist at the top.

Of the players with a neutral 2-knuckles lead hand:

• 64% have a flat wrist at the top.
• 22% have an extended wrist at the top.
• 14% have a flexed wrist at the top.

Of the players with a strong 3-knuckles or more lead hand:

• 58% have an extended wrist at the top.
• 32% have a flat wrist at the top.
• 10% have a flexed wrist at the top.

The weak and neutral lead hand grips lead to a greater percentage of having a flat wrist at the top of the golf swing. In addition, there is a strong correlation between a strong grip and an extended wrist at the top of the swing.

Although address and the top of the swing are incredibly important to learn about, the lead hand at impact is what matters the most.

The general tendency of players with weak grip is to present a flexed wrist and greater supination of the forearm at impact.

The general tendency for players with a neutral grip is to have a flat wrist at impact.

The general tendency of players with a strong grip is to have a flat or slightly extended wrist at impact and a “locked” position in pronation of the forearm.

The majority of data collection and analysis that we do is with the lead hand, but it’s important to at least look at the trail hand and the role it plays .

With the trail hand, there are a few absolutes among all players on the list that really stood out.

• No player has a very weak position with the palm closed to the clubface and facing downward and the “V” formed by the thumb and index finger clearly pointing the lead shoulder.
• No player has a very strong position with the palm open to the clubface and facing upward and the “V” formed by the thumb and index finger pointing away from the trail shoulder.
• Regardless of the position of the high hand or “lead”, 95% of the players have a perfectly neutral position with the palm parallel to the club face and facing the target and the “V” formed by the thumb and index finger pointing, indicatively, towards the trail cheek.
• 4% of the players have a neutral position trending too strong with the palm parallel enough to the club face and the “V” formed by the thumb and index finger pointing towards the trail shoulder.
• 1% of the players have a neutral position trending too weak with the palm parallel enough to the club face and the “V” formed by the thumb and index finger pointing towards the center of the body. This “more covered” position is typical of players with a stronger lead hand with 3 or more knuckles.

The trail hand at impact is extended for all players in our study, this is a position that golfers must get to in order to produce the results they are looking for at impact.

This study is not perfect as it does use 2D data to get the results. Having all tour players wear the HackMotion and gain data would give us much more insight.

However, with the information collected, we were still able to make the following conclusions.

• It is possible to play high-level golf with different lead hand positions (very weak, weak, neutral, strong, and very strong), the trail hand position cannot experience as much variation.
• The most important position to respect to obtain optimal control of the clubface is a neutral trail hand with the palm parallel to the clubface.
• From a biomechanical point of view, it is possible to live with a strong trail hand facing upward, while it is very difficult to obtain good impacts with a particularly weak trail hand with a palm facing downward.
• A neutral lead hand combined with a flat wrist at top of the backswing represents the most popular choice among the best players, as it allows easier control of the clubface and dynamic loft to obtain any type of ball trajectory with more versatility.
• A weak lead hand can be an excellent choice for many players, as it allows wrist flexion, thus moving the center of mass of the club behind the hands and favoring both the flattening of the swing plane in the downswing and the club lag.
• A strong lead hand can be a good choice for anyone looking for a very straight shot or a gentle fade, as it helps to “block” the clubface from closing through impact. However, it is not particularly popular with top players as it can reduce versatility and the ability to reproduce all types of ball trajectories.

Although they represent the minority, the presence among the best in the world of players with strong grip combined with a flexed lead wrist at the top and of players with weak grip combined with an extended lead wrist at the top reminds us how much the dynamics of a good swing, regardless of general trends, is always the result of individual and personal choices and must be taken into consideration.

Here are a few of the most commonly asked questions about how to hold a golf club.

The thumb of the lead hand is often pushed up a bit as opposed to fully extended on the club. With a shortened left thumb, there is more strength in that connection point on the club and some players find a better fit in the palm of the right hand.

Keeping a consistent grip is a good decision for most golfers; when trying to hit a fade or a draw with certain clubs , you can change the grip position and have the clubface return to impact at a different angle.

Changing your grip takes some time spent on the driving range. In addition, using a tool like HackMotion can help with a grip change, as it will improve your awareness of the hand and club position.

The most common putting grip is a reverse overlap. However, there are other putting grip options, including the claw, cross-handed, and more.

Golf grip is simply reversed for left and right handed golfers. The lead hand for the right handed golfer is the left hand, for the left-handedd golfe,r it’s the right hand.

Now that you have the ultimate guide on how to hold a golf club, it’s time to get out there and start working on your grip.

HackMotion can give you so much insight and data into why your hands do what they do and help you perfect the positions you need in your swing. With HackMotion, you can truly see how holding the golf club can produce different results on the course.

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• 2011-07 : PGA Tour Grip Styles Part 1

PGA Tour Grip Styles Part 1

 - by Kelvin Miyahira

Spanish Translation by Fabian Lozano Medina CLICK HERE

The most basic fundamental of all in golf is the grip. Everyone’s first lesson begins with how to put your hands on the club. But surely this is so simple that everyone gets it right. Just put your hands on the club and use a Vardon overlap, interlocking or ten-finger grip, set the “V’s” of your hands to your right collar and you’re ready to go right? Not so fast. Has anyone ever thought to check how the best players in the world really grip the club? I know I’ve taught for over 25 years and never bothered to re-examine nor verify the correctness of the grip I was taught by some of the “best” teachers in the world. And can your grip affect your impact position and the type of release you have? Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh yeah!!!!!!

After a survey of over 200 tour players from around the world, I’ve found some correlations in gripping the club that definitely influences the type of release you will have. So if you’re a flipper, slicer, fader, hooker or struggle with inconsistency, there are a few key points to follow and you can immediately improve your ballstriking. But first, a little history.

History of the weak and neutral grip

There was a young golfer who possessed all the power in world but fought a nasty hook. He couldn’t win on tour with the hook much less one of the coveted majors. Ahhhhhh, but then he figured out how to hold the club so that he had virtually no chance of hooking it ever again. Shot after shot became a small fade and the legend grew as he won many golf tournaments including nine major tournament victories. The legend of course, was Ben Hogan and he figured out by using a weak left hand grip he would never hook. His left thumb was straight down the top of the shaft with a short thumb and that worked like magic for him.

But his right hand was also in a “weak” position with his “V” pointing to his chin. And with the successful sales of his “Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf” book, Hogan influenced the way millions of golfers gripped the club.

While this may have worked perfectly for Hogan, could this be the reason that many have tried and failed at copying Hogan? And to the millions of golfers that are hitting weak fades or slices, why would you copy the grip of a player that doesn’t have the same problems you face? And even if you are fighting a hook and have a strong grip, is the only answer a weak grip?

Regardless of following logic or not, we have a huge inclination towards the weak grip. Next comes David Leadbetter with his ground-breaking book in 1990, “The Golf Swing” and riding on Nick Faldo’s success, he definitely set the tone for the next few decades that the “neutral grip” should dominate golf. But the problem is that Leadbetter promoted a weaker grip than what Faldo actually used.

Here’s Faldo with a somewhat strong looking grip.

Now compare that with Leadbetter’s grip. As you can see there are obvious difference between the grip Faldo used and what Leadbetter promotes. So the question as always is, “Do we copy what the great golfer did or do we listen to what the interpretation of the teacher is?” To me the answer is obvious but millions of golfers are answering the question differently.

What We’re Taught

When learning your grip, you probably were taught that there was an interlocking grip, overlap grip and a ten-finger grip. Then you were most likely taught to have a “neutral” grip. Strong grips were thought to be bad in that it might lead you to hooking. Weak grips are thought to produce slicing or fading. Since most people want to hit it straight, the neutral grip is the logical choice.

But is it possible that all of these assumptions about the grip are based on the idea that all golfers flip/roll their hands through impact? Of course, if you have a strong grip and flip or roll your hands, the likelihood of hooking is pretty high. But what if you don’t intend on flipping it?

Or what if you are intent on ridding yourself of the flip and have a weak grip, might it be possible that there is no way you will overcome this since the clubface will always tend to be very open and necessitate a flip/roll release just to have a chance to put the ball in the fairway?

Strong Argument for a Stronger Grip

Jack Nicklaus, who also played a power fade, used a neutral left hand grip and a strong right hand grip.

Sam Snead looks like he used a slightly strong grip.

Arnold Palmer used a very strong grip and had a closed clubface at the top.

If you’ll remember former world #1 David Duval’s grip, he had a very strong grip and a closed clubface at the top. But he didn’t flip it! So he didn’t hook. He instead played a power fade. Just like Lee Trevino did with his extreme strong grip.

But Duval, giving in to criticism of his swing and his “unusual clubface positions” he tried to change with the “help” of Leadbetter, then Hank Haney and then what? His game disappeared.  Now that he’s decided to go back to his old swing and grip, he’s playing much better.

Greg Norman played with a slightly closed clubface and slightly strong grip when he was #1 in the world.

Others with strong grips

Tom Watson, in his prime also had a strong grip and a closed clubface and won many majors. Paul Azinger, Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer, Payne Stewart, Lee Janzen, Hubert Green, Bob Tway and others had strong grips and won major tournament titles.

So where did this notion of what a square clubface is at the top of the backswing come from and who said it is the optimal way to play golf? Is it possible that this is just someone’s interpretation or that Hogan’s way is the best way? How do we know what’s right?

Even Tiger Woods played his best golf with a slightly closed clubface and a strong grip. So maybe the record speaks for itself?

Of course he can weaken his grip and open the clubface but play worse...

Thus, given all these players with strong grips and were great champions, why is it that the strong grip has such a negative connotation to it?

If left to Lead, we’d all be flippers with neutral grips. If left to Haney, we’d all be flip/rollers with neutral to weak grips.

The Research Findings

After another exhausting research project on over 200 PGA tour pros, I have found that the grip that is most commonly used, is what we would once have termed a “strong grip.” At least 60% of the tour pros use this grip so I’m going to call it the “standard strong” grip. Then there are about 20% that use an extremely strong grip or as one tour pro called it, the “Harley Grip.” Thus, 80% of the tour players are using either a standard strong grip or an extreme strong grip.

Then only 10% of the players used a weak or neutral grip consisting of both hands in the weak or neutral position that Leadbetter promotes.

The final 10% of the players are using a combination of either strong left/weak right or weak left /strong right hand grip.  

Therefore, the neutral grip that is almost universally taught, is used by only a small percentage of the tour pros. Could it be that they succeed because they don’t listen??? But for the millions of golfers worldwide that are “good students” who listen, they are in for a lifetime of endless struggle.

Determining Strong, Standard or Weak/Neutral

Perhaps a little understanding of what these classifications really mean is in order. A strong grip means that the clubface will have a “closed bias.” A standard grip means that the clubface will have a “square bias.” And a weak grip will have an “open bias.”

It does not mean that every strong grip player will have a hook or every weak grip player will have a fade or slice. Better players will compensate better. Poorer players will succumb to the closed or open predisposition of the clubface position that the grip inclines toward mainly because they flip and roll their hands.

ASSESSING THE LEFT HAND GRIP

Radius Bone and Midline of the shaft

For years, we have counted the knuckles on the left hand to determine what type of left hand grip (strong, neutral, weak) you have. But the direction the shaft points at address can alter the appearance of the grip. See below. If you take a grip with the shaft pointing to your navel, then shift the hand position forward without changing your grip, the grip will now look weaker since you won’t be able to see as many knuckles. So this is not a good way to classify grips.

So obviously there needs to be a better way to classify the grip and that would be to draw a line up the midline of the shaft (from front view) and see where the radius bone of the left forearm is in relation to the shaft. 

Here’s the radius bone of the left hand pictured from target line view. In the address position, your radius bone will be in the superior (top) position.

By using this line, it minimizes the different shaft positions as you can see. In both cases, his radius bone is just to the golfer’s right of the line (away from target). 

Here’s Nick Watney with the line drawn along the midline of the shaft and through the grip, one can see the radius bone is clearly on the right side of the shaft or away from the target. This would be considered an extreme strong left hand grip.

Here’s Chris DiMarco with a weak left hand grip. You can clearly see the radius bone is to the left or toward the target in relation to the midline of the shaft.

A standard grip is shown by a younger Tiger. The midline of the shaft runs right through the radius bone.

Left Elbow Position: Internal or External Shoulder Rotation at Address

Another factor that affects the strength of the left hand grip is the position of the left elbow. If the left elbow is pointing toward the target, this will make the grip even stronger (closed clubface bias). This means the left shoulder starts at address in an internally rotated position.

Here’s Martin Laird’s with a strong left hand grip. But his left elbow is pointed more back toward the left hip. This means his left shoulder is externally rotated at address. This is something that Hogan used to help alleviate the hook albeit with a far weaker grip. I shall explain why this is so later in the article.

But if you take a weak/neutral grip, then rotate the left elbow to point toward your left hip as Leadbetter is showing here, that makes the grip even weaker!!! Unless you’re a hooker, this grip and left arm position should be avoided and even then you may need to reconsider it.

ASSESSING THE RIGHT HAND GRIP

Using the “V” of the right hand to determine whether strong or weak is very difficult for the same reason as using knuckles of the left hand.

Here’s Kaleo again demonstrating a neutral grip in two ways. First with the hands centered, then with the hands ahead. Again, the same grip will appear to be weaker when the hands are more forward at address.

With no change in the grip, his right hand “V” could be anywhere from pointing to his collarbone or almost to his left shoulder. So it can’t be the only way to determine how your right hand is gripping the club. 

But if you see a centered shaft position (pointing close to navel) like Richard S Johnson and a “V” pointed to the left shoulder, that’s weak.

Bowed, Flat or Cupped Right Wrist

Another way to help determine grip strength would be whether the right hand is in a bowed, flat or cupped position at address.

Boo Weekley displays a strong right hand grip with a bowed position. The “V” on his right hand is pointing near his right hip.

Sean O’Hair has a more standard right hand grip that has a flat wrist position.

Rickie Fowler has a cupped right wrist at address. His “V” might be pointed similar to Sean’s but due to the cupped wrist position, it is a bit weaker.

Right Forearm: Supinated or Pronated

Closely related to the bowed or cupped position of the right wrist is the right forearm position.

Dustin Johnson has his right forearm in a slightly supinated position. This also affects his right shoulder which appears to externally rotated. This makes the grip a bit stronger.

Camilo Villegas looks even more supinated in the right forearm. His right elbow is pointed back toward his right hip. This shows some right shoulder external rotation at address. This makes his grip stronger.

Contrast that with the right forearm of Ernie Els. His right arm is slightly pronated and his shoulder is slightly internally rotated judging by the position of his right elbow pointed slightly away from the target. This makes his grip a bit weaker. 

Straight-hitting Jim Furyk has his forearm in a neutral position.

Right Index Knuckle Position

The index finger’s metacarpophalangeal joint (MCP joint) can also give you an idea of where your hands are on the club.

Here’s a close up of Jamie Sadlowski’s grip.

Here’s Nick Watney with his MCP joint right on the side of the shaft. This would be a strong position.

Rickie has his MCP joint way on top.  This is a weak position.

Anthony Kim has it somewhere in between. And this would be still slightly weak.

Ulnar or Radially Deviated

If the wrist starts in UD, that is also going to weaken the grip. 

Or if in slight radial deviation as Trevor Immelman is in, it will be a bit stronger.

Putting the Squeeze?

This is a Hogan idea. Not that there’s anything wrong with that... but only if you’re a hooker and even then this might not be the easiest way to golfing nirvana. The right thumb squeezing together with the MCP joint. By squeezing them together, we have now put the MCP joint on top of the shaft instead of at the 3 o’clock position. This MCP position plus the weak right hand position might be the deepest root cause of a flip. I’ll show why later.

Again, over 80% of the tour pros are not using this type of right hand grip. Still want to use it?

To further classify the right thumb position, see if the right thumb is parallel to the right forearm or not. Hogan’s has the cupped angle. 

Here’s Matt Kuchar with a parallel thumb and forearm. 

Bubba has a stronger grip so his right thumb to forearm has a more bowed appearance.

Latest anti-instruction star Tommy Gainey has an even stronger right hand grip than Bubba.

Right Thumb Pressure

By squeezing like Hogan says, you are contracting or activating the extensor muscles of the thumb and forearm.  Is this a good thing? 

Compare that with holding the club this way, the forearm flexors are activated on the backswing. Specifically it is the flexor pollicis longus muscle that flexes the thumb. If you’ll take a close look at the thumbnail of Laird’s hand (used mainly because it is the best closeup of a strong grip I have), you can see that it is pointed down or being flexed. If you’ll look at Hogan’s thumb, it is the opposite. It is being extended or the thumbnail is pointed up which points to a contraction of the extensor pollicis longus.

Tomayto, tomahto, what does this have to do with a golf swing?

If the forearm flexors are activated, you are more likely to get the “long and low” takeaway and if we take this a step further, the right forearm is supinated at address and will typically move in the opposite direction on the backswing... pronate. This means that the clubface will have a natural tendency to remain square or closed at the top of the backswing.

A close look at Nicklaus’ right thumb shows the thumbnail pointed down. As proof of the flexors being involved, Jack was King of the wide, one-piece takeaway. 

Palmer’s thumb looks flexed as well. 

But if you start with the right forearm extensors activated and the right forearm pronated, you will set the wrists early and supinate your forearm during the backswing. Remember Jeev Milkha Singh’s backswing? Could this have been at the root of this movement?

Pressures and the Opposable Thumb

From Encyclopedia Britannica:

The movement of opposition is a rotary movement in which the thumb, swinging about its own axis, comes to face the lower surface of the tips of the fingers. The opposable thumb is the basis of the precision.

Thus the correct grip might not be as Hogan said but it should be the grip more similar to a caveman grabbing a tree branch to bash a dinosaur away.

And perhaps Mr. Gainey might not be invited to any hoity-toity afternoon tea parties with the way he’d grab a teacup, but perhaps his grip is more appropriate for a game of golf?

Here’s a good view looking down the shaft without a clubhead. Sydni is gripping the club with a standard strong grip. The pressures from the fingers surround the shaft from all directions. All the fingers can pull the grip against the MCP joint of the index finger and the last knuckle of the thumb (distal interphalageal joint). This might seem like a crude way of holding the club versus pinching your right thumb and index finger together like Hogan, but read on and maybe I’ll change your mind.

If you’ll look at a weak grip, the index finger’s MCP joint is on top of the shaft. Maybe the middle and ring fingers can pull up against the thumb and MCP joint but it seems like there’s only gripping power in the vertical direction. So is this a good way to hold the club?

But perhaps the most compelling argument would be that holding the club using the strong grip allows us to use our opposing thumb. This separates humans and other primates from the rest of the animals and allows us to develop more fine motor skills.

In holding a pencil, do you put the squeeze on your thumb and MCP joint or do you rest the pencil on the MCP joint for stability while your thumb flexes against the MCP joint and the other fingers?

Or holding chopsticks, the bottom one is held on the MCP joint.

From WikiSurgery on how to hold a scalpel for “delicate dissections.” The top of the scalpel is resting on the MCP joint. Notice how the right thumb points down.

Perhaps you would not want to see your doctor holding his scalpel this way??? 

With the MCP joint of the right thumb on top of the shaft and pinching against the thumb, there’s less control over the shaft just as a surgeon would have less control of his scalpel.

Thus, the weak/neutral right hand “pinching” grip enables less gripping power and control. Perhaps it might be more delicate for sipping tea though.

SUMMARY OF THE GRIP POSITIONS

The best way to use this information would be to start by taking a full resolution picture of your grip from front and target line view. This will allow you to assess each position and determine what type of grip you have. It doesn’t matter what your ball flight pattern is, you should look to get your grip to a standard strong grip for starters.

Each of the following factors of the grip is listed with the three variable positions. They are listed from extreme strong first, then standard strong and last is the neutral/weak grip position.

• Radius bone position in relation to center line of shaft: right, middle, left
• Left Shoulder position: Max IR, slight IR, ER
• Left elbow position: pointing at target, slightly left of target, toward the left hip
• Direction of “V”: outside right shoulder, right shoulder, anywhere left of the shoulder
• Right wrist: Bowed, flat or cupped
• Right Forearm: Supinated, neutral or pronated
• Right shoulder: Externally rotated, slightly ER, internally rotated
• Index MCP joint position: under, on, top
• Target view of right wrist: Radially deviated, neutral or ulnar deviated
• Use of opposing thumbs against all fingers (standard) or just the index (weak)    

If you find that your grip matches your ball flight, you might want to change your grip. In other words, if you’ve got an extreme strong grip and hook a lot, you should move toward a standard strong grip. And if you are fading and have a weak grip, you should also move toward a standard strong grip. 

If you were a beginner and could learn the standard strong grip from the start, would it help you? Just look at Vi Verawudh after her first day of learning to hit a golf ball. At the end of her lesson, she could do this. Of course hitting the ball was not very good but imagine being able to start with this movement and position instead of learning to flip it, golf would not be such a hard game.

There are more reasons to want a standard strong grip but that will have to wait until Part 2 of PGA Tour Grip Styles to find out just how your grip affects your backswing, release style and impact position.

Most Popular Grips Played on Tour

Which Grip brands and models are the most popular with the pros?

Most Popular Grip Brands Played on Tour:

Most Popular Grip Models Played on Tour:

Strong Golf Grip: What Is It And How To Fix It

If you have a strong golf grip, you will benefit from shifting it back towards neutral. PGA pro Ben Emerson explains how to do that with his expert tips...

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A strong golf grip can lead to plenty of common amateur golf swing faults , so investing some time into perfecting the golf grip is well worth it. Many golfers with a strong grip will struggle with hooking the golf ball , but fear not as there is a simple fix.

In this article, Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Ben Emerson explains everything we need to know about the strong golf grip and shares his expert tips to remedy it...

Strong golf grip: What is it?

The first thing to learn is exactly what a strong grip looks like, so that you can identify whether you have one yourself. Understanding the signs of a strong grip will help you to shift it back towards neutral, and regularly check that old habits haven't slipped back into your set-up.

Our hands are the only thing that's connecting us to the golf club, so getting this fundamental of the golf swing right is absolutely crucial. A neutral grip will give you better clubface control and ultimately better outcomes on the course.

If you are a right-handed golfer, a strong grip will display as your top and bottom hands being turned too much to the right. This means you will see three or even four knuckles on the left hand and none on the right.

This is how a strong golf grip will look from face on

What this promotes in the swing is active hands through impact, which leads to inconsistency due to a lack of control. Shutting the clubface down like this means people who have a strong grip tend to hit the ball predominantly from right to left, and will often wonder why they struggle with hooking the golf ball.

Strong golf grip: How to fix it

So, how do you grip a golf club? First thing’s first, you want the clubface pointing towards the target, and it’s easier to get a good visual of that with the club raised off the ground. Check Ben's demonstration in the video above for more detail.

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From there, you want the grip to run through the pad of your lead hand. A nice checkpoint to see if you’re getting into a neutral position is to take all your fingers off, except the index, and see if you can still grip the club. If you can’t, try again until you are able to, and if you can, simply put the other fingers back on the grip and get a sense for how that neutral position feels.

This checkpoint will let you know if you're gripping the club properly with your lead hand

Rather than the three or four knuckles of earlier, you should now be able to see two or two-and-a-half knuckles on the lead hand. Additionally, the thumb and index finger should form a ‘V’ with the line pointing towards your right shoulder.

With the other hand, keep the club raised and come in from the side so it naturally slots into place on top of the other - again, you want to see a couple of knuckles. If you've managed this, you’ll be in a really neutral position with the grip so you can deliver the club nice and square through impact and start to hit the ball straight.

Location: Sand Martins GC  

Ben’s modern approach to golf coaching has seen him become one of the most sought-after coaches in the country and teaches none other than Robbie Williams. His honest, modern and fun style of coaching has help thousands of golfers of all ages and abilities and he has been coaching for over 20 years.

Advice for practice:

Start with slow, small swings. If you can’t do it small and slowly there is not a hope in hell of doing it at full speed with a full swing! In other sports such as rugby or martial arts they slow learn new moves/plays before making them at full speed. 

Teaching philosophy: 

‘Why guess when you can access’ Ever new student goes through a full TPI movement screen, 3D motion capture and pressure plate analysis as well as TrackMan and 2D video analysis. Coaching is based on facts and not guess work. 

Most common problem:

A lack of clubface understanding and awareness. I get golfers to aim the clubface directly at the target and get them to make a slow swings and deliver the club to the ball with an open face, then repeat the same thing again but with a closed face, followed by one at the target. Giving them full awareness based on feelings errors to find a happy middle ground.

Can Team Europe produce an historic comeback? Going into the final day of the Solheim Cup they will need to claim eight points from 12 to retain their trophy

By Matt Cradock Published 15 September 24

Leading 10-6 going into Sunday, the Americans are just 4.5 points away from claiming the Solheim Cup, with captain, Lewis, focused on getting the job done

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Grip It Like A Pro Top 10

1.Dustin Johnson Grip

The 6’4” athlete is best known for his prodigious driving distance, but he’s an underrated putter. On the greens, Dustin Johnson’s grip is – believe it or not – quite conventional. The only slight oddity in his reverse-overlap grip is a right hand that’s a little stronger than his neutral left. In other words, his right hand is turned slightly away from the target, underneath the handle.

This likely helps Johnson release the putter at impact and into the follow-through, preventing pushed putts and creating a true roll.

2. Rory McIlroy Grip

Rory McIlroy grip features a slightly strong left hand position, which promotes freedom of movement in the arms and shoulders as he sweeps the club to the top and down into the ball. While this grip position leaves him somewhat vulnerable to the occasional hook (see his ill-fated tee shot on No. 10 in the final round of the 2011 Masters), the tradeoff is well worth it. A weaker grip position could sap some of McIlroy’s power and prevent him from hitting his favored shot, the high draw.

In winning the U.S. Open, PGA Championship and Open Championship by age 25, McIlroy joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the youngest the achieve that feat. He’s got something else in common with them, too: an interlocking grip.

3. Jordan Spieth Grip

Practically all accomplished golfers, from pros to the club level, match their left and right hands on the handle. In other words, the palms face each other directly regardless of their position (neutral, weak or strong).

Not Spieth’s. His left hand is in a relatively weak position, or rotated toward the target, while his right is somewhat strong, or rotated away from the target. This causes Spieth’s left arm to bend slightly while his left wrist bows outward at the top of the backswing.

It’s neither conventional nor pretty, but it certainly works. Still, many observers believe Jordan Spieth will have to alter his grip at some point to ensure long-term success.

4. Jason Day Grip

Prior to the adjustment, Day’s grip was a little on the strong side, with the back of his left hand pointing slightly upward, rather than directly at the target, at address. This is a pretty common position among modern-day pros as they try to maximize their driving distance. A strong grip can help many amateurs, too.

Known for his power but also an excellent putter, Jason Day’s grip with the flat stick is picture perfect. His palms are parallel in a neutral position, the left wrist “un-cocked” or “un-hinged” to prevent excess movement while keeping the forearm and putter face aligned. Also worth noting is Day’s grip pressure – it’s extremely light, which prevents tension and enhances touch on fast greens.

5. Henrik Stenson Grip

You might also spot a small oddity in Stenson’s right hand. His thumb is on top of the handle, pointing down the shaft, instead of running across the grip and pointing to his left. While this is fairly common with golfers’ putting grips (a la Tiger Woods ), you don’t often see it with a pro’s full swing grip. It’s likely a position Stenson adopted as a young player and never had a reason to change. As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke…

Also slightly unusual is Henrik Stenson’s grip with the putter. Where most pros and many amateurs prefer the reserve-overlap style, he sticks with his standard full-swing overlap. This is actually a change from past years, when Stenson employed a double overlap. His right pinky finger sat atop the notch between his left ring and middle fingers; the right ring finger rested on the groove between the left middle and index fingers.

6. Hideki Matsuyama Grip

Matsuyama sets up to the ball with his hands in ideal positions. The left is perfectly neutral – his glove logo points almost parallel to the target line, with a nice blend of palms and fingers in control. The right hand is actually in a mildly strong position; the back of his hand is nearly flush with his wrist, putting the palm a little “underneath” the handle. This “mixed” grip style is fairly common among today’s tour pros.

Matsuyama’s swing is a picture of purity. His hands are high at the top, club shaft parallel to the ground and clubface on plane. A neutral grip makes this enviable position much easier to attain than a grip that’s too strong or too weak.

7. Phil Mickelson Grip

On the greens, we find the five-time major champion in experimental mode. Mickelson has favored a conventional, reverse-overlap putting grip through most of his career. He first tried the Claw grip (aka the “saw” grip), popularized by Chris DiMarco, in 2012, and alternated between styles in the following years.

Phil Mickelson grip – the claw, that is – finds the right hand grasping the top of the club, his thumb extended down the shaft. With his left hand separated from the right, he cradles the handle lightly between the thumb, index and middle fingers. Mickelson believes the claw improves his touch and speed on extra-fast greens.

8. Arnold Palmer Grip

Arnie, whose father was a teaching pro, was (and remains) a firm believer in sound setup fundamentals. His grip shows perfectly matching left- and right-hand positions – the “V” formed by the thumb and forefinger of each hand points just right of his sternum, with the back of his left hand perpendicular to the target line.

If Palmer’s grip was so good, you may be asking, how did his swing end up looking so awkward? Simple. He under-rotated the hands and arms on the backswing, causing the clubface to close. To avoid hitting a huge hook, he compensated by holding off on releasing the club at impact, causing the so-called “helicopter” finish.

9. Tiger Woods Grip

Look closely at Woods’ setup and you’ll notice the fingers on his left hand form a nearly 90° angle to the handle and shaft. This helps him keep the club secure throughout the backswing with minimal pressure, and prevents the wrists from becoming overly active on the downswing.

As for Tiger Woods grip with the putter, it’s a conventional reverse-overlap style, right hand below the left, with both hands in a neutral or square position. He places his thumbs straight down the center of the putter grip. Woods’ grip is conducive to an arc-style putting stroke in which the face opens in relation to the target line going back, then closes after impact.

10. Fred Couples Grip

Calling Couples’ grip unorthodox is like calling Mt. Everest a big hill. At address, his left hand is turned well to the right on top of the handle, creating a large “cup” in the wrist. In fact, the knuckles on the back of Couples’ left hand point well in front of him. Contrast this with a conventional neutral grip, where the knuckles face the target (or point slightly right). Couples’ right hand is in a strong position as well.

While many teachers advocate a moderately strong grip to their students, few if any would advise a golfer to hold the club like “Boom Boom.” However, there is one thing worth emulating – Couples’ grip pressure. It’s extremely light, which promotes a smoother rhythm throughout the swing.

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What is a Strong Golf Grip and Can It Improve Your Game?

Mike has been involved with sports for over 30 years. He's been an avid golfer for more than 10 years and is obsessed with watching the Golf Channel and taking notes on a daily basis. He also holds a degree in Sports Psychology.

View all posts by Mike Noblin

I’ll never forget when I learned what a strong grip was from a golf instructor. During our first lesson, he noticed that most of my golf shots tended to slice to the right. He proceeded to tell me that the simplest fix for my slicing was to start using a strong golf grip.

There are several reasons why golfers should use a strong grip. We describe the strong grip here along with how it can help your game. After reading this you’ll be able to decide if a strong grip may work for you.

What is a Strong Golf Grip?

A strong golf grip has nothing to do with how hard you grip the golf club. Instead, it has to do with the position of your hands. A strong grip requires the golfer’s hands to be rotated away from the target.

Image courtesy of Golf Distillery

How do you know if your golf grip is already strong? Check the position of your knuckles on your left hand. If you can see three or more knuckles, you are already using a strong grip.

Folks with a strong grip normally use one of two finger patterns: the interlocking grip or the overlapping grip. 

With the interlocking grip, the golfer takes the right pinky and interlocks it with the left index finger. With the overlapping grip (aka the Vardon grip), the golfer takes the pinky of the right hand and simply rests it on top of the index finger of the left hand. The choice to overlap or interlock all comes down to the golfer’s personal choice.

Is a Strong Grip Good in Golf?

No golf grip is inherently good or bad. It all depends on what type of golf swing you have. The most important thing is to match your swing type with the correct grip. It’s best to spend lots of practice time using each grip to see which one works best for you.

Just as with the weak and neutral grips, the strong grip has its own set of positives and drawbacks. Here is a brief list of the pros and cons of the strong grip.

Pro #1: Could Lead to Increased Distance off the Tee

Switching to a strong golf grip puts the hands in a more powerful position. This could lead to more yardage off the tee with the driver. The ability to hit the ball further can lead to lower scores on the course.

The strong grip also makes the golf club feel much lighter, which helps generate a little more clubhead speed. With the club feeling lighter, the golfer has better control of the shaft. More control of the golf club often leads to more accurate shots and extra distance .

Pro #2: Helps to Straighten Out Slicers

Most amateur or beginner golfers fight a slice, especially with the larger clubs like the driver, fairway woods, and hybrids. A strong grip helps remedy this common problem. Here’s how:

The strong grip makes it much easier to close the clubface on impact. This is in stark contrast to the weak and neutral grips, which usually make it too easy to hit the ball with an open clubface. The open clubface is what causes the slice. 

Pro #3: Promotes an In to Out Swing Path

The strong grip also encourages an in-to-out swing pattern, which not only helps remedy a slice but makes it easier to hit draws. This is because of the aforementioned closed clubface at impact. The ability to hit a draw can be a huge advantage on the golf course, especially on the holes that have a dogleg left shape to them.

Con #1: Can Result in Hooking

For golfers who have no trouble closing the clubface at impact, a strong grip can lead to hooking. This is not a good thing on the course and can result in lots of lost golf balls and frustration. A wicked hook is just as bad as a nasty slice because neither one will end up in the fairway.

Con #2: Lower Ball Flight

While most golfers, especially slicers, may welcome a lower ball flight, that is not the case for all golfers. The closed clubface that the strong grip promotes usually leads to less trajectory. This isn’t such a problem with the longer clubs but it can negatively affect some golfers’ approach shots with wedges.

Con #3: Less Comfortable

This one comes down to personal preference, as some golfers think the strong grip is more comfortable than the weak or neutral grips. However, some golfers report that their hands get quite a bit sore after switching to a strong grip. This could be due to the extra wrist rotation that occurs with a strong grip.

Many golfers find the strong grip to be very uncomfortable while chipping and putting. For this reason, lots of golfers will use a strong grip for normal shots but a neutral grip for short game shots.

Professional Players Who Use a Strong Golf Grip

There are tons of golfers on the PGA Tour that use a strong grip. Many of which are some of the game’s biggest stars. This just goes to show that a strong grip is not just for beginner golfers.

Dustin Johnson

DJ is one of the best players in the world and has been for quite some time. Johnson has racked up 24 PGA Tour wins, two of which are major championships. The 37-year old uses one of the strongest grips in pro golf because of his 6-4 frame and very large hands.

The strong grip helps keep Johnson’s hands quiet, which allows for his brute strength and extreme flexibility to pummel the golf ball well over 300 yards. Johnson’s strong grip enables him to keep his connection with the golf club throughout his entire swing. 

Zach Johnson

Though Zach Johnson has no relation to Dustin Johnson, they both employ a strong golf grip. The 45-year old has won 12 times on the PGA Tour, including two major championship titles. What is interesting about Johnson’s grip is that it is even stronger than DJ’s, as both of his thumbs are pointed at his right shoulder. 

Johnson may not be one of the longest drivers in pro golf, but he is one of the most accurate. The strong grip and excellent body rotation help Johnson make consistent contact, both off the tee and with his approach shots.

Bubba Watson

We had to put a lefty on our list and Watson is one of the best out there. The former University of Georgia star has used a strong golf grip his entire career. Watson turned pro in 2002 and has won 12 times on the PGA Tour.

Watson’s greatest achievements are his two victories at The Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. Watson keeps his hands in an extremely strong position, which is pretty uncommon amongst left-handed golfers. Being unconventional has never bothered Watson.

Fred Couples

Couples was one of the most dominant golfers on the PGA Tour in the 1990s. “Boom Boom” won 15 times on the PGA Tour and captured the coveted Masters Tournament title in 1992. Couples still plays on the PGA Tour Champions and his grip is so strong that his wrist cups.

Though he uses an extremely strong grip, Couples only grips the golf club with a small amount of grip pressure. By lightly holding the club, Couples is able to generate his signature smooth swing. This proves that golfers with a strong grip can still have a nice smooth rhythm to their swing.  

Paul Azinger

We can’t mention strong grips without talking about the man with the strongest golf grip of all time. “Zinger” had what is called an ultra-strong grip, which is where you can see all four knuckles on the lead hand. Azinger’s right hand was much more underneath the golf club than most golfers.

The extremely strong grip didn’t hurt Azinger’s career in the least. The Florida State University alum scored 12 wins on the PGA Tour, including the 1993 PGA Championship. Azinger is now one of the most popular commentators on the Golf Channel.

Who This Grip is Best Suited For

Lots of golfers can benefit from trying out a stronger grip. However, a strong grip is not for everyone. Check out the below list for the folks that may benefit the most from a strong grip.

• Golfers who struggle with a slice
• Golfers who want to increase their driving distance
• Folks who want to hit more draws
• People who want more control during their backswing
• Golfers who have trouble closing the clubface
• Those who need to make more consistent contact
• Those who want a swing that relies less on timing
• Folks with fast hips

The Other Types of Golf Grips

Have you tried the strong grip in the past and didn’t feel comfortable with it? If that is the case, consider using a weak grip or a neutral grip. Here’s a brief rundown of each of those.

Weak Golf Grip

The weak grip is the exact opposite of the strong grip. Instead of both the right thumb and left thumb pointing at the right shoulder, with the weak grip they point at the left shoulder. With a weak grip, the golfer will only see one knuckle on their left hand while addressing the golf ball.

Golfers who love the weak grip claim that it helps them hit the ball a lot higher than the other two grips. PGA Tour pros like Jon Rahm use the weak grip to hit those long, power fade drives. A weak grip normally works well for golfers with slow hips.

Neutral Golf Grip

The neutral grip is a happy medium between the weak and strong grips. With a neutral grip, the thumbs point right at the golfer’s face instead of either his right or left shoulder. Golfers with a more medium hip speed may benefit the most from a neutral grip. 

When using a neutral grip, the golfer will be able to see two knuckles on his left hand during his setup. The neutral grip usually works best for golfers with excellent swing mechanics. PGA Tour legends Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are both big proponents of the neutral golf grip.

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What’s the difference between a strong, weak and neutral golf grip?

Have you ever been told to “strengthen your grip?” Maybe someone has told you that “your grip is too strong” and no, they aren’t asking you to grip the club tighter or more loosely. What they are referring to is the direction in which your hands are placed on the club. This can have an immediate effect on the direction of your shots , the height of your shots, and plenty more.

There are three kinds of grips: strong, neutral and weak. All of these types of grips have been utilized by golfing greats – it’s simply a matter of determining which will work best for you. Here is what each one looks like and how it might help you fix a problem you’re having with your swing.

View this post on Instagram Check out my latest @golf_com article regarding strong, neutral and weak grips. It might just change your game! Which grip do you currently use? A post shared by Nathalie Filler (@nattiegolf) on Apr 17, 2020 at 9:58am PDT

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What is a ‘strong’ grip?

A strong grip means that the ‘V’ shapes made with your thumbs and your hands are pointing somewhere to the right side of your head. This is generally how I direct my students to grip the club. A strong grip can cure someone who swings over the top and/or struggles with slicing the ball. This particular grip promotes a more in-to-out swing as well as a club face that closes more through impact. This grip makes hitting shots that spin right to left much easier. If you are someone who struggles with slices and weak fades, consider strengthening your grip a bit!

What is a ‘neutral’ grip?

A neutral grip means that those ‘V’ shapes are pointed up toward your nose. As the name states, this grip would be ideal for someone who hits the ball fairly straight or even likes to play both shot shapes on the course. This grip is ideal for the player who has sound swing mechanics and does not struggle with losing shots dramatically in one direction or the other.

What is a ‘weak’ grip?

A weak grip means the ‘V’ shapes are pointed to the left of your head. This type of grip would promote a less closed club face through impact as well as a more out-to-in swing. A weaker grip can help players who struggle with hooked shots by promoting a club face that closes less rapidly through impact. This grip can also help to neutralize a swing that is too much from the inside. If you are currently fighting a hook, try weakening your grip a bit and see how that changes things.

The important thing to understand is how each grip can change what you are doing. It is very normal for someone’s grip to get too far in one direction or the other and cause erratic shots. The grip is the first place I look when I teach, so consider this quick fix for yourself if you are currently struggling with shots that are uncontrollable.

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Strong vs. Weak Grip: How it Impacts Your Golf Swing

• Frank Coffman
• October 3, 2023

Golf, for me, has always been a blend of art and science, and at the heart of that delicate balance lies the grip. It’s fascinating how something that seems so fundamental can have such a profound impact on our game.  I remember when I first picked up a club, completely oblivious to the terms “strong” and “weak” grip .

It wasn’t until I delved deeper into the sport, experimenting with my own swings and learning from my countless mistakes, that I truly grasped (pun intended) the significance of these styles.

Through this piece, I hope to share the insights I’ve garnered over the years about how the nuances of your grasp can influence the beauty and effectiveness of your swing .

Your grip can define the course of your swing. Before diving into the intricacies of strong and weak grips, it’s essential to understand these fundamentals in golf. The grip in golf refers to how a player holds the club.

While this might sound trivial to a beginner, the positioning of the hands dictates the clubface’s orientation at impact, affecting shot direction and ball flight. They can vary based on hand placement, finger positioning, and even the pressure exerted.

Typically, golfers adopt the one that feels natural to them. However, as they progress, they may tweak their grip style based on the shots they want to play or to correct certain mishits.

Importance of Consistency

Consistency is the cornerstone of a successful golf game. A consistent grasp, irrespective of being strong or weak, provides predictability in shots, allowing golfers to make informed adjustments. Fluctuating between different styles during a round can yield unpredictable results.

Not only does it affect clubface alignment, but it also changes the swing path. By maintaining a consistent, firm hold, golfers can focus on refining other aspects of their swing, ensuring steady progress and a more predictable golf game.

What Characterizes a Strong Grip?

Often misconstrued as a grip with excessive pressure, a “strong grip” in golf terminology refers to hand positioning. Let’s delve into what constitutes a strong grasp and how it can shape your shots.

A strong grip is identified when a player can see three or more knuckles on the lead hand (left hand for a right-handed golfer) when addressing the ball. The V-shape formed by the thumb and index finger of both hands should point towards the golfer’s trailing shoulder.

While this grip is common among power players, it’s essential to understand its implications. A strong grasp naturally closes the clubface, promoting a draw or reducing a slice for players who struggle with an open clubface at impact.

• Power and Distance: A strong one can harness more power, translating to increased distance.
• Reducing a Slice: Players who naturally slice the ball might find the closed clubface orientation beneficial.
• Overdrawing: One major pitfall is the risk of overdoing the draw, leading to hooks.
• Limited Shot Versatility: A strong one sometimes restricts a player’s ability to play a variety of shots, especially when finesse is required.

What About Weak One?

Contrasting with a strong grip, the weak grasp offers a different set of characteristics and results. Here’s what every golfer needs to know. A weak grip is characterized when a player can see only one or no knuckles on the lead hand at address.

The V-shape formed by the thumb and index finger typically points towards the lead shoulder or even the chin. This grip orientation naturally opens the clubface. While it’s often deemed unfavorable for generating power, the weak can be incredibly useful in specific scenarios, offering a unique set of shot outcomes.

• Fade and Slice : For players looking to intentionally play a fade or slice, a weak grip can facilitate this ball flight.
• Precision and Control: Some golfers feel they achieve better shot precision with a weak grasp, especially on controlled iron shots.
• Challenges :
• Loss of Distance: Generally, a weak grip might not generate as much power, leading to potential distance loss.
• Struggle Against Wind: An open clubface can produce higher ball flights, making it challenging to play in windy conditions.

Adjusting It for Specific Shots

While the debate between strong and weak grasp will always exist, sometimes the situation calls for a middle ground or a specific tweak. Let’s explore how to adjust your grip for particular shots and conditions.

Adapting for Windy Conditions

In windy conditions, control becomes paramount. A ballooning ball can be the enemy, and your grip can help counteract that. For headwinds, some players slightly weaken their grasp, promoting a lower ball flight to pierce through the wind.

With tailwinds, a slightly stronger grip can help elevate the ball, utilizing the wind for added distance. However, it’s not just about grip; ball position and club selection play crucial roles. While grip adjustment can assist, players must ensure that their entire setup complements the intended shot, especially in challenging conditions.

Manipulating Ball Spin

Your grip can influence the spin imparted on the ball. A strong grip tends to promote more draw spin (right to left spin for a right-handed golfer), while a weak grasp can increase fade or slice spin.

Understanding this can be pivotal in situations where you need the ball to curve around obstacles or when trying to hold a green with a specific landing angle. Mastery over manipulating spin is a sign of an advanced golfer, and while grip plays a role, wrist action during the swing and clubface orientation at impact are equally vital.

Expert Opinions on Different Styles

Golf is a game of diverse techniques and philosophies. Top coaches and players have weighed in on the grip debate, and while there’s no consensus, their insights can be enlightening.

Legendary Coaches’ Take

Historically, many coaches advocated for a weaker grasp, emphasizing control. In contrast, more modern instructors like Butch Harmon have discussed the power benefits of a stronger grip, especially in the era of big-hitting tour professionals.

A common thread among these expert opinions is adaptability. Recognizing the strengths and limitations of a player’s natural hold and then making informed adjustments can be more beneficial than enforcing a standard grip style.

Tour Players’ Preferences

When observing the PGA Tour and European Tours, it’s evident that there’s no one-size-fits-all grip. Players like Dustin Johnson employ a stronger grasp, evident in their powerful draws. Conversely, Jordan Spieth’s weaker grasp has led to his controlled fade.

This diversity among the top players underscores a crucial point: the best one is often individualized, based on a player’s biomechanics, swing style, and personal preferences.

Practical Drills for Optimizing

Understanding theories is one thing, but translating that knowledge onto the course is where

the magic happens. Here are some drills to fine-tune your grasp. For those working on strengthening their grasp, a simple visual cue can help.

By adjusting your lead hand so that the logo on your glove points more towards the sky, you can ensure a stronger grasp position. Practice taking your grip and checking this visual regularly.

Over time, this will become second nature, and you can adjust as needed based on the shot at hand. Place a tee in the grasp end of your club, extending outwards. As you swing, the direction the tee points can give feedback and wrist action.

If the tee consistently points to the sky during your backswing, your grip and wrist hinge are likely in a weak position. Conversely, if the tee points behind you, you’re in a stronger position.

This instant feedback is invaluable, especially when making minor tweaks to your grip style or when trying to understand wrist dynamics during your swing.

Common Misconceptions

In the world of golf, myths abound. Grip is no exception. Let’s debunk some common misconceptions about strong and weak grips.

Pressure Myths

One prevalent myth is equating “strong” grip with tight, forceful grip pressure. In reality, a “strong” grip pertains to hand positioning, not the amount of force exerted. Similarly, a “weak” grip doesn’t mean a lax or loose hold.

It’s essential to understand that grasp pressure should remain consistent, allowing for a fluid swing. Too much pressure can restrict wrist movement, while too little might lead to a lack of control.

The One Right Myth

Many beginners are led to believe that there’s one universally correct grasp. While foundational principles guide, individual nuances can and should be adjusted based on a player’s unique swing mechanics and desired ball flight.

Some of the best players in history had unconventional grasp, yet they optimized them to complement their swing. It’s about finding what’s effective and repeatable for the individual, rather than adhering strictly to textbook standards.

Interplay between Grip and Other Swing Mechanics

A golfer’s grip doesn’t exist in isolation. It’s a piece of a larger puzzle, intricately linked with other facets of the swing.

With Wrist Hinge

The way a golfer grips the club can influence wrist action. For instance, a stronger grasp might encourage a more pronounced wrist cock, leading to a steeper swing plane . Conversely, a weaker grasp might promote a flatter wrist hinge and, subsequently, a shallower swing.

Understanding the relationship is crucial, especially when making swing adjustments. A change in grasp can inadvertently affect wrist dynamics, which, in turn, can influence swing path and clubface orientation at impact.

With and Posture

Believe it or not, how you hold the club can subtly influence your posture and stance. A stronger grasp might lead some players to set up with a more closed stance, aligning with the expected in-to-out swing path.

Conversely, a weaker grip might correlate with an open stance, given the out-to-in path it tends to promote. While these aren’t hard and fast rules, being aware of such tendencies ensures that golfers can maintain a harmonious relationship between grasp and stance.

Can the right equipment help improve my grip?

The size, texture, and material of your club’s grip can influence hand placement and comfort. Ensuring you have the right grip size and material tailored to your needs can make it easier to maintain a consistent hand position.

Is one grip style better than the other for beginners?

Neither grip is universally better for beginners. However, many instructors start new players with a neutral to slightly strong grip to promote a square clubface at impact. As the player develops, adjustments can be made based on individual swing characteristics and preferences.

Can I switch between grasp styles during a round based on the shot I’m facing?

While it’s possible to adjust it styles for specific shots, consistency is key in golf. Constant change can introduce more variables and reduce consistency. It’s generally better to have a go-to grip and make smaller adjustments as needed for specific shots.

How do I know if my grip is causing swing faults or inconsistencies?

If you’re experiencing consistent mishits, unwanted ball flights (like a persistent slice or hook), or discomfort during the swing, it just might be a contributing factor. Analyzing your swing with a coach or using video can help pinpoint if the grip is the root cause.

Does grip strength influence distance?

While grasp style can influence ball flight and potentially the distance, the term “grasp strength” in golf doesn’t refer to physical strength. However, the positioning of the hands can affect the clubface orientation at impact, which in turn can influence the distance, especially if it affects the loft presented at impact.

Looking back, I’ve come to realize that understanding the intricacies of the grip is akin to mastering the essence of golf itself. It’s not just about strength or weakness in isolation; it’s about how these styles become an integrated element of our overall strategy.

Both weak and strong grips mean the world of difference in particular moments. That’s why commiting enough time to master them is crucial.

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Golf Etiquette: Unwritten Rules on the Course

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Nelly Korda leads Americans to record-setting 6-2 margin on first day of Solheim Cup

Nelly Korda during Friday of the 2024 Solheim Cup. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

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GAINESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Nelly Korda danced at the urging of teammate Megan Khang as they walked off the first tee together at the Solheim Cup after a pep talk from former President Barack Obama. Then she let Khang raise her arms to pump up the crowd as they walked to the 12th green following another sterling shot from the world's top-ranked player.

Korda has never won a Solheim Cup in three tries, but she put the United States in a strong position to end that drought by winning the leadoff match of each session Friday while helping the Americans to a 6-2 lead over Europe at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.

A Solheim Cup that began with an unforced error by organizers, who didn't have enough shuttle buses to transport fans to the course in the early morning hours, continued with the largest lead by either team after one day. The U.S. also led 6-2 in the inaugural event in 1990, when the first eight matches were played over two days.

In her better-ball match with Khang, Korda played 14 holes in 8 under and made two eagles on the back nine, the first after her 5-iron approach on the 480-yard, par-5 12th settled 2 feet away. Europe's Georgia Hall conceded that putt, and Korda holed a 10-footer for eagle on No. 14 to close out a 6-and-4 victory over Hall and Leona Maguire.

A six-time winner on the LPGA Tour this year, including her second major championship, Korda came into the Solheim Cup with a 7-4-1 record. But Europe captured the trophy each time, winning in 2019 in Scotland and 2021 in Ohio before retaining the Cup last year with a draw in Spain. Neither side has captured the Cup four times in a row.

Korda can't win it on her own — the U.S. needs 14 1/2 points over three days — but she's certainly a key figure for captain Stacy Lewis on a PGA TOUR-tested course that favors power and appears to suit her eye. Korda won 16 holes in her matches, the most by one Solheim Cup player in a single day since 2015.

She knew she could play aggressively with the accurate Khang as her partner.

“When you have a teammate who’s so pure off the tee, you never have to worry," Korda said. "You just kind of send it/ So that was kind of the motto, is I was going to go first and send it.”

Lewis also got strong contributions from her two rookies, sending Lauren Coughlin and Sarah Schmelzel out for both sessions and watching them win three points. Coughlin and Rose Zhang beat Celine Boutier and Albane Valenzuela 3 and 2 in alternate shot, while Schmelzel and Lilia Vu topped Linn Grant and Carlota Ciganda by the same score. The rookies paired up for better ball and beat Emily Pedersen and Maja Stark 3 and 2.

Zhang, winless in her debut last year, went 2-0 on Friday. She teamed in the afternoon with Andrea Lee, whose approach on the 14th grazed the cup — just missing an albatross — to close a 5-and-4 win over Grant and Charley Hull.

Meanwhile, European captain Suzann Pettersen got nothing from her best two players. Boutier, the top-ranked European at No. 10 in the world, was rested after her morning loss, and No. 12 Hull went 0-2.

The matches began quietly under overcast skies, with half-empty grandstands surrounding the first tee when Europe's Esther Henseleit struck the opening tee shot at 7:05 a.m. Fans complained they were stuck for hours with no access to restrooms while waiting for bus rides to the sprawling property about 40 miles west of Washington, D.C., prompting an apology from the LPGA.

Teamed with Allisen Corpuz in the opening alternate-shot match, Korda was steady on the back nine while German rookie and Olympic silver medalist Henseleit faltered. The Americans won the 14th and 15th holes with pars and then closed out Henseleit and Hull 3 and 2 when Korda hit her approach to 5 feet on the par-3 16th.

Korda and Corpuz became the first American duo to win three straight alternate-shot matches after they went 2-0 in the format last year in Spain.

The grandstands were full when the afternoon matches began, and the crowds tried in vain to urge on Lexi Thompson in what's likely her final Solheim Cup as a player. Thompson and Alison Lee lost their better-ball match 6 and 5 to the Swedish duo of Anna Nordqvist and Madelene Sagstrom, who wore matching bucket hats and had Sagstrom’s new husband, Jack Clarke, carrying Nordqvist’s bag.

Nordqvist, an assistant captain for Europe who is playing in her ninth Solheim Cup, made six birdies through 13 holes as the pair never trailed.

“I feel like I’ve been the wedding crasher lately. I crashed her wedding last week, and this week I’m crashing her and my caddie Jack’s honeymoon,” Nordqvist said. “We just had a lot of fun out there together.”

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Interlock? Overlap? We ran a golf grip audit on the entire 2024 PGA Championship field

I'm Luke Kerr-Dineen, Senior Editor for Game Improvement at Golf Digest and resident golf swing nerd. Golf IQ is my weekly newsletter where I’ll share insight from some of the smartest people in the game to help us all play better golf.

This is a special free edition of the Golf IQ newsletter to celebrate PGA Championship week.

You can keep receiving this (and more!) in-depth newsletters by subscribing to Golf Digest+ right here .

LOUISVILLE — Every golfer grips the golf club, and when they do, they place their hands on the grip in one of three ways.

First, there’s an interlocking grip. This is when golfers link their hands together by intertwining the index finger of their lead hand (left hand for right-handed golfers; right hand for lefties) with the pinky on their other hand.

Here’s Tom Kim looking very pleased with his interlocking grip on the most recent cover of Golf Digest.

Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, and Rory McIlroy are a few noted Interlockers.

Fun fact about Tiger’s interlocking grip: He’s hit so many millions of golf balls with it over the years, it’s actually changed the shape of his right pinky finger. Notice how it’s slightly crooked, and skinnier towards the bottom compared with his left pinky. If that’s not the sign of a man whose hit lots of golf balls, I don’t know what is.

An overlap grip is when a golfer joins their two hands by placing the pinky of their trail hand between the index and middle fingers on their lead hand.

Harry Vardon (who popularized the style), Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, and Phil Mickelson are some noted Overlappers.

Here’s a nice picture of Francesco Molinari displaying his overlap grip.

And then there are 10-finger baseball grips, which are exactly that. Every finger is touching the club, with the pinky of your trail hand flush up against the index finger of your lead hand. You don't see too many 10-finger grips.

Because clearly I have too much time on my hands, I decided to conduct a kind of golf grip audit on the 2024 PGA Championship field. Of the more than 150 players in the field at Valhalla, who is using what? And what can we learn?

Here’s how it breaks down. Interlocking, by a notable margin, is the winner.

• Interlocking: 58.4% (90 golfers)
• Overlap: 40.9% (63 golfers)
• Baseball: 0.6% (1 golfer)

Here’s how it breaks down by each country represented in the field.

And here’s how it breaks down for the 87 U.S. golfers in the field. More than 60 percent of American golfers playing this week interlock.

The sole player in the field using a baseball grip is one of the PGA professionals, Kyle Mendoza. I asked him why on Wednesday, ahead of the first round.

“I used to interlock, but my freshman year of college I shut a door on this finger,” he says, pointing to the pinky of his right hand. “I had this splint in my finger, so I played the whole season with that finger hanging off the club. When it heeled I tried to go back to interlocking, but there was no chance. I had no clubface awareness.”

Christian Petersen

Which one is best for you?

There’s no real science as to who should use what grip, says Golf Digest Top 50 teacher Tony Ruggiero, who is here coaching Interlocker Andy Ogletree.

Tony says that generally speaking, golfers with longer fingers gravitate towards the overlap grips because interlocking grips can cause the pinky to wrap around awkwardly.

Golfers with smaller hands tend towards interlocking grips for the opposite reason: Their shorter fingers means the tip of their pinky fingers doesn’t nestle into the crest of their opposing hand enough. The right grip size for your hand shape can help make any style

“If they get their lead hand in the correct position on the club, I don’t care what grip you use,” Ruggiero says.

That’s, ultimately, what it comes down to. Making sure you see a couple of knuckles on your lead hand when you look down at it from setup; matching your trail hand grip with your body’s tendencies ; and after you do both of that, settling on a style that feels natural.

( Here’s a basic grip checklist that can help with this )

“It just felt right,” Ludvig Aberg says of his interlocking grip. “It all comes back to the fundamentals. Keeping those intact, you’ll be able to figure the rest out.

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Scottie Scheffler wins Memorial with newborn son in attendance

It was the fifth pga tour title of the year for scheffler, and his first as a father., by doug ferguson | associated press • published june 9, 2024 • updated on june 9, 2024 at 7:56 pm.

Winning has become a habit for Scottie Scheffler, except there was nothing typical about his victory Sunday at the Memorial.

He made only one birdie. He closed with a 2-over 74, his highest final round in two years. And victory wasn't assured until Scheffler had the mettle to put a firm stroke on a downhill putt from 5 feet above the hole to take out the break.

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It went right in the heart for a one-shot victory over Collin Morikawa, and a handshake with tournament host Jack Nicklaus. Their  exchange  said it all.

“You're a survivor,” Nicklaus told him.

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“Thanks,” Scheffler said. “Yeah, you made this place brutal today.”

Scheffler endured more stress than he wanted and got the victory everyone has come to expect, his fifth of the season — one week into the month of June — as he heads for another tough test next week in the U.S. Open.

Muirfield Village was so demanding with its ultra firm greens and swirling gusts throughout the afternoon that only six players broke par and the average score was a fraction under 75.

Scheffler, who started four shots ahead, never lost the lead. He never felt safe, either, not with Morikawa and Adam Hadwin on his heels all afternoon, and on a back nine where making par felt like hard work. Par is what it took on the 18th hole.

“This is a tough place to close out,” Scheffler said. “I didn’t do a whole lot great today, but I did enough.”

Just barely.

Scheffler was leading Morikawa by one shot and both hit approach shots that bounced hard and high off the green and into the rough. Both chipped to about 5 feet. Scheffler buried his putt to win, and the force of his fist pump to celebrate showed how tough this day was on him, and practically everybody.

Making the day even more special was a recent memory with Nicklaus at the Memorial, and cradling month-old son Bennett at his newborn's first PGA Tour event.

Scottie Scheffler's wife Meredith and son Bennett embrace him on 18 after winning the @MemorialGolf . 🥹💙 📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/jopDrdUntB — Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 9, 2024

Scheffler thought back to 2021, when he missed a 6-foot putt on the final hole that ended any chance of a playoff. Walking off the green, he recalls Nicklaus telling him one day Scheffler will make the putt on 18 “and I'll be walking off to shake his hand.”

“It was pretty special thinking about that as I was walking over to shake his hand," he said.

Morikawa, who played in the final group of both majors this year, holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-3 12th hole and stayed on Scheffler's heels the rest of the way. He shot 71, the only one from the final 13 groups to break par.

Adam Hadwin was right there with them until closing with three straight bogeys for a 74 to finish alone in third.

Scheffler finished at 8-under 280 and won $4 million from this signature event and its $20 million purse. That pushes him over $24 million for the year, breaking the PGA Tour season earnings record — and it's barely June — that he set last year in this era of rising purses.

He also become the first player since Tom Watson in 1980 to have won five times on the PGA Tour before the U.S. Open.

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That's next week at Pinehurst No. 2, and Scheffler will go to the U.S. Open as a huge favorite. This was his 11th consecutive tournament with a top 10.

Morikawa picked up $2.2 million and now has a big cushion as he tries to sew up the fourth spot for the Americans going to Paris this summer for the Olympics.

Hadwin was within one shot of the lead until finishing the front nine with a pair of bogeys. He stayed in the hunt until closing with a pair of bogeys for a 74. Still, his third-place finish moves him ahead of Corey Conners for the second Canadian spot in the Olympics.

The world ranking after the U.S. Open determines who goes to Paris.

Scheffler had only one birdie — a 10-foot putt on the sixth hole — and he missed two birdie chances inside 10 feet on the back nine that could have provided a cushion.

But he made the biggest one on the par-3 16th.

Scheffler and Morikawa were both short of the super slick green some 90 feet away. Scheffler used putter and hit it weakly, coming up 15 feet short. Morikawa chipped from the collar and also hit a pedestrian chip some 20 feet short.

Morikawa missed his par putt, and Scheffler buried his for a two-shot lead.

Scheffler dropped his final shot on the 17th, however, and he was clinging again to a one-shot lead playing the tough 18th that he ended with one last putt.

Next up is the so-called toughest test in golf, and players felt like they just got finished with one at Muirfield Village.

“You could look at it one of two ways,” Hadwin said. “Either it's good prep for next week or we just got our butts kicked before going into next week.”

For Scheffler it's another victory, his 11th of his career and 12th worldwide. He has finished strong to win big or come from behind. He has pulled away when it was tight at the start. This time, he nearly lost a four-shot lead.

It was his highest closing round since a 74 in the British Open at St. Andrews in 2022. But it goes in the book as another big win against the strongest fields. He now has won three signature events (Bay Hill and Hilton Head were the others) to go along with The Players Championship and his second green jacket at the Masters.

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