grip.....

time_vans

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off to the range tomorrow but on my last session I noticed two definate things,
1. I made a concious effort to 'extend through' the shot which resulted in great increases in yardage per club and increased accuracy but not sure if I am now 'over cooking' it.
2. At the top of my backswing I feel the grip with my right hand loosens to just being in my fingers with the palm barely touching the grip if at all, even though the grip appears to return to the correct position once striking the ball.

Just wondered if anyone else has experienced this and if it requires remedy and how...cheers

tim
 

RGuk

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David Leadbetter always recommended holding a few blades of long grass in whichever hand is slipping "off". I can feel my right hand losing grip a little at times, I just think about it for a few swings and it's normally fixed for a while.

As for the extension through and after the ball, I can't see how you can go too far, it's such a great thing to work on; it's amazing how many players swing it nice and then lose momentum through the ball. Some of my best hitting has been after working on this exact thing.....I make sure my right hand crosses over my left quite aggressively (a la Woosnam) and I don't get too in front of the ball (or I start to thin it!!)
 

TonyN

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I tried this a couple of months back and found I gained yards, for some reason, I stopped doing it. Trying too hard to correct other things I think. Definitly something that everyone should work on if it doesn't come naturally. I hate my follow through, it feels weak and I wreckon it looks crap. If you look at the picture of Tiger on the front of TW09 that looks like a follow through ;)
 

HomerJSimpson

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If the problem is quite noticeable I suggest something similar to Dave but put something more solid like a tee peg in place of the grass.

I agree that I don't think you can really overdo swinging through the line but you need to be careful that it is down the target line and that the hands don't get too active. I have a problem of getting over active with my right hand and turning the club over leading to a frantic ball search down the left hand side every time.

A good dril my pro showed me last week is to put a ball down and try set up notmally with the club behind the ball. Now try and push the ball forward with no backswing. It isn't as easy as it sounds and you will find that it will go about 2 feet to start. However as you progress you will get the feeling of the ball sticking to the face and you will be able to get it out about 10-15 feet. What it shows is whether you are swinging straight down the line or in my case getting the hands too involved so the ball goes left. Move it on to a knee high swing and you really get the feeling off hiting through the line and it is amazing how far it goes with so little effort and how clearly a bad swing shows up. Once you get to half swings you really get the sense of timing and hitting down the target line.
 

DCB

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Try and get hold of a copy of Hogans book "The Modern Fundamentals of Golf" excellent book to go over the basics of the grip, swing etc.

It was recently reprinted and I've just started to go through it again. The man was a true Master.
 

time_vans

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cheers for that will be looking like an extra chrissie pressy!
been for a range session today and really pleased with how it went.(the trick with holding the tee certainly works) done four sessions this week (sun,tues,thurs,sat)and noticed how I am getting a good 'feel' for the components of my swing coming together.
yardages recorded today are
lw 55/60
sw 75/80
pw 110/115
9i 120/125
8i 130/135
7i 145/150
6i 155/160
5r 165/170
3r 185/190
3w 210 off a tee
dr 225plus
I dont know how these stack up but they are a definate improvement but I feel I could get 5/10 more yards as a crisp strike goes further than these averages.(Am I being over optimistic or just plain greedy?) I have a 52 deg wedge on its way for the gap between sand and pitch.
I did notice how ever that on my second basket I started catching the mat infront of the ball resulting in a loss of power and distance.Is this just due to fatigue or have I changed something without realising ?

Cheers
 

RGuk

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Lw 55/60
sw 75/80
pw 110/115
9i 120/125
8i 130/135
7i 145/150
6i 155/160
5r 165/170
3r 185/190
3w 210 off a tee
dr 225plus
I dont know how these stack up but they are a definate improvement but I feel I could get 5/10 more yards as a crisp strike goes further than these averages

This is about the same as me. I'd say this was spot on for an average (90-95 mph with driver) swing. I certainly feel that these are useable distances to get down to a good h'cap (say 8-12).

Can't be doing too badly if you ask me.
 

RGuk

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Try and get hold of a copy of Hogans book "The Modern Fundamentals of Golf" excellent book to go over the basics of the grip, swing etc.

This was the only book I had for the first two years or so. A seminal offering if ever their was!!!

Since then, I've gone for mainly Faldo/Leadbetter books and have tried to follow these ideas. Re-visiting grip and posture is worth it for all players.
 

Herbie

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off to the range tomorrow but on my last session I noticed two definate things,
1. I made a concious effort to 'extend through' the shot which resulted in great increases in yardage per club and increased accuracy but not sure if I am now 'over cooking' it.
2. At the top of my backswing I feel the grip with my right hand loosens to just being in my fingers with the palm barely touching the grip if at all, even though the grip appears to return to the correct position once striking the ball.

Just wondered if anyone else has experienced this and if it requires remedy and how...cheers

tim

Oh how I wish I could still feel the club in my hand properly :) it depends on the grip you are using also, do you grip in a trad fashion enclosing your thumb in your right hand? Are you left handed? Do you use baseball grip? etc.

I would advise trying increased grip preasure, if there is a feeling of freedom in the grip then you may simply be loosening grip automatically in your swing prior to re-gripping for the downswing. A lot of people put the full grip on just before the downswing when the testosterone impulse tells you to, yet you should really have that grip from the start. Holding the grass idea is helpful but you shouldnt need to if you focus before the backswing.

A lot of golfers dont even realise they do it, if you could cartoon it, it would start of with a relaxed aimless expression like wallace (wallace and gronmmit) then at the top of the backswing the eyes would blacken, teeth would grit, cheeks would puff up and go bright red, muscles would swell like popye. :D its often nothing more than variations of that! ;)
 

HomerJSimpson

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Glad the tip with the tee worked (you can PM me for the address to send the cheque!) and I reckon those yardages are pretty reasonable as is the swing speed. I think you are probably about 5 yards per coub longer but it isn't about length and who hits it further its who hits it the least and if your new grip is helping get a better strike you should seed scores dropping. Well done for your perseverance.
 
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