The right hand grip

[ellissmith]

Hi, I have been playing about 4 or 5 times a year for about 15 years and never really improved much. Now I have joined my local club and when the pro gave me an introductory lesson, he told me my right hand grip needed to change (my thumb was positioned on top of the grip). He got me to move it more to the left to allow me to get more wrist cock at the top of the swing. I have tried practising this for 4 or 5 hours on the practice area and in 2 rounds but have been more inconsistent than before with the irons off the fairway but have been hitting the driver a little straighter. I seem to be topping or hitting fat the iron shots. Another experienced member who saw me mishitting the ball told me I should go back to what I'm comfortable with but I'm thinking that with more practise I may master the new ("correct") grip and get more power. What would you recommend?

 

[kid2]

Hi, I have been playing about 4 or 5 times a year for about 15 years and never really improved much. Now I have joined my local club and when the pro gave me an introductory lesson, he told me my right hand grip needed to change (my thumb was positioned on top of the grip). He got me to move it more to the left to allow me to get more wrist cock at the top of the swing. I have tried practising this for 4 or 5 hours on the practice area and in 2 rounds but have been more inconsistent than before with the irons off the fairway but have been hitting the driver a little straighter. I seem to be topping or hitting fat the iron shots. Another experienced member who saw me mishitting the ball told me I should go back to what I'm comfortable with but I'm thinking that with more practise I may master the new ("correct") grip and get more power. What would you recommend?

Stick with it...It takes time and patience......One thing that may help is to keep a club in a few rooms in the house and everytime you go into a room pick it up in the way that your pro wants you to hold it.....Over time it will bed in and your old grip will feel very alien if you try to go back to it.

 

[Foxholer]

Giving the amount of time you have spent unsuccessfully trying to bed it in, I would go back to you Pro and check out whether you are doing something wrong or whether another approach might be better.

I don't actually believe there is a single 'correct' grip and know that (playing) Pros change their grip, setup and swing according to the shot they want to play - often never playing the same shot twice in any round! That said, it is surprising how much that supposedly minor change can affect the swing so much.

As an alternative to the right thumb left of centre approach, you might like to try, with the right thumb back on top, pushing/stretching/cocking the left wrist quite strongly while having the right one quite relaxed during the actual 'cock' at the top of the backswing. Might feel quite a bit of tension in the left triceps and shoulder, but that should create plenty of width for your downswing. Have to say, however, that that is a definite 'two plane' swing style - with the left arm 'driving' on the backswing and the right arm, eventually, driving (the arms) on the downswing. The right thumb left of centre seems (to me) more of a One-plane attribute with neither arm driving more than the other - and he swing driving being shared by both arms and upper body.

 

[G1BB0]

I went from baseball to interlock and it felt horrid at 1st, now I find it 2nd nature. I still use baseball for chips though as i feel it gives me a little more finesse

 

[Oddsocks]

15 years doing something wrong will be embedded deep, it's going to take time to get it feeling normal, but their pros for a reason, as suggested I'd get another lesson to check your doing it right

 

[ellissmith]

Thanks for your suggestions. I'll practise a bit more and then get another lesson if it doesn't start to improve.