Tight grip - potential problems?

[mattcross1977]

Just a quick question to all experts - I have been back playing seriously now for about 5 months and I am currently playing off 18, my issue is tempo of swing and the erratic slice with my driver.

I am gripping the club very tight to the point where my hands ache the following day after playing - this is a problem that I am struggling to rectify. When I hit the ball well it's very long and straight but my driver and fairway woods have so much inconsistency.

My questions are as follows:-

1) Can a tight grip cause slicing and the odd pull hook?

2) Will a tight grip promote poor tempo too?

3) Are there any drills or products that can help improve tempo and relax my grip?

Thanks in advance!

 

[One Planer]

No too sure about the 3 points you suggest, but I know I't will bring tension into your swing which in turn my exaggerate any problems you already have.

Maybe some of the more experienced folk on here will be able to help more.

 

[DaveM]

Yes a tight grip can and will give a slice. It stops your hands getting though the ball. Tightens up your wrists. Not sure but the hook maybe from compensating for the slice. Think that the tempo is another issue. But if your tense, it could effect tempo. As for a drill for the tight grip. pretend you are holding something fragile

 

[mattcross1977]

Thanks Dave - like I say my scores are dropping and I know I suffer slightly at times with an out to in path which does not help a slice. I remember reading somewhere that a tight grip can stop you releasing the club properly. On the drill side of things I always feel like the club will rotate in my hands and make a mess of the shot.

 

[DaveM]

When you grip the club. Hold it out infront of you and get someone to pull the club from your hands. There should only be a slight resistance, thats all. Trust holding it lightly. It will not spin or slip in your hands honest. To begin with it will feel as though your going to throw the club after the ball. But you WONT. Just belive that everything will be OK.

 

[mattcross1977]

When you grip the club. Hold it out infront of you and get someone to pull the club from your hands. There should only be a slight resistance, thats all. Trust holding it lightly. It will not spin or slip in your hands honest. To begin with it will feel as though your going to throw the club after the ball. But you WONT. Just belive that everything will be OK.

Thanks again Dave - I will give it a try, I think this is the main reason for my tempo issues and consistency problems.

Matt

 

[Phil2511]

I was gripping too tightly and the pro got me to try and make sure I was holding the club in my fingers, the smallest to middle finger on my left hand and just have the index finger and thumb resting. Then add in your right hand with similar pressure as the 3 fingers. Like you were holding a bird.

I had friends say the bird thing to me and laughed at it. Even found some videos on YouTube saying it was rubbish. But I can honestly say that since that correction I started to hit the ball much longer than before.

Basically as the others guys said its the reduced tension. If you squeeze your grip tight it tenses your wrists, forearms and this tensions passes up into your shoulders. Therefore losing the freedom to swing smoothly. That could help your tempo but if it's still not right try swinging slower until you find your best tempo and then try to repeat it on the range and remember how it feels to take it on the course.

 

[sawtooth]

Yes, a tight grip is not good as it causes tension in the arms. You cannot swing your arms freely if they are tense. Its a guess but you may be using over-using your body and a lot of force to try and hit a ball. You may also be turning your shoulders as you start your downswing because you feel that you need to inject some power this way. This causes a OTT , out to in swing path which will cause slices and pulls - I know because I've been there!

Instead try to swing the arms as freely as you can, do not focus on hitting the ball but swinging through the ball up to a high finish.

My handicap has dropped a few strokes in the past 12-18 months and I owe a lot to good tempo/rhythm. I've reduced a lot of swing thoughts to just one now. What ever I swing back I swing through. Try it out for yourself.

 

[Evesdad]

I'm going to have to try this as I'm sure I'm over gripping too!!

 

[splashtryagain]

Slice and pull hook = same swing different problem. You swing out to in - this results in 2 things:
1. You square the face at impact or left slightly open = slice or big slice
2. You hood the head slightly which results in the ball going left with hook spin = pull hook.

The best thing you could do is look at getting your swing on plane. Impact bags are good or just let me drag you right!
As for grip pressure the old adage of if it would hurt it's too tight ( unless you're into S&M).

 

[splashtryagain]

Oh and stop trying to hit it into the middle of next week - will probably help with pressure as well.

 

[SGC001]

If your grip is too tight you can lose in both direction and distance.

Some people find hovering the club at address can help reduce tension in the forearms.

If you have good grip strength this can help reduce the need you may feel to grip too tight, so you could squeeze a squash ball or use the grip trainers to strengthen your grip.

See how loose you can grip it and still hit it, let your wrists feel like jelly. You've got to learn to trust the club'll stay secure even with what will fell very loose as you are used to feeling a tight grip.

A second ball behind the club at address with a low and slow takeaway may help you on the tempo issue if it's a going back problem (this'll usually go wrong at either the start of the swing or the top of the backswing), if it's an on the way down issue, don't rush transition centre and then let it rip. Some people count, I think Vijay used the word seventeen as a key at some point in his swing.

A waggle or two and not getting stuck (some people can almost freeze over the ball) at set up can help relieve tension too.

 

[Captain_Black]

With regard to grip pressure, the best tips given to me were that.

1. the grip pressure should be as thought you are holding eggs in your hand

2. Grip the club as tight as if you were holding a tube of toothpaste with the top off, squeeze the tube without letting the toothpaste out of the tube. That is about the correct amount of grip pressure.

 

[mattcross1977]

Oh and stop trying to hit it into the middle of next week - will probably help with pressure as well.

LOL - I know that makes complete sense but the difficulty is trying to control the ingrained swing speed, this is amazingly difficult. If you have any ideas that may help drill wise I would be happy to try them.

Thanks

Matt

 

[mattcross1977]

If your grip is too tight you can lose in both direction and distance.

Some people find hovering the club at address can help reduce tension in the forearms.

If you have good grip strength this can help reduce the need you may feel to grip too tight, so you could squeeze a squash ball or use the grip trainers to strengthen your grip.

See how loose you can grip it and still hit it, let your wrists feel like jelly. You've got to learn to trust the club'll stay secure even with what will fell very loose as you are used to feeling a tight grip.

A second ball behind the club at address with a low and slow takeaway may help you on the tempo issue if it's a going back problem (this'll usually go wrong at either the start of the swing or the top of the backswing), if it's an on the way down issue, don't rush transition centre and then let it rip. Some people count, I think Vijay used the word seventeen as a key at some point in his swing.

A waggle or two and not getting stuck (some people can almost freeze over the ball) at set up can help relieve tension too.

I think the quick takeaway is causing me to produce an out to in path and my transition could definitely be slower!

Thank you for the feedback and I will try the second ball at address drill.

 

[JustOne]

Watch this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFGrmHocmjM

Grip pressure matches intent.

 

[mattcross1977]

Yes, a tight grip is not good as it causes tension in the arms. You cannot swing your arms freely if they are tense. Its a guess but you may be using over-using your body and a lot of force to try and hit a ball. You may also be turning your shoulders as you start your downswing because you feel that you need to inject some power this way. This causes a OTT , out to in swing path which will cause slices and pulls - I know because I've been there!

Instead try to swing the arms as freely as you can, do not focus on hitting the ball but swinging through the ball up to a high finish.

My handicap has dropped a few strokes in the past 12-18 months and I owe a lot to good tempo/rhythm. I've reduced a lot of swing thoughts to just one now. What ever I swing back I swing through. Try it out for yourself.

Thanks for the info Sawtooth, makes a lot of sense when you think about the shoukder turn. Just off with an injured rib at the moment but can't wait to get back and try some new ideas.

 

[Mattyboy]

A couple of suggestions that just might work re stop trying to kill it, both of which might be seen as odd!

Hum while you swing, concentrating on the pitch of your hum ensuring that the pitch and loudness of your hum remains the same. Its harder to do than you think! Thats from'the Inner Game of Golf' Tim Gallway.

Second, hit balls with your eyes shut. A pro got me doing this a while back.

 

[Evesdad]

That video is one the best grip videos I've seen really good explanation.