How to grip a golf club: simple and effective tips from a PGA coach
Ever wondered if you are holding the golf club correctly? Check out these simple and effective tips to ensure you have the best possible neutral golf grip over the ball courtesy of PGA coach James Whittemore.
There are typically three common ways to grip the golf club, one of which is the interlocking grip as used famously by PGA Tour legends Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
This means the pinky of the trailing hand rests between the index and middle fingers of the leading hand.
Another famous one is the overlapping golf grip, something that LIV Golf's Dustin Johnson continues to use.
The benefit of this particular golf grip is that it allows golfers with strong hands to feel comfortable and even a bit lighter on the golf club.
In this helpful golf grip video below, James produces a step-by-step guide to help you grip the golf club correctly, and he also looks at the three best golf grips in the game today to help you decide which one is right for your own game.
What I am going to show you today is a neutral golf grip. This applies for any type of golfer out there from the elite golfer right down the beginner.
Without stating the obvious, the first step is to make sure the club face is lined up straight to our intended target when I put my hands on. You don't want to adjust the position of the club when you place it down behind the ball.
So let's get the face nice and square. I have lines on my grip that run dead straight to help me align the golf club straight to my target line.
My top hand - being my left hand - is going to hang what I would call naturally. As I put my hand towards the club, the palm of my left hand is going to face inwards and sit on the grip. It's a very natural position. Then give yourself a quarter of an inch from the top edge of the grip for control purposes. You don't want to hold it too high because you can lose control.
A real important part now is where the hand sits on the grip. As you put your top hand onto the club, try and let the club run through your finger line. Start in the middle of your index finger and run through to the base of your little finger, on a slight diagonal. You could draw a line on your glove if you want that to help - it's easy to forget.
Okay, now close your hand up. You want the thumb of your top hand to sit on the top of the right hand side of the grip. Another checkpoint is the crease between the thumb and first finger pointing up to your right shoulder. The second is that as you look down, you should be able to see two knuckles sticking out.
Now let's move onto the bottom hand, which comes in underneath. Again, another checkpoint is your right hand coming in on the side of the club. Let your fingers just wrap underneath. The squishy part on my thumbpad on my right hand is going to cover my left thumb. You want the crease between your thumb and first finger on the right hand is going to point to my right shoulder. This is a very neutral grip, with your arms sitting naturally.
Another tip for a good grip is to shorten the left thumb (your top thumb). You hands will feel more connected when you do that.
James adds:
Okay, now moving onto the different styles of golf grip you can have - and there are three main ones.
The first is a 10-finger grip where my fingers are all in line but there is no interlocking of fingers. The hands are just touching.
The second is a very popular one, and it's the overlapping grip. My little finger of my bottom hand just overlaps the first finger of my top hand.
The last one, again very popular, is the interlocking grip. I interlock my little finger of my bottom hand and my first finger of my top hand.
Which golf grip do you use? Have you always used it? Share your thoughts and comments over on the GolfMagic social media channels, or head over to the GolfMagic YouTube Channel.
Andy first joined the brand on a month's work experience back in April 2011, and he now assumes the Editor role. When Andy joined GolfMagic it was a small site with potential.
