Make A Small Change to Your Golf Grip for Big Results

As much as it pains me to say, the basics of the golf swing are arguably the most important to a repeatable golf swing, and your grip is no exception.

This last year, I started smothering the ball. Now, I have always hit a small draw with all my clubs, but this was different. On ball contact, the ball would start with a low pull, and then hook further left. In other words, UGLY.

I tried a lot of different things - changing my aiming point, changing my stance, I even bought a new Taylormade M1 driver! It didn’t work. I finally decided to make a small change in my grip, and it changed everything, somewhat immediately. What I figured out is that I was using too strong of a grip - my right hand was overpowering my left. The result was having a closed clubface on ball contact, which was the reason for my pull-hook.

To change, I put my right hand in a little bit of a weaker position - I made sure the back of my right hand was facing the sky, instead of pointing to my right. At the time, it was extremely uncomfortable, but it forced me to swing through the ball with a square clubhead and make solid contact with the ball.

There’s two small lessons in this little story. First, your grip is an extremely important part of your golf swing, and it takes practice and revision just like everything else. Second, sometimes making a change is uncomfortable. However, being uncomfortable is necessary to improving. This rings true not just in golf, but life in general. Don’t be afraid to be uncomfortable!