Golfers, what if your swing isn’t broken — your grip is just leading you in the wrong direction?
In this follow-up to the viral 23-question swing test, PGA Master Professional [Your Name] reveals the real reason your swing changes don’t stick: your grip and body are fighting each other. This new 7-question test tells you which one should lead — and how to fix the mismatch once and for all.
🎯 This test could unlock consistency, power, and a swing that finally makes sense.
▶️ Watch the first 23-question test: https://youtu.be/OV3sRS89lU0
👇 Let us know in the comments: Are you grip-led, body-led, or stuck in between?
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00:00 Intro and test reason
01:41 Grip DNA Self Assessment
05:26 Grip Test Result
06:35 What if Body and Grip Assessments don’t Match
Thank you so much for these great people on the screen here. They are supporting our channel to bring you more education like this. If you are interested in joining the crew, come on down. The link is in the description below. Before we start, I hate to be this guy, but a quick like, share, comment can really help the channel grow and get more education viewers like you. What’s up, LG members? And thank you for joining me on the live stream yesterday. We had a blast. So, if you do want your swing analyzed, go and send me your face on downline to the link down below, and we will be analyzing you once a week. But before we get started on today’s video, we got some fan mail. I can’t believe it. And this comes from somebody I assume younger who has drawn all of our lines. So, thank you for whoever sent that to me. Appreciate that. And we also got another fan mail. And this is another drawing of me. Now, I don’t know. Do you think that looks like me? Let me see. I think that’s a pretty good likeness. About a week ago, I uploaded this video right here. Golfers take this test. It’s a 23 question test that could save your entire golf swing because it basically says what type of method you should try to follow and who teaches those methods to kind of wade through all that YouTube information. And it got me thinking since I’m so adamant on grips, I’m going to create a new test for you to do at home, the grip assessment test. And by the end of this test, it’ll spit out some information for you to look and see if it matches your full swing assessment for which modalities to follow. And after you take both of these assessments, if each assessment is pointing to a different swing method, there is another self assessment to show you which one you should favor based on your two results. So hopefully this will assist you even further to wade through all that YouTube information out there that can confuse you. All right, welcome to the Grip DNA self assessments for all these answers. If you answer A, give yourself three points. If you answer B, give yourself two points. If you answer C, give yourself one point. At the end, it will spit out what the method you are probably inclined to use. If it does not match your 23 questions of your body assessment video from a few days ago, at the end of this video, we’ve got another assessment to make you decide which one should you focus towards the results of the grip or the results of the body, which is very important to kind of close that circle up to help you with your golf swing. And keep in mind, all these questions are geared towards right-handed golfers. So, if you are left, just flip the hands around. Question one, what best describes your grip pressure? Are you light and relaxed? Do you have moderate or controlled? Or are you tight and tense? And this matters because the grip pressure does affect your wrist mobility, your tempo, and how dynamic your release can be. Question number two, does your left hand or your lead hand naturally set up as weak, where the V is pointing to your lead shoulder, neutral, where that V is pointing to the center of your chest, or strong, where that V is pointing at or outside your rear shoulder? And it’s important because this lead hand often determines the club face orientation and influences your path. Question three, when placing your trail hand on the club, what feels most natural? Is it on the top where the palm feels like it’s over the grip? Is it neutral where the palm matches the club face or is it underneath where the palm faces upwards and feels almost like it’s under the shaft? And this matters because the trail hand impacts your release pattern and how much wrist action you use. Question number four, how do your wrists feel during the swing? Do they feel loose and fluid like Gumby? Are they controlled but not too stiff? Or are they Mr. Robboto and tight and rigid? Because the wrist angles and their flexibility shape your ability to create lag, the hinging or do you have a weaker release? Question five, how does your grip typically affect your shot shape? Does it promote a fade or a higher ball flight? Can it produce both fades and draws or does it tend to promote a draw or a hook? Because grip type often correlates with natural curvature. Question six, what’s your most common impact tendencies? Is it A open face, B square and centered, or C typically closed face and contact patterns often reflect your grip’s effect on the club face rotation and its control? Question seven, which feels more natural when swinging? Soft hands with quiet arms, balanced arm body motion, or C, active hands and powerful wrist action? And this can show if your swing is handled, body driven, or a balance of both. Question eight is, do you hinge the club early in the back swing? A, I rarely hinge it early. B, it’s occasional. And C, I’m always a early hinger. and your hinge style can affect your timing, your wrist loading, and how you transition yourself into the down swing. Question nine is, do you feel like your grip can change often within each swing? Or is it pretty consistent? So, if it’s consistent, give yourself an A. If it occasionally changes, give yourself a B. And if it feel like you’re always changing your grip, give yourself a C. Because grip consistency is a key factor in reliable club face control and shot pattern that your body can build around. And the last question is, what kind of swing feels most natural? Is it A relaxed and longlevered? Is it Balanced and rhythmic or is it C short, punchy, and handdriven? This can reveal whether your hands or your body style drive the overall motion. So, here are the results for your grip, and you want to make sure that they try to match where your body assessment score was. And if they don’t, at the end of the video, we’ll tell you what to do. So, I want you to tally up all your points and come up with a number. Now, we’re going to put these numbers together and you’re going to reference what you scored on your full swing assessment and see if they match up. Now, if they match up, good. You know where you’re on the right track. If they don’t match up, stay till the end of this video. We’re going to do another quick assessment to help you decide if you need to focus on the the grip results or the body results. So, if you fall between 27 and 30 points, you’re looking to fall in that athletic rotational swing from that full swing self- assessment guide. If you fall between 23 and 26 points, you are looking to fall into the 51 to 58 points of the full swing assessment, which is the hybrid torque lever golf swing. If you fall between 19 to 22 points on the grip assessments, you are looking to fall between the 42 to 50 points on the full swing assessment under connected compact swing. If you fall between 15 and 18 points on the grip assessment, you’re looking to fall between the 33 and 41 points of the full swing assessment for the stack and tilt or the simplified motion. And finally, if you fall between 10 to 14 points on the grip assessments, you’re looking for results between 23 and 32 of the full swing assessments, which is an arm driven with simplified compact motion. Okay, so now what do you do if those two things don’t match up? Your grip doesn’t match up to your body type. Well, we got a few questions to help you out with this. So, answer the same way. If you answer A, give yourself three points. B, give yourself two, and C, give yourself one. Can you maintain posture and spine tilt throughout the swing? A, very easily. B, with effort, and C, not really. And why this matters is because good posture means your body can support more advanced swing mechanics. In other words, they’re the base and the arms can use that base. Question two, how well do you use your hands to shape shots mid swing? A is very well. B is somewhat. and C is not very well at all. And this matters because great face awareness gives you the freedom to build around a grip feel. Question three, how clearly can you feel where the club face is during the swing? A, I know face orientation at all times, B, I usually know if I’m open or closed, and C, I found out after contact. And club face awareness shows you whether you can self-correct through grip or the feel of your release. Question number four, can you comfortably create or control wrist angles? In other words, you’re hinging, you’re lagging, etc. Yes, I can very comfortably. B, I have average control. Or C, I struggle with my wrist positions. And this matters because wrist flexibility and control can allow a grip motion without it breaking down. Question five, when something feels off in your swing, what do you adjust first? A, do you adjust your hands or grip? B, could be either one, or C, my setup or body motion. And this shows where your instinct is, whether you’re gripled or structureled. Question number six is, how is your ability to feel body versus hand position? A, you are excellent. You can feel what’s off. B is average. C is poor. I need some feedback. And this matters because strong feel gives you more control to favor a field-based swing. And the last question is, which feels more consistent for you, grip pressure or body motion? A is your grip and release. B, they’re about equal. And C, your body motion. Whichever is more stable may benefit your better foundation. Okay, so add all these up. Now, what you want to do with this total is look what it will recommend you to focus on. It’s either going to recommend you to focus on the grip results or the body results. If you score between 19 to 21, you need to favor your grip results because your hands are your strength. You need to keep your natural grip and tweak swing mechanics around it. If you score between 14 to 18 points, you’re 50/50. You have some compensatory skills in both and you need to choose based on your injury history, consistency, or your shot shape preferences. And if you score between 7 to 13, you need to favor the body results because you lack the dynamic wrist control or hand face awareness to let your grip dominate. So, I know this is not a perfect method, but it at least give you some guidance between your grip style and your body style to choose which one you need to favor based on your body ability, your feel, and your history. I hope I didn’t confuse anybody with this. It’s all good intentions. Let me know in the comments what was your result and which one you’re going to go with, and we can talk about more of this. But I do appreciate your support and I will see you next time. Fairies and Greens. [Music]
37 Comments
Let me know your score and does it match your golf swing self assessment. Here is the video if you need that one! https://youtu.be/OV3sRS89lU0
Damn dude I’m going to say this again, your content is absolutely the best golf content out there for the golf swing.
Thanks for doing these for us, I know it probably takes a lot of your time and effort, we appreciate your efforst.
Consistent with my swing test. Question: What does Saguto (modified) mean? Thanks, Tony.
Loving these tests lately Tony, it really gets us feeling connected in a learning environment.
Exactly the same as the full body assessment, but I already knew this. Just like I knew which YouTube instructor worked best for me before I took the other assessment.
Very interesting; When I returned after 20 years 18 months ago, (66 old now) I had no idea of any of this and was generally a slicer if not straight. Your knowledge of these aspects and I suspect most PGA coaches who have a keen eye for "swing" impresses me. My coach set my grip on day one; slightly strong; then we started with short impact pitches – one of the focusses was "educated hands" – after all this time I am getting that awareness now; and practice draws and fades on the range, but not playing. From 33 to 16.6 now and I might consider myself competent at some point, but never elite.
51 on the 23 question swing test, 21 on the grip test. 17 on the which way I should go. I have followed a lot of Clay Ballard's stuff in the past. I tried Saguto's system but wasn't great for me. I found I could strike the ball well, but struggled to generate speed.
I started with a very strong grip, but as I've gotten better it's slowly moved more to neutral. Usually my left thumb is just sitting on the to the right side of the grip logo. I think it's also just more natural how my arms hang so that when I throw the club through the impact area, the face naturally squares or slightly closed.
I haven't looked at Milo Lines, Adam Young, or Shaun Webb.
I usually strike best when I focus on a steady center, wide one-piece takeaway, and the club for me tends to set late. From the top I feel like I'm "throwing" the club and then letting the club "sling" or "free-wheel" through the impact zone. Driver usually around 105 mph. My miss tends to be a push (especially with irons) or a hook. Sometimes I'll fade a driver, wood, 3H. I think this is more due to me getting the ball position a bit further forward.
Any thoughts which way I should go?
I’m waiting for the iq test to tell me dad I’m not an idiot!
been waiting for this video since the sunday red live assessment where you linked the grips video in the comments, amazing content as always!
Self taught 5 hcp with a "neutral" Hogan grip But i have recently improved my ball striking from one of the oldest tips out there! squeezing harder with my last 3 fingers of my left/lead hand,
this was a response to trying to play 60deg wedges off hard pan/fairways! But it has had a knock on effect from Driver to short game
I am loose jointed! so squeezing harder/opposing with last 3 fingers of both hands works for me which backs up your video
Another excellent video For me, a Mike Malaska student, baseball with strong lead hand grip, trail hand, i feel like it's the club face, fairly neutral. Early wrist set, and a 3/4 swing back and through, my age limits free flowing mobility. My natural shot pattern is a baby draw. I prefer a lower boring flight, although can hit it higher if required, it's a fade I've always struggled with consistency.
Hi. I really like your channel and your flexible approach. I am a self taught golfer. 9 handicap. I learn from youtube, taking the bits that I like and bits that suit me. I reject alot of stuff. However, I have one question I cant really get satisfactory infonon and wondered what you opinion was. The question is in relation to using different clubs and one's spine angle. So will my spine angle be more upright when I use a driver than when I use a pitching wedge? Or do I keep the same spine angle for all clubs? I currently change it for each club, so I am a lot more bent over when I use my short clubs than my long clubs. I constantly wonder whether this is a better approach. It takes so long to experiment and use trial and error and I still have not resolved this one.
Any thoughts?
Thanks so much for your great content! Keep it coming!
Thanks for this
Love this did all tests and shawn clement has made alot of sense to me I'll look again at his vids. Thanks again ⛳👍
Very difficult test. I feel like I answered truthfully, but not sure if I answered correctly.
I've known for a while I should be on the strong compact side. But I struggle with the face. Well really on the driver and watching you talk about the face orientation in correlation with tilt with a strong grip sometimes I get the club too delofted, as I got better I could tilt to counteract, but now I counteract too much and top the ball a lot.
With that being said I never knew the correct wrist actions with a strong grip even with a strong grip my trail hand tends to release underneath as again a counteractive measure to throw loft at the ball. I've always been good with irons but I struggle with a push. Never thought of one thing and that was forward press.
But I just never knew the correct matchups for a release with a strong grip. So I know it doesn't come naturally. If it does it's late. Do you have any videos on a matchup release pattern for a strong grip?
Interesting
Scored 18 on grip. My wrists are too flexible and I’ve had more success being purposeful and short to be less reliant on timing.
Scored 59 on the body assessment. And the combination test scored 16.
I would say I started learning with an athletic swing but it was too difficult to time since it often got long. I think I have the athleticism to pursue a rotational swing but I’m not sure if it’s entirely necessary if I want to be more consistent at ball striking overall.
Thanks the videos!
I determine my grip as follows: swing club one handed with lead hand to what makes me able to square face comfortably. Do same with trail hand only. Then overlap in those positions. That’s my grip. Not sure if it right but it makes sense to me. Both hands in natural position to hit the ball straight.
Interesting Tony. I scored 34 on the swing assessment, 22 on the grip assessment and 11 on the gap assessment. You spotted the left side collapse in my swing on the live reviews from this week. I am now concentrating on a more stable centred swing with that left knee staying consistent through the swing. Problem I have is mobility, I have lower back disc issues that prevent me from fully rotating. Any suggestions as my gap assessment score leads to more consideration on rotation of the body?
The guy in the drawing definitely does not look like you. It looks like that actor Chris Elliott on crack.
mine matched up!
51 and 23, just crept into Hybrid Torque-Lever Swing with both tests. Your description of this technique seems to fit my swing pattern. I like Shawn Webb from AMG golf, although he advocates for a death like grip strength which I’m not a fan of. Milo Line is good but advocates for this forward knee movement in the downswing which again not a fan of. I haven’t checked out Adam Young. Interesting content!
22 points on the grip assessment. It matches my swing self assessment results of 44. These assessments are not surprising to me, but still very illuminating.
I don't think my grip is the issue in my game……… though I definitely could be wrong 😅 i have a fairly neutral grip, left hand possibly slightly stronger than ' textbook' by that i mean 3 knuckles showing, roughly! I think there is scope for individual interpretation but like you say it's the cause and effect! And with proper understanding a small change either way could obviously make a huge difference! On everyone's own swing! I first came across Pete Cowan's ' squeeze the toothpaste' idea on YouTube. To do with equal and opposing forces, if i understood it correctly! Which resonated with me. But as top professional players prove there's not necessarily a 'textbook' way.
My score was 19 then 13. I do know i have an issue with setting my wrists correctly in the backswing and I've moved around from trying to set early to late but late just collapses my arms and causes issues! So I'm just now trying to maintain set up radius to the top. Thanks for the guide, that is helpful!
Damn I’m a stiff. Jim V and the other stack n tilt is my future
I watched this video without earbuds, reasonable volume. You now have a new fan, Tony. My dog immediately jumped up on the couch, put her head on my shoulder and watched your entire 9:57 video.
She definitely scores real low on grip control with her paws, but being an Alsatian, her bite grip is super high.
I got jumbo max UL on my driver. Eventually they will be on everything. Even my wedges.
Wow! I took both tests and have to admit that the assesment was spot on. I scored 41 and 14. I have played my best golf using the more structured methods. Mostly single-axis/Moe Norman, but recently with JVGA and S&T. I also find that I have to adjust my grip a lot, and a grip change produces much more than trying to move thge club differently. The biggest reason for the low DNA score is my poor balance, and not so great eyesight. I still have good flexibility, and swing speed, for my age. at 60 YO.
You are one of the real ones!!
Got 48 on body and 22 on grip, seems fairly matched. Think i can reach a little higher on body though with some training. Age 59 and hip arthritis limits somewhat:)
Wow this is great! Did both assessments, body (51) and grip (22). So seems like I am on the border between neutral/hybrid and connect/compact. What do I make of this? New subscriber! Cheers
Discovered your site a few days ago – and of course I appreciate your info – also I hate the truths you share. I didn't start golfing until I turned 50 – and for five years I walked 9 to 18 holes nearly every day. I was obsessed – I read everyone's books- watched everyone's videos – learned pretty quickly that I couldn't do Jack's swing, or Lee's or Ben's or Sam's , or Seve's – I could do Moe's but didn't want to because straight and long don't necessarily match… I ended up with some sort of bastardize hybrid Moe-Baseball swing that got me 250 yards on good days and once in a while a lucky 300 yards. I stopped golfing around 8 years ago but three years ago went out to the range and hit 90 straight like-an-arrow shots but they were short. Then forgot about golf again while running my new business. This year's US Open inspired me again – So I started watching everything again. I wanted to and still wish the Mike Austin Swing would work for me… on short clubs and wedges – it does but for anything over 8-iron, I collapse – into duck hooks. I was a special ops soldier in the 1990s – but wouldn't say I'm athletic – at least not a talented one. I played everything when I was a kid but never excelled at anything. 9 years ago I could hit 300 yards sometimes but was always inconsistent on the tee – but my short game got pretty wonderful – Went out yesterday to the range… Again – beautiful straight short irons and wedges a la the Mike Austin swing which focuses on a linear raising of the hands initiated by the legs and natural shoulder turn and then a strike down by moving the legs again and whipping up with the hands -the body and arms aren't supposed to initiate anything. I think he was just another one of those .01% freaks. Anyhow your test reconfirms the Moe Norman theory – which of course I fall into – so I might start practicing that again… or maybe not – cuz if I can't belt it way passed 200 yards onto the fairway – golf just isn't fun for me. THANKS FOR EXPOSING THE REST OF US.
Brilliant. I scored 54,23,14 so pretty consistently pointing to hybrid. What now? I am 75 and have had two frozen shoulders in the past so my shoulder movement is somewhat restricted.
Wow! I have just stumbled upon you while roaming looking for a way out of current funk. Golfed for 20 years. I will get down to an 8 for a few short months, then all the way back to a 16 for a year. Then strike it well for a few weeks, then back to misery. I have this bad casting/scooping affliction. I have had swing analyzed and coached, and a million different reasons why and as many drills to fix. They make it worse. Only way I get out of it for a few brief weeks is just forget it and keep swinging. Did I hear you right – “send in your swing from face on and DTL to me?” Man, I would love to get your cause and effect on my nightmare of a golf swing after seeing your analysis on Saguto and Venetos. I need help badly.
pretty dam close considering i didn't mention injuries lol
Coach–grip and swing assessment match(17 and 37).Simplified motion was recommended–what is an example of this?Thanks for reading.