A Malaska Golf member wants to know how to fix a strong grip. He had a strong grip for a long time and fought a push fade, a club coming too much from the inside. He was catching the ball and starting the ball out to the right of where he was aimed.
The grip that he used caused him to hook the ball, and he was taught that he needed to turn the face over on the swing. He also learned to come from the inside and hold the clubface off.
You need to get the path to change so you’re not coming too much from the inside. The path needs to come more straight into the ball. You must also let the club go by taking your thumb off the club. The thumb tends to push, lock the wrist, and turn the face over. Practice by taking your thumb off and letting the club swing and your wrists pivot up and down.
You can hit the ball as hard as you want with as much speed, and won’t hit a pull hook. There needs to be an acceleration in the club to create speed.
When you have a strong grip, you don’t want to come from the inside and hold the face off to keep it from hooking. You want to let the club go, but your hands must work to keep the face from turning down. You can get your path heading straighter into the back of the ball, and when your hands let the clubhead pass, the face works differently.
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5 Comments
Thank you Mike. That's what I needed.
So. A fix to the fix. If Ben Hogan used the standard Vardon grip as he described in his famous book, why are we going down this rabbit hole? Hogan's description: The left hand can hold the club pinched between the pad of the left hand and the forefinger. The other three fingers are then wrapped around the grip, and then the thumb is just placed on the grip, making a V that pointed in the vicinity of the right shoulder. Importantly, he wanted light grip pressure, like holding a bird, that left the hand , wrist, and fingers very responsive to forces. The right hand gripped the club with the ring finger and middle finger, only, while the pinky laid on top of the forefinger of the left hand, and the forefinger and thumb did not even have to be on the club as he recommended that the golfer practice this way. I see Hogan's grip as being extremely weak, but responsive to the swinging club. I believe that in Mike's grip that if the thumb of the left hand was used as described that the feeling would be of a weak grip also. The fundamental here is that the wrists need to be soft and flexible, while being lively and responsive. Hogan's grip would allow the wrists to work as Mike describes. Hogan did not like the right thumb, and Mike does not like the left thumb. It seems that the thumbs are a real trouble source for golfers! However, for support of the club in the backswing the left thumb has to be used. So the Hogan grip wins.
Mike, I'm a huge recent fan. Used to play great, lost my way (a number of top rated instructors, that, well, might not have long term helped me), but I'm recovering now. Wanted to note in this video at about the 30 second mark, that way from the inside path also makes you stand up out of your posture. Your whole approach is seems so simple. Working on getting my grip back to neutral vs. super weak. Feels so strong and odd, but I'm getting there.
Hi Mike…actually tried playing with the left thumb off the club, after reading a very old golf book illustrated by Alex Morrison. He was a teacher back when hickory was still in vogue, but was known for his prodigious length, hitting the ball up to 300 yards. As you have said in the past, nothing is “ new” in the game of golf if you look hard enough. Thanks for the video and Cheers from Nova Scotia, Canada.
Simply brilliant Mike