Erroneous Motions of Grip and Hand Action

Posted under Erroneous Motions of Grip and Hand Action

Such an action provides power without effort and without danger of doing oneself bodily harm, such as a lame back or a twisted left knee. Failure to handle one’s weight properly forces the player to turn, but the added preponderance of advice telling golfers that they should turn (and the advice telling golfers that they should use their left side to take the club away from the ball on the backswing) are things that throw the player out of position, and off balance. I hope these comments will alert the players struggling under these erroneous concepts and that the suggestions offered will put them on the right track.

Erroneous motions of grip and hand action
Almost all players are told to hold the club tightly in the last three fingers of the left hand. In fact, special gloves are designed to aid in producing a firmer grip with the left hand. And I must admit that if one wishes to play every shot with a cut, a fade or a slice action, then such a tight lock in the left-hand grip is proper.

However, when it comes to playing a pitch and run shot, or when it comes to playing a hook or even when it comes to playing a perfectly straight shot, then there must be some sense of freedom in the back of the left hand, otherwise it is impossible to set or cock the club into a square or closed position on the backswing. With a tense tight grip in the back of the left hand, there is no way to get the club on the inside on the backswing, so players using this grip are denied the ability to play certain shots in golf.

Earlier I commented on statements by Bobby Jones and by Bobby Locke, where both of them stressed an extremely light grip on the club so that it could be maneuvered into the proper hitting position at the top of the swing. On the other hand, I can name many more star players who insist that there must be a solid, firm grip with the left hand.

It just happens that several of our star golfers happen to be double-jointed, and it is this condition that enables them to perform under difficult and tight situations where the individual with average muscles cannot respond. At any rate, a golfer who is double-jointed is going to have a naturally full free swing which will give him a great deal of speed in swinging the club. It is easy to understand that such a golfer could readily feel he must hold the club firmly or it might get away from him. However, in the case of the ordinary person, tightness and tenseness in the left hand prohibits such players from ever improving beyond a certain point.

Any person who has read this book will readily know the importance that I attach to hand action and its ultimate club positioning technique. I could not complete this book without commenting again in regard to this one matter that stifles the game for so many. In closing this subject, let me urge using the overlapping grip to make golf a lot more fun.