There are so many points to cover in this topic that I know I won't be able to cover all of them. But there are some things I think people should understand. I'm just going to talk about this from the right handers perspective and if you are left handed please excuse me for not being multi-cultured enough to include you. It just takes up so much dang time to flip it around.
First, the placement of the left thumb.
Why do I bring this up? Because so many people get it wrong that it's not even funny. I've even heard some golf instrutors get this wrong.
It is only natural to place the thumb close to the first knuckle of the index finger. It feels tighter on the grip, but this is 100% WRONG. It will encourage the bending of the left wrist AND SLICES! I will explain why in just a moment. The correct placement of the left thumb is just slightly to the side AWAY from the knuckle of the index finger.
The reason for this is because it acts as the ONLY pressure point that the left hand has on the back end of the shaft. Think about this for a moment here. When you get to impact, where do you want the pressure you are applying to be?? On TOP of the shaft pushing DOWN, or BEHIND the shaft pushing FORWARD?
Your instict is to put that pressure point BEHIND the shaft and push it forward with your thumb. This is the "karate chop" motion. If you just make a backhand motion with your thumb on top of the shaft, you will feel weak and helpless to control the club. So your natural inclination is to rotate your left forearm so that the thumb is behind the club at impact. Well guess what that does to the clubface! It opens it up and there you have your push slices.
Also, look at the top of the backswing. Your left arm does not go straight up vertically, it goes at an angle accross your chest. So do this little experment for me.
Put just your left hand on the club with the thumb on top and lift your arm up accross your chest over your right shoulder. This puts your forearm at an angle. Now because of that angle, this is going to put your thumb to the SIDE of the shaft at the top where it cannot support the shaft. Your only option is to cup your left hand to get the thumb under the shaft.
So a left thumb on TOP of the shaft causes two things. A cup left wrist at the top, and promotes an open clubface at impact.
The other thing about the grip that I would like to mention is a simple thing that most people don't really think about too often.
The clubface angle (open or closed) rely's on the rotation of your forearms at the setup and their ability to reach that same rotation when you get to impact. If you take a strong grip, you have rotated your forearms clockwise slightly. You must reach this clockwise position when you get to impact. In order to do that, you must "hold off" any sort of natural rotation of the forearms or else you'll hook the shot. This is also known as blocking.
Your lead arm also has an inclination to hold the club at an angle between your left forearm and clubshaft. You NATURALLY want to hold the club shaft in an L shape to your forearm. This is commonly refered to as lag.
With a stronger grip, you will be less likely to release this angle for impact and have your hands much further in front of the ball than if you had a neutral grip. Now I'm all for the hands leading ahead of the clubhead for impact but often times this is exagerated to the point where the club is delofted by nearly 2 clubs. So your 8 iron becomes your 6. As a result I see a lot of people with strong grips try to hit the ball UP into the air and wreak all sorts of havoc. That's just aching for shanks and duck hooks.
Another result of a strong grip is what I call the "Left Side Twistaway". The left hip pulls hard away from the ball which pulls the left shoulder open and causes a big outside to in swing path with the HANDS. With a strong grip though the CLUBHEAD comes from the inside so what you have is and inside to out clubhead direction and an outside to in hand direction. If timed perfectly it can produce a straight shot, but if not then there will be dramatic changes in ball flight from swing to swing.
Probably the best golfer to date that has perfected the "Strong Grip With Left Side Twistaway" is Rory Sabatini.
Anyway, the point is that if you are looking for a proper release to get that awsome compression feeling, I suggest you look to your grip first... and be careful about some of the advice that's out there on the grip. A lot of people make observations about what everyone else is doing and not enough observations about why they're doing it.
Another great article Steve, I'd appreciate a little help with my grip. After reading article after article on the proper grip, and the different styles, I sort of clasify my left hand grip as STRONG. My right hand grip is somewhat unique. I absolutely feel uncomfortable when I try and place my thumb across or on top of the shaft. I end up with my thumb along the right side of the club. I've tried over and over to put the thumb on top but it just doesn't feel right. I'm not complaining about the distance or direction I'm getting, but obviously I could do better if I could conform. What is the result of my placing my thumb like this?
Another great article Steve, I'd appreciate a little help with my grip. After reading article after article on the proper grip, and the different styles, I sort of clasify my left hand grip as STRONG. My right hand grip is somewhat unique. I absolutely feel uncomfortable when I try and place my thumb across or on top of the shaft. I end up with my thumb along the right side of the club. I've tried over and over to put the thumb on top but it just doesn't feel right. I'm not complaining about the distance or direction I'm getting, but obviously I could do better if I could conform. What is the result of my placing my thumb like this?
Del
Your right thumb shouldn't have much participation in the grip at all. If it is, then your LEFT thumb is positioned improperly.
The left thumb and the index finger between the first and second knuckle of your right hand are what apply pressure to the backside of the club.
I suggest when you take your grip, point your right index finger straight down at the ball. Then curl it around the grip.
Hi Steve! First of all, I'd just like to say thanks for all the good advice and tips you've brought here. Good stuff, indeed.
I'm a 60 y.o. duffer who has just returned to the game after a 12-year layoff. Began my hacking adventure in early July. After a few weeks of watching vids and trying different "tips" from the 'net and all over, I had screwed myself up so bad I could barely even make contact with the %$&(*%^ ball anymore. Finally decided to start from scratch and studied your "grip" videos as a starting point. My natural grip was weak, and I found that moving to a neutal grip was uncomfortable and strange. BUT! The results were immediate. Good contact and straight hits. Aim still needs work (but that's another show...). Still, I'm staying in the short grass, or at worst, just in the first cut. Except for the occaisional total brain-fart, I'm lying in very playable positions.
Bottom line is that you've helped me find a solid foundation to build a better swing.
Odd thing about that 'tho... Just moving my thumb that little inch or so seems to have changed my whole stance. From my shoulders to my feet, it seems to have twisted me back into something more like what most try to teach as a good golf stance. Go figger.
Have the same problem Del spoke of, with my right hand. Your advice to him sounds logical and I'll do that, as soon as the rain stops.
So, I'm hitting straight, good loft, but distance leaves a lot to be desired. Steady 190 off the tee, but I feel I oughta be more around 220-230 anyhow. In my "smacking plastic balls around the backyard" practice session yesterday, I noticed I'm initiating my downswing with my right forearm, making my right arm dominant throughout the swing. This ain't right. I'm trying now to start with the left shoulder. Better, feels stronger, but not sure this is correct either. Any thoughts? This particular part of the swing doesn't seem to be addressed anywhere.
In any event, thanks again for all your advice and tips.
Hi Steve! First of all, I'd just like to say thanks for all the good advice and tips you've brought here. Good stuff, indeed.
I'm a 60 y.o. duffer who has just returned to the game after a 12-year layoff. Began my hacking adventure in early July. After a few weeks of watching vids and trying different "tips" from the 'net and all over, I had screwed myself up so bad I could barely even make contact with the %$&(*%^ ball anymore. Finally decided to start from scratch and studied your "grip" videos as a starting point. My natural grip was weak, and I found that moving to a neutal grip was uncomfortable and strange. BUT! The results were immediate. Good contact and straight hits. Aim still needs work (but that's another show...). Still, I'm staying in the short grass, or at worst, just in the first cut. Except for the occaisional total brain-fart, I'm lying in very playable positions.
Bottom line is that you've helped me find a solid foundation to build a better swing.
Odd thing about that 'tho... Just moving my thumb that little inch or so seems to have changed my whole stance. From my shoulders to my feet, it seems to have twisted me back into something more like what most try to teach as a good golf stance. Go figger.
Have the same problem Del spoke of, with my right hand. Your advice to him sounds logical and I'll do that, as soon as the rain stops.
So, I'm hitting straight, good loft, but distance leaves a lot to be desired. Steady 190 off the tee, but I feel I oughta be more around 220-230 anyhow. In my "smacking plastic balls around the backyard" practice session yesterday, I noticed I'm initiating my downswing with my right forearm, making my right arm dominant throughout the swing. This ain't right. I'm trying now to start with the left shoulder. Better, feels stronger, but not sure this is correct either. Any thoughts? This particular part of the swing doesn't seem to be addressed anywhere.
In any event, thanks again for all your advice and tips.
-Bob
Well this actually goes precisely to the point of moving the thumb over to the side of the shaft.
At the top of the backswing you need to have the left thumb under the shaft in order to control the club. If it is not directly under the shaft, then YOUR RIGHT HAND is under the shaft. That puts the only pressure on the club that is in a position to PUSH the club forward solely in the knuckle of your right index finger. So of course, since that's the only hand that can apply pressure to the back side of the club, it's going to be the active hand in the forward swing.
OK, went outside and put what you said to the test. Was keeping the right hand/arm in the swing was merely residual habit. Seeing (feeling) what the left thumb was doing, it was easy to just take the right arm “out of the loop” and let the left do the work. A few more sessions with the practice balls out back and I’ll be ready to bring it to the course this week.
Thanks for your time and patience helping me understand all this. This is fun!
There are so many points to cover in this topic that I know I won't be able to cover all of them. But there are some things I think people should understand. I'm just going to talk about this from the right handers perspective and if you are left handed please excuse me for not being multi-cultured enough to include you. It just takes up so much dang time to flip it around.
First, the placement of the left thumb.
Why do I bring this up? Because so many people get it wrong that it's not even funny. I've even heard some golf instrutors get this wrong.
It is only natural to place the thumb close to the first knuckle of the index finger. It feels tighter on the grip, but this is 100% WRONG. It will encourage the bending of the left wrist AND SLICES! I will explain why in just a moment. The correct placement of the left thumb is just slightly to the side AWAY from the knuckle of the index finger.
The reason for this is because it acts as the ONLY pressure point that the left hand has on the back end of the shaft. Think about this for a moment here. When you get to impact, where do you want the pressure you are applying to be?? On TOP of the shaft pushing DOWN, or BEHIND the shaft pushing FORWARD?
Your instict is to put that pressure point BEHIND the shaft and push it forward with your thumb. This is the "karate chop" motion. If you just make a backhand motion with your thumb on top of the shaft, you will feel weak and helpless to control the club. So your natural inclination is to rotate your left forearm so that the thumb is behind the club at impact. Well guess what that does to the clubface! It opens it up and there you have your push slices.
Also, look at the top of the backswing. Your left arm does not go straight up vertically, it goes at an angle accross your chest. So do this little experment for me.
Put just your left hand on the club with the thumb on top and lift your arm up accross your chest over your right shoulder. This puts your forearm at an angle. Now because of that angle, this is going to put your thumb to the SIDE of the shaft at the top where it cannot support the shaft. Your only option is to cup your left hand to get the thumb under the shaft.
So a left thumb on TOP of the shaft causes two things. A cup left wrist at the top, and promotes an open clubface at impact.
The other thing about the grip that I would like to mention is a simple thing that most people don't really think about too often.
The clubface angle (open or closed) rely's on the rotation of your forearms at the setup and their ability to reach that same rotation when you get to impact. If you take a strong grip, you have rotated your forearms clockwise slightly. You must reach this clockwise position when you get to impact. In order to do that, you must "hold off" any sort of natural rotation of the forearms or else you'll hook the shot. This is also known as blocking.
Your lead arm also has an inclination to hold the club at an angle between your left forearm and clubshaft. You NATURALLY want to hold the club shaft in an L shape to your forearm. This is commonly refered to as lag.
With a stronger grip, you will be less likely to release this angle for impact and have your hands much further in front of the ball than if you had a neutral grip. Now I'm all for the hands leading ahead of the clubhead for impact but often times this is exagerated to the point where the club is delofted by nearly 2 clubs. So your 8 iron becomes your 6. As a result I see a lot of people with strong grips try to hit the ball UP into the air and wreak all sorts of havoc. That's just aching for shanks and duck hooks.
Another result of a strong grip is what I call the "Left Side Twistaway". The left hip pulls hard away from the ball which pulls the left shoulder open and causes a big outside to in swing path with the HANDS. With a strong grip though the CLUBHEAD comes from the inside so what you have is and inside to out clubhead direction and an outside to in hand direction. If timed perfectly it can produce a straight shot, but if not then there will be dramatic changes in ball flight from swing to swing.
Probably the best golfer to date that has perfected the "Strong Grip With Left Side Twistaway" is Rory Sabatini.
Anyway, the point is that if you are looking for a proper release to get that awsome compression feeling, I suggest you look to your grip first... and be careful about some of the advice that's out there on the grip. A lot of people make observations about what everyone else is doing and not enough observations about why they're doing it.
Would you PLEASE post a picture of this left hand grip. I'm sure everyones impression of "slightly away from the index finger" can vary a lot.
BTW, I DO NOT want a bunch of folks trying to explain this to me. I don't have a grip problem. I just think the description is not clear enough and a simple picture would make it very clear.
Although the clubface is open in this picture since it's illustrating a bunker shot, you can clearly see the thumb is off to the side of the grip and not directly on top.
The grip and how it effects your release
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