How you grip the club might seem like a trivial element of golf, but it’s essential if you want to become a consistent player. Your hands are the only part of your body that touches the club, so it’s crucial that you maintain a consistent grip.
World No. 1 and newly minted PGA champion Scottie Scheffler is a great example of this. Despite being the best player in the world, he’s always working on maintaining a proper grip. If you watch him on the range practicing, you’ll notice he uses a molded grip training aid to make sure he’s keeping that part of his setup consistent.
“The reason I monitor my grip so closely is because, as my body starts to feel different over the ball, my grip is usually the first thing to change to adjust to what my body’s doing that day,” Scheffler says. “That’s why I use the reminder club as often as I do.”
Monitoring your grip in practice is a habit that all golfers should adopt, but sometimes our grip can even change during the round. When this happens, it’s important that you correct the mistake as quickly as possible. GOLF Top 100 Teacher Debbie Doniger has a great trick for doing this, which she explains in the video below.
How to check your grip during your round
When you start hitting wayward shots during the round, it can be tempting to try different swing feels or thoughts to get back on track. But sometimes your ball-striking struggles can be attributed to something being a little bit “off” in your setup, such as the grip. So, before you go and make any swing changes, be sure to check your grip checkpoints to make sure everything is in order.
First, hold the club upright with your arms extended away from you and check the alignment of the clubface. If it’s square, you’re on the right track.
The next thing you can do to check on your grip is go over to the tire of your golf cart and put your club flush against the tire. Then, get your body into your normal “impact” position and check how the clubface looks. Is it still flush against the tire? Has it closed or opened a bit?
If the face is open or closed a bit once your body and arms reach that impact position, you can strengthen or weaken your lead-hand grip to get in a more neutral position at impact.
“Those are two things you can do on the golf course to check your clubface at impact and your hands on the club,” Doniger says.
So, next time you start to hit some wayward shots on the course, take a moment to check your grip. Chances are, you can hit the ball straighter with a couple minor adjustments.
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