Women’s golf tips: If you’re looking for more solid contact, check your right hand’s position on the grip

By: Debbie Doniger, Top 100 Teacher October 6, 2020

Your right hand's position is key to creating an effective and consistent swing.

Debbie Doniger

Your only connection to the club is your hands, and the better you swing your arms and hands, the better your body will respond and move throughout your swing.

To that end, it’s important to make sure your right hand is on the handle properly, because your right hand, forearm and elbow play a huge role in your overall swing path. The hinge, the backswing plane, downswing and angle of attack (and therefore, how you use the ground) are all related to the right-hand grip.

The arms also create speed, so it is imperative to get the right-hand grip on the club correctly, or you will end up making compensating moves to square the face at impact. My good friend and Top 100 Hall of Fame Teacher Mike Adams taught me this simple checkpoint to determine what works for you.

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The right hand can be placed in any one of three ways on the handle. In the picture below, you will see I have my palm on the side of the handle (left), on top of the handle (middle) and under the handle (right). Each of these placements will work. To figure out which one is best for you, close the hand after you move the palm in these three places, and swing the club half way back and through and figure out which feels the most stable.

Doniger right-hand grip — Any of the three right-hand positions above will help set up your swing for success. Debbie Doniger

Once you complete that assessment, put your feet together and tee up five balls to simply work on swinging the clubhead around your body. Initially, you should be looking for a ball to curve to the left.

Doniger swing drill — Use this drill to get the feel of a proper turn with your selected right-hand position. Debbie Doniger

After successfully doing that 10 times, spread your feet apart, and allow your body to shift and turn in response to the speed you have created. You’ll enjoy more solid strikes right away.

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