December 2007

One of the things I notice most quickly in other golfers is their grip. And I’d say over 90% of golfers over a 5-7 handicap have a grip that will completely prevent them from getting any better !

To me it is unconscionable to stubbornly stick to holding the club in a way that will surely prevent you from ever having a better swing, hitting better shots and getting lower scores.

Learning and ingraining a sound, fundamental and functional grip is something EVERY golfer can accomplish - it has no limitations caused by strength, flexibility or other skill.  It’s a totally learned thing that applies equally – no good golfers have bad grips, and few bad golfers have good ones !

A proper grip on the golf club greatly reduces the tendency to make a bad golf swing, but an incorrect grip will completely prevent you from ever making a good one. The light at the end of the tunnel is that if you change your grip now, you will be well on your way to a better swing immediately.

2008 could be your best year of golf ever, just by working on your grip in the off season.

And of all things, don’t hold to some belief that your grip is a personal thing – it’s not.  While teachers and accomplished golfers may disagree on the merits of the interlock versus the overlap or Vardon, or even the full-finger (not “baseball”) grip, the basic fundamentals apply to every one of them, and here they are:

1) The left hand (for right hand players) is the controlling hand – you should firmly (but not tightly) hold the club in the last three fingers, with the forefinger and thumb more lightly on the grip (particularly the thumb). The grip is under the pad at the heel of your hand and if it’s not, you can’t control the club with your fingers.

2) Your left hand should be placed so that the butt of the grip sticks out at least ½” – this allows the club to release properly and naturally through impact.

3) A “neutral” left hand is where you can see 3 knuckles when you look down at the back of your hand at address. You can rotate your left hand hold to the right (weaker) or left (stronger) to promote or reduce a draw or fade.

4) The right hand is placed so that the grip is totally in the fingers – the grip should be under the pads at the base of the fingers. Do not let the grip migrate up into the palm.  Your right palm should always face your left palm if you open both hands, regardless of whether your grip is neutral, weak or strong. It will rotate right or left with the left hand if you are trying to promote a draw or fade.

5) The right thumb should be resting lightly on the grip. We use our “pinchers” (thumb and first two fingers) for nearly everything, but that’s not the way to hold a golf club. If you engage your pincher fingers, your forearms will tighten. Conversely, if your thumbs are resting lightly on the grip, it is very easy to maintain relaxed forearms so that the swing can work properly.

A fundamentally sound grip will allow you to “swing” the club properly, but it will not encourage you to “hit at the ball”, which most of us do. I can guarantee you that if you work on learning and grooving a sound grip on the golf club, your swing will improve as a result. And that is something you can do while you are sitting in your office on the phone, watching TV in the evenings . . . just about anywhere. With just a little focused practice, your new fundamentally sound grip will become ingrained.

If you have a couple of old clubs that you don’t use, cut them off just below the grip, and keep one handy wherever you find you have a little time. Practice gripping and re-gripping until holding the club properly becomes comfortable and second-nature.

For more on this technique, complete with photos, subscribe to “The SCoR Zone” newsletter from EIDOLON, as this is the December subject. The signup is available in the right-hand sidebar by clicking the Join Newsletter button.

While you’re over there, in the right-hand sidebar, use the Ask Terry button to send me a question you’d like answered.

Thanks again for letting me help you improve your game.

Thanks to all of you, I have had a great time blogging this year and I look forward to continuing the sharing of my ideas and suggestions for improving your short games, discussing current events in golf and general conversation.

From a humble beginning only a few months ago, we now reach almost 1,000 golfers every day, which surpasses my wildest imagination of where we could go with this.

So, in the spirit of this joyous season of Christmas, I have allocated 100 of our wedges to be sold between now and Christmas to TheWedgeGuy.com readers at a special price of only $103.20 !

That’s 20% off our Suggested Retail Price of $129. [Your price is even lower on orders for two or more !]

Plus, I’ll send you a FREE Eidolon Cap ($22.99 value) and pay for the shipping.

So my Christmas present to you readers can turn into a Christmas present to yourself of a better short game for 2008.

All you have to do is place your order online – www.bestwedge.com, and put “TWG” in the field marked Discount Code.

Thanks for making 2007 a great year for EIDOLON Golf. We look forward to an even better 2008.