Apply the Right Golf Grip Pressure With Your Fingertips

Using the right golf grip pressure is just as important as the way your hands are positioned on the golf grip. Unfortunately, most beginning golfers are never taught how and where to apply the right amount of pressure in their grip. You'll often read vague grip tips such as "Grip the club like you'd grip an egg." These types of pointers don't help out that much. After all, how many times have you gripped an egg with two hands?

Golf grip tension issues are caused either by gripping the club too tightly or too loosely. If you have too firm of a grip, your hand and wrist muscles tighten. This tension prevents the wrists and forearms from swinging through the ball in a fluid manner. When the wrists and forearms are restricted from making a fluid turn, swing speed drops and there is a tendency to block, or slice the shot.

If you've ever tried to really crush a drive, chances are you either almost whiffed or sliced the heck out of the shot. Why? Because the natural tendency when swinging harder is to also grip the club harder - with more pressure. The end result is that your wrists don't roll over fast enough so you end up slicing your drive.

An even bigger pressure problem is a grip that is too loose. Some golfers grip the club so lightly that the entire club can twist during the course of the swing. It's amazing that they can even hit the ball! A loose grip is usually caused by a misinterpretation of the phrase, "Grip the club lightly." There's a big difference between gripping the club lightly and gipping the club loosely.

Proper Golf Grip Pressure Points

Believe it or not, proper golf grip pressure comes from the fingertips, not from the hands. The word "grip" actually gets us started off in the wrong foot. You're not really gripping the club, you're pinching the club. Pinching? What?

Think of it this way, you grip a lid when you remove it from a jar. This grip uses the whole hand - all fingers and the palm. Do you grip the golf club this way? Hopefully not. If you do, chances are you're stuggling with your game.

In a proper golf grip you actually pinch the grip using three finger tips on each hand: your thumb, index and pinkie fingers.

The picture to the right highlights the fingers and pressure points used in a proper golf grip. The thumbs and index fingers are used to pinch, or press, the golf grip.

The power in your grip comes from these four fingers (index and thumb - two on each hand). The pinkies are used to stabilize the grip through the swing. The two pinkie fingers provide the control in the grip.

By using your fingertips, you'll exert the proper golf grip pressure while keeping your wrists and forearms supple and relaxed.

If you currently have a grip of death on the club or hold the grip too loosely, this approach may take a few practice sessions to master. Make sure to stretch your fingers, hands and wrists while you are perfecting your golf grip pressure. Stretching will help limit the amount of cramping and soreness you may experience when you start using your fingers more.

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