Check your V’s: for better ball-striking, hold the club in your fingers, not your palm
Jim McLean
Of all the fundamentals, the grip is perhaps the most important. A good grip is essential to controlling the clubface. Show me a player with a bad grip, and I’ll show you one having difficulty hitting the ball solidly and accurately.
One of the most common grip errors I see with amateurs at my golf schools is resting the club too much in the palm of the left hand (for right-handed players). Gripping the club in that way makes it difficult to hinge it on the backswing and release it on the through-swing.
The handle of the club should rest diagonally across the left fingers. Be sure to grip it firmly between the heel pad and last three fingers of the left hand to provide support throughout the swing. As the hand closes over the club, the left thumb should rest on the right side of the shaft, forming an upside-down “V” with the forefinger that points between the player’s chin and right shoulder. This provides a wide “corridor” for personalizing your grip. For a draw, the “V” should point more toward your right shoulder.
Jim McLean was voted No. 3 by his peers in Golf Digest’s ranking of America’s 50 Greatest Teachers. He is based at Doral Golf Resort & Spa, in Miami.
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