New Post: #12 Technique Tuesday

Hi Friends,

Rory, Rory , Rory……..Another defeat snatched from the jaws of victory?

Does Rory have too much scar tissue now?

Can he come back and get the job done in the last few holes when he really needs to?

My personal opinion is... yes. He is too good, not too. If he keeps on putting himself in position, he will win, and then he will win more, and then the majors will follow.

One thing Rory does have is a very sound golf grip. The way we grip the club is the only physical connection we have with it.

I think it’s vitally important, and special attention should be paid to this.

There are many ways to grip a golf club. Weak, neutral, strong, baseball (10 fingers), interlocking, overlapping (Vardon), or combinations of all of these.

What do you use?

My choice is a relatively strong, overlapping grip.

Did you know Tiger and Jack both used an interlocking grip? Maybe that’s where I’m going wrong, although Hogan, Palmer, and Mickleson all use/d the overlapping grip, and obviously Harry Vardon, as it is named after him.

It is said that smaller hands are more suited to the interlocking grip, and you know what they say about people with small hands? Yes, that’s right, they need small gloves.

An often missed part of the grip and a part I believe is just as important is pressure. That is pressure within the grip and more specifically pressure points.

I think the long game is all about pressure. Can you put pressure, otherwise known as compression, on the golf ball?

Some might talk about holding the club softly, like holding a small bird (see Hogan’s famous instruction book—five lessons); others say you need to hold it more firmly.

For me, I think the important part here is the pressure points within the grip.

The idea of these stems from a golf instruction book called “The Golfing Machine," written by Homer Kelly. This book breaks down the swing from a geometric and engineering point of view. It reads like a complicated text book and is pretty arduous to try and comprehend, to be honest.

Homer says that there are 4 pressure points that can be used within the grip

#1 Last 3 fingers of the left hand

#2 Palm/Heel of right hand pushes against the left thumb or grip

#3 First joint of the right hand index finger where it touches the club shaft

Actually the last pressure point isn’t part of the grip but I’ll tell you it anyway, as thats the type of guy I am.

#4 Wherever the the straight left arm contacts the left side

What this is saying is that you should apply and hold “pressure” on these points, and this will ensure (along with some other swing components like angular momentum, power accumulators, and lag loading) that you are then putting pressure onto the golf ball and therefore achieving the holy grail of compression.

Homer says you can use all 4 pressure points or a combination of any of them; it just depends on other variables in your swing.

So there you have it. An often overlooked part of the golf swing.

Pay attention to yours; is it fit for purpose?

One last story about the grip: There is a player at my golf club with a horrible grip. I struggle to look at it without throwing up a little in my mouth; it is without doubt the weakest golf grip you will ever see.

But here is the kicker; he scored 48 points recently and shot 1 under gross, so there is always more than one way to get things done, though I wager he has some pressure points going on within that monstrosity of a golf grip (sorry Toby and well played 😁).

Happy golfing,

Auf wiedersehen