DM was here in the US straight over from Australia on business. Being a student of the PPGS, he booked a day’s lesson with me. DM is a scratch player and he was hitting the ball fairly well but there was too much inconsistency in his ball contact and his flight.  After getting his playing history and finding out what his future goals were and what he was willing to do to attain them, it was time to check out his setup and swing.

While doing my written evaluation I graded his overall setup and swing as pretty good.  But the key for getting it from pretty good to real good meant getting down to tightening his setup issues before I could work on his swing as my number 1 mantra is, “The setup determines the motion.”

His grip needed attention.  At first glance it looked OK but not good enough.  His left or top hand (DM is right handed) looked a little weak despite being cupped a little.  Then looking at his right, lower hand, it looked OK but was a little strong.  This means his hands were on the club opposite each other with one weak and the other favoring strong.  The dead give away was when, in his address position, I saw his hands wiggling back and forth which caused the clubface to wiggle back and forth, which was going open to shut.  When he started his takeaway, one time the club started away shut and the next time it went away correctly, toe up leading.   His wiggle at address was like he couldn’t get the clubface square to his aiming line relative to his setup feeling right or correct.  That, in fact, was the issue.  He couldn’t get into a dynamically balanced setup of his arms and grip because the grip was not correct.

I started with his right/lower hand and had him grip the club. Then I had him just open his fingers so I could see where the grip was seated in his fingers.  Just as I knew it had to be with his strong looking right hand grip, the club was too close and into the base of the fingers.  The bottom of the grip, we’ll call 6:00 o’clock, was touching the last joint of the fingers where they attach to the palm.  For a correct grip the club must be seated in the middle joint which will set the hand on the club palms perpendicular to the ground.  I showed him how to crimp his fingers at the middle joint. That is where the club is gripped in your fingers so that 6:00 o’clock is now seated in the middle finger joint.

His left or upper hand also needed some adjustment.  When he opened his fingers the club was seated very close to on top of the base of his palm and too close to his lifeline.  He also had his left thumb directly on top of the grip at 12:00 0’clock and it was touching his index finger.  The grip fix for his left hand was getting the grip seated on the middle and top joint that connects the finger to the palm.  Then I got his pad of the left hand closer to on top of the grip at 12, which removed the grip from the lifeline and into the last finger joint.   Lastly, I got his thumb moved over from 12:00 o’clock to 1:00 o’clock and pointed out that this caused a gap between the thumb and index finer.  I stated a gap was good.  Touching or tight is not right.

The biggest issue of the left thumb being over at 1:00 o’clock on the grip is that the thumb was now directly in line up the forearm.  Conversely, the right or lower hand thumb being over and touching the grip at 11:00 0’clock was in line with the forearm.  In 1985, the first time I met Dr. Armstrong, my physiology mentor, we talked setup and swing. He pointed out to me that the fingers, hands and arms are only in dynamic balance when the thumps point up or align up the forearm.  Thus, the thumb of each hand has to be on the outer side of the grip to be aligned up the forearm.

The best way to see this is to extend your hands out like shaking hands or let them hang by your side and look at your thumbs.  Your thumbs are extended or hanging straight down from and in line with your forearm.  Next, to see and feel balance and the way the thumb works relative to your forearm, try to pick something up or, with your left hand, hold a pen and give it to your right hand.  Notice the index finger and thumb come together to grab the pen.  Notice the thumb always stays aligned directly down from the forearm.  This is a dynamically balanced hand to forearm.  That is why, for the grip to be dynamically balanced in the setup and then for the entire swing, we keep the top wrist firm and relatively straight, so both thumbs are in line up the forearms.

This will still create the V that most everyone talks about having to point at the back shoulder for a square, or as I call it, a palms perpendicular to the ground grip.  The thumbs in line up the forearms do help and are in fact basically a deterrent and more of a guarantee so neither hand gets too strong or weak.  The thumbs in line up the forearms is a dynamically balanced grip.

The last points I stressed about grip were all relative to pressure.  I believe grip pressure has to be relatively firm.  Together with firm, I believe they must both be the same firmness which I relate to being that of a firm, confident handshake.  On a scale of 1 weak to 5 tight, they both are a 3, right in the middle.  The fingers, in setting the pressure, must be squeezed upward, again just like you shake hands.  There is no pressing down the lower hand and thumb onto the upper hand and thumb.  We squeeze the fingers upward.

The last and vitally important point about the same pressure in both hands is that once the swing starts and all the way to the finish, both hands must swing and move at the same speed.  Just as the front tires on a car must go the same speed, or turn in a circle towards the slower wheel, so must both hands swing at the same speed and same effort throughout the swing.

DM’s grip was not real bad, but it wasn’t real good, especially for a scratch player.  I spent a good 20 minutes showing and explaining the finer points of the grip and the reasons to why it is the way it is.  I then had DM grip, let go and grip again and again until he was doing it correctly, smoothly and consistently.  Then it was practicing swinging to feel the effect of the changes and then the ultimate test of hitting some golf balls.

His back and forth waggle at address was gone and his takeaway was more consistently toe up into the mitt and his backswing from the mitt easily more vertical.

A good grip, with the muscles properly activated, can then rotate and lift correctly to make a correct swing.  A great grip is a many splendid thing and sets the stage for a splendid swing.

(Note to Inner Circle Members: Be sure to visit the Member Forums for the new Golf School, March 10-12, At Port St. Lucie, FL. Click here to see what our students said about the last one. And I’d say you have about 5 days left to get a custom made driver, exactly like the one I use.)

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