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Corporate Golfer learns the proper golf Grip

26 November 2006

The Mrs was nice enough to buy a golf magazine for me (Golf Digest) - which was not unexpected since she is a nice person. While reading said magazine I found out that a certain Mr Tom Watson believes that a sound grip is the most important fundamental in golf (and on reflection, golf certainly isn't the only form of entertainment requiring a sound grip).

Tom also mentioned that nearly every average golfer he watches lacks a sound grip. Since the "corporate golfer" is a few light years away from the illustrious league of those described as "average golfers", it's safe to assume that a proper golf grip is an area worth working on. Read on to learn how to grip your shaft properly.

Tom's advice is to:

  1. Lift the club in front of you with the shaft parallel to the ground and the toe of the club pointing straight up (by aiming the bottom edge of the club, not the top edge).

  2. If you're right handed, first set your left hand on the club so you can see 2 knuckles; with the left thumb running down the right-centre of the shaft.

  3. With the right hand, let the club rest in the fingers, not in the palm.

  4. Then lower the club to the ball and voilà...you are aiming the face correctly.

Practising the golf grip
Golf Grip

With new-found wisdom on how to grip the golf club, the "corporate golfer" headed off to the local driving range...I used only my 5-wood off the grass and, as is customary, took command of the range (by hitting every inch of it and scaring away other golfers).

 
Hook
Straight
Slice
Total
Short

11 (16%)

17 (25%)

11 (16%)

39 (58%)
Solid

5 (7%)

11 (16%)

12 (18%)

28 (42%)
Total
16 (24%)
28 (42%)
23 (34%)
67 (100%)

I'm afraid the above stats expose the soft underbelly (of my otherwise still incomplete golf game) - only 18% of the shots (1 out of 5) went where I wanted them to go, and 58% of the shots didn't get enough distance on them...probably not percentages Tiger would settle for! (on the upside, 42% of the shots were pretty straight, with a slightly higher tendency for me to slice the ball than to hook it).

I now know what I need to work on - increasing that 18% of shots which went where I wanted them to go - one out of 5 in the right place just doesn't do it for me.