The Grip

The grip is probably the most talked about area of the swing. In fact, have you ever seen someone getting a lesson who is not told to alter their grip somehow.
You shouldn't be a stickler on the grip because every great player in the world has a different grip. Everyone has a different way of putting his hands on the club that makes him feel comfortable.

You should be a stickler on the grip because the grip has an effect on clubface positions. Too weak of a grip, with your hands turned too far to the left, will lead to an open clubface at impact and a slice. Too strong of a grip, with your hands turned to the right and underneath the club, will lead to a shut clubface and quick hooks.

Although most pros are different, most of them have some form of a strong grip. They just differ in how strong the grip is, not necessarily if it’s strong or weak. So the basic idea with your grip is to have it strong. This means that your hands are turned more to the right and underneath the club. This will make it much easier for you to keep your clubface square throughout the shot. You will no longer have the tendency to roll the face open during the first three feet of your backswing.How strong your grip should be is up to you. There are some great players on tour with super strong grips, such as David Duval and Paul Azinger, and those with just barely a strong grip, such as Tom Weiskopf and Hale Irwin.

A key to a good grip is to make the "V’s" formed by the thumb and index finger point toward your right shoulder. Anything more or less than that may require too many compensation on the downswing in order to keep your clubface square.

This strong grip--with the V's pointing at your right shoulder-- is especially true for the longer hitters, such as Tim Herron, John Daly, Scott McCarron, and, of course, Tiger Woods. They all have a strong grip. This is especially true with their left hand. With each player, you can see about three knuckles on their left hand. This gives them more leverage in terms of their wrist movement. They are able to wait until the last moment to release the club, which results in a surge of clubhead speed through impact.

Or maybe you should look at the shorter hitters. People like Corey Pavin and Curtis Strange are short hitters on tour and have weak grips, with their "V’s" pointing toward their chin. They can't achieve that "late release snap" of the wrists with their hands set in such a weak position. So grip it strong and hit it long.

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Back to the Target

Keep your back facing the target at the start of the downswing.

When you reach the top of your swing, feel your back face the target for a split second as you make the initial move down with your hips. You should feel that your back resists against your lower body. Your upper body stays still, your lower body begins firing, and your club automatically drops into the slot.

This swing thought will help keep your club to the inside on the downswing. If you open your shoulders too soon, and therefore not have your back face the target, your club will move to the outside. This will lead to an over-the-top downswing, which is a problem common to slicers.

Keeping your back to the target is a great thought to use on full shots where the shot can be controlled by the body, because this swing thought consists merely of turning the shoulders on the backswing, holding them there for a split second, then letting them fire through. So practice this with full shots, and not so much half-shots or short ones which require more arms and hands.

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Learn more about the #1 rated golf instruction book in the game today, 1 Step to Better Golf.