History of interlocking grip

As its old history this is the best place to ask this question.....I can't find much history on the origins of the interlocking grip. I would like to know who like vardon created or was the first pro (top amateur) to use the interlocking grip. Just like to know...Ta in advance!

I'm studying the old school instruction, but haven't tracked down interlocking grip yet.

This web site is a good place to start. Many of the old texts are linked out here.

http://www.curedmygolfslice.com/the-golf-grip.php

I believe the overlapping grip predated Vardon - he gets credited with it because he was one of the first superstars to have his technique picked apart in the media and in photos. In the same way, I doubt he invented it but Gene Sarazen used interlock - albeit with a few idiosyncrasies. Check out the photo on this page - http://www.ushandicap.com/golf-forums/forumtopic.asp?id=7447 - and you'll begin to understand why his grip was described as "the most contorted bunch of bananas ever seen"

Seymour Dunn's cornerstone book of golf instruction 'Golf Fundamentals' published in 1922 makes no reference to the interlocking grip. This book is such a definitive and comprehensive work that it is very safe to assume it didn't exist at that time.

Fast forward a decade to 1932 we have a forgotten hero of golf instruction called Alex Morrisson. In his early life he was a top tennis player and because he knocked around at the L.A. Country Club was drafted in th give a lesson on golf (aged 16 if you will). This started a quest for golf information and his views were revolutionary. His book, A New Way to Better Golf' detailed the interlocking grip and the reasoning behind it.

The main difference between his grip and the modern interlocking grip is that the left thumb went behind the shaft (Right handed players, Rex). The principle he said was to greater facilitate 'lag and forearm rotation.'.

His best known disciple was Henry Picard, founder of the modern Tour, player, teacher and claims to be the man who straightened Hogan's hook. Picard signed a contract with Morrisson in 1936 to teach his methods and grip.

Picard was also a student of Seymour Dunn.

Probaably Jack Grout, another Morrisson disciple, put the left thumb in the position of what is called orthodoxy today.

So the answer about who invented the interlocking grip and when is probably Alex Morrisson some time in the mid to late 20s before his book was published....someone, somewhere will have a better answer!

Good stuff Stix, I had forgotten about Alex Morrison - though I doubt that Sarazen would have learnt his grip from Morrison. There's a nice, and relevant, article here from what I take to be Jack Grout's son - https://groutgolf.com/2011/01/05/lesson-tee-a-proper-grip/ Always meant to search out some of Jack Grout's books, and Seymour Dunn also.

If you look at the photos of where Sarazen's left thumb goes, that is behind the shaft, it could well be that this was a Morrisson influence.

Could be. My reason for thinking otherwise was just that I imagine Sarazen learnt his grip as a boy, and that he and Morrison were close enough in age that it's unlikely one would have influenced the other, but certainly not impossible. The left thumb wrapped around the shaft is what I understand to be a very old-school grip, and that seems to be what the Dick Grout article was saying too.

If my memory is not playing tricks on my, Claude Harmon also wrapped his left thumb around the shaft. My best guess would be that he learned that grip before receiving much in the way of formal instruction, but that's no more than a guess. I don't think he taught that grip to his sons.

Cheers, great stuff! There was an interview by the BBC in 93 (sandwich open) on sarazen and he said he heard someone saying 'he uses that funny grip' So he tried it as a boy. He didn't say how old he was but I do remember him saying it.....I'll have to dig on YouTube and try and find it

I believe the overlapping grip predated Vardon - he gets credited with it because he was one of the first superstars to have his technique picked apart in the media and in photos. In the same way, I doubt he invented it but Gene Sarazen used interlock - albeit with a few idiosyncrasies. Check out the photo on this page - http://www.ushandicap.com/golf-forums/forumtopic.asp?id=7447 - and you'll begin to understand why his grip was described as "the most contorted bunch of bananas ever seen"

I think Johnny laidlay was the actual creator of the overlapping grip - a Scottish amateur in the late 1800s

Seymour Dunn's cornerstone book of golf instruction 'Golf Fundamentals' published in 1922 makes no reference to the interlocking grip. This book is such a definitive and comprehensive work that it is very safe to assume it didn't exist at that time.

 

Fast forward a decade to 1932 we have a forgotten hero of golf instruction called Alex Morrisson. In his early life he was a top tennis player and because he knocked around at the L.A. Country Club was drafted in th give a lesson on golf (aged 16 if you will). This started a quest for golf information and his views were revolutionary. His book, A New Way to Better Golf' detailed the interlocking grip and the reasoning behind it.

The main difference between his grip and the modern interlocking grip is that the left thumb went behind the shaft (Right handed players, Rex). The principle he said was to greater facilitate 'lag and forearm rotation.'.

His best known disciple was Henry Picard, founder of the modern Tour, player, teacher and claims to be the man who straightened Hogan's hook. Picard signed a contract with Morrisson in 1936 to teach his methods and grip.

Picard was also a student of Seymour Dunn.

Probaably Jack Grout, another Morrisson disciple, put the left thumb in the position of what is called orthodoxy today.

 

So the answer about who invented the interlocking grip and when is probably Alex Morrisson some time in the mid to late 20s before his book was published....someone, somewhere will have a better answer!

I located an ebook pdf copy of Morrisson's "A New Way to Better Golf".

http://www.sybervisi...Golf/newway.pdf

It is a thoroughly entertaining and amusing treatise on "the correct swing". The interlocking grip is

almost an afterthought, but so critical to his method that he doesn't even discuss alternative grips.

I doubt that he invented it, but he doesn't attribute it to anyone else.

Most golfers will find much with which to disagree, but there are some pearls of wisdom in there.

Naturally, he blames any failure of the instruction solely upon the student's inability to learn or practice.

His fundamental "secret" is to point the chin behind the ball and keep it there.

Here is a 1932 article by Stewart Maiden in which he writes:

"I use the overlapping grip, but I've known lots of great golfers, who use the so-called natural grip, and still other fine ones, who interlock instead of overlapping."

http://www.curedmygo...GolfSMaiden.pdf

So it certainly seems to predate Morrisson and Maiden. The Dick Grout article referenced above

describes a "modern" interlocking grip versus the "classical" interlocking grip "which has been

around for centuries".

I am going to throw a spanner in the works here. I am going to refer to a book that was written in the early 1900s, I believe it was called 'The Golf Secret' it was written by a doctor of medicine who became a scratch player in one year playing once a week. He reasons that with his knowledge of the human anatomy that this was key to his success in such a short period of time. I believe it was in his book that he mentions the baseball bat grip, the interlocking grip to keep the hands together and finally the overlapping grip and in that order. From memory the interlocking grip, rather than hooking the little finger on the overlapping hand around the index finger of the passive hand. That after placing the passive hand on the club in a strong position with a long thumb position the passive hand's index finger is opened to allow the small finger on the overlapping hand (right hand on a right-handed player) to slide in between the index finger and the middle finger so that it maintains contact with the leather (it was an old book) and the index finger on the passive hand (left hand on a right-handed player) to also to make contact with the leather. This, he states, ensures 10 finger contact with the club like the baseball bat hold but puts the hands closer together. The most ideal hold being that both hands would occupy the same position which is impossible. There was no mention of hooking the index finger with the little finger. If you think of it doing so only allows an eight finger hold as opposed to a nine finger hold with the little finger overlap. It is of course quite possible that I misread his book with its matchstick illustrations and no photographs. I have always played using that grip and it locks and is very firm. When I started getting golf lessons my coach showed me the interlocking grip as two fingers hooking but he preferred the overlapping grip to ensure the hands are always in the same position. He also added that the left hand (for a right-handed player) does all the work so needs all the contact it can get. So I asked him what the right hand was for and he said for shaking the hand of the loser.

I am going to throw a spanner in the works here. I am going to refer to a book that was written in the early 1900s, I believe it was called 'The Golf Secret' it was written by a doctor of medicine who became a scratch player in one year playing once a week. He reasons that with his knowledge of the human anatomy that this was key to his success in such a short period of time. I believe it was in his book that he mentions the baseball bat grip, the interlocking grip to keep the hands together and finally the overlapping grip and in that order. From memory the interlocking grip, rather than hooking the little finger on the overlapping hand around the index finger of the passive hand. That after placing the passive hand on the club in a strong position with a long thumb position the passive hand's index finger is opened to allow the small finger on the overlapping hand (right hand on a right-handed player) to slide in between the index finger and the middle finger so that it maintains contact with the leather (it was an old book) and the index finger on the passive hand (left hand on a right-handed player) to also to make contact with the leather. This, he states, ensures 10 finger contact with the club like the baseball bat hold but puts the hands closer together. The most ideal hold being that both hands would occupy the same position which is impossible. There was no mention of hooking the index finger with the little finger. If you think of it doing so only allows an eight finger hold as opposed to a nine finger hold with the little finger overlap. It is of course quite possible that I misread his book with its matchstick illustrations and no photographs. I have always played using that grip and it locks and is very firm. When I started getting golf lessons my coach showed me the interlocking grip as two fingers hooking but he preferred the overlapping grip to ensure the hands are always in the same position. He also added that the left hand (for a right-handed player) does all the work so needs all the contact it can get. So I asked him what the right hand was for and he said for shaking the hand of the loser.

I am going to throw a spanner in the works here. I am going to refer to a book that was written in the early 1900s, I believe it was called 'The Golf Secret' it was written by a doctor of medicine who became a scratch player in one year playing once a week. He reasons that with his knowledge of the human anatomy that this was key to his success in such a short period of time. I believe it was in his book that he mentions the baseball bat grip, the interlocking grip to keep the hands together and finally the overlapping grip and in that order. From memory the interlocking grip, rather than hooking the little finger on the overlapping hand around the index finger of the passive hand. That after placing the passive hand on the club in a strong position with a long thumb position the passive hand's index finger is opened to allow the small finger on the overlapping hand (right hand on a right-handed player) to slide in between the index finger and the middle finger so that it maintains contact with the leather (it was an old book) and the index finger on the passive hand (left hand on a right-handed player) to also to make contact with the leather. This, he states, ensures 10 finger contact with the club like the baseball bat hold but puts the hands closer together. The most ideal hold being that both hands would occupy the same position which is impossible. There was no mention of hooking the index finger with the little finger. If you think of it doing so only allows an eight finger hold as opposed to a nine finger hold with the little finger overlap. It is of course quite possible that I misread his book with its matchstick illustrations and no photographs. I have always played using that grip and it locks and is very firm. When I started getting golf lessons my coach showed me the interlocking grip as two fingers hooking but he preferred the overlapping grip to ensure the hands are always in the same position. He also added that the left hand (for a right-handed player) does all the work so needs all the contact it can get. So I asked him what the right hand was for and he said for shaking the hand of the loser.

> @stixman said:

> Seymour Dunn's cornerstone book of golf instruction 'Golf Fundamentals' published in 1922 makes no reference to the interlocking grip. This book is such a definitive and comprehensive work that it is very safe to assume it didn't exist at that time.

>

>

>

> Fast forward a decade to 1932 we have a forgotten hero of golf instruction called Alex Morrisson. In his early life he was a top tennis player and because he knocked around at the L.A. Country Club was drafted in th give a lesson on golf (aged 16 if you will). This started a quest for golf information and his views were revolutionary. His book, A New Way to Better Golf' detailed the interlocking grip and the reasoning behind it.

>

> The main difference between his grip and the modern interlocking grip is that the left thumb went behind the shaft (Right handed players, Rex). The principle he said was to greater facilitate 'lag and forearm rotation.'.

>

> His best known disciple was Henry Picard, founder of the modern Tour, player, teacher and claims to be the man who straightened Hogan's hook. Picard signed a contract with Morrisson in 1936 to teach his methods and grip.

>

> Picard was also a student of Seymour Dunn.

>

> Probaably Jack Grout, another Morrisson disciple, put the left thumb in the position of what is called orthodoxy today.

>

>

>

> So the answer about who invented the interlocking grip and when is probably Alex Morrisson some time in the mid to late 20s before his book was published....someone, somewhere will have a better answer!

And Grout's famous student, the GOAT, used the interlocking grip, he was one of the few back in 60-70's era. Now seems more popular- TW, Spieth, prob, others.