Went to Vardon Grip

My right pinky is killing me with the interlocking grip, so I tried the split grip, and hook city. So today I decided to give the Vardon grip a shot, and it worked really well and gave the arthritis a break. I was also somehow getting better strikes on the ball as well. Easily hit one of my best drives ever on one hole. I messed up when I got excited and tried to kill it on the next two holes. I need to give it some time to get used to, but liking the results. The irons were outstanding, really good.

I too switched a while back. Same reasons . A lot less pain in these old hands.

I have used this grip for years. Was never really comfortable with interlocking, for same reason as you. Local golf pro in the mid-90's showed me the Vardon version and that's all she wrote.

I found that once you take the right pinkie out of the equation, most of the feel and stability in the grip comes from the middle and ring fingers of both hands.

Years ago I studied martial arts, including some work with a bokken (wooden sword). That same sense of feel in the middle and ring fingers was stressed during our training sessions, almost to where the index finger was extended and not wrapped around the bokken.

I sometimes find myself doing the same thing in golf (extending index fingers) but never seem to lose either feel or stability with the club.

Is the Vardon grip same as overlapping grip?

Yes, for a righty your right pinky would overlap on top of your your left pointer finger or kind of in the crease between your left pointer and middle finger.

I used the vardon grip for about a 2 year stretch. Really liked it, but have since gone back to interlock which I've used since a kid.

One note of caution: If you have somewhat smaller hands, this can result in causing a stronger right hand grip.

I have smaller hands, but used to play with a stronger grip, so the vardon grip for 2 years wasn't a problem. My trend back towards a neutral grip is what caused the switch back to interlock.

I think this often gets overlooked.

Interlock hurt my right pinky too I don't get how people use it?!? Overlap feels 1000x better. Surprising so many tour pros use interlock too.

Is overlap the most common on tour? Can't imagine going away from it at this point

If you look at the top 10, most use interlock. Overall it's probably around 50/50 I would guess.

I’ve tried it for stretches and just feel like I have zero control of my bottom hand. I was a walking block fade for the few rounds I tried with it.

In one golf article in 2015, it said that 98% of PGA pros use overlap grip. Another article said 90% use overlap. That is pretty unbelievable that the overwhelming majority use overlap. I figured it was around closer to even as well.

I am struggling with the adjustment somewhat, but overall the results are great. Hit some great drives, and irons are phenomenal.

I tried going back to the interlocking grip, but the pain in my left index finger was too much to handle. Played today with the Vardon, and did really well.

I had to abandon an interlocking grip due to arthritis in the knuckles of my right hand. The Vardon grip puts much less pressure on the pinkie and ring fingers of my right hand (I'm right-handed.).

I played with the interlock for 35 years and then sudden horrible pain in my little finger RH. Changed 3 years ago to the overlap and now when I try a shot with the interlock it feels terrible. Short game is better now but long game not so good.

I thought it was just me, but I am having the same results. Driver fell off, but the rest of the clubs are much better.

Does this alleviate pain in all the fingers/hands?. After a practice session or a round my left (i'm a righty) ring finger is trashed. Limited mobility, pain, swelling, etc.

I used to interlock but had similar pains to the previous posters. I found I was interlocking too deeply and it would bother me when I hit lots of balls, it was also changing my grip without me knowing.

Interesting to see this thread, I'm in my Mid-40s now and just recently went to Vardon grip. Exact same issue as others, pain and swelling with the interlock.

My short game is actually much better, for me Vardon grip seems to weaken my right-hand around the greens.

Played my first 18 today with the vardon grip. Broke 80 for the first time. Short game was on. Mid and long irons were so pure. No pain in my fingers or hands.

I made this same change about 10 years ago for the very same reason. A couple of years ago I tried the interlock as an experiment. I felt less connected and had much less confidence I even had a clue where the club head was. contact suffered. It was a brief experiment. Also, before the first round was over, the pinky was killing me.

I have been using interlock since i started playing over 20 years ago. I have never had issues. I think you all are interlocking too deep. Anyhow, whatever works, works.

I played with an interlocking grip for 45 years. A finger injury caused me to change to the overlapping grip 5 years ago. It felt strange for a little while, but I couldn’t play otherwise. I figured I would go back to the interlocking grip when my finger finally healed in the off season. However, when I tried to switch back, I discovered that the Vardon grip was more comfortable. I’ve overlapped ever since.

It’s all about preference. Started with the ten finger but switched to the Vardon at 19. Occasionally will try the ten finger but do better overall with Vardon.

My son when he was young was taught the interlocking because Tiger used it. He hated it he went to a 10 finger grip later.

I think the interlocking cause pain in the fingers easier.