Junior gripping the club

[wildcatden]

At what point do juniors tend to move to a more neutral grip position, especially the right hand (for right-handed)? Is it strength related (assuming appropriate length/weight clubs)? Or is it just a comfort factor for the golfer?

 

Example: I would say my 8YO boy (right-handed) has a strong left hand position and very strong right hand position on the grip for all clubs (excluding putter LOL). He plays TS-51's.

 

Also, to move them towards a neutral grip position at some point, do you start with changing the grip and having them do half swings?

[Tannerbug33]

I tried to get my son to do it early but he didn't like it. Then at about 9 and a half he was watching morning drive one morning and they where talking about grips and he changed. So Basically it was his ideal

[kylelutes]

Clubs are possibly too heavy?

[wildcatden]

Revisiting this thread a little over a month later..... I started having my 8YO change the grip of the club (right handed) to get to more neutral....particularly on irons. I am a big believer that everything starts with the grip and I just felt his _very strong grip_ with this right hand just wasn't good fundamentals. I could be wrong (wouldn't be the first time).

 

**Driver:** Left hand slightly strong (no change). Right hand strong or perhaps very strong (changed to right hand strong only). Driving the ball great but driving wasn't really a problem before other than having the consistency of an 8YO.

 

**Fairway Woods (3W,5W):** Left hand slightly strong (no change). Right hand neutral (was strong). Can't really discern a difference here. He's just inconsistent with fairway woods off the deck.

 

**Irons (5-SW):** Left hand neutral (no change) and right hand neutral (was strong). This change has helped him with trajectory and ball striking appears to be better....especially with the 5,6,7 and 8-irons. Certainly, not a scientific method being applied to measure the results but his practice on the range and play/shots on the course are leading to positives.

 

**Overall:** He was slightly hesitant for change perhaps because he was simply comfortable in his prior grip from his 6YO days. Next up we need some work on the fairway woods.

 

Hope this helps any of you working on your junior's swing.

 

[darter79]

@wildcatden very very very common and some say good practice for juniors to have a strong grip. At what age and skill does that change no idea. My daughters coach has slowly been creating her a more neutral grip but she is the same age as your boy and I think her grip is strong but not as strong as it used to be. A lot of the strong vs natural grip is strength from what I've been told but I do agree it all starts with the grip and setup must master those.

[wildcatden]

@darter79 - yeah I also believe strength to handle the club is the primary reason for the very strong grip position in younger kids. Good to hear that a coach is moving your 8YO daughter in the same direction (meaning I guessed the possible right time to start transitioning my kid). The hardest part is just getting the new grip position to be a habit because that old grip position is burned in. Also, we don’t do any specific weight training/exercise to build strength other than playing other sports (baseball and basketball most recently).

 

Thanks for your input.