Strong Grip Adjustments Feedback

[gblack414]

TLDR: tips on adjustments made (specifically to right thumb placement) to play with strong grip

New member here. Been playing for 25 years, 31 years old. I’ve always had a fairly natural swing but over the years my swing has changed naturally and purposefully:

-kept elbow tucked to reduce over swinging (very young)

-over time I’ve developed a very strong grip

-most recent changes include: tilting club forward at address, straightening left arm, opening stance to force follow through

I’m not a “feel” player, as in I can’t tell you exactly what I’m feeling from one swing to the next. Very quick twitch swing, great rotation, great balance, great weight shift. Recently did a BodiTrack session to find the last couple out.

Finally to my grip, no pictures now but will add later. All the classic strong grip features. I don’t particularly have a problem holding the club open at impact to hit great shots, more looking for consistency. The change I’ve made recently that I’d like some specific feed back on is with my right thumb. As with every strong grip, right thumb is typically on the “back” of the grip, or opposite of the direction I’m hitting. I moved my thumb more over the top or laying across the top of the grip. My thought is that when I did have my thumb on the “back” of the grip, the pressure from my right thumb is more likely to affect the limited control I do have of the club fact to keep it open at impact. By moving my thumb over the top, I’m taking that pressure out of the equation (also decreasing the effort/force/speed of my swing) and allowing my natural swing motion and overall positives to produce a smooth solid strike that is more consistent. You could probably categorize the rest of my grip attributes as being strong (not as strong) with this change of my thumb.

The reason for trying this was after a few slips in my grip (thumb pressure going to one side or the other of the grip in the follow through) occasionally produced a good result. Also note that I used oversized grips because of a quite literal strong tight grip. Thus the loss in effort/force/speed not bothering me but preventing me from trying to kill the ball.

I haven’t seen any info or videos on this thumb placement online so if you’ve made it this far, any feedback is appreciated.

 

 

 

[Ri_Redneck]

Right-handed strong grip player here. I see 4 knuckles on my left hand (V pointing at my right elbow), but my right hand is somewhat neutral (V pointing at my right shoulder). I've only seen that combination a few times, but it works really well for me. Thumb of my right hand is laid off to the left side of the grip. I play a short thumb grip which restricts the amount of wrist-set at the top. Placing the right thumb on the shaft also gives me the feeling that it is restricting it even more.

BT

[gblack414]

Never given much thought to my left thumb being short or long. I'm definitely right in the middle. Gripping the club with a short thumb and the right thumb on the shaft like you described, I see how that is more restricting. I think we agree that laying the thumb over the grip "frees" up the rest of our grip and reduces the tension.

I see 2 knuckles on my irons and 2.5-3 knuckles as I move to my driver. Stronger grip with my driver than irons, so not sure what that indicates about the rest of my swing and posture. I've never had much concern over posture, but in the last year, I've developed a sort of self consciousness as to how far I am from the ball at setup. Mainly with my driver. Letting my arms hang straight down from my shoulders and trying not to reach helps. With my driver, I have a thought in my head or feeling of how close I am to the ball, and after resetting, I may still have the slightest feeling of that distance being off and will subconsciously change my swing.

[Ri_Redneck]

I cannot let my arms just hang, I will shank everything because they extend when I swing. I have to reach a bit so that I catch it in the center. Practice has taught me how much. How strong the left hand is depends on your anatomical build, IMHO. I experimented until I found a left hand grip that allows me to stop thinking about releasing the club. I just swing it back and swing it through with plenty of authority. Never think about pronating, supinating or anything other than letting my right hand stay out of the shot until after impact. TONS easier than what I used to do.

BT

[lindsaybinsey]

I definitely am on the very strong grip bus. I see 4 knuckles always. I don't put a lot of thought into it to be honest. I am 46 and noticed my grip getting gradually stronger as I aged, probably just trying to hit it farther or something dumb like that.

My swing coach tried to weaken my grip early on but now just accepts it for what it is. As long as you are comfortable and consistent strong grips are not the end of the world!

[Coy M]

I recently bought a simple grip training aid (SKLZ grip trainer) to help me weaken my right hand "right handed player." If my right hand gets too strong I really have to feel like i hold the face open during impact. I've actually tried to weaken both the left and the right hand but it's not easy. I've always raised the handle at impact to keep the club face square so when I weaken my grip I hit huge block/slices. It's a process of changing the grip and swing mechanics at the same time ...