What Happens If the Trail Hand Grip is Too Strong?

[leekgolf]

What happens to the golf swing if the trail hand grip, right hand on a right hander, left hand on a lefty is too strong? How might it affect iron shots? Would it affect driver and fairway woods differently than irons? What about teed up balls?

[juststeve]

Not sure what you mean by too strong.  If you mean what I mean your hand won't work together and you may end up hooking the ball.

 

Steve

[CB67]

It depends on a number of individual factors in your swing. For me personally having a weaker trail hand grip promotes blocks and pull hooks a lot more often. 

 

When my trail hand is stronger I hit it straighter / baby draw. I had a stronger trail hand grip since I was a pre teen and now being in my 30s it’s just something I’ve always played with and trying to weaken it has never produced good results for me. That’s also not saying my trail hand grip is “too strong” it’s just stronger than neutral. 
 

My normal trail hand grip would most likely be “too strong” for a lot of players but it’s standard for me. 

But I guess when talking in general terms too strong ( getting the hand under the handle)  = hooks 

 

 

Edited September 24, 2020 by CB67

[glk]

 Can’t say in general.  Depends on lots of factors.  Been players that play fades with very strong right hands - dj and a zinger for example.    And guys that play draws.   And then you have bubba who moves it a lot either way.

Edited September 24, 2020 by glk

[me05501]

I've recently gone back to having my trail hand more on top of the grip. It seems useful to me because it restricts the mobility of the trail arm somewhat. If you have issues with that trail hand or elbow getting too active it's worth a try. For me it is a reminder that I want more body rotation and less hand manipulation. 

[Soloman1]

It flattens the swing plane. The player usually needs to rotate hard to square the clubface. There may be some lateral movement in the swing but little or no vertical movement.

You can tuck the trail elbow during the downswing with the strong trail hand grip, but players who tuck with a more on top trail hand are doomed.

Edited September 24, 2020 by Soloman1

[MPStrat]

29 minutes ago, Soloman1 said:

It flattens the swing plane. The player usually needs to rotate hard to square the clubface. There may be some lateral movement in the swing but little or no vertical movement.

You can tuck the trail elbow during the downswing with the strong trail hand grip, but players who tuck with a more on top trail hand are doomed.

 

What do you mean by tuck?

[Soloman1]

Strong trail hand grip tucks the right elbow more ahead of the trail hip.

 

 

 

 

Neutral trail hand grip tucks the right elbow in line with the trail hip.

Edited September 24, 2020 by Soloman1

[MPStrat]

2 minutes ago, Soloman1 said:

Strong trail hand grip tucks the right elbow more ahead of the trail hip.

 

 

 

 

Neutral trail hand grip tucks the right elbow in line with the trail hip.

Gotcha. I wasn't sure what you meant by "tucked" specifically.

[Nickc]

But some suggest a stronger grip for driver e.g Eric Corgono 

But this is for both left & right hands.

[Soloman1]

50 minutes ago, Nickc said:

But some suggest a stronger grip for driver e.g Eric Corgono 

But this is for both left & right hands.

 

The players grip should match their natural tendency in movements and not be some arbitrary type that players need to work to fit into.

[naj959]

Great topic! Having a very strong trail hand feels natural and is much more comfortable to me. However, it seems to create some issues for my swing that I haven't found a work around for. The clubs goes back shut, is shut at the top and stays shut throughout the downswing. This is a recipe for overdraws and a very low flight which as you can imagine, is a very limited way to play the game. If I put the trail hand more on top of the grip, it keeps the clubface more square and and I get a higher flight and have the option of working it both ways. The problem is, I tend to fidget for quite before it feels comfortable to take the club back.

 

A weaker trail hand also seems to be beneficial in properly engaging the bounce in the short game. The contact is much more crisp while a strong trail hand creates contact issues (too much leading edge?).

 

I don't have the rotation of DJ to make the strong trail hand work so making the grip weaker seems like a more feasible option.

Edited September 25, 2020 by naj959
typos

[leekgolf]

Do you think a strong trail hand effects low point control? Does this move the bottom of the swing arc back? Would it possibly cause fat or thin shots?

[Soloman1]

This is just the surface of the topic. There are more things related to it, such as release type (a corner release, an extension release. etc.) should pair with grip type also.

 

There are patterns that work together and those that do not. You can practice until you're 168 years old and you'll never hit the ball well if you aren't matching the right patterns together. You could also improve in one swing by altering a pattern to something matches.

 

And it's not just grip. Golf is complicated. Even Albert Einstein said it was too complicated. ?

[glk]

9 minutes ago, leekgolf said:

Do you think a strong trail hand effects low point control? Does this move the bottom of the swing arc back? Would it possibly cause fat or thin shots?

low point is affected by sternum location in 3d space and when trail arm extends - arms extend where sternum is pointing.  one can fat or thin it with any grip.   in general, the earlier the arms extend, fire, . . . the more the low point moves back and vice versa.    and the arms include the shoulders, elbows, and wrists.    

Edited September 24, 2020 by glk

[Soloman1]

6 minutes ago, leekgolf said:

Do you think a strong trail hand effects low point control? Does this move the bottom of the swing arc back? Would it possibly cause fat or thin shots?

Yes. Find your consistent low point after a few swings, then put the ball in the right place.

[leekgolf]

12 minutes ago, glk said:

low point is affected by sternum location in 3d space and when trail arm extends - arms extend where sternum is pointing.  one can fat or thin it with any grip.   in general, the earlier the arms extend, fire, . . . the more the low point moves back and vice versa.    and the arms include the shoulders, elbows, and wrists.    

How do you think grip effects low point or swing arc in general?

[glk]

1 minute ago, leekgolf said:

How do you think grip effects low point or swing arc in general?

I think the lead hand has more of an effect.

 

This video is a preview version of the longer video on Tyler's membership site (can take a free 7 day trial and watch video til you drop on pretty much every topic, low point, shallowing, and on and on.)