How To Grip A Golf Club: Beginner’s Guide
Last Updated on January 15, 2023
Golf is a sport that takes years to master, but gripping a golf club properly can help you save time and frustration. In this post, we will show you how to grip a golf club.
We’ll go over the different parts of the golf grip and what each hand does.
We’ll also talk about common mistakes beginning golfers make, so you can avoid hours of frustration.
“Golf begins with a good grip.” – Ben Hogan
What is the best way to grip a golf club?
Here is my pick of the best golf grip to use.
The Overlapping Golf Grip
The first thing you need to learn when golfing is how to hold a golf club. The first part of holding a golf club is the grip.
A proper golf grip is the foundation of your golf game and is essential to have a consistent golf swing, hit the ball well, and achieve your desired ball flight.
The Overlapping Grip is the best way to grip a golf club.
Right Handed Golfers
These steps outlined will be specific to the right-handed golfer, and therefore should be reversed by the left-handed player.
There are three main parts of the golf grip – the left hand, the right hand, and the thumbs. The placement of each finger is important as well as grip pressure to achieve the correct grip.
We’ll go over each step in greater detail below!
How To Grip A Golf Club: 5 Steps To The Overlapping Golf Grip
- Pick up the club with your left hand so your left thumb is pointing down the club shaft toward the club face with your fingers wrapped around the club grip.
- Place your right hand on the grip opposite your left hand and with your left pinkie-finger overlapping between the index and middle finger of your left hand.
- Close your right hand over the club so that your right palm covers your left thumb and your right thumb rests naturally over the shaft.
- Make sure that as you look down at your hands you can see two knuckles of your left hand and just the fingertips of your right hand.
- Your wrists should both feel naturally hinged and relaxed and you should see the “V” of your right-hand thumb.
How To Grip A Golf Club: Overlapping Golf Grip Left Hand
The first step in a solid golf grip is to pick up the club with your left hand. The best placement for your left hand is beginning at least one-quarter inch down the golf club grip.
Your left thumb should be pointed down toward the ground and your four left fingers should be gripping around the club shaft.
The club face should be aimed at your target with the club head resting on the ground with the natural club face angle. Make sure your left palm is facing opposite the direction of the club face and you can see two knuckles of your left hand.
How To Grip A Golf Club: Overlapping Golf Grip Right Hand
Gripping the golf club with your right hand is similar to gripping a baseball bat – with a couple of key differences.
The right hand should be placed above the left hand, opposite to the left hand, and parallel to it on the club with the thumb curled naturally over the club shaft.
The two hands come together to form a solid grip.
The right hand needs to slide up the club toward the left hand so that the right-hand pinkie finger overlaps between the middle and index finger of the left hand.
Now the ring finger, middle finger, and index of the right hand grip the club.
Lastly, the palm of the right hand covers the left thumb. Both thumbs should be pointing the same way and the left thumb should be comfortably inside the right palm, resting below the base of the right thumb.
Gripping the golf club with the proper pressure gives you more control over the club during the golf swing, which can help increase your power!
Try gripping your fingers just lightly enough that you can wiggle all four fingers on your right hand up and down without losing grip – this will keep them flexible for when it’s time to hit the ball!
How To Grip A Golf Club: Overlapping Golf Grip Thumbs & Fingers
Make sure both thumbs are extended and point down the shaft toward the clubhead. Your two thumbs should meet in front of where they hold onto the shaft, gripping opposite of each other.
They should be aligned with each other and pointing in the same direction.
The thumbs should be resting on the club with natural pressure. The primary pressure on the golf club should come from your fingers and not your thumbs.
How To Grip A Golf Club: 3 Most Common Mistakes
The golf grip can seem simple, but there are many common mistakes that beginners make. These mistakes lead to a weak golf grip, misalignment of the clubface and, a bad golf shot. Here are some of the most common ones:
- gripping too tightly
- gripping with left hand too low on the club
- improper grip strength
How To Grip A Golf Club: Mistake #1 – Gripping Too Tightly
The death grip. It is common for new golfers to think they need to have super grip strength to hit a golf ball hard. Many golfers start out squeezing the club tightly. But constantly squeezing your golf clubs tightly will lead to hand fatigue.
Hand fatigue will cause your grip to weaken and eventually cause the club to spin in your hand more easily when it comes into contact with the ball or ground.
Using too much grip pressure also causes the muscles in your forearms to be tight and affects your entire arm during the golf swing. Squeezing too hard with your middle fingers can also cause blisters.
The perfect grip is gentle but firm.
How To Grip A Golf Club: Mistake #2 – Gripping With The Left Hand Too Low On The Club
This goes for both gripping too low and gripping too high on the golf club. If you grip below the very end of the club, you risk the golf club coming out of your hand.
You lose control of the club by having less of your stabilization hand on the grip as well as allowing the club to move inside your palm.
Gripping too low on the excess shaft may get caught on your clothing and interfere with your ability to execute a proper golf swing.
How To Grip A Golf Club: Mistake #3 – Improper Grip Position (Or Strength)
By grip strength, we refer to the grip position relative to the clubface when standing over the ball. This may not happen if the beginner golfer does not know how to hold a golf club.
Most golfers will find they need to adjust their grip strength based on the way they are hitting the ball.
You may need a weak grip to stop hooking the ball or a strong grip to stop slicing. The opposite may also be true. You may be pulling the ball because your grip is too strong or slicing because your grip is too weak.
You should seek the advice of your local golf professional before making a grip change to make sure you find the right grip for you.
Three Main Parts Of The Golf Grip
There are three main parts of the golf grip – the left hand, the right hand, and the thumbs.
Three Main Parts Of The Golf Grip: The Left Hand
The left arm is responsible for guiding the path of the club. The left hand is always entirely on the club grip.
Three Main Parts Of The Golf Grip: The Right Hand
The right arm generates the power of the golf swing. Type of grip determines what the pinky finger does.
Three Main Parts Of The Golf Grip: The Thumbs And Fingers
The thumbs are always placed on the club in the same manner in all grips. The finger’s placement differs by the type of grip being used.
Types Of Grip Positions Or Strengths
Grip strength refers to how the hand placement is relative to the club face when you address the ball. There is not a right or wrong way to grip the club when it comes to strength, but in a perfect world, we would all grip the ball with a neutral golf grip.
Your Golf Grip Affects How You Hit The Golf Ball: 3 Types Of Grip Positions
There are three types of grip positions to hold a golf club:
- Neutral Grip
- Strong Grip
- Weak Grip
Neutral Grip
As the name implies, a neutral grip is evenly balanced and unbiased. With a neutral grip, both hands are at the most natural hand placement position and even with the club face.
This grip is neither left (draw/hook) nor right (fade/slice) biased.
To hold the club with a neutral grip, when your hands are in front of you at waist level, addressing the ball, make sure you can see two knuckles of your left hand.
Your right hand should also be over the left thumb in a manner that you see the tips of your right fingers.
You should be able to see the “V” in your right hand. There should be a comfortable, natural wrist hinge in both hands.
Strong Grip
If you can see more than two knuckles of your left hand and more than just the tips of your right hand fingers with the club face flat on the ground, you have a strong grip.
It feels like your right palm is facing the sky. Your left wrist may be hinged harder and your right wrist may not be hinged at all.
A stronger grip will cause (or help) you to close the club face in the swing path in the case of an open clubface. This grip may be used to help stop a slice in cases where the golf club head is left open at impact.
Weak Grip
If you can see less than two knuckles, or none of the fingers of your right hand, then you have what is called a weak grip. Your left hand may feel like it’s facing the sky while your right palm is facing down.
This time you may have a hinge in your right wrist.
A weak grip will stop the hands from over-rotating at impact since the hands are already rotated left. This rotation prevents hooking or over drawing the ball to the left.
Key Considerations For A Proper Golf Grip
- The perfect golf grip is gentle but firm.
- Start with a neutral grip.
- Most new golfers grip the club too tightly. Remember key grip pressure comes from the middle fingers of the right hand.
- Your hands should fall naturally in front of you and on your club when you address the golf ball and make a good swing.
- You should always use the same grip no matter what club you are using. This helps you to be consistent which is the key to improving your golf game.
- You may develop a different putting grip and your grip may move down the club to chip for instance, but beginners should always start out using the same grip. Most putters have a different grip size.
Taking It To The Next Level: How To Grip The Golf Club Like The Pros
You may want to try some more advanced concepts that go beyond this tutorial once you are comfortable with how your hands should be placed on the golf grip.
Right Hand Grip Pressure
The left arm is used to guide the swing while the right arm provides power. On the right hand, the primary grip pressure should come from ONLY the right-hand index finger and the right-hand middle finger.
The right index finger and thumb should just be touching each other and not adding any pressure.
Sliding The Grip Down The Club
This is a technique used to “shorten” the club and provides more control in chipping situations. It is done by moving your grip down the shaft closer to the club head and usually with your right hand at the base of the club’s grip.
You will want to spend a good bit of time practicing to see what works best but moving your grip closer to the clubhead is a good way to add accuracy to chipping and even sand shots.
Alternatives To The Overlapping Grip
There are a few different ways to form a golf grip including the ten-finger method, interlocking grip, and overlapping grip technique. We walked you through how to use the overlapping golf grip because it is the best grip for golf.
However, there are other golf grips that golfers use and if the overlapping golf grip does not work for you, you may want to give them a try.
The Baseball Golf Grip (Ten-Finger Golf Grip)
The 10-finger grip is often cited as most used by beginners since it feels natural, especially if you played baseball as a kid. It is common for a new golfer to hold a golf club like a baseball bat the first time they pick one up.
This grip allows your hands to move independently to each other on the golf club. This could cause your hands to move in an undesirable way.
A proper golf grip with the overlapping or interlinked pinkie-finger prevents this.
The Interlocking Golf Grip
The interlocking grip is the second most popular of golf grips. Advocates of this method believe that it provides superior stability and keeps the hands locked more tightly together.
Interlocking is the type of grip that was used by Jack Nicklaus and the grip that Tiger Woods uses. However, the overlapping grip is still #1 with most amateur golfers and the most used grip on the PGA Tour.
The grip is achieved by changing how the right and left hands come together on the club.
Instead of the right pinkie laying on top of the other hand’s index finger and middle, the pinkie of the right hand interlocks with the left index finger.
What Is The Easiest Golf Grip To Learn?
The baseball or ten-finger is the most natural feeling and easiest golf grip to learn.
How To Use The Baseball Golf Grip (Ten-Finger Golf Grip)
A golf club is a stick with a grip on the end of it. Gripping the club can be intimidating if you have never played before. Many people just aren’t sure where to place their hands or what part of the stick they should hold onto.
The proper grip allows for ideal weight distribution between your hands and arms and will help you develop a strong and fluid swing.
When gripping the club, try to imagine your hands as two identical baseball mitts – one on top of the other. Your goal is to create a solid connection between the shaft and your palms.
The ten-finger or baseball method is an easy way to do this:
How To Hold A Golf Club: 5 Steps To The Baseball Golf Grip
- Pick up the club with your left hand so your thumb is pointing down the club shaft toward the club face with your fingers wrapped around the club grip.
- Place your right hand on the grip above your left hand with the palm of your right hand covering your left thumb.
- Close your right hand over the club so that your right palm covers your left thumb and your right thumb rests naturally over the shaft.
- Make sure that as you look down at your hands you can see two knuckles of your left hand and just the fingertips of your right hand.
- Your wrists should both feel naturally hinged and relaxed and you should see the “V” of your right-hand thumb.
How To Hold A Golf Club: Baseball Golf Grip Left Hand
Pick up the club with your left hand at least one-quarter inch down from the end of the club grip. Your left thumb should be resting on the club shaft and pointed down toward the ground.
Your left fingers should be gripping around the club shaft and the club face should be facing your target.
How To Hold A Golf Club: Baseball Grip Right Hand
Place the right hand on the club above the left with the right hand covering the thumb of the left hand. Rest the right thumb in a natural position touching the right index finger.
How To Hold A Golf Club: Baseball Grip Thumbs And Fingers
All the fingers contact the grip gently but firmly.
How To Use The Interlocking Golf Grip
The only difference between the interlocking and overlapping grips is the joining of the left pinkie and right index fingers.
All other aspects of the overlapping grip remain the same for the interlocking grip.
Interlocking: Right Hand
See overlapping: right hand
Interlocking: Left Hand
See overlapping: left hand
Interlocking: Thumbs And Fingers
Many players experiment with switching to the interlocking or overlapping grips. If you learn to hit with either, you should stick with that one for the long haul.
What is a correct golf grip?
A golf grip is how we hold a golf club in our hands. It is your only connection to the golf club, and the foundation of the golf swing. Several different methods can be used and interlocking grip and overlapping grip are the most common.
A proper golf grip is the foundation of a golfer’s entire swing.
A correct golf grip will lead to a more consistent swing, better ball flight, more distance, and more good golf shots. A less than perfect golf grip will lead to poor ball-striking, inconsistent hitting, or even injury, for new players.
A proper grip is essential if you want to learn to play golf well.
Summary
That concludes our tutorial on how to hold a golf club for right-handed golfers. I recommend using the overlapping grip because it is easy for the beginning golfer to learn, provides a strong stable grip, and is the grip used by most golfers.
You should start with a neutral grip since it is the right grip position if you have a good swing path and everything else is correct.
I hope this guide helped you learn how to grip a golf club correctly – now get some golf clubs, hit the driving range, try your new golf grip, and have fun!
If you need more help or if something is unclear please let me know below so we can improve our content together 🙂 Happy swinging everyone! 🏌️♂️🛷☀️
