Gripping Your Club Too Hard is Ruining Your Golf Swing. Here’s How to Fix It

Gripping Your Club Too Hard is Ruining Your Golf Swing. Here’s How to Fix It

By Dr. T. J. Tomasi, Keiser University College of Golf Senior Faculty and Director of Research

If you’re squeezing the life out of your club, here is a fact you should remember – the single biggest cause of overall body tension resides in your hands. So, it’s not surprising that when trying to hit a golf ball, the amount of pressure you apply to the club with your hands (grip pressure) plays a major role in determining shot quality. Try it right now. Place your hands together as if you were going to grip a club. Now squeeze them as hard as you can. Feel that tension in your lower arms? Upper arms? Chest? Maybe even your abdominal muscles tense if you perform the squeeze to its max. And here is the most important part – your body can’t achieve maximum coil with all that going on. Thus, when it comes to holding the club correctly, there shouldn’t be any “squeeze” to it at all. If you can feel even a modest amount of pressure in your forearms, you’re squeezing the club too hard at address.

To combat forearm tension, imagine you’re holding a sandwich – that’s the proper amount of grip pressure you start with. Anything greater prevents you from cocking the wrists and creating the 90-degree angle between the front arm and the shaft. Levers are power multipliers, and when your grip is too unforgiving, the lever is prevented from forming correctly – and no lever equals no power.

Some experts set it early, and some use a late set, but every good player (like our model Eric Axley) consciously or unconsciously controls the levers of power via their grip pressure.

Learn more!

Want more tips? If you want to take your game to the next level, contact our team at Keiser University’s College of Golf & Sport Management today. With our dedication and experience, together, we can elevate your game to new heights. Give us a call today at 888-355-4465.