"Why Do I Tighten My Grip?"

Surge here! We got a question from Mike about the grip, like we've been doing the last couple of days. We'll stay on the grip because this is a really good question.

Mike says, “I have the same problem with the grip as a lot of golfers. Nice grip in the setup position, but as soon as that backswing begins the grip tightens. By the time I hit the ball, you couldn't jerk the club out of my hands with a truck. How do you keep the firm but not too tight grip throughout the swing?”

This was a tough one for me to think about because it's like why are you starting good then getting tight? One of the things I teach is that whatever you start with is what you want to keep through the whole swing. What you feel with the firmness of your fingers and in the muscle tone in your wrists and forearms, is what you want to maintain through the whole swing.

I think the #1 really big issue, what is the culprit, is the concept of hitting down on the ball. Even though I teach thin divots and we swing up to the finish, I think many still subconsciously, especially if you've been playing for a long time and that's all you ever did was hit down on the ball, if you think about it and you start swinging back and pull that club down and hit down, as some people even told me “pound down” or “beat that ball into the ground,” your arms and hands are going to tighten up in your readiness to pull down and really smash the ball into the ground.

Start your backswing and get up to the top and start to think about swinging up. If you're tight at the top, how are you going to swing up? All the muscles are too tight. It's hard to get up without relaxing your hands and your arms.

I think the key is even though many of you might be still really trying to swing up, subconsciously you've got too much “hit down” in there. I think if we can start thinking, right from the get go, of swing up or at least get up to the top of your backswing and just stop there and think about it. Tighten your arms and try to swing up. It doesn't happen.

Keep your arms in the right muscle tone and a #3 grip pressure and you can swing up all day.

I think you need to fool with that. Find what is the #3 position for you. Once you find that the key to keeping a consistent grip pressure, especially as you're getting to the top and you're going to transition, is the concept of swinging up to the t-finish.

The Surge!