Pro Grips

Whyner

I really need to change my grip and have been working on it the last few weeks, apparently it's a good idea to change it when you're not hitting balls.

The last few weeks and the next few are perfect...

What I'm after is images of professional's grips

So far all I've found is http://www.golf.com/golf/gallery/article/0,28242,1719027-1,00.html

stockdam

I think they are Golf Pride Tour Velvet (turned by 90 degrees so you can't see the Golf Pride logo).

http://www.golfpride.com/Grips/Default.aspx?cat=noncord&grip=tourvelvet

stockdam

Here's an article that says that Golf Pride grips are the most popular on tour.......however I think there's a bit of marketing talk in it. Pros do not worry about the longevity of their grips as they will change them frequently.


http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-the-Pros-Use-Golf-Pride-Golf-Grips&id=4861823

Whyner

I meant the actual position of their hands

Russman

If you mean how they hold the club, you'll find a lot of different variations on tour - the differences will be small but will influence how they each swing the club. Be careful who you copy.

Find a grip thats comfortable to you and is within the paramaters of what would be classed a good grip, maybe even get your pro's opinion to ensure that the change is consistent with helping whatever your faults/dominant tendancies are. You don't want a grip change to make things worse. (not suggesting you have faults but you get what I mean )

Whyner

Thanks, I'd like to see the different variations.....I'll have a further rummage

stockdam

Whyner wrote: »

I meant the actual position of their hands

Sorry.....why did I get it s wrong? I think I thought you said grips and not grip.

Grips are quite individual and it's not easy to see what's going on from a picture.

You get weak grips (Corey Pavin, Curtis Strange, Fred Couples) right through to strong grips (David Duval, Paul Azinger).

Most of the longer hitters have strong grips......many amateurs use a weak grip when they should be using a stronger one. If you slice then you should consider making your grip stronger and changing your setup.

Rather than tinkering I'd suggest that it would be better to go along for a lesson and ask about your grip.

stockdam

I'm not sure if this is up to date but it implies that Woods has weakened his grip - probably to stop the hook shot.

L.O.F.T

Ben Hogan's

L.O.F.T

Anthony Kim:

stockdam

Appleby (taken from a video - this is one way to see their grips but it isn't always face=on).

Whyner

stockdam wrote: »

Rather than tinkering I'd suggest that it would be better to go along for a lesson and ask about your grip.

I always get told to book a lesson...:(:( Lessons are great but surely we're capable of solving some of our own faults

Thanks for replies

Whyner

L.O.F.T wrote: »

Ben Hogan's

Strange the way you can't see the tips of his middle fingers on the right hand

stockdam

Whyner wrote: »

I always get told to book a lesson...:(:( Lessons are great but surely we're capable of solving some of our own faults

Thanks for replies

If we could all solve our problems then we'd be playing on the tour.
The problem with self-analysis is that you do what feels good and can't really see yourself objectively.

What problem are you trying to fix and why do you think your grip will go some way to curing the fault?

Benicetomonty

Hogan's grip, whilst aesthetically pleasing, would be considered quite weak by modern standards. His was a grip designed almost solely to stop hooking the ball, but it had the convenient accompanying effect of turning him into probably the best ball-striker of all time.

If you want dramatic variations, check out the difference between players like Olazabal and David Duval. Extremely weak versus very strong. In Duval's camp for strong grips (ie more than 3 knuckles showing on the higher hand, the left for a right-hander) are Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples, Boo Weekley and few others. Weaker grips on the other hand are a dying breed; more kids grow up with strong grips in order to hit the ball a long way from a young age, a shut clubface promotes a hook.

Still, most of the best players in the world have only 2 main types of grip : Interlock (favoured by Tiger, Nicklaus and a few others) and the overlap (Lee Westwood, Ernie Els, Davis Love III, and the majority of tour pro's). The former is quickly becoming popular however, as Woods' use of it has permeated through the up-and-comers. Harvey Penick described a good golf grip as a thing of beauty; his preference was for the overlapping grip, which is said to favour people with bigger hands.

As was said by someone earlier however, there is no set way of doing it. Check Paul Azinger's grip if you feel your grip is unorthadox and wish to be inspired!