Chapter 2 - The Grip

Hands must work as one unit Watch the thumbs And the right forefinger Parallel "Vs" The coin test Tendencies to avoid

The role of the hands in the operation of sending the ball to its objective is a subject of endless argument. The importance I attach to the hands may be gauged in the first place by what I have to say about the grip. I want to deal with it at some length and in considerable detail.

My belief is that while the beginner needs to give a lot of attention to applying his hands in the manner in which they can retain control and impart feel of the club head and obtain the maximum power from the shaft, the more experienced and advanced player, having developed strong and well-trained hands, more naturally gets the hands fitting into the swing unit as a whole without always realizing it.

For one thing the top golfer has developed a sound and constant grip on the club which in itself PERMITS the hands to work properly. You may find the odd good player with a suspect grip, but you will seldom find a bad one with a good grip.

At this point let me draw attention to Eric Brown, deservedly one of the outstanding professionals of the post-war era. Brown's achievements speak for themselves, and yet I often wonder how still greater they might have been if only he had schooled himself to grip the club in the more orthodox way. It is remarkable that a player of the Scottish professional's admirable golfing qualities he has a very fine movement into the ball should grip the club with the right hand so much under the shaft which sets the "V" of this hand at an angle to the "V" of the left hand.

What I want to point out is that Brown has reached his position in the game IN SPITE of this flaw in his technique, not

BECAUSE of it. He has succeeded while so many others have failed.

The grip is the first step we take towards the shaping of the swing. Slackness or movement on or away from the shaft at any stage of the swing can throw the whole operation out of line and completely wreck the timing.

I go so far as to say that conscientious work on the grip until it is correct in all its details will contribute more than any other factor towards the building of a finely shaped swing. The feet, legs, back, shoulders all have their essential parts in the movement, and good hand-action in itself will not bring these members into play as some pundits would have us believe.

But without the proper use of the hands these other physical members will not be able to function as smoothly as they must.

Now the first and main function of the hands is their correct placement on the shaft of the club. Master the grip and the rest of the hand-action will present no serious problem. For visual proof of the priceless asset which a perfect grip confers, watch Christy O'Connor addressing the ball.

The Irishman's great natural gifts include a splendid hand-action which, more than anything, provides that smooth unhurried rhythm which is such an outstanding feature of his play. If he can be faulted by the purists it is perhaps that his wrists at address are rather lower than most. Be that as it may, O'Connor's hands fit the club as if welded to the shaft, as if he were born with his hands correctly holding a golf club with the muscular response of the fingers naturally developing through the years until they appear to be part of the shaft itself.

Like the majority of the top players, O'Connor uses the Vardon overlapping grip in which the little finger of the right hand is hooked on top of, or round, the forefinger of the left. This is designed to bring the hands into closer unity. It is the grip I generally teach unless the pupil has small hands and short fingers.

In such cases the double-handed grip favored by Dai Rees, Norman Sutton and Americans Art Wall and Bob Rosberg is often more suitable.

A third style is the interlocking grip used with marked success by the famous Whitcombe family and American Gene Sarazen. This is perhaps the most individualistic grip of the three, and I consider it should be learned and developed only under personal supervision. I do not propose to deal with it here.

All three of these grips, however, have one common factor when practiced by players of the class I have named. They are applied in such a way as to ensure that the hands work together as one. For remember, golf is a two-handed game. Learn to regard the left hand as the controller, then you need not fear the right.

In the Vardon and double-handed grips the same principles apply except that in the double-handed version the little finger of the right hand does not overlap the left forefinger. Instead it is on the shaft, firm and CLOSE against the left forefinger.

Now for the Vardon grip and how to apply it.

With the club soled on the ground in front of you, apply the open left hand so that the shaft lies diagonally across the roots of the fingers, from the middle knuckle of the forefinger to a point just below the base of the little finger (Fig. i).

Close the hand on the shaft with the thumb not (repeat NOT) on the top of the shaft but rather to the right, about one-quarter to one-third of the way round. Fig. 2 shows the position you should have formed at this stage.

The next point is vitally important and it is stressed in the drawings. The top three fingers must remain close together and not spread.

The forefinger will be very slightly, no more than one-eighth of an inch, away from the next finger to help support the "short thumb" which I am about to describe.
Figure 1

First act in taking up a sound secure grip. Note the angle of the shaft   across the base of the fingers of the left hand.

Figure 2

Ideal left hand-grip. Last three fingers close together. The "Short" thumb.

Figure 3

The "Long" thumb-Wrong. The thumb is stretched too far down the shaft. Result: A Ham-handed" grip and the "V" formed by thumb and forefinger cannot be closed. Another fault: Grip has been applied at the extreme end of shaft.

DON'T stretch the left thumb down the shaft (Fig. 3). Draw it up as far as is comfortably possible so that the ball of the thumb, the fleshier part, is pressed with a gentle firmness on to the shaft (Fig. 2).

Here we may encounter one of the problems of bone-structure referred to briefly in my opening chapter. Some people cannot draw the thumb up the shaft sufficiently to attain the ideal position. They have only a limited degree of movement in the thumb joint.

But while it is an advantage to have a thumb joint which allows the thumb to be drawn up the shaft it is by no means calamitous not to be able to do so. Just draw it up as close as possible. The real danger lies in stretching it down the shaft, which leads to a marked tendency to over-swinging and a consequent lack of control.

With this placement of the left hand raise the club head from the ground with the left hand only. If the grip has been correctly applied the top end of the shaft will be balanced and kept secure by the pressure of the fleshy pad towards the heel of the hand against the top side of the shaft (Fig. 4).

Figure 4

Applying the left hand test for security in the grip.
 
This is absolutely essential to firm gripping of the club in the left hand. Test it by slowly opening the fingers. The club shaft should remain balanced in the hand.

Return the sole of the club to the ground and restore the left hand-grip as outlined. Now to fit the right hand on to the shaft.
 
Place the open palm of the right hand alongside the shaft, the palm being parallel with the face of the club in other words facing what would be the line of flight.

Close the two middle fingers round the shaft with the upper of these two fingers drawn up closely against the forefinger of the left hand (Fig. 5). This leaves the right little finger to overlap the left forefinger. I prefer the little finger to pass behind the left forefinger and slip into place in the crevice between the first two fingers of the left hand.

Figure 5

The grip almost completed. Note the placing of the fingers of the right hand.

This placement makes for still closer unity of the two hands but many fine players (the late Pam Barton, a pupil of mine, was one) find it more suitable to lay the little finger on top of the left forefinger.

We now come to the right thumb and forefinger and vitally important they are. The club-shaft, so far, is lying in the little fingers (not the palm, remember) of the right hand. Now it will also fall snugly and securely into the bent right forefinger, which, thus placed, automatically provides added power and firmness to the swing as well as helping to steady the club at the top of the backswing.

The right thumb is tremendously important. Never, never have it pressed on top of the shaft, or, still worse, on the right side of the shaft.

In either of these positions the wrist is locked and the thumb is restricting the swinging of the club head. This leads to a fatal recoil action at the top of the swing which at once throws the club head off line.

Look for the player with the right thumb firmly on the shaft and there you have a snatcher. No, the correct position for the right thumb is diagonally across the shaft with the tip of the thumb meeting, or almost meeting, the tip of the forefinger. Only the right portion of the ball of the thumb is actually against the shaft, thus permitting the free, controlled, but unimpeded movement of the club when swung.

We have now built up a placement of the hands on the shaft in which the back of the left hand and the palm of the right are directly aligned facing the proposed line of flight (Fig. 6a).

The grip is mainly in the fingers, not ruggedly in the palms which would be sheer ham-fisted ness. It is through the fingers that the feel of the club head is transmitted and the main pressure will be applied by the top two or three fingers of the left hand and the two middle fingers of the right. The third finger of the left hand is vital in my opinion, but I will deal with that separately before we leave the grip.

Vs closed ah fop and in alignment

Figure 6a

The complete grip front view.

Two views, back and front, of the completed grip. This way the two hands are correctly aligned and can work together as a single unit. Note placing of the right thumb.

Figure 6b

The complete grip back view.

The two "V"s formed by the thumbs and forefingers on the shaft will be parallel. This is of paramount importance a must if the two hands are to work in cohesion. The "V"s will be closed, and they should point to a spot between the chin and the right shoulder. Within these narrow limits you can work to find which is most suitable for you.

It is advisable to have half an inch or an inch of the top of the shaft protruding above the heel of the left hand when the grip is completed (Fig. 6b). This is what the Americans call "choking" the shaft and it gives better balance and feel of the club head.

We are almost there but not quite. To further weld the hands into one unit of control the right hand must rise as high as possible on the left.

It may not come easily or appear comfortable at first, but I urgently stress the need to work on this aspect of the grip. In this drawn up position the fleshy pad below the base of the right thumb will fit snugly over the left thumb, so closely that a coin placed by a friend between the pad below the right thumb and the upper side of the left thumb will not fall out the swing with the coin in place. If it slips out the hands have loosened like a pair of scissors opening. You must train yourself to avoid this "scissors" action at the top of the swing if you are to strike the ball consistently.

(Fig- 7)-

To carry this test further take the club back to the top of

When the hands part company in this way the base of the right thumb losing contact with the left the right hand makes an involuntary effort to restore contact with the left. The result is a breakdown in the timing, with the club head, as likely as not, thrown out.

How tightly should the club be gripped? You hold it firmly enough to maintain control, firmly enough not to stifle the feel of the club head which you must acquire, firmly enough not to freeze or lock the wrists.

Figure 7

The final test of a secure grip throughout the swing. A coin placed between the base of each thumb in the completed grip should still be securely in place at the top of the swing.

You must fight against what may be a natural tendency to apply a vice-like grip. I have already described how the left thumb is pressed with a "gentle firmness" on the shaft. That is the degree of pressure to be applied to the grip as a whole  a "gentle firmness" in contrast to a vice-like seizure of the shaft. Too tight at address invariably means too slack at impact.

Now I return to the fingers of the left hand. You know now that the main pressure will be in the top two or three fingers of the left hand and the two middle fingers of the right. Henry Cotton continually stresses the importance of finger placement and finger pressure, and how right he is.

My personal conviction is that many teachers and writers of text books on golf tend to over-emphasize the left little finger. The player is urged to concentrate on wrapping this left little finger round the shaft, but I prefer to put the emphasis on its next-door neighbor, the longer and stronger finger, for two reasons. In the case of the majority of people the little finger is very short and has limited strength because it is so rarely used in the various tasks which the hands perform in the general activities of life.

Secondly, too much applied pressure with the little finger of the left hand has a stiffening effect on the wrist. Take a club and try it for yourself. Do you not detect a definite tightening in the wrist?

Now switch your attention to the next finger, the third finger of the left hand which you will notice is quite a bit longer and undoubtedly stronger than the little one.

When you wrap this third finger firmly on the shaft the little finger will still fulfill its rightful task of augmenting the security of the left hand-grip, but you will feel (with the third finger dominant) that the wrist retains its suppleness and the power in the left hand-grip is concentrated more through the centre of the hand.

If any finger is the master finger in the left hand-grip it is the third finger, more suited by nature for the job.

I can cite the case of a scratch golfer to illustrate this fact. During the war this player had a mishap which deprived him of the use of the left little finger which remained permanently bent over. He thought this was the finish of golf for him. He could not even place the little finger on the shaft, but a year or two after the war he was persuaded to give it a try once more.

Almost at once he began to hit the ball well, resumed playing with a handicap of 3, was back to scratch in no time at all, and won his county championship and this with a useless little finger he could not even place on the club. His salvation was the third finger of which he had full use.

Until your hands have been strengthened and trained you may find the correct form of gripping in all the detail which I have described strange and uncomfortable. With this may come a tendency towards a vice-like grip and an urge to spread the hands on the shaft. Resist both these temptations. Instead, strengthen your hands. Train them to the point where the correct grip will give you a feeling of confidence and security throughout the swing.

Next I will describe how best to work towards that objective.

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