By
Douglas Gray
USGTF Level III Member
Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Communication
is a huge factor in the ability to teach the game. As golf teaching
professionals, we have the knowledge and of course the secret to our
success is our ability to impart that knowledge. There are many
moving parts to the golf swing, but, the least practiced and the
most important is how we “hold” the club. Notice how I’ve used the
word “hold” and not “grip.” Grip conveys the feeling of tightness;
hold conveys the feeling that you should “find the club, feel the
club and allow the hands to work.”
As Tommy Armour once said, “If I
could give only one golf lesson for the rest of my life, and the
pupil could stand the pain, it would be how to hold the club.”
Let’s keep this simple. There is
only one way to hold the club, the correct way, and remember,
comfortable is not always correct.
I have my students working on two
things only when practicing how to hold the golf club, placement and
pressure – the “2 Ps!”
Some key words that can help your
student find the correct hand position, without using any technical
terminology could be as follows:
•
Target hand – “Knuckles
not nails.”
• Non-target hand –
This hand goes on the club,
not und er, not over, but on.
• Both
hands – “Non-target hand
hides the thumb of the target hand” (in other words, the target
thumb fits in the cleft of the non-target hand. Simply put, “hide
the thumb.” Some teaching analogies for grip pressure are not so
simple for the golfer to understand, for example:
• “Squeeze a tube of toothpaste” –
Would that not depend on how
much was left in the tube?
• “Holding
a telephone” – Would
that not depend on who you were talking to?
• “Holding a baby bird” –
How many of our top coaches have held a baby bird? I know I haven’t!
How
soft should we hold the club? Imagine holding your child,
grandchild, any “wee” one’s hand as you are crossing the road. You
would not hold it so tightly that they would be in pain nor would
you hold it so loosely that they could run away!
If we can imagine a grip/hold
pressure scale, say one to ten, one being little or no pressure and
ten being the tightest, we should encourage our students to aim for
3-4 at address, and remember, a hold of 8-9 at address will be 19-20
at impact, and we all know the hands would not be able to work.
Always grip at chin level, and
with the club in this position, practice writing your name with the
club head, concentrating on only using your hands.
One of the qualities of being a
successful teaching professional is having an open mind and to
always be willing to learn. I have had tremendous success by
listening, learning, experimenting and finding simpler ways to teach
“placement” and “pressure.” If there are simpler ways, please let me
know.
Teaching aids and simple
terminology can help our students learn how to hold the club
properly each time. Here are some examples of teaching aids that we
can use:
• Target hand –
Yardstick/ruler/umbrella.
• Non-target hand –
Briefcase, handbag, attaché case, suitcase.
• Both hands –
Turn the club upside down and take your hold just above the hosel
(still cylindrical but more manageable when learning the hold).
As a teaching professional for
many years, I have noticed that the written word can be as
destructive as the spoken word. It is not what we teach, but how we
teach it. My teaching is not the gospel, but I have many followers
and am always learning how to improve my skills and help all my
students progress.
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