TIGHTENING THE V’S!

This is one of the most basic and yet advanced positions in the golf swing.  Basic, because it is something that should be taught to beginners, and advanced, because if a person is to reach advanced levels of golf, they need to employ tight V’s.  We can call it a position because it involves the positioning of the hands, but also because it is best observed at the address position.  However, this fundamentally essential principle should be maintained throughout the golf swing. Look at every single player on the PGA Tour and you will see tight V’s.  I say every single player, because I’ve not seen one yet that doesn’t have tight V’s.  Maybe there is one out there, though!  The only player that I can recall in past years who didn’t have tight V’s was Ed Fiori.  We all understand that occasionally there will be a world-class player who defies logical understanding of the golf swing and still makes it to that level of expertise. Picture it like this: The inside of the first joint up from the fingernail of each thumb should be touching the underside of the knuckle of the index finger where it connects to the palm.  Tightness in this case has nothing to do with tension, but is simply referring to tight tolerances.  In other words, no gap between the two parts. This position is of the utmost importance, because if a golfer doesn’t have tight V’s, they are forced to increase hand and forearm tension to support the club at the top, or they will lose control of the club.  At address, gravity is pulling the grip into the index finger, but at the top, gravity is pulling the grip into the V’s. A person can have both V’s parallel, the heel pad of the top hand on top of the grip, see two or three knuckles on the back of the top hand, the thumb of the top hand fitting perfectly in between the pads of the bottom hand, a perfect Vardon, interlocking, or ten-finger grip and so on…but if the V’s are not tight, the grip is problematic at best. The only reason why I mention this very basic fundamental is because I’ve seen numerous teachers who do not have tight V’s.  Excuse me for being so opinionated, but please…if you think of yourself as a golf instructor and yet you don’t have tight V’s, you are demonstrating an incorrect example for your students and handicapping your teaching. Good golfing!