No, to hit a perfect draw you need 2 flaws. The strong grip alone would cause you to pull hook it if you turned your body in the downswing. To draw it with a strong grip you would need to slide as well. The slide would get the ball starting right while the strong grip would cause the face to be closed to the path which would create the draw. This is quite difficult to make consistent if you don’t practice all the time.
Hi Paul, not really related to this tip but do you think you could do a video on exactly where to position the ball in relation to the club face at address with the driver?
I always have the ball placed more towards the club face toe at set up.
My father inlaw has it right at the tip of the club face toe(hes a six handicap) and my brother in law addresses it pretty much centre and hes a scratcher.whos right? Does it actually matter at all? What do you do??
Hope your well. James. UK
I tee it off the toe too. This old George Knudson technique allowing for the arms to stretch out through impact. If they stretch out at impact the ball contact the middle of the face. This is certainly fine to do. I have tried teeing it in the middle and I just feel crowded.
Hi Paul,
most valuable advice, once more. Took me some time to get used to the neutral grip. As far as feeling is concerned, I always find the neutral grip slightly uncomfortable (or maybe, I should say it feels a little awkward to me, every time I check it) but the more I try to stick to it, the more I realize that a good shot cannot occur without it. As you mention about other elements of the swing, comfort is what we tend to look for, but it doesn’t promote a good golf.
Paul, great tip and advice. I have een practicing the neutral or loose grip hold since I found the Ignition Golf site and my striking has been improving ever since too. The feeling I equate it to is gripping enough to allow the wrists to loosely unhinge but not over controlling the club, essentially your theory about feeling the club as heavy in your hands during the swing. I practice this over and over and it really works.
Thanks!
Cheers!
Very good. Although it takes work there is reason you don’t want a faulty grip. I’m glad you see it and are working on it. I also really like that you are trying to make the club feel heavy. This is the correct feeling. If it feels light you’re too tight.
I just joined your site tonight after watching some youtube videos. I’ve tried so many other instructors that just seemed to complicate things for me. I haven’t tried anything yet on the range but I grabbed a club and noticed my grip was in a major strong position and have actually known about this for a long time but didn’t think much of it until now. I’m glad you explained why I HAVE to go to a neutral grip, rather than just saying a strong position grip is wrong. It’s going to be uncomfortable for sure at first but I will def. stick with it. I’ve really learned a lot from the videos I’ve watched so far. Anyways, my question is, do you grip the driver the same way?
Thank you so much for joining. I definitely want you to understand it. If you do, you will want to do it. This is the problem I ran in to many years ago. It was never explained to me exactly how it works.
The grip is vital. Too strong and you will not release it. If you did you would hook it. Think of your wrists as a hinge. The hands are in a neutral position so they can allow the wrists to hinge and re-hinge. That is all they are doing. The looser the hinge the faster the club whips.
Yes, please grip all the clubs the same way. You would only change it with punch shots, chipping and putting. Even with punch shots and chipping though it is the same grip but turned to one side. When neutralizing your grip you may hit some slices and pushes at first. After about 30 balls it settles in and you start to get used to it. Then they straighten back out. Just keep doing it and in no time it will feel comfortable.
I was fighting a fading and noiticed that I had a cupped wrist. I strengthen my grip which helped eliminate the cupping and fade. My grip is not real strong however if I go back to a more neutral grip is there a driill to help avoiding cupping my wrist?
If the club runs across the palm as I show in this tip it is next to impossible to over-cup at the top. So make sure the gap between the thumb and side of your hand is squeezed together. This gets it running across the palm.
I am a disciple and have chose you as my swing coach – so whatever you suggest I am going to go with. However, I do find that your suggested two-knuckle grip is quite strong for my swing – I am a 112mph driver swinger and 7.8 index. When I am off, this strong grip greatly increases my inside takeaway and also promotes an inverted left wrist – “watch face towards the sky during takeaway” – which leads to a lot of heeled shots and even the occasional shank.
My question is: should I simply focus on developing comfort with the two knuckle grip and practice keeping the top of my left wrist (“watch-face”) facing the ground or should I weaken my grip?
As always really appreciate your input and advice!
Shut Face at the Top – This is you manipulating the club with your hands as you hit the top. A neutral grip does not cause this. A neutral grip with the correct hinge creates a perfectly square face at the top. As I said, you are pulling it back with your right hand. I would suspect the right hand is too strong which is causing the bowing action at the top.
Yes, you need to learn the neutral grip. I would think you need to check both hands. I think the right hand is not in position. This is what is affecting the top.
So you do the neutral grip no matter how back it feels. To do this you place it perfectly on the club. Tee up your ball and hit 30 in a row. Also, with this new grip, you need to learn how to hinge the club at the top. You can learn that here:
Not sure what you mean about watch face facing the ground. In no way does this occur in my swing. Maybe I am not understanding what you are saying but I play with a watch so I do not see how it would be pointing at the ground. If you bowed your wrist at the top it would point to the sky which would be wrong. In the tips I suggest you watch just look for my watch to see where it points.
Heeled Shots – This is you hitting with your arms sending the club over the top slightly. I love these mis-hits because the spin right back itno the fairway.
Really appreciate the prompt reply. Going to study the suggested videos very carefully! I had an inkling that my right hand grip was incorrect and you were absolutely correct! It was too strong.
My ‘watch-face’ feeling analogy was perhaps a poor one – what I mean to say is if I feel like my left wrist is severely ‘twisted’ then I find it much easier to release the club and play a draw – or hook it if I am practicing your drill of trying to hook it. This ‘twisted’ feeling gets the club squaring very nicely for me – and no heeled shots or shanks. Any thoughts on this?
You don’t want to be doing something that is out of the ordinary or strange just because it hits the ball straighter. This is a flaw. You need the right fundamentals.
So you need to neutralize the grip. Make sure you don’t move it in any way. Then do the roll over drill as I suggest to get the new grip releasing the club and the wrists loose.
If you are in doubt you should do a swing analysis or skpye lesson with my assistant Pete. This way there will be no doubt that you are doing it right or not.
I have changed over to your neutral grip and it works well with my irons. When I use it with a heavier club like my driver or 3 wood it doesn’t stay in place. After I swing my driver and look back at the club head it is in a closed position which is why my drives go left. How can I stop the grip from changing mid swing?
If your grip is moving on the club your wrists are too tight. Heavier club plus swinging harder has you tightening the grip on the club. In tnis process it is changing position from the neutral grip. I used to move my grip too. I tried for year to fix it. The day I stopped hitting with my arms was the day my grip never moved or changed on the club. So I would be doing this drill:
This will stop the grip left hand grip from moving. Then your work it back and forth too loose the wrists while keeping the grip secure. Give this a try and see if it helps.
I’ve been away from the game for a couple months and I’m just now getting back into it and taking lessons w/ a gentleman that I’ve used along w/ your teachings for a couple years. Whenever I get away from the game I ALWAYS tend to go back to my old habits…
1. Swinging w/ arms…
2. Stronger grip…
3. Losing everything to the right…
Now the coach I’m using has me working on a body turn but he talks about turning w/ my chest and he has also strengthened my grip and I’m losing everything to the RIGHT. I’m def coming out of my swing for sure. I’m going to try to go back to a NEUTRAL GRIP AND WORK ON MY HIP TURN AT 50-75% NEXT ROUND I PLAY. Any guidance would be much appreciated.
You should also be doing the roll over drill to unlock your wrists. This should be on the top of your mind as soon as you hit one ball with slice spin. If so, you roll it to unlock your wrists. Roll a few times then add body to straighten it out.
good morning Paul, you just described exactly what I am doing lately…. I will correct the strong right grip!!! sorry yesterday it was too hot to go outside, will call you when I go. Thank you….
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24 Responses to “Strong Grip Stops The Release”
November 21, 2014
RoyWhat should our grip pressure be at impact. is it the same all through the swing?
November 22, 2014
Paul WilsonRoy,
Your grip pressure at impact would be 8 out of 10. Although your grip is secure your wrists are loose.
Watch:
Secure Grip Loose Wrists: https://ignitiongolf.com/secure-grip-loose-wrists/
November 21, 2014
MichaelRodrickHi Paul;
Considering it’s nearly impossible for a weekend warrior to hit a draw, could this be used to draw a driver, assuming it’s not overdone?
November 22, 2014
Paul WilsonMichael,
No, to hit a perfect draw you need 2 flaws. The strong grip alone would cause you to pull hook it if you turned your body in the downswing. To draw it with a strong grip you would need to slide as well. The slide would get the ball starting right while the strong grip would cause the face to be closed to the path which would create the draw. This is quite difficult to make consistent if you don’t practice all the time.
November 21, 2014
JamesRuffHi Paul, not really related to this tip but do you think you could do a video on exactly where to position the ball in relation to the club face at address with the driver?
I always have the ball placed more towards the club face toe at set up.
My father inlaw has it right at the tip of the club face toe(hes a six handicap) and my brother in law addresses it pretty much centre and hes a scratcher.whos right? Does it actually matter at all? What do you do??
Hope your well. James. UK
November 22, 2014
Paul WilsonJames,
I tee it off the toe too. This old George Knudson technique allowing for the arms to stretch out through impact. If they stretch out at impact the ball contact the middle of the face. This is certainly fine to do. I have tried teeing it in the middle and I just feel crowded.
I will put this on my list.
November 22, 2014
JamesRuffGreat cheers paul.
November 24, 2014
PierreBourgeoisHi Paul,
most valuable advice, once more. Took me some time to get used to the neutral grip. As far as feeling is concerned, I always find the neutral grip slightly uncomfortable (or maybe, I should say it feels a little awkward to me, every time I check it) but the more I try to stick to it, the more I realize that a good shot cannot occur without it. As you mention about other elements of the swing, comfort is what we tend to look for, but it doesn’t promote a good golf.
November 25, 2014
Paul WilsonPierre,
It certainly is uncomfortable but if you know why you need to do it you should stick with it.
Glad you see it and are fighting through it. It will pay off.
November 25, 2014
BradleyPaul, great tip and advice. I have een practicing the neutral or loose grip hold since I found the Ignition Golf site and my striking has been improving ever since too. The feeling I equate it to is gripping enough to allow the wrists to loosely unhinge but not over controlling the club, essentially your theory about feeling the club as heavy in your hands during the swing. I practice this over and over and it really works.
Thanks!
Cheers!
November 26, 2014
Paul WilsonBradley,
Very good. Although it takes work there is reason you don’t want a faulty grip. I’m glad you see it and are working on it. I also really like that you are trying to make the club feel heavy. This is the correct feeling. If it feels light you’re too tight.
April 24, 2015
WilliamGoebelPaul,
I just joined your site tonight after watching some youtube videos. I’ve tried so many other instructors that just seemed to complicate things for me. I haven’t tried anything yet on the range but I grabbed a club and noticed my grip was in a major strong position and have actually known about this for a long time but didn’t think much of it until now. I’m glad you explained why I HAVE to go to a neutral grip, rather than just saying a strong position grip is wrong. It’s going to be uncomfortable for sure at first but I will def. stick with it. I’ve really learned a lot from the videos I’ve watched so far. Anyways, my question is, do you grip the driver the same way?
April 26, 2015
Paul WilsonWilliam,
Thank you so much for joining. I definitely want you to understand it. If you do, you will want to do it. This is the problem I ran in to many years ago. It was never explained to me exactly how it works.
The grip is vital. Too strong and you will not release it. If you did you would hook it. Think of your wrists as a hinge. The hands are in a neutral position so they can allow the wrists to hinge and re-hinge. That is all they are doing. The looser the hinge the faster the club whips.
Yes, please grip all the clubs the same way. You would only change it with punch shots, chipping and putting. Even with punch shots and chipping though it is the same grip but turned to one side. When neutralizing your grip you may hit some slices and pushes at first. After about 30 balls it settles in and you start to get used to it. Then they straighten back out. Just keep doing it and in no time it will feel comfortable.
September 10, 2017
WilliamHeuerI was fighting a fading and noiticed that I had a cupped wrist. I strengthen my grip which helped eliminate the cupping and fade. My grip is not real strong however if I go back to a more neutral grip is there a driill to help avoiding cupping my wrist?
September 10, 2017
Paul WilsonBill,
If the club runs across the palm as I show in this tip it is next to impossible to over-cup at the top. So make sure the gap between the thumb and side of your hand is squeezed together. This gets it running across the palm.
How To Stop Over-Cupping At The Top of the Backswing: https://ignitiongolf.com/stop-over-cupping-at-top/
October 22, 2017
StevenFarberPaul,
I am a disciple and have chose you as my swing coach – so whatever you suggest I am going to go with. However, I do find that your suggested two-knuckle grip is quite strong for my swing – I am a 112mph driver swinger and 7.8 index. When I am off, this strong grip greatly increases my inside takeaway and also promotes an inverted left wrist – “watch face towards the sky during takeaway” – which leads to a lot of heeled shots and even the occasional shank.
My question is: should I simply focus on developing comfort with the two knuckle grip and practice keeping the top of my left wrist (“watch-face”) facing the ground or should I weaken my grip?
As always really appreciate your input and advice!
Cheers,
Steve
October 23, 2017
Paul WilsonSteven,
You have made a wise choice.
The 2 knuckle grip is not strong. This is actually neutral. A 3 knuckle grip is wrong and I do not promote this grip.
Inside Takeaway – this is occurring from you taking it back with our right hand. You should be taking it away with your shoulders.
Watch:
One Piece Takeaway: https://ignitiongolf.com/master-one-piece-takeaway/
One-Piece Takeaway Drill: https://ignitiongolf.com/one-piece-takeaway-drill/
Takeaway – Watch Grooves Going Back: https://ignitiongolf.com/watch-grooves-going-back/
Shut Face at the Top – This is you manipulating the club with your hands as you hit the top. A neutral grip does not cause this. A neutral grip with the correct hinge creates a perfectly square face at the top. As I said, you are pulling it back with your right hand. I would suspect the right hand is too strong which is causing the bowing action at the top.
Watch:
Cupped or Flat: https://ignitiongolf.com/top-backswing-cupped-flat/
Top of Backswing Square: https://ignitiongolf.com/backswing-square-at-top/
Yes, you need to learn the neutral grip. I would think you need to check both hands. I think the right hand is not in position. This is what is affecting the top.
So you do the neutral grip no matter how back it feels. To do this you place it perfectly on the club. Tee up your ball and hit 30 in a row. Also, with this new grip, you need to learn how to hinge the club at the top. You can learn that here:
Watch:
3 Ways to Set The Top of the Backswing: https://ignitiongolf.com/backswing-top-3-ways/
Top of Backswing Square: https://ignitiongolf.com/backswing-square-at-top/
Not sure what you mean about watch face facing the ground. In no way does this occur in my swing. Maybe I am not understanding what you are saying but I play with a watch so I do not see how it would be pointing at the ground. If you bowed your wrist at the top it would point to the sky which would be wrong. In the tips I suggest you watch just look for my watch to see where it points.
Heeled Shots – This is you hitting with your arms sending the club over the top slightly. I love these mis-hits because the spin right back itno the fairway.
Shank – You are too tilted at set up.
Watch:
Why You Shank It: https://ignitiongolf.com/why-you-shank-it/
How To Cure the Shanks: https://ignitiongolf.com/cure-shanks/
October 23, 2017
StevenFarberReally appreciate the prompt reply. Going to study the suggested videos very carefully! I had an inkling that my right hand grip was incorrect and you were absolutely correct! It was too strong.
My ‘watch-face’ feeling analogy was perhaps a poor one – what I mean to say is if I feel like my left wrist is severely ‘twisted’ then I find it much easier to release the club and play a draw – or hook it if I am practicing your drill of trying to hook it. This ‘twisted’ feeling gets the club squaring very nicely for me – and no heeled shots or shanks. Any thoughts on this?
Cheers,
Steve
October 24, 2017
Paul WilsonSteve,
You don’t want to be doing something that is out of the ordinary or strange just because it hits the ball straighter. This is a flaw. You need the right fundamentals.
So you need to neutralize the grip. Make sure you don’t move it in any way. Then do the roll over drill as I suggest to get the new grip releasing the club and the wrists loose.
DRILL: 3 Ways To Roll It Over: https://ignitiongolf.com/3-ways-to-roll/
Roll Around The Stick: https://ignitiongolf.com/roll-around-stick/
Clarifying the Roll Over Drill: https://ignitiongolf.com/clarifying-roll-drill/
Modified Roll Over Drill: https://ignitiongolf.com/modified-roll-over-drill/
If you are in doubt you should do a swing analysis or skpye lesson with my assistant Pete. This way there will be no doubt that you are doing it right or not.
Swing Analysis – http://paulwilsongolf.com/las-vegas-golf-lessons/swing-analysis/
Skype Lessons – http://paulwilsongolf.com/las-vegas-golf-lessons/skype-online-golf-lessons/
June 28, 2018
AnneBurkeHi Paul,
I have changed over to your neutral grip and it works well with my irons. When I use it with a heavier club like my driver or 3 wood it doesn’t stay in place. After I swing my driver and look back at the club head it is in a closed position which is why my drives go left. How can I stop the grip from changing mid swing?
Thank you.
June 29, 2018
Paul WilsonAnne,
If your grip is moving on the club your wrists are too tight. Heavier club plus swinging harder has you tightening the grip on the club. In tnis process it is changing position from the neutral grip. I used to move my grip too. I tried for year to fix it. The day I stopped hitting with my arms was the day my grip never moved or changed on the club. So I would be doing this drill:
Tee Drill: https://ignitiongolf.com/secure-top-backswing/
This will stop the grip left hand grip from moving. Then your work it back and forth too loose the wrists while keeping the grip secure. Give this a try and see if it helps.
July 7, 2018
nate.hall05Hi Paul,
Have always loved your teachings, thank you!
I’ve been away from the game for a couple months and I’m just now getting back into it and taking lessons w/ a gentleman that I’ve used along w/ your teachings for a couple years. Whenever I get away from the game I ALWAYS tend to go back to my old habits…
1. Swinging w/ arms…
2. Stronger grip…
3. Losing everything to the right…
Now the coach I’m using has me working on a body turn but he talks about turning w/ my chest and he has also strengthened my grip and I’m losing everything to the RIGHT. I’m def coming out of my swing for sure. I’m going to try to go back to a NEUTRAL GRIP AND WORK ON MY HIP TURN AT 50-75% NEXT ROUND I PLAY. Any guidance would be much appreciated.
Thank You!
Nate
July 8, 2018
Paul WilsonNate,
Glad you are back.
Getting back into it you need to start with the grip and setup again. Then the follow through first. Once you get that you add coil then hinge.
You don’t need to think chest to uncoil.
Shoulders in downswing: https://ignitiongolf.com/shoulders-downswing/
You need to be thinking of the lower body and a trigger to the hit the ball or to uncoil the upper.
All Downswing Triggers: https://ignitiongolf.com/all-downswing-triggers/
You should also be doing the roll over drill to unlock your wrists. This should be on the top of your mind as soon as you hit one ball with slice spin. If so, you roll it to unlock your wrists. Roll a few times then add body to straighten it out.
DRILL: 3 Ways To Roll It Over: https://ignitiongolf.com/3-ways-to-roll/
Roll Around The Stick: https://ignitiongolf.com/roll-around-stick/
DRILL: Smooth Wrist Release: https://ignitiongolf.com/smooth-wrist-release/
So there you go. You need to do this stuff daily. So if you can’t to the range you need to be doing practice swings at home.
August 24, 2020
RayLiugood morning Paul, you just described exactly what I am doing lately…. I will correct the strong right grip!!! sorry yesterday it was too hot to go outside, will call you when I go. Thank you….