As you will see below, there are some basic guidelines as to which grip is more likely to work for you based on a number of factors, but even those aren’t set in stone. I would guess that's what Luke's doing. Most amateurs don’t have the time available to spend hitting balls on the range day after day in order to force a grip chance that isn’t coming naturally. Taylor, for example, won the British Open before Vardon did with the little finger on his right hand overlapping. On the other side of the equation, let’s look at some of the advantages to hitting short game shots using an interlocking grip. Nicklaus touted the grip as being more appropriate for golfers with shorter fingers, but a number of players who don’t have shorter fingers also use the grip…and a number of players with shorter fingers also use the overlapping, so this rule of thumb doesn’t seem to be very hard and fast. In his encyclopedia of golfers called The Who's Who of Golf, first published in 1983, Peter Alliss wrote that before the Vardon grip took over as the main golf grip, "the majority had played with all fingers on the club, sometimes with a small gap between the two hands, and the shaft, particularly with the right hand, was held in the palm.". Those falling into the ‘slow and smooth’ category will typically be better off with the overlap. To alleviate this tendency, learn to make your hands work together by experimenting with the triple-overlap grip. It is easy to get short shots on line, so distance control is the number one priority when chipping or pitching the golf ball from around the green. To form this grip around the club, start by placing your left hand on the grip of the club, up towards the top. Proponents point to its use by Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods – arguably the two greatest players in history – as evidence of the interlocking grip’s superiority. It can feel a bit easier to release the golf club when using an overlapping grip. The result is typically scooped or thin contact that produces fat or sculled shots. Let’s get started taking a closer look at the overlapping grip. The club will want to twist in your hands when playing from deep rough, so the control that the interlocking grip offers is invaluable. Should you come to the decision that you do need to switch from the interlock golf grip to the overlap golf grip, or vice versa, plan on giving that change some significant time to become comfortable and reliable. The pro tip is to use a grip style according to the size of your hands. Vardon Overlap Grip. I was looking for ways to be more consistent and I came across an article explaining that nearly 90% of tour pros use an overlap grip, the rest use interlock. This is the top advantage to the interlock when chipping or pitching – being able to control the club face as it moves through the rough. Using the interlocking or overlapping grip on irons is good for adding more feel to you shots. These are the most popular options by far, and the ones that will work best for almost any golfer. There are three main grips used by golfers: the Vardon grip, the interlocking grip and the 10-finger (or baseball) grip. The Vardon grip, named for its originator, English legend Harry Vardon, is formed by placing the right pinky finger on top of the seam between the left index and middle fingers. Patience is a hard thing to have when you are working on a swing change because you want to see instant results, but your progress is likely to come slower in this area. To start with, it generally works better for a player with large hands. This was particularly so … A surprising amount of golfers don't know what a reverse overlap putting grip is. This grip places the club in the fingers and is the grip most likely to be taught by golf instructors. There are no hard and fast rules for who should pick an interlocking golf grip, and who should opt for the overlapping golf grip. With plenty of information regarding both of these grips now stored away in your head, it is time to get to work deciding which one is going to be right for you. Each of these elements of the swing fit nicely with the attributes that the overlapping grip has to offer. This time, instead of resting your right hand pinky finger on top of the fingers of your left hand, you are going to ‘interlock’ the pinky finger between your second and third fingers on the left hand. Rhythm. Some of the longest hitters on Tour use the overlapping grip, while others use the interlock. Upside: Golfers with large and/or strong hands tend to overlap. The shaft of the club should be running across your palm at the base of your fingers – not up your palm towards your wrist. The instructions found below are based on a right handed golfer – so be sure to reverse them if you play the game left handed. But your choice of grip is, in some sense, a personal choice: What's comfortable for you, what you have confidence in. Tons of modern day pros use this grip and legendary players such as Ben Hogan. As the name ‘overlap’ would indicate, your right hand pinky finger overlaps the pointer finger from your left hand when this grip is complete. The key to the short game is always putting in enough practice time to get comfortable and confident – and that isn’t going to change regardless of which grip you are using. Generally speaking, if you still feel completely lost with the new grip after hitting a few hundred shots on the practice range (spread out over a few sessions), you will probably be best served to stick with the grip that you have been using all along. Confused? The simple fact that top professionals can be found using both of these grips is a perfect demonstration that each can work for you in your own game. Even if you have never before used an interlocking grip, it is worth the effort to at least hit a few balls on the driving range with the interlock to see how it feels to you. Place the little finger of your right hand between the index and middle fingers of your left hand, overlapping those fingers as in the photo. Interestingly, while the vast majority of good golfers prefer the overlap, the two greatest golfers of all-time—Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus—both use the interlock. So how long should you give the new grip before making a decision? There is a good chance that it will feel quite strange at first, and you may have trouble hitting decent shots. When Vardon began using the grip, though, his stardom and advocacy for this way of holding a golf club led to his name being attached to it. The traditional interlocking grip is going to be a strong choice for players who have small hands, make an aggressive transition in their swing, or simply like to have a secure feeling between their hands and the club. There is also another variation of the interlock grip that is worth mentioning – the double interlocking golf grip. (We respect privacy and keep all emails confidential). However, plenty of golfers with larger hands have used this grip as well simply because it feels right to them. One of the most common causes of bad pitches and chips is the dominant hand (right for righties) taking over the swing. You want to use the grip that seems to best suit your swing, and fighting a new grip for too long is a sure sign that it isn’t right for you. Assuming you are already a golfer currently, you probably use one of these two grips right now in your swing. Most male golfers, especially most good male golfers, use the Vardon grip (as do many female golfers). They provide the ability to both control the club and swing it quickly through the impact area. The result is a very secure feeling grip which should provide you with a comfortable hold on the club throughout the swing. 8 Things for Golfers to Know About Single-Length Irons, Meet the Wedges: An Intro for Golf Beginners. Just an update on the progress of using the Reverse Overlap Grip for full swings. The Golf Grip: How to Properly Take Hold of the Club, How to Hold the Putter: Common Putting Grips and Their Pros and Cons, Top 10 Golfers of All-Time at the British Open, How to Place Your Trailing Hand on the Golf Grip, 24 Champion Golfers Who Died Tragic, Early Deaths. Which Golf Grip Styles You Should Use? That said, if you want to use the baseball grip for irons as well for added distance, then feel free. Some find it … 'School of Golf' host Martin Hall has a tip everyone can use to hit the ball farther just by changing your grip. The grip provides necessary unity between the hands without inhibiting their movement, freeing the golfer to fully release the club through impact for powerful shots. If you change your grip for the full swing, chance are you are going to want to change your short game grip as well. If you are a player who changes directions quickly at the top of your swing, the interlocking grip should give you the security that you need to keep control over the club during this move. The grip change is hard enough on its own, you don’t need to complicate things by trying to launch 300 yard drives right off the bat. He was a 6-time winner of the British Open and innovated many things in pro golf, including having one of the first equipment deals with a sponsor and authoring one of the first instructional books by a pro golfer. It is rare to find a professional that is using a ten-finger grip, but it certainly is possible. With such a relaxed grip on the club, sudden changes of direction in the swing are going to be hard to control. Some of the pro golfers that have used the overlap grip through the years include Well, again, there is no right or wrong answer. His newfound technique revolutionized the sport so much that, even to this day, the overlapping grip is also commonly known as the Vardon Grip. Rather than using the standard reverse overlap grip, the hand can be placed side by side. There is one pro that … However, Vardon did not invent the grip, he merely popularized it. A strong grip will have you drawing or hooking the ball. A comparison is made with each of the three most popular golf swing grip methods in use today: The Reverse Overlap, The Interlocking and the Unlap or Baseball Grip. Most golf historians agree it was probably amateur golfer Johnny Laidlay. Before you set out to work on the style of your grip and possibly experiment with the other option, it is important to note that grip changes are notoriously difficult to make within your golf game. To do the overlap grip, first, grab the club as you would for the baseball grip. This grip technique is named after the great Harry Vardon, who popularized it in the late 19th/early 20th centuries. To get started, all you need to do is head to your local driving range for a practice session. The more common overlap grip, also known as the Vardon grip, overlaps the pinky finger of the right hand over the index finger of the left hand. Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods both use an interlocking grip (arguably, the best two golfers in the history of the sport). As long as you understand the pros and cons of each option, and put in the necessary practice time to make it comfortable in your game, better golf can be achieved no matter which path you go down. Less right hand. Make sure that you keep a light grip pressure on the club even when using the interlocking grip so you don’t rob yourself of club head speed by adding tension to your hands and forearms. A good golf swing requires a light grip pressure to allow the club to swing freely regardless of what type of grip is being used. You might find, for example, that the interlock golf grip just feels perfect to you, even though all signs point to the overlap golf grip begin your better option. Some of your most nervous moments on the golf course are going to come when you are hitting short shots, and the security that the interlocking grip provides might be of some comfort in those moments. Most professional golfers use the overlapping grip; players such as Ben Hogan, Phil Mickelson, and Adam Scott. Vardon's fellow "Great Triumvirate" member, J.H. Many golfers appreciate the secure feeling that the interlock provides so they can swing as hard as they want without feeling like the club might slip in their hands. The bottom line: Test both techniques and go with the one that feels most comfortable. However, for most players, the decision on the style of grip they are going to use will come down to just two choices – either an overlapping golf grip, or an interlocking golf grip. Most male golfers, especially most good male golfers, use the Vardon grip (as do many female golfers). To review, the overlapping grip lends itself nicely to players with large hands, smooth swings, and minimal hand action through impact. It is your job to explore both of these grips and make sure the one you are using is the right one for your swing. Now, I have written a detailed Instructional Article giving step by step instructions for achieving the Trilap grip. The two most common are the interlocking grip and the overlapping (or Vardon) grip. There is definitely no right or wrong in this case – whichever grip feels and performs best for you is the one you should go with. Calm the nerves. Edit: if you’re a scratch golfer, I too would be terrified of switching. More right hand in the bunker. Because of that secure feeling, there is also a nice sensation of connection between the club head and your hands during the swing. The overlapping grip is the grip of choice for most pro golfers—by some estimates, upwards of 90 percent of PGA Tour golfers use the Vardon grip. Interlock or Baseball Grip? Many pro golfers have the pinky buried a little more. Here's the rundown on the grip that Tiger and Rory use. The interlocking grip is also a good fit for golfers with smaller hands, so some LPGA golfers prefer the interlock to the Vardon. While both of these grips can work great – and you will see both represented by plenty of players on the PGA Tour – one of them is going to be better for you than the other. So who was the inventor of the overlapping grip? While oversized grips help control the club, it also reduces wrist break and thus reduces instances of ball skidding off the wrong direction. That means that your two hands will essentially be ‘tied’ together by the interlacing of those fingers around the grip. Of course, it is this same ‘loose’ feeling that some golfers don’t enjoy about the overlapping golf grip. Click HERE for more School of Golf content. I played some 50 rounds using the overlap, but my hands always felt as if they were flying apart. I have seen players succeed with all three of these grip styles. My hands are small and the interlocking grip is the one I use today, but a few years ago, in an experimental mood, I fooled around with the overlap and the baseball grips. One important point to make when talking about the interlocking grip is the need to maintain a light grip pressure throughout the swing. 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