January 2009 KMR Golf Tip

YOUR GRIP CAN FIX YOUR SWING

Your golf swing evolves from your grip. The way a golfer holds the golf club in their hands may be the single most important element for developing the proper golf swing. It is often the most overlooked and least interesting aspect of swing technique and for that reason, may be the explanation why weekend golfers struggle so much. Your grip influences the club during the golf swing. That affects ball-flight. The poor shots a golfer makes usually fall into a pattern. Shots that go too high, too low, hooking and slicing are results of what the club is doing. Usually, when the hands are ill positioned on the club, the clubface opens or closes during the swing and the golfer intuitively is adjusting, trying to offset the mistake with their body action. This is why it is so imperative to realize what type of grip you have, if you should change it and what body action is required to hit straight shots.

The general wisdom in golf vernacular is that a golfer uses either an interlock, overlap or baseball style grip. This indicates the connection, if any, between your hands. The amount that your hands are rotated on the club, either to the left or right, is called weak, neutral or strong. There are obviously varying degrees of this hand rotation and one hand may be strong and the other weak. We will avoid these over-used terms and focus on the foundation of the grip. The best means to hold a golf club for a full shot should maximize leverage against the ball. Holding any object, like a hammer for example, one can position their hand and wrist on the handle to make the weight feel lighter. This allows for an efficient, speedy transfer of energy from hammer into nail. This is similar to what we are trying to achieve when hitting the golf ball, a good use of leverage and physics, not brute force.

The KMR method of teaching grip emphasizes three things.

A strong connection between the hands. · No gaps between hands. · Right hand pressure on the base of the left thumb

Hand placement that limits clubface rotation during the swing · Grip placement in the left hand knuckle pad (towards fingers) · Left thumb placed on the right side of the golf grip · Right thumb and forefinger "pinched" together

Hand placement that encourages a slight de-lofting effect at impact · Hands positioned 1-2 inches forward of ball · Hands positioned so that shoulder alignment squares up· Hand placement that brings right elbow inward

How To Do It

1. Hold the club up in the air with your left hand only. 2. Turn your hand to the right and angle the club in front of you, so that the shaft is parallel to the target line, it will feel a bit heavy. 3. Re-position the grip into the knuckle pad of your left hand, towards your pinky, immediately the club will feel lighter. The physics of leverage are now coming into play. 4. Bring the club down to the ball and position your right hand. 5. Use the hand connection you prefer i.e. interlock. 6. Move your right hand high enough to cover the left thumb completely 7. Position your hands 1-2 inches forward of the ball so that the clubface is square

Now you are holding the club in a powerful, leveraged position

Holding the club in this stronger fashion will accomplish the following in your swing · More stability, consistency in your swing · Sharper wrist angles which transfers more energy and produces distance · Less open clubface rotation which causes slices and high ball flight · Less breakdown at impact which creates fat and thin shots, loss of distance