Have you ever given any thought as to the quality of your golf swing grip?  Unfortunately many golfers don’t think much about it at all, assuming that as long as the club doesn’t go flying from their hands during their follow-through then their golf swing grip must be acceptable.  Most know to line up their thumbs and to hold the club firm enough to keep it in place, but after that they don’t give it much thought.

This is not an affective means of approaching your swing because your golf swing grip will often affect and determine whether or not you have a hook or a slice (a hook being when the ball flies from right to left and a slice being when the ball flies from left to right).  Many golfers are under the impression that a hook or slice is caused only by how their arms direct the club, and while this can and often is a factor, your golf swing grip may also be part of the problem.

With a hook, the club may be pointed too far inward so that it “scoops” the ball as it comes forward.  This pushes it too far right.  Often a club is pointed according to how your golf swing grip is holding it.  If you’re overcompensating for the loft of angle of the club by pulling it in toward you, then you’ll hit the ball off-center and will hook.  On the other hand, if the club is pointing out slightly then it will hit the ball at an angle that will push it to the golfer’s right, resulting in a slice.  This too is often the fault of a golf swing grip.  If the club is being held too loosely it may have a natural tendency to slip toward the outside as it’s brought through the forward swing.  This means it will also “scoop” the ball as it’s hit and push it toward the right.

A good golf swing grip does much more than just keep your club in your hands.  Your grip determines the angle of your club and as you can see, this angle is important for the angle of the ball’s trajectory.  The club should hit the ball squarely so that it flies straight; any slight adjustment to how the club is held will mean the ball being hit angle and its trajectory is then compromised.  Your golf swing grip is actually not the first thing you determine when you address the ball.  It’s usually recommended that you set the clubface down adjacent to the ball and squarely facing it, and then grip the club according.  Too many golfers set their golf swing grip first and then line up the clubface adjacent to the ball.  This means they may be turning the club slightly without realizing it, and as the club is brought forward on the swing it will continue to turn and hit the ball at one of those unfortunate angles.