The Golf Digest school

Golf Digest, April, 2004 by Jim Gregory

Linc Romans, a 32-handicapper from Las Vegas, has played off and on for three years but has struggled to improve. His biggest problem is that he grips the club too tightly.

1. THE PROBLEM

Squeezing the life out of it

A strong safety in college, Linc gripped a golf club like he was trying to ring the neck of a running back crossing the line of scrimmage. He told me, "Every athlete's first instinct is to grip the golf club like a bat and swing as hard as you can."

The truth is, gripping a golf club too tightly inhibits the correct movements of the club and the body. By squeezing too hard, Linc restricted his ability to release the club freely through impact, which prevented him from making contact with a square clubface. Instead, Linc's club remained open through impact, resulting in a weak slice.

2. THE FIX

Using the five-finger approach

Most beginners grip too tightly for two reasons: They are apprehensive about hitting a poor shot, and they believe the tighter they hold the club, the farther they can hit a golf ball. To help Linc see otherwise, I asked him to grip the club only with the pinkie, ring and middle fingers of the right hand and the middle and ring fingers on his left hand, and then make some swings. This five-finger method relaxed the tension in his grip and allowed him to swing freely. "At first it felt like the club would slip out of my hands," Linc said. "But I made a few swings and could feel the club releasing."

3. THE RESULT

Letting the club swing itself

After hitting a dozen or so shots with the five-finger grip, Linc was surprised how much lighter the club felt. "Like it was swinging itself," he said. You could see how his right forearm was rotating from right to left, allowing the clubface to be square to the target at impact. To Linc, it felt like he was going to throw the club down the fairway toward the target, which is a true indicator that his regular grip was now tension free. He still sliced every now and then, but when he relaxed and allowed the club to release, he turned a 160-yard banana ball into a 230-yard drive down the middle.