If I had to pick one part of the setup that plays a major role in returning the clubface squarely to the back of the golf ball for a straighter and more consistent shot, I would have to go with the grip.

There is something profound about the term Golf Grip Fundamentals. The key to understanding the correct way to how to hold a golf club is to realize that there is NOT one correct way to grip it.

The grip is the only part of your body that touches the golf club and the grip is the only thing that controls the clubface. Whether the clubface returns to the back of the golf ball square, open or closed, all three of those impacts lie in the grip.

When you grip a golf club the first thing you have to remember is that if you grip it too much in the palm of your left hand (image to your left), the clubhead will have a difficult time releasing in the downswing and the clubhead speed will be reduced considerably.

When you grip a golf club too much in the fingers the opposite happens (second image below). The clubhead will close quicker in the downswing and the clubhead speed will be increase. That’s why there is a happy medium. Gripping the club at the base of your fingers and then it lies diagonally across to the bottom of the palm (see third image below).

After you grip the golf club take a peek at the top of the left hand. If cannot see any knuckles or the first knuckle that is referred to as a weak grip. If you can see two knuckles that is considered a neutral grip and if you can see three or four knuckles that is considered a strong grip.

If you grip the club weak, the clubface will not close as fast as a neutral or strong golf grip. All it takes is a bit of golf practice to get it right.

In closing let’s spend a couple of minutes on the right hand. The number one and ONLY rule of the right hand is to make sure both palms are facing each other after you grip the club.

The reason is twofold. First if insures that both hands are going to work together with the proper golf grip during the golf swing. The further to the right you turn your left hand to the top of the shaft, the further to the right you turn your right hand under the shaft.

The second reason they have to face each other is to make sure your right arm and right shoulder are in the correct position at address.

Working on a flat left wrist at impact is not a bad idea if you want solid golf shots that penetrate the elements and fly straight most of the time. You will not ever see a touring pro break their left wrist in their golf swing. Their wrists rotate over the top of the ball through impact, while retaining the right wrist angle.

Take a look at this picture of Ben Hogan from his Book Five Lessons. I drew a blue line that you can barely see that shows how perfectly straight his left wrist is. This is the ideal impact position in golf. Notice the forward shaft lean at impact? His hands are ahead of the ball with maximum compression on that poor golf ball. Hogan was known as one of the best ball strikers of all time!

You cannot attain a flat left wrist if you flip at the ball through impact. This is one of the most common faults of high handicap golfers (and some low handicappers like me ) We’ve got to convince ourselves that we don’t have to help the ball get in the air. A descending blow gets the ball in the air with compression. To get this descending blow, we must have a bent right wrist, and a flat left wrist. Anything else is incorrect and will not produce the results you’re looking for.

Left Wrist Action Through Golf Swing

It took me years to figure out exactly what the hands and wrists do through the golf swing. I had the hardest time comprehending it until I read Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons book. On page 102 the below picture was an “awakening” for me. I could finally see exactly what the left hand especially does throughout the entire golf swing.

Notice how the left wrist NEVER bends throughout the whole golf swing! This is KEY to better ball striking. The left wrist in a sense rolls over through impact. It is not an intentional rolling as that would cause a big hook or pull to the left. But notice after impact how the back of the left hand is facing the ground. For most golfers it’s facing “up” because the hands were “flipped” and not rolled.

Once you get your proper golf setup, and implement these golf swing takeaway tips , you will see your golf swing consistency improve. This is where many amateur and high handicap golfers get it wrong, and never learn the right way to take the club back from the address position.

If you’re having trouble with your shoulder turn, and you want to fix your shoulder turn in your golf swing, keep reading on

The modern golf swing is a “one-piece” takeaway where you move the club back from the ball with your shoulders and core… not your hands or arms. We also call this a “connected” golf swing takeaway, that is simple, and puts you into a near perfect top of the backswing position.

Let’s take a look at Adam Scott’s takeaway. Even though he is struggling a bit this year, his golf swing technique is every bit as good as Tiger. I have drawn yellow lines to show you this “one-piece” takeaway. Notice how his clubhead is several feet away from the ball, and his wrists have not started to cock. He is taking the club back with his upper body and core, not his hands.

The ONLY “takeaway” I want you to have from this article is this “one-piece” move. That’s all I want you to work on. I also want you to learn how to slow down your golf swing takeaway for better sequence. In the next takeaway article, will go further in detail and take the club back a few feet further.

But this is critical to get right! Focus on taking the club away as a whole. Do NOT under any circumstances break your wrists to the point in this picture. Notice the yellow lines look like a y? If you break your wrists earlier, you will not see this y in your takeaway.

Learning how to hold a golf club is one of the key ingredients to a consistent golf swing. We call it golf grip fundamentals. It seems so basic, and yet so many golfers get it wrong (including me). This is your ONLY contact with the club, so you must get it right to have any chance at hitting a solid ball, that goes relatively straight and with maximum distance.

There are two methods to holding a golf club, and both may work for you, but there is one that will give you a nearly 100% chance at hitting great golf shots. One method is the “palm grip” where the club shaft runs high along your palm. This method makes it very difficult to get a proper golf wrist cock. In fact, it greatly inhibits your wrist cock, which will rob you of power and distance.

In my humble opinion, and from doing it one way (in the palm) to the other way in the fingers, I personally feel you need to hold the golf club more in your fingers, to give you a tension-free wrist cock that generates maximum clubhead speed, power and distance.

Step #1

Lay the golf club shaft across the base of your fingers of your left hand if your a right-handed golfer. It goes diagonally from the first joint of your index finger, up through the callus area of your pinky, and then under your pad of your palm.

Step #2

Once you lay the golf club shaft in the proper position as mentioned above, then roll your left hand over (around the shaft). When you look down, you will see your left thumb to the right of the shaft, with 2-3 knuckles showing. Preferrably 3 to promote a square clubface, eliminating any chance to slice or block the golf ball.

Step #3

Now… how to grip the golf club with your right hand. Bring your right hand under the shaft below your left, and place your fingers under the shaft, completely under all the calluses of your right hand.

This is a totally finger grip with your right hand. Take your right picking and put it over the knuckle of your left index finger. With that position, now wrap your right hand over the shaft. The palm of your right hand will completely cover your left thumb. When looking down, you should now see your right thumb on the left of the shaft over your left thumb. You will see a cupping of your right wrist with this grip.

Step #4

This grip should feel very natural, and you should be able to cock your wrists up and down freely with no effort at all. This is the proper way to hold a golf club.

Learning how to correct a fade in your golf swing is one of the fastest ways to gain an extra 10 to 20 yards on your golf drives. A fade is a much better ball flight than a hook, so don’t fret too much if you are a fader of the golf ball, but if you don’t like this ball flight, I’ve got some tips that may help you hit either a straight golf ball or a draw.

Causes Of A Fade Golf Swing

There are several different causes of a fade. The first, most obvious one is an open clubface at impact. This will push the ball out to the right 90% of the time. Another cause may be an upper body dive during your downswing, which will get you ahead of the ball at impact, with no time to square the face, again leaving it open through impact. An over the top golf swing can also create a fade, as your swing path is outside to in, imparting sidespin on your golf ball. One last possible issue is a lateral slide towards the target with your lower body. This is similar to the upper body dive, in which you get ahead of the golf ball at impact, leaving the clubface wide open.

Use A Stronger Golf Grip

Many times a fade is the result of a weaker golf grip. So for a right handed golfer, that means the left hand is rotated to far to the left if you’re looking straight down at your golf grip. Many times you will only see one knuckle on your left hand, which is considered a weak, if not atleast a neutral golf grip. The proper golf grip is shown in the picture below. Notice how my left hand is rotated more to the right if you were to be looking down at it? This is considered a stronger golf grip (but could be even stronger, but I wouldn’t recommend it), which will close the clubface more rapidly through impact. This closing of the face will correct your fade and produce a straight or draw golf shot.

Square Your Clubface At Address

This may sound like a “duh” tip, but I can tell you after 15 years of playing golf, and currently playing to a 7 handicap, I recently found out my face was open at address. It blew me away, but the very second I made the correction, my ball flight and compression was 100% improved. I was absolutely amazed at how solid I was hitting the ball after I fixed my square clubface at address. If you’ve never seen how it looks to have a square face, take a look at the picture I took recently.

Hit Inside Quarter Of Golf Ball

Here’s a golf tip I got that helped me visualize impact. I was told to focus on hitting the inside quarter of the golf ball. So if you’re looking down at the golf ball, and you break the ball into fourths; the bottom right fourth is the area you are aiming at hitting. This will encourage an inside to out swing which will promote a slight draw if you release the club. If you don’t release it, it will go right.

See the arrow? That is your visual to where you want your clubface to contact the ball.

Unless you’re Camilo Villegas, or 20 years old, tension in your arms is not a good thing! If you want to hit your drives as far as you can, it’s not the effort (tension) you put into it, it’s the higher clubhead swing speed. How many times have you tried to KILL it and the ball went nowhere? I know, because I’m guilty of that more times than I can count. Why, as golfers can’t we learn it’s not how hard we swing, but how relaxed and fluid we swing that creates higher swing speeds and ultimately more distance.

Relaxed Golf Grip

Once you learn how to grip a golf club, you must relax those hands. It starts with the fingers and goes up through your palm, and ultimately the pressure on the grip itself. Look down at your hands just before you make your swing. Do your knuckles look a little white? Are the veins in your hands sticking out more than normal? These are telltale signs you are gripping the club too tightly, causing excess tension to run right up your arms and into your shoulders. This is a KILLER of swing speed and distance.

It’s All In Your Waggle

You’ve seen all the pros do it. Maybe even your golf buddies. It’s called the golf waggle. This is one of the most effective ways to release tension in your hands and arms before you start your swing. The waggle is movement. Movement decreases tension. Doing this right before you take the club away will eliminate 90% of the tension in your arms, enabling you to maximize clubhead speed and distance. Next time you play, make sure to waggle the club and feel the tension leave your arms. Then within a second start your swing. Do NOT waggle, then set your club behind the ball and freeze! This is a waste of your waggle and will not release any tension in your arms before you swing.

Get Your Breathing Right

You’d be surprised how many golfers hold their breath when they swing. When you stop breathing, you create tension. Just think of yoga. They are constantly working on their breathing DURING their stretches. As a golfer, you should be aware of your breathing when you start your swing. After your swing starts, it happens to quickly for you to pay attention to it, but definitely before you swing, take a deep breath and then LET IT OUT before you start your golf swing. When you let your breath out, you will feel and even see your muscles relax.

One last thing!

I know this may sound counter-intuitive, but learning how to slow down your golf swing, will actually help speed it up. Your arms will be so loose, you speed will be better