Does the grip strength/position (strong vs weak) change from driver to wedge?

[KMeloney]

Hey all,

 

Just looking to hear some thoughts on whether it makes any sense for one's hands on the club to get stronger from a wedge on up through a driver.

 

For me, I need to have a strong grip with the driver. In part, the forward ball position, longer shaft, and the fact that the ball is on a tee cause me to have my grip at its strongest so that I can really lead the downswing with my right elbow and "stay behind" the ball. However, on the way down to my wedges, I think a grip that's as-strong gets me in trouble. Then again, although it feels more natural to take a weaker grip (I'm talking mostly right hand here) at address with shorter clubs, it also can lead me to hit fades/slices if I'm not careful. So, I have stuck with a strong grip on all the clubs, and sometimes feel that I have to make hold-off or path compensations to not over-draw the ball.

 

I think it was Faldo yesterday on the PGA broadcast who commented on Matsuyama's "wedge swing" toward the end of the tournament. He commented that Matsuyama has "different swings -- a driver swing, a wedge swing..." and it got me thinking that, if that's true, then maybe he also makes grip-strength adjustments. I know that grip adjustments for me make for some different swing-path swings.

 

It looks to me like a guy like Zach Johnson makes no changes to his super-strong grip, ever. It obviously works just fine for him. I'd imagine the reality is that most pros put their hands on the club the same way for each club. Do they?

 

Maybe I just need to experiment with more of an in-between grip that works for every club...

 

Thoughts?

[Macogardy]

It's funny you say that because I do the opposite for abnormal shot the farther the ball goes back in my stance my grip gets slightly stronger.

 

I like to drive my LW kinda low on a strong trajectory where as with my longer irons the fact the ball is more in the front of the center of my stance I like my grip a little weaker allows me to release the loft a little better to hit it higher let's say especially if I'm hitting a 2 iron

[596]

I use a more neutral grip for my driver, but mid irons I use a strong grip. I also use a strong grip for my 3 wood but a more neutral grip for my 7 wood and 5 and 6 hybrids.

 

I believe I do this because of the different type of clubs I use. My driver, 7 wood, 5 and 6 hybrids are K15's. Neutral grip works extremely well with this type of club. But even though my mid irons are G15's I find a strong grip works very well until I get to wedges and then I change to neutral grip.

 

Sounds confusing but I do it without even thinking about the grip.

[Golfjack]

I definitely have different swings (slightly) for drivers irons and wedges. But the grip doesn't change. Feels like it would be too hard to square the face moving that around.

[KMeloney]

Thanks for the replies so far.

 

I definitely have different swings (slightly) for drivers irons and wedges. But the grip doesn't change. Feels like it would be too hard to square the face moving that around.

 

I'm guessing this points to some of my woes. With a more neutral right hand grip, my right wrist wants to bend naturally and ride up a natural plane on the way back... But I've never felt like I've been able to make a powerful release from here. My swing feel more upright from here -- which feels natural with short irons. But I think I don't get my hands deep enough with this grip, and/or I can't shallow the club as well from here. With a stronger grip, the club goes back flatter, albeit without the same natural wrist bend feel. But I feel like I can release it better from here.

 

My paths/planes seem to be very affected by the strength of my grip.

[Golfjack]

Thanks for the replies so far.

 

I definitely have different swings (slightly) for drivers irons and wedges. But the grip doesn't change. Feels like it would be too hard to square the face moving that around.

 

I'm guessing this points to some of my woes. With a more neutral right hand grip, my right wrist wants to bend naturally and ride up a natural plane on the way back... But I've never felt like I've been able to make a powerful release from here. My swing feel more upright from here -- which feels natural with short irons. But I think I don't get my hands deep enough with this grip, and/or I can't shallow the club as well from here. With a stronger grip, the club goes back flatter, albeit without the same natural wrist bend feel. But I feel like I can release it better from here.

 

My paths/planes seem to be very affected by the strength of my grip.

Hard to say. Which grip allows you to hit it straighter? Does it vary with different clubs? What's the ball flight for the clubs?

[KMeloney]

Hard to say. Which grip allows you to hit it straighter? Does it vary with different clubs? What's the ball flight for the clubs?

 

I've got much more time in with a strong grip, so the ball flight with it is more predictable, although contact tends to not feel as good. I went weaker on a few iron shots yesterday, and contact felt great, but I faded the ball some. I'm going to mess with a weaker grip and ball position at the range and see how it goes -- but I don't think I want to mess with my strong driver grip, since the driver's been consistently good lately.

[ajax5184]

I use a really strong grip too. I have found it a lot easier to adjust the club face relative to the target line and leave my grip strength alone. For example my 4 wood might be 10-15 degrees open at address, 5 iron 5-10 degrees open, full wedges a few degrees open or square to the target line, but the amount that my hands are rotated to the right on the grip never changes. I guess you could do the same with a neutral grip, as it sounds like that is what you would prefer, and close the face some at address on the clubs that you had trouble squaring. Martin Chuck and Shawn Clement both have videos on this, but I couldn't find them. They explain it a lot better than I do LOL.

[lopez6193]

I'd like to chime in on this topic almost 7 years later after I made this revelation myself in my game and decided to research the topic. My natural grip is a neutral, two-knuckle maybe 2.5 borderline strong grip and my ball striking with driver and irons have been better than ever. I'm hitting the most greens and fairways I've ever hit. However with the wedges I found I was getting a lot of inconsistent contact, spin, and yardages with this grip. I tried a weaker grip, left hand specifically, and my contact/yardages have tightened up substantially. This feel like a 1.5 left hand knuckle grip. This literally helped me shave off 4 strokes off my handicap in one season. The crazy thing is all of my yardages jumped 7-10 yards with partial wedges. 

[skraly]

Mine doesn't except for some type of specialty shot.  And, imho, if you’re changing your grip, except fir those occasions I mentioned, you’re making the game needlessly complicated.  It’s hard enough as is.

Edited August 28, 2024 by skraly

[dsmil]

My grip doesn't change.  However, I do bow my wrist at the top with driver while keeping it flat with irons.  It's always been harder for me to square the face with driver and this has been helping.