Interlock vs overlap

[one_bogey4]

Congrats on your score, you had a good day! Comfortability with your grip is very important, a lot of golfers switch back and forth relevant to the course and shots they need to hit, there are many theories on the subject regarding control vs. distance. ----SPAM Deleted----Good luck with your game.

[Pa Jayhawk]

Congrats on your score, ..........

I can tell this is going to be short stay, was fun while it lasted, probably even funner for us once you are gone. :laugh:

You have been duly reported.

[warbirdlover]

I have seen no difference between interlock and overlap except with my pudgy hands the overlap feels better. And I've gone back and tried the interlock occassionally.

[eclark53520]

For the first 6 months I played I used the ten finger grip and everything else I tried felt awful and totally unnatural. Then one day, down at the range, I grabbed a club and tried the overlap grip and it just felt right - and the shots I was hitting provided further proof as they were much more powerful and just felt way more controlled than I'd ever managed. When I tried going back to the ten finger grip it felt wrong and I've never gone back. I have absolute NO idea why it happened!

+1 This si also my experience on the dot.

I have tried interlocking several times and it doesn't work for me at all.

[RC52]

I went from interlocking when i started taking lessons and playing in high school. Than to ten finger after a 2 year hiatus from golfing. Now i'm overlapping, and it finally feels comfortable. I think hand size dictates your grip.

[David Hillman]

I use three different grips, but have never tried overlapping. I hit irons with an interlock, woods baseball-style, and putt cross-handed. Maybe I will buy a hybrid and grip it overlap

I'm stunned that overlap is apparently the most common grip. I always thought, and was taught, that interlocking was the "correct" way.

[PureStroke]

When I first started playing I used the Hogan grip then changed to the inter locking grip, And then back to the Hogan grip where I will now stay. The problem I had with the Inter locking grip was I turned my already fast hands over to much and was dubbed Captain Hook amongst my 4some. And my iron play was very spotty and suspect, some days I had it and all the other days it was a weak fanning action of a wounded pelican. For some reason I couldnt take a divot with the interlocking grip , all I did was sweep the ball off the turf and disrupt the grain of the area where my ball laid. So I did some trial and error rounds with both grips so I could settle on only one frikin grip that would work for me. And low and behold it was the hogan grip(no wonder I was a better ball striker in the beginning). Anyways I almost always nail the ball on the nuts with the Hogan grip with better control and more distance with my irons and wedges, But with the driver I think I lost a few yards with the Hogan grip vs the Interlocking grip.

[zaphod]

I have always used the interlock grip, I have smaller hands, so this gives me more control and distance than the overlap. I did try using the overlap grip for a season and just could not get the hang of it.

Hand siaze is the key. Overlapping for big paws. The key is to free up your wrists.

[Harold]

A few months ago I transitioned from the interlock to the Vardon grip. I had been an interlock player for 5 3/4 years but never felt comfortable with it. It always seemed that to get the interlock I always ended up with a strong right hand position. Plus the comfort of not having the pinky locked. It's what works for me.

[Snow]

I once played with a 17 yr old teen in Junior Tourney that gripped the club like a natural left handed golfer with a baseball grip.

"BUT HE PLAYED RIGHT HANDED!"

It was something you really had to see to believe.

He also shot somewhere in the mid 70s that day, go figure.

Told me later he learned with his dads extra right handed clubs even though he was a lefty.

[David Hillman]

Tried overlap today... I have no idea how you guys do that. Felt like I was going to lose the club into the pond. I didn't even dare hit a shot...

[Fourputt]

Interlock my whole life. Played around with the Vardon, but I lose distance and just can't get comfortable with it.

One thing to consider for those who have made a change and seen either improvement or degradation. It may be that you also changed the relative neutrality of your grip in the process. Changing the way the hands tie together can slightly rotate either or both hands, thus creating a different wrist cok (misspelled because of the stupid language filter) and a different release point.

My optimum seems to be an interlocking neutral grip, but most players I know use a very strong right hand grip. With the interlock you can only strengthen the right hand so far before you have to move the left hand too. With the Vardon and the ten finger grips, the hands can be rotated more independently of each other.

[Pa Jayhawk]

Well heck, everyone else seems to be commenting on the year old thread brought back to life by a spammer, so I may as well say my piece since it doesn't look like I responded last year.

I played my first 6 years with an interlock, although always tried to convert to and overlap (Vardon) because the interlock was always a little uncomfortable. I usually tried to do so in the middle of the season, and was just not willing to suffer through the result in mid season. Last off-season I decided to try to start the year and it took. It has since been alot more comfortable and there is no going back for me.