Two newbie questions on GRIP & POSTURE

[Jaff]

Hi all... a relative newbie here with a keen interest in golf. I started about a month ago (driving range only so far) and have accumulated the following clubs which at the moment i'm quite comfortable with:

Skymax Ice IX-1 irons (PW, 8, 7)
Dunlop MXII (SW) - might change this for a Skymax SW
Alien Tour Shot Wedge (60deg)
Bronty Rustler multi-weight putter

I'm pretty happy with my progress so far but am still a little confused about some aspects of 'grip' and 'posture'. It seems that every article i read or (YouTube) video that i watch shows a different way of holding the club or addressing the ball. So not sure which way to turn.

-- LEFT THUMB: I'm currently gripping the club with my left thumb (i'm right handed) at the top, vertically aligned with the centre of the shaft, pointing down to the club face. I learnt this from a Mark Crossfield video at the Today's Golfer web site - "the thumb of your left hand pointing down towards the head of the club". But i know others advocate having the thumb slightly down the right side of the shaft, forming a 'V' that points up towards the chin/right shoulder. The 'thumb on top' seems to work so far - is this a widely used method? Are there any dissadvantages?

-- LEFT ARM: At address, i started out with the left arm near-straight. Then i read an article at Golf Today which mentioned that "the elbows should 'bow' out slightly at address". I switched to this as it felt more comfortable and doesn't seem to have had any detrimental affect. Again, is this an outdated approach?

Thanks for your time and any help you can give.

 

[sandwedge]

Welcome aboard. For a new golfer I would recommend a few lessons to learn the fundamentals. If you don't want to spend the money on that go out and buy the book Ben Hogan's Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf. This is a great book and will give you all of the basics.

 

[WildCatGolfer17]

Someone with a camera take like 5 pictures of your grip
first with 1 hand top and bottom then both hands top and bottom for him.

Too hard to explain with out showing also

 

[ezra76]

I was on the Hogan bandwagon for a little while. His grip is too weak, especially for a beginning golfer. That grip is for a someone who hits draws and hooks.

My intructor recommnds both V's formed by the thumb and forefinger point just inside the right shoulder. A solid 2 knuckles should be seen on the left hand, if you miss right still, shut the clubface more and try 3 knuckles.

I highly recommend spending the money on a couple lessons. I've been playing for over 4 years and just got 2 lessons. It's been like hitting the fast forward button in my progress towards a consistant swing.

 

[ezra76]

Here you go. This was half my 1st lesson so this is a $40 picture sequence I guess. :laugh:

My grip

 

[warbirdlover]

I refer back to these all the time.....

Proper Golf Grip - How to Grip a Golf Club with Your Lead or Top Hand

Proper Golf Grip - How to Grip a Golf Club with Your Trailing or Bottom Hand

Golf Stance

 

[Bignose]

those golf.about.com links are priceless. Not just the grip ones, but there are many, many good mini-articles on there that can really get you on the right path.

 

[Jaff]

Here you go. This was half my 1st lesson so this is a $40 picture sequence I guess. :laugh:

My grip

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Thanks, ezra76... very helpful!

 

[Jaff]

I refer back to these all the time.....

Thanks for the links. One further question if i may... in the golf stance article it says:

"If you are an advanced golfer, you may tweak your initial stance so that you tilt a little behind the ball."

For now, my shoulders tend to be parallel to the ground... as a beginner, is that OK or should i be dropping the right shoulder slightly?

Also, in these pictures the left arm seems pretty straight. As I mentioned in the original question, I 'bow' my elbows out slightly as advised in the Golf Today article.

 

[jambalaya]

Thanks for the links. One further question if i may... in the golf stance article it says:

"If you are an advanced golfer, you may tweak your initial stance so that you tilt a little behind the ball."

For now, my shoulders tend to be parallel to the ground... as a beginner, is that OK or should i be dropping the right shoulder slightly?

Also, in these pictures the left arm seems pretty straight. As I mentioned in the original question, I 'bow' my elbows out slightly as advised in the Golf Today article.

It is near impossible to get your shoulders square to the target line without a little bit of tilt. It doesn't need to be a lot.

Because your right hand is lower on the club than your left you should naturally tilt back a little. If not, then you are pulling your left shoulder foward a little bit which would close your shoulders with respect to the target line.

Oh, and please do use those links warbirdlover gave you concerning the grip. Follow those instructions and you will have your grip problem solved. I think that tip about putting the left thumb straight down the club is uncoventional and would reqiure you to make some other adjustments to get your swing right. I wouldn't suggest it.

 

[Armygolf]

Book mark the About.com web site. As a new golfer myself, I have found the articles there invaluable.

 

[SiberianDVM]

Consider getting a video cam and tripod to take to the range with you.

I can guarantee that what you think you are doing in your stance, grip, swing bears little resemblance to what you are actually doing.

 

[Bravo]

I'd heartily recommend an $8 investment in the Hogan book. it devotes page after page to the grip....and stance.

 

[dave.]

I agree,but I also agree its a grip that is to weak for most players as Ezra states (nice grip btw).Slightly stronger wuth 2 knuckles is better,rather than the one you see with Hogan

I totally disagree that is impossible to get square with the shoulders,I think I must be missing soemthing with that

 

[one_bogey4]

grip

Place your left thumb at "one o'clock" on the shaft, place your right thumb at "eleven o'clock on the shaft. Make sure that there is "no hole" on the underside of your left hand. ----SPAM deleted----