The awareness and conscious monitoring of the hands from address to finish in the golf swing can provide wonderful information to a golfer. First, one must know the responsibility of the hands in the swing before they can check, verify, and correct hand conditions. I could probably write a book on the function of the hands in the golf swing ranging from grip type to grip pressure and from supination to pronation, but I will do my best to address the most common grip flaws and corrections in this tip.

A change in grip pressure prematurely dumps out stored power as demonstrated in the picture with the water dumping out of the bottle prior to impact.

Let us start with tension, the number one enemy for all golfers. On a scale of one to ten, with ten being tight and one being light, grip pressure should never exceed six or drop below two. Most golfers consistently maintain a grip pressure level of three or four. The most important variable to address once a golfer selects the grip pressure for a shot is that it should never change, actively or consciously, during the shot. Starting at a three and then moving to a seven causes the downswing to get convulsive. Inversely, beginning with a five and falling to a one causes disconnection and completely disrupts the clubface. Learning to monitor the tension in the hands and keeping the grip pressure constant can immediately enhance rhythm and clubface control from putt to drive.

Aim the hands well beyond your ball location for precise impact alignments. The hands win the race past the ball.

"Never throw from the wrist." The responsibility of the hands moving into impact is to lead a trailing clubhead. The hands must be trained to go past the ball before the clubhead arrives at impact, the moment of truth. My favorite drill to discipline the hands during the impact interval is the address versus impact drill with no backswing. To do this, simply assume your address position and then train the body to move the hands to their impact alignment, which is past the ball. "Aim those mitts."

Let the forearms cross to show the ball who’s the boss. Transfer the momentum through the forearm roll.

A golfer’s greatest mechanical breakdown is a bent left wrist (for right-handed golfers) from impact to follow through. A golfer’s number one imperative is to maintain a flat left wrist from impact to follow through. Distinguishing between these two different alignments along with correcting them will immediately lead to increased power and consistency. The left wrist should remain flat from impact to follow through, but the forearms must roll to transfer the momentum in the golf swing. Train the forearms to cross to show the ball who’s the boss immediately after impact. This is known as the release interval and the right palm (for right-handed golfers) should be facing the ground to multiply the power to the punch.

Ted Frick
2005 Carolinas PGA Section Teacher of the Year
Owner / Director of Instruction
Classic Swing Golf School (Located at Legends Resort)
P.O. Box 50955 Myrtle Beach, SC 29579
(843) 903-5560
1-800-827-2656
tfrick@classicswing.com
www.classicswing.com

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