GRIP PLACEMENT
Grip placement is something not thought of often in golf. Everyone assumes that you must grip the center of the club grip and unless you are near the green chipping or hitting a golf ball that’s higher than your feet, you always grip the center. Time for me to let the cat out of the bag. If you struggle “taking some off” from your full swing, and your deceleration to the ball is leaving you significantly short, let’s change the idea of what it is you’re actually trying to accomplish. You want to make sure that the golf ball makes it to the target, but you do not want to sacrifice speed, and you definitely want to maintain a decent descent angle so that the ball won’t roll to the back of the green. Here’s your solution:
From the end of the grip to the base of the grip is a difference of about 20 yards in a full swing. If your 7-iron in a normal full swing with your hands at the end of the grip goes 160 yards, try choking down to the center of the grip, and it will go 150 yards. Note that the shorter the club is, the faster the wrists will turn over, so ensure you either aim slightly more right for a right-handed golfer or make the intent of stalling the wrists in the swing. The key here is that the swing “laying off” is gone; swing your full swing. By gripping lower on the club, you have already compensated for the distance, so the speed of the swing can relatively be the same. Likewise, if you go to the base of the grip, (which also will move you closer to the ball and that is okay) make the alignment change or again feel like your wrists are stalling in rotation, and you will see your 7-iron full swing go 140 yards.
What cannot happen, is any amount of slowing down to the golf ball. That is a distance death sentence. 20 yards difference from top of the grip to the bottom of the grip, with the same full swing. Give it a try, it will change the way you think about which clubs and distances. Remember every club in your bag will go 100 yards, even the putter. Don’t be so closed minded as to think that there is one way to get it done.
If you want me to prove this concept to you, schedule with me and will can make it happen at Shoot For Par
-David