Ben Hogan: How to Grip a Golf Club

Arguably no single part of the golf swing has been more studied, debated, and emulated than Ben Hogan's grip. For a man who treasured his secrets, his painstakingly detailed explanation of how to hold a golf club in his book, Five Lessons, remains one of the greatest gifts he ever gave the game. This guide will walk you through the essential components of that legendary grip, breaking down not just the how but also the why behind each specific detail, so you can build a more powerful and consistent connection with your golf club.

Why the Grip is Everything to a Golfer

Before touching the club, it's important to understand Hogan's philosophy. He believed that golf begins and ends with the hands. Your hands are your only connection to the club, the conduit through which you transmit power, feel, and control. Any flaw in the grip will force a chain reaction of compensations throughout your swing just to get the clubface square at impact. In Hogan’s mind, a poor grip meant you could never play reliably good golf. It’s that simple.

Think of your grip as the steering wheel of the clubface. How your hands are placed directly influences where that face is pointed at every stage of the swing, especially at impact. The goal of the Hogan grip isn't to feel "natural" in the way slumping on a couch feels natural. The goal is to unite your two hands so they function as a strong, single unit, allowing you to swing the club freely without any conscious need to flick, roll, or jinak manipulate your hands to hit the ball straight.

Building the Hogan Grip: The Left Hand (Lead Hand)

Hogan spent an enormous amount of time perfecting his left-hand grip, believing it was the primary controller of the golf swing. Building it correctly is the foundation for everything that follows. Let's walk through it step by step, for a right-handed player.

Step 1: The Diagonal Placement

Forget grabbing the club like a baseball bat. The Hogan grip is all about placement in the fingers, not the palm. Lay the shaft diagonally across your left hand. It should sit at the base of your first finger (your index finger) and run down across the middle joint of your pinky finger. When you close your hand, the fleshy pad at the base of your thumb should rest a little on top of the grip.

Why is this so specific? Placing the club in the fingers of the left hand is about creating leverage. It allows you to hinge your wrists correctly during the backswing, a primary source of clubhead speed. A "palmy" grip restricts this natural wrist set, forcing you to use your arms and shoulders to generate power, which is far less efficient and consistent.

Step 2: Checking the Knuckles

Once you close your left hand, look down at your hand from your address position. You should clearly see two, perhaps two and a half, knuckles of your index and middle fingers. This is one of the most famous checkpoints in all of golf instruction.

What does this do? This specific alignment puts your left hand in what is called a "neutral to slightly strong" position. A “strong” grip simply means the hand is rotated slightly away from the target. Hogan fought a hook for much of his early career, but he found this specific position gave him maximum power without letting the clubface shut down too quickly through impact. For the average golfer who battles a slice (where the clubface is open at impact), seeing these two knuckles is an immediate-correction that encourages the face to close properly, promoting a straighter ball flight or a draw.

Step 3: Creating the "Short Thumb"

Hogan was insistent that the left thumb should not be fully extended down the shaft. Instead, it should be slightly "shortened," or pulled back up toward the hand. Your forefinger and thumb should look like they are almost "pinching" the shaft, forming what looks a bit like a trigger.

The purpose of the short thumb is twofold: First, it solidifies the grip by activating the muscles in your forefinger and thumb, preventing the club from shifting or getting loose at the top of a powerful backswing. Second, and just as important, it creates the perfect pocket for your right hand to snuggle into, which is the key to unifying the hands.

Adding the Right Hand (Trail Hand)

With the left hand set in its power-producing position, the right hand comes in to support and add feel. Its role is just as specific.

Step 1: Connecting to the Lifeline

Your right hand should also hold the club in the fingers. When you place it onto the club, the lifeline of your right palm should fit perfectly over your "short" left thumb. This is maybe the most important part of uniting the two hands. Feel that connection - it should be snug, with no gaps. When done correctly, your left thumb will feel almost hidden beneath your right hand.

This single action is what merges your hands into a single unit. It prevents the hands from fighting each other during the swing. You won't have one hand trying to turn the club one way and the other fighting to turn it back.

Step 2: The Right Hand "Trigger Finger"

Just like the left hand, you don’t hold the club with your entire hand. The main pressure points in the right hand are the two middle fingers. Lay the club in the joints of those fingers, and then wrap them around. Your right index finger shouldn’t be bunched up with the others. Instead, it should be slightly separated and bent, almost like you’re holding the trigger of a gun. It rests on the side of the shaft, not completely underneath it.

Why the trigger finger? This isn't just for looks. The separated trigger finger adds another layer of support at the base of the swing without encouraging you to "flick" at the ball. It keeps the club stable through the hitting area and provides incredible feel for the clubface.

Step 3: Choosing the Overlap

Hogan was a proponent of the Vardon, or overlapping, grip. This means the pinky finger of your right hand rests comfortably in the channel created between your index and middle fingers on your left hand. He felt this best helped unify the hands.

While some great players have used an interlocking grip (where the left index and right pinky link), the overlap is the classic Hogan method. It encourages the hands to partner up without being literally locked together, promoting better feel for many players.

Fine-Tuning the Hogan Grip

Getting the fingers and thumbs in place is most of the battle. But the final feelings and pressure points are what make the grip come alive.

• The "V's": A final checkpoint. The 'V' shape formed by the thumb and index finger on your left hand, and the corresponding 'V' on your right hand, should both point to a spot somewhere between your chin and your right shoulder (for a right-handed player). This confirms that your hands are positioned together as a team, not in opposition.
• Grip Pressure: This causes so much confusion. Hogan didn't mean you should hold the club with a death grip. He famously compared it to holding a live bird: tight enough that it can't fly away, but light enough that you don't hurt it. The main pressure should be in the last three fingers of your left hand and the middle two fingers of your right. The thumbs and index fingers are more for support and feel. You should feel relaxed enough to wiggle your toes in your shoes.
• It Will Feel Weird: This is the most important tip. Shifting to a technically sound grip like Hogan’s will almost certainly feel strange and uncomfortable at first. Your old grip may feel "natural," but that’s only because it’s familiar. Trust the process. The Hogan grip is designed to work with physics and anatomy, not against them.

Practice getting used to this grip at home, without even hitting a ball. Hold a club for a few minutes each day while watching TV. Take a short iron to the range and hit small, easy shots focusing only on maintaining your hold. In time, this new, "weird" feeling will become your new, powerful normal.

Final Thoughts

Adopting Ben Hogan's grip is about more than just copying a legend, it's about embracing a fundamental truth of the golf swing. A correct hold unites the hands, allowing them to deliver the clubface to the ball with power and consistency without any last-second compensation. It’s the foundational puzzle piece that makes the rest of the swing fall into place.

Of course, making a change to your grip can feel like guesswork, especially when you can't see what your hands are truly doing. This is where getting objective, real-time feedback is so helpful. At Caddie AI, we provide that instant second set of eyes on demand. Not convinced your 'V's are pointing the right way or want to check if you're holding it in your fingers instead of your palms? You can just ask and get a clear, supportive answer 24/7. It's like having a world-class coach by your side, ready to help with a weird lie, course strategy, or tricky shot, so you can stop guessing and start playing with full confidence.