If you’re constantly fighting a hook that snaps left or pulling your shots dead offline, the way you hold the club might be the culprit. A golf grip that is too strong can cause the clubface to close too quickly through impact, sending the ball far left of your target. This article will walk you through exactly how to weaken your grip, providing the step-by-step adjustments that can straighten out your ball flight and give you more control over your shots.
First, let’s clear up a common misunderstanding. The terms “weak” and “strong” have nothing to do with how tightly you hold the club. You should always maintain light, consistent grip pressure. Instead, these terms refer to the rotational position of your hands on the grip.
Think of it as the steering wheel for your clubface. How your hands are positioned has a massive influence on where that face is pointing at the moment of truth. Getting this right removes the need for big, tricky compensations elsewhere in your swing.
A strong grip is one where your hands are rotated away from the target (to the right, for a right-handed golfer). It's a common way to hold the club, especially for players trying to gain distance, but it often goes too far.
A weak grip is the opposite. Your hands are rotated more towards the target (to the left, for a right-handed golfer).
Most great golfers play with a grip that is somewhere in the middle, known as a “neutral” grip (seeing about two knuckles). But if you’re battling a persistent hook, learning how to methodically weaken your grip is a fantastic skill to move you back toward a more neutral and controllable position.
Making a grip change feels strange, so it’s important to do it correctly and systematically. A grip change should only be considered if a directional fault, like a consistent hook, is affecting your game. Grab a mid-iron and let’s work through it.
Before putting your hands on the club, make sure the clubface is perfectly square to your target line. Rest the club on the ground and check that the leading edge is perpendicular to where you want the ball to go. If you start with a closed face, you'll be fighting an uphill battle no matter your grip.
Your lead hand is the foundation of your grip. It dictates the clubface angle more than anything else.
This will feel strange. It might feel like you’re setting up for a big slice. Trust the process. This sensation is a sign that you're actually making a change.
Your trail hand must work in partnership with your lead hand. If you weaken your lead hand but keep your trail hand in a strong (underneath) position, you’ll send conflicting signals to the club. The hands must match up.
Whether you interlock, overlap, or use a ten-finger grip is a matter of personal comfort. Any of the three will work fine as long as your hands are positioned correctly and not movin' around during the swing.
As I tell my students, an intellectual understanding of the new grip is one thing, making it automatic is another. You have to commit to drills and get used to how different it feels.
If you've been playing with a strong grip for a while, weakening it will feel awful at first. Your body has built an entire set of compensations around your old grip to try and get the ball to fly straight. When you change the grip, those compensations will now produce a different shot - and it might be a block or slice temporarily. This is okay! Stick with it. This discomfort is the feeling of improvement.
Go to the range with only one goal: build reps with the new grip. Don't worry about distance. Just take your new, weaker grip and hit 50-yard pitch shots over and over. Feel the hands being passive through the ball. The goal here isn’t perfect shots, but reprogramming your brain to a new normal. If your hooks start turning into straight pushes or gentle fades, you’re succeeding.
Burn this into your pre-shot routine. Every single time you step up to a ball - whether at the range or on the course - set the club down, take your grip, and then look down to check your knuckles.
This constant reinforcement prevents you from slowly slipping back into old, comfortable habits.
As you work on this change, watch out for a few common pitfalls that can derail your progress.
Ultimately, weakening your grip is a tool for neutralizing an overly closed clubface and fixing a hook. It's not a mystery. It's a mechanical adjustment that involves rotating your hands slightly toward the target, checking your knuckles and 'V's, and committing to the new - albeit strange - feeling until it becomes second nature.
Knowing what to change is half the battle, but getting real-time confirmation that you're doing it right can accelerate your progress. With our platform, Caddie AI, you have a coach in your pocket. If you're working on your grip and the ball starts slicing, you can ask us for a specific drill to correct it. You can even send a photo of your new hold, and we can help you analyze if you've gone too far. We’re here24/7 to provide that expert feedback and remove the guesswork, helping you build a better swing, faster.
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