The only connection a golfer has with their golf club is through their grip.
If you are a serious golfer, you will understand how important it is to have a proper grip on your golf clubs.
If you don’t hold your club the correct way, your golf shot will be impacted without a doubt.
The way you grip the club can impact the ball flight, ball speed, and launch of the golf shot you hit.
Many golfers spend countless hours trying to fix their golf swing when, in reality, it was just a problem with the grip.
Overall, there are several different ways to hold a golf club, and some of those will change depending on the club that you have in your hand.
Let’s take a look at the different types of golf grips so that you can decide on what might be best for your golf game.
Types Of Golf Grips (Top 10 Ways To Hold Club)
1. Overlapping
The overlapping golf grip is typically known to be a grip that better players use.
Many of the golfers on the PGA Tour are using the overlapping grip to help them gain some control and feel over their swing.
The overlapping grip goes by this name because two of your fingers are going to overlap on the golf club.
For the overlap grip, the left hand is placed at the top of the club, and the golf club will be placed mostly in the fingers of the left hand.
Then the right hand is placed below the left hand.
The pinky on the right hand is going to sit on top or overlapping the index finger on the left hand.
You will notice the overlap grip almost immediately because it helps you provide less pressure to the golf club.
For golfers who tend to struggle with squeezing the club a bit too tightly, the overlap grip could make all the difference.
There is some debate between golfers as to whether it is better to have your right pinky on the top of the index finger or if it should sit between the index and the middle in the crease.
Most players find that if you put the pinky in the crease, it will eventually start to dig in and create pressure.
Therefore, it seems to be best to put the pinky finger directly on top.
When you grip the club with an overlapping grip, you will still want to ensure that your hands are shifted from the left to the right in the proper way.
Don’t let the right hand get too far on top of the left and vice versa.
Typically, golfers with larger hands tend to enjoy the overlap grip because it helps them feel a bit less crowded on the golf grip.
If you don’t have larger hands, you can still use an overlapping grip and be very successful with it.
Transitioning from an interlocking grip to an overlapping grip can be a difficult one, but switching from the ten-finger to overlap is not all that hard.
If you struggle to hit the ball straight because of a slice, the overlap might not be the best choice.
However, if you are looking for feel and consistency, then you may like the overlap grip.
2. Interlocking
The interlocking grip is the other equally popular golf grip on the market.
Most of the time, when asked about gripping the golf club, people will be referring to either the interlocking or overlapping golf grip.
If you prefer an interlocking grip, you most likely have smaller hands and are looking for some extra ball speed in your golf swing.
Because of the way your hands sit on the club while you interlock them, you will find that you can swing the club a bit harder.
For some golfers, this is a good thing, but for others, it creates almost too much speed.
With the interlocking grip, your left hand sits at the top of the club with the golf club in your fingers.
Once this is in place, you will put your right hand on the club.
The pinky on the right hand will interlock with the index finger and middle finger of the left hand.
Your index finger will almost feel as though it is locking your pinky into place.
The interlocking grip gives you a very secure feel over the golf club and will typically give golfers the confidence they need to swing through the ball with a bit more strength.
One of the biggest benefits of the interlocking grip is that it can help players learn to turn the club over and release it at impact.
With the interlock, the right hand is slightly more active in the swing.
For the most part, this can be used as a positive as long as golfers are aware of this result.
When this happens, you can take the right hand and turn it over a bit more quickly.
Players start to feel what it takes to hit the ball straight at impact, and then they can repeat it over and over again.
Although the overlapping golf grip is the most popular on the PGA Tour, both Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods used the interlocking grip.
Some say that Tiger would have never been able to produce the swing speeds he did had he not had the overlap grip on the club.
Between the overlapping and interlocking grip, it is hard to say that one is better than the other.
One thing that we do know for sure is that you will probably have to do a bit of trial and error before you know which one is the exact fit for you.
Most golfers will spend the first few years of their golf career perfecting their grip and getting it perfect.
Sometimes as players age, they realize that there could be a better grip for them out there, and they make a grip change.
Grip changes are hard, and they require quite a bit of time at the driving range trying to pull it together.
However, if you stick with it, it certainly can be done.
3. Ten-Finger
With the overlap and interlock grip, we looked at how the left and the right hand interact with each other in the back of the club.
With the ten-finger grip, there is no interaction between the hands when it comes to the fingers.
Instead, all ten fingers will sit on the club.
To set up for a ten-finger grip, simply place the left hand on the top of the club and then place the right hand underneath the left.
The index finger of the left hand will sit just above the pinky finger on the right hand.
The fingers do not overlap or interlock with each other in any way, but instead, they simply sit on top of each other.
Ten-finger golf grips are very popular among beginner golfers.
The reason the ten-finger grip is so popular is that it tends to simplify the golf swing a bit.
Essentially, you can feel as though your hands are placed on the golf club, and from there, you don’t have quite as much to think or worry about.
Many golfers, especially those who are new to the game, get hyper-focused on the golf grip.
This makes it very difficult to even swing the club back.
Therefore, many golfers go with the simple ten-finger grip, and then from there, they can adjust to the interlocking or overlapping.
Some golfers will stay with the ten-finger grip for their entire golf career.
Others are going to switch to the interlock or overlap at some point.
The benefit in eventually switching the grip over is that you will have more control over the golf club.
When both hands can work together and be combined as a unit, good things can be accomplished in the golf swing.
The major negative of the ten-finger grip is that the hands sometimes work as separate units.
When this happens, some interesting swing issues can come up, and there will eventually be adjustments that need to be made to the swing.
If you have young kids, let them start with the ten-finger grip because it gives them more control and stability over a club that would otherwise be considered quite heavy for them.
4. Baseball
A baseball grip is actually the same thing as a ten-finger grip.
Many golfers will call the ten-finger grip the baseball grip because it is almost exactly how you would hold a baseball bat.
There is, however, one significant difference that should be brought up.
When you play baseball, your thumbs are going to wrap around the bat instead of pointing toward the far end of the bat.
Golfers should have the thumb on the left hand and the thumb on the right hand pointed down the center of the shaft.
The thumbs pointing down can help players learn to let the other parts of the body do some of the work in the swing.
When you have the thumbs wrapped around the club as they would be on a baseball bat, they will often play much too active a role in the swing.
This is a good thing for baseball players, but it’s not such a good thing for golfers.
If you were a baseball player before you became a golfer, this type of adjustment is certainly understandable.
However, you will eventually want to switch to an overlap or interlock grip from the baseball grip.
Also, try and adjust to putting your thumbs down the shaft as opposed to wrapping them around the club.
Baseball players can become golfers as long as they learn what skills and techniques to bring along and which ones to leave behind.
Many famous Major League Baseball players went on to be quite successful as amateur golfers.
5. Putter Grip Types
There are several different ways to hold a putter.
Not all putter grips are going to be a good choice for you, and your putter grip and your regular golf grip do not need to be the same.
The great thing about putting is that you can get creative and find a way to hold the club that makes you a more consistent player.
The key to an excellent putting grip is finding something that you can repeat.
The main goal for great putters is to take the same stroke over and over again.
This is really the only way to ensure that your putter grip is working for you.
There are several different types of putter grips and then some options that are going to be sort of made up.
The great news about putters and gripping the club is that you really can’t do it wrong.
6. Traditional
A traditional putting grip is simply going to match the grip that you use on all of your other clubs.
If you interlock or overlap, you will do the same thing when you have your putter in your hands.
Some players like this style because it keeps things consistent between all clubs.
You won’t need to worry about your hands and what position they should be in in the club; you simply put them in place exactly like you are used to doing with the other clubs in your hands.
The traditional putter grip tends to be very good for most players.
In fact, some of the best putters in the world, including Tiger Woods, simply used a traditional putting grip.
We like this grip because of consistency, but for those who struggle with either aim or speed in their putting grip, there could be better choices out there.
If you need something that is going to allow you to grip the club with a little extra strength or to keep it online as you swing both back and through, there are other grip options that could be a better overall choice.
For beginners, the traditional golf putting grip will make the most sense because it is just one less thing that needs to be learned right from the start.
7. Claw
The claw grip is becoming increasingly popular for both amateur and professional players.
With the claw grip, the left hand is locked in place, almost like an anchor.
Then the right hand will sit on top of the club below the left hand and almost just act as though it is along for the ride.
Golfers will have the right hand pointing down and grabbing the top part of the grip as opposed to the bottom of the club.
The claw is a good solution for those who have a hard time with their hands being too active in the putting stroke.
If your right hand tends to flick or flip at the putt, then you will use the claw grip to essentially take the right hand out of it.
This grip takes a bit of time to get adjusted to, so you will have to work on getting the grip to feel right and make sure that your right hand is in a position that this will work.
In the end, when golfers get the claw grip down, it can be very effective.
Many players feel that it makes all the difference on the shorter putts.
8. Cross Handed
Most traditional golf grips have the left hand on the top of the club and the right hand on the bottom.
With a cross-handed grip, the hands are going to be reversed.
You will notice that the cross-handed grip allows for a completely different feel, and it keeps the left arm very active and stable in the putting stroke.
This is another grip that allows golfers the ability to take the right hand out of the equation just a bit.
The great thing about switching to the cross-handed grip is that it won’t be a difficult transition at all.
All you will need to do is swap the way your hands are sitting on the club, and you will quickly get everything in place.
When you cross the hands on the grip, they typically just sit on top of each other and do not interlock or overlap.
If you wanted to overlap or interlock them, that would not be a traditional way of holding the club.
9. Palm To Palm
When looking at all of the other grips in golf, the hands are going to be stacked on top of each other.
Either the right or left hand will be higher or lower on the grip.
With a palm-to-palm grip, your two palms will be facing each other on the club.
When the palms face each other in this way, it gives each hand an equal opportunity to be active in the swing.
Many golfers find that when you struggle with keeping your hands under control in the golf swing, the palm-to-palm grip can help.
One thing to be sure of with this grip is that your fingers are interlocking with each other in the back.
This is what allows for that united feel between the two hands.
Some golfers will complain and say that the palm-to-palm grip does not feel stable enough.
Luckily, as long as you move your hands down the shaft just a bit, there should be no problem with continued stability in the putting stroke.
Both thumbs from the left and right hands will point straight down the shaft when using the palm-to-palm grip.
In the end, this is a unique choice for those who want to ensure the larger muscles in the body are in charge of the putting stroke.
When the larger muscles can lead the way, it is much easier to be consistent.
10. Split Handed
A split-handed putting grip is exactly like it sounds.
Your hands are going to be split on the club.
When you hold the club with a split-handed grip, there is no interaction between the two hands.
Each is going to be on the club in its own individual location and there is no interlocking or overlapping.
Most of the time, the space between the hands will only be an inch or two, but there is a clear space between the two.
Another thing that you will notice about the split-handed grip is that it will give you more stability on the club, and most golfers feel as though it lets the left hand take the active role.
With the left hand able to lead the way, your right hand can just stay along for the ride.
Both the left and right hands are essential in the golf putting stroke, but it will take some time to make sure that each hand plays the role that it should.
Some golfers will develop their putting grip style based on these different types, and that is entirely acceptable.
Again, the most important thing to focus on is that you are comfortable with your golf putting stroke.
What about a ” split hand grip for drivers and longer clubs ?