Being able to play your best begins with a proper grip, especially in the left hand. As a right hand player you have to turn your left hand to the right to hit all the shots: high, low, left to right and right to left. Your left thumb should be placed at one o’clock or as far to the right as three o’clock. People that are short of stature or slight in build such as a lady or junior must get that thumb over at two or three o’clock. For example in LPGA Hall of Fame there is not one lady that has her thumb at 12 o’clock, or weak on the shaft. Having a strong grip allows you to swing the club head faster than you swing your hands, which is very important to hitting all the shots that are needed to be a great player. Golf requires the hands breaking against the weakest part of their anatomy. We use to call it the snuff box that would form when your thumbs break up toward your forearm. If you can have the wrist break in only one direction you are on your way to playing great golf. Also grip pressure isn’t as big a factor when you have the hands on the club properly because the club will break up and down at the weakest part of your hands no matter how hard you grip the club.
I feel that the right hand stabilizes the left hand at the top of the swing and keeps the left hand from rolling through impact. At address, the right hand should be bent at the back of the wrist giving the feeling of it being forward pressed. If you can imagine holding a tennis racket at address the face should be facing perpendicular to the ground looking directly at the target. As I was taught, it’s like shaking hands with your golf club. The v’s of your hands should be pointing to your right shoulder, however it is very important not to get the right hand too far under which would force a bow in the back of the right wrist. This bowing of the right hand too far under which would force a bow in the back of the right wrist. This bowing of the right hand is the biggest mistake that I see in relation to the right hand position. If you can hold the club properly you will have to make less compensation because the club face will return squarely to the ball without any effort, which will help every part of your game. Ben Hogan spent thirty minutes a day working on his grip according to his FIVE FUNDAMENTAL. This gives you some indication of how important setting your hands on the club can be. You have to be precise with your placement of your hands, but every little bit of work in this area will improve your game dramatically. So enjoy your tip from Chip!