small hands

apologies if there are similar threads on this site. im now at a point where i feel i am grooving a consistent swing and my distances are quite good but my accuracy could be better im really focusing on my set up but to no avail. i bought a set of mx15's off the shelf but im wondering if they need tweaking. im 5' 8" 166 pounds but have very small hands (even a small glove is baggy sometimes) could grip size be a potential problem. really happy with recent progress but dont want to be hampered by potentially ill fitting equipment

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cheers slats
"Golf can best be defined as an endless series of tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle"

Slater170

What do you find is your dominant bad shot?

You say you are struggling with accuracy. If you miss a target, where are you normally missing it?

Are you right/left handed?

N18

Static fitting suggests that your clubs should be OK for you (lie/length-wise). However, from the information you've provided, your grips are probably oversized.




The first ruleset for every golfer on the planet who plans on taking the game somewhat seriously is this:

Take lessons to learn the fundamentals of the golf swing. Don't worry about clubs - your teaching pro should have have at least one you can borrow.

Following your lessons GO SEE A CLUBFITTER. Not necessarily a clubMAKER, but a clubFITTER. (FWIW, most clubfitters are clubmakers, but not every clubmaker is a clubfitter).

The fitter will spec you out with the gear that you need - length, lie, and even lofts to produce consistent yardage gaps. It occured to me recently that you could use a radar unit, launch angle mat and trajectory software to figure out your yardages... but that's a theory from a guy who doesn't have a local driving range.

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A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

hi neil
i am right handed and i am almost certain stance and grip are nailed on. have almost cured slicing problem with meticulous thought to grip stance ball position etc but i find with my irons that my distance is good but always 20 feet to the right sometimes with slight fade

thanks for your reply lowpost42
size of grip is more of a worry than loft/lie angle etc
maybe there is some value to going to see a teaching pro to see if these problems can be iron out with change of technique

Hello!

So you're pushing the ball eh?!

Well having small hands is the same as having a grip that's too big! I'll apply the same rules.

A grip that's to big reduces the capacity for the hands to take over and flip/release too early. You grip an umbrella golf club stylie and try and swing. No release at all!

However, gripping a biro will have the opposite effect and you'll turn it over easy. See your pro. He'll sort you out with some marginally smaller grips.

The head pro at my club actually used to have a thicker part of the grip just for his right hand to fix an annoying "slight hook" (that's what he called it). He'd rather have a push than a hook. Fair enough!.

N18

cheers for that neil. have always been convinced that grips are too big no matter what ive tried grip always feels akward never settled in the fingers more in the palm!

This is a debatable subject, I have small hands, chart shows me on the border between std and 1/64 under. I wear a ladies large glove (no jokes please). I have over the years used them all under, std , oversized. I regrip my own clubs so experimenting is not that expensive. I experienced no difference in ball flight, traj, or my ability to cock my wrist. The only diiference I noticed, was the undersized made my hands hurt, or sore would be a better word. I now use 1/64 over, simiply because it feels better to me. If I use a cord grip, std feels better. So my advice would be to experiment, and use what feels good, if it feels good, you relax more. Incidently, the undersize also made me grip tighter, because it always felt loose. I think the charts are guidelines.

thanks for that gonavy. suppose im stuck between a rock and a hard place i know from instruction books left hand on grip suppose to be from base of palm to crook of index finger and i can never really achieve that no matter how i try i dont feel my grip feels right. maybe worth having undersize grip fitted to driver and 7 iron and see how it works. if it doesnt not a lot of expense involved.
thanks again

The advise given is sound, goto a clubmaker, he will have several demo clubs available. If you have an option, I say go with comfort that is still functional. With you left hand put your index finger in a trigger position and place the heel pad on TOP of the grip, then simply close the rest of the finger and thumb onto the grip, and it doesn't have to be tight. You can with the left hand on the club as I said have a friend sit on the ground and grab the club head, you can pull him to his feet, with just the index finger and heel pad on the club. This is what keeps the club in your hand not gripping tightly, it has to do with physics and leverage. I would suspect, if you can not get comfortable with any grip, you might be griping to tightly. Also when manuvering the heel pad onto the top of shaft, make an effort to keep the back of the hand generally point towards the target, not towards the sky. I should probably add the only purpose of the last three fingers of the left hand is to maintain the contact of the heel pad and club, it takes a surprising very little effort to do that, see if this helps.

thanks for that fella
just tried the way to grip like you said and that does feel a whole lot better think i was trying to grip too much in the fingers. will
go out tomorrow and try it out for real and also buy a better quality glove sure that will help too. think ill ditch my instruction books and just listen to you guys in future!

Glad to hear it. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying what Neil and Lowpost said is wrong, they are absolutely correct, and going to a club maker is your best bet, and a good way to determine what to us, try before you invest type thing. The principal they stated is the acceptable guide. I simply said, I personally can not tell the difference from a playing standpoint, it is a huge difference from a feel standpoint, and I personally perfer comfort, over technical. Good luck let us know how it turns out.

cheers fella! i'll keep you posted!

hi gonavy/neil/lowpost
i took on board the advice you gave me and have really focused on my grip and realised i have been gripping club incorrectly since i started playing it was too much in the fingers. now the gip feels really comfortable and back of left hand is now facing target. instant success today there are 6 par 3's on my local course and i hit every green with my iron tee shot and hit a couple of straight drives 250/260yds and it didnt cost me a penny!

hi gonavy,
just letting you know my progress it wasnt the grip size that was the problem it was how i was gripping the club and now im really comfortable with it. ive had my 6i cut down by 3/4" and have been hitting some really sweet shots so im getting the rest done at the weekend.
thanks again