How Loose Are You?

When swinging how tight are you holding the club and how are your arms tight or loose and when you swing do you feel as if the weight of the club make the swing?

Hi Papa,

Tight muscles are slow due to the tention.

Hold the club like you grip a steering wheel in your car just enough to hold on, you don't get pains in your hands after a long journey, another thought is a tube of toothpaste with the lid missing, swing the club without squeezing any out.

Your arms should hang straight down freely and relaxed, if your arms are relaxed then you can generate more speed in your swing.


I think it is very difficult to explain the forces needed in the golf swing with terms like "Grip it and Rip it"............I think this is a myth, if your whole body feels relaxed but athletic you will get better results.


Hope this helps.


Ian.

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Once you learn the swing, your next step is mastering golf psychology................

I put just enough pressure on the club with my fingers to have them all on the grip (save that pinkie on the right hand). And I keep my arms supple. My arms and hands are so relaxed that if my takeaway is too quick, I can often lag the club going back.

At address my grip is very light such that someone could pull the club through my hands by gently pulling on the clubhead. My arms are hanging loose so it feels as though the weight of the club is pullling my arms down from the shoulder joint.

I don't make a conscious effort to control the strength of my grip during the swing as my main focus is on swing plane and tempo but in the backswing the grip strength obviously increases to control the club and coming through the impact zone the hands will be quite tight simply as a result of the forces involved.

Personally I think you should avoid the feeling of the weight of the club doing the work. Remember that gravity acts vertically downwards only so allowing the club to drop will cause your swing to narrow and steepen which may lead to poor shots. Of course you need to use the mass and velocity of the clubhead to generate distance but don't let the club control your swing.