Hit your ball straight

Hitting the golf ball straight is the key to playing good golf. Recreational golfers try to emulate professional golfers by building a swing that enables straight ball flight. There's a place, though, that you have to look at before you consider the swing if you want to hit a ball that heads for the fairway or flies into the green. That's your grip.

The point many amateurs miss is that the greatest determinant of straight ball flight is not the swing, but a correct grip, something pros have already mastered, giving them freedom to make adjustments to their swing. Not until you have a grip that's right for you will swing changes be beneficial.

The first issue is the orientation of your hands. This isn't about whether your grip is strong, neutral, or weak, though it's related. It's about whether your grip fits in with how your body moves, given the particular way it is put together.

Your body makes a golf swing in a way your body shape, bone structure, and muscular development allow. How you put your hands on the club affects whether movements that are natural for you can occur, or whether you have to make compensations during the swing to correct for the improper orientation of your hands on the club.

A good grip makes your swing flow like water, and the wrong grip makes it feel like you have to get out of your own way. I can't offer clear advice on how to determine this, other than to suggest you try turning your grip around the handle to the right or left by measured degrees until you find the orientation that makes your swing flow the smoothest.

Second, your hands must operate as a unit during the swing. If they become disconnected at some point, the clubface can turn and accuracy becomes subject to chance.

The place I'm talking about is where the right hand fits over the left thumb (left hand over the right thumb, for left-handed golfers). Even though this connection is secure at address, if it comes apart during the swing, the clubface can become disoriented. Even worse, the top hand can overpower the bottom hand on the downswing because it now has space it can rotate into.

Try this. Grip the club with a light connection between the one hand on top and the thumb it covers. You will find that you can rotate that top hand easily, without moving the bottom hand, and when you do, the clubface closes.

To fix this, put a blade of grass between your top hand and the thumb underneath. You should be able to complete your swing without the grass falling out.

Finally, grip pressure. Overall, pressure must be light. Hold the handle just tightly enough so overall it feels that your hands mold in with the grip material, but no tighter. Pressure on the last three fingers of the bottom hand needs to be a little greater than that to ensure clubhead control during the swing.

From time to time, review your grip carefully. Getting it right is more complicated than you might think, and getting it right is the foundation of a good golf swing.

Bob Jones is internationally recognized instructor of personal development who has been playing golf for over 50 years and is the author of Better Recreational Golf. He'll show you how to play consistently good golf by practicing at home just minutes a day. Get started right now with this FREE download at www.therecreationalgolfer.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_E._Jones

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