THE GRIP

THE grip is the most important part of learning how to play golf but often the most overlooked.

The grip controls the angle of the club face which in turn controls, to a large extent, the direction of the ball.

To grip the club correctly you need to hold the club with your left hand highest up the grip and your right hand below.

The handle of the club needs to be held across the bottom of your palm near the base of your fingers leaving a gap of around ½” at the top of the club (picture one).

You need to be able to see at least two knuckles on your left hand with your thumb just to the right of the handle.

It is ideal that the thumb and forefinger pinch together at this point.

In your right hand we need to hold the club in the base of the fingers with your palm sitting on top of your thumb of your left hand (picture two).

To start with, just make sure that both hands are touching each other and close together (picture three).

Try and grip the club softly. If you gave yourself a score of one to 10 on how tight your are holding the club and 10 was white knuckles you need to be around a four.

For the more experienced golfer the biggest fault I see is that they hold the club too much in the palm of their left hand.

The club tends to run right underneath the pad of your left thumb.

This leads to a loss of power, control and holes in your golf glove. Try to make sure the club runs across the base of your fingers (picture).

This will allow correct hinging of the wrist and will also produce good control of the club face and direction of the ball.

Bowood are offering free taster sessions on Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout March, as part of the Get into Golf scheme. For information about dates and sessions visit bowood-golf.co.uk, email proshop@bowood.org or call 01249 823881.

See all of Simon's golfing tips as they appear weekly at gazetteandherald.co.uk/sport/golf_general/golf_tips and in the Gazette & Herald each Thursday