SamSnead for almost 70 years told all who would listen to "Grip the Club asif you were holding a little bird." Advice to birds: If Arnold Palmer asksyou to join him in that little experiment...Don't!
Snead's Grip was probably more secure than his birdanalogy would suggest, and the average player should keep that in mind. Still,I do remember the story of Arnie in his prime walking the practice tee, shakinghands with his fellow pro's and asking everybody to shake with their normalgrip pressure. Palmer got to Snead...they shook...and Arnie says, "You'vegot to be kidding!"
And who knows? Maybe he was!
On the other hand, Arnie was a Hitter. And we all knowthat it is their natural-born duty to grip it tight!
Anyway, the Swingers will always grip it lighter than theHitters. But that doesn't mean that it is necessarily all that"light!"
I asked Larry Nelson one time how much Grip Pressure hewas teaching his boys, Drew and Josh, to use. His answer:
"Just like me. Pretty tight. That's the way they'regoing to be under pressure anyway. So they better learn to swing it thatway."
Same thing with Homer. Now remember from a prior post, hedid like to control and he did like to Hit. And how tightdid he grip it? "Pretty tight. Nice and firm."
And for what its worth, he liked thicker rather thanthinner grips, even though he didn't have large hands or long fingers.
"Why?" asked I.
"Easier to hold onto," said he.
Hard to argue with that logic!
Remember: Per 10-1-0, all the fingers that encirclethe Club grip the Club...except to some extent the right forefinger, andthen only to keep it sensitive to the Clubhead Lag Pressure Point Feel.
That's the really important thing. Grip firmly -- notnecessarily tightly but not loosey-goosey, either -- with all but the RightForefinger. This one stays light and remainssensitive to the Clubhead Lag Pressure Point Feel from the Address to the Topand through to the Finish. From Impact Fix (8-2) to the Finish (8-12), thisfinger should be merely "floating" on the Club. Look at pictures ofNickaus and Trevino in their prime. At the top the Right forefinger wasactually pointing skyward. And at the bottom, it remained passive, still in itssomewhat extended position on the Club, sensitive to the ClubheadLag Pressure, never pushing the Club away.
And what did Hogan call the Right Forefinger? TheSwingwrecker! So keep it passive throughout the Start-Up and Backstroke tothe Top. For many this will be harder than you think, so really Monitor thePressure and look, look, LOOK (9-2) to get it right. Then, inthe Start-Down let it passively accept all the Load your Clubhead LagLoading Action (10-19) can put on it.
Hogan said grip it light with the Right Forefinger. But Byron Nelson said to grip it firmwith the same finger! Both were Swingers and both were great players. Whowas right? They both were! From the Top, the inert RightForefinger will be welded against the Shaft. That's about as lightand as firm as you can be at the same time! They were both saying thesame thing! Sensitive (to Lag Pressure) but Welded(by Lag Pressure).
Now, with your Right Forearm Flying Wedge and its Bentand Motionless Right Wrist and its trailing, Loaded #3 Lag PressurePoint you'll be able to take that On-Plane Welded Lag Pressure andwith it trace the Straight Plane Line -- or for that matter, any otherLine you want to trace! Draws. Fades. Even the dreaded Straight Ball. Allanimal crackers and duck soup with the correct Clubhead Lag Pressure PointFeel.
"Straight back and Straight Through. That's the wayI swang the Club." said Lord Byron in his Texas twang. And then,"Pretty simple, isn't it!"
Yes, it's simple! If you feel the weldedClubhead Lag Pressure and use it to trace the Straight Plane Line!And when Zones #1 and #2 (Body and Arms) are under control, you willfeel it. You'll feel in your Educated Hands, and you'll be able to put thatClubhead through the Ball anywhere you want! Down and Out from the Top.Through the Downstroke, Release, and Impact. Into the Both Arms StraightPositon of the Follow-Through. Never throwing the Lag Pressure away. Alwayssustaining that heavy, deadweight inertia of the Clubhead Lag.
But learning to do this does have its downside:
That chaufeurred limousine your buddies have been sendingto pick you up every Saturday morning, complete with a Bloody Mary and themorning papers, will one stay stop showing up.
Threaded Mode
