The grip is one of the absolute fundamentals of the golf swing. It is the only point of contact your body has with any part of the club and so having the grip is crucially important from the outset. You may have the best posture, stance and have a great swing but if there are fundamental flaws in your grip then the result is sure to be erratic. You may have heard of some of the professionals having very unorthodox grips such as being able to see 4 knuckles on their left hand but these are professionals and they know how to compensate for these things. As an amateur looking to lower their handicap you should aim to have a completely orthodox grip. If, like many golfers, your problem is how to correct a golf slice then perhaps you should go back to basics and check your grip.

As I said, the grip does not have much to do with the swing plane of the club and so your swing plane may be perfect and yet you are still slicing it. The thing to note is that the direction the clubface is facing at impact can very much be influenced by your grip. The cause of your slice may be an open club face at impact and this could be caused by a poor grip. So, how can you ensure you have a proper grip to help you find out how to correct a golf slice.

Gripping a golf club can be done effectively but differently by different golfers. People find grips that work for them and the shape and size of their hands. However, when it comes to slicing, very distinct faults can be identified in someone's grip. Usually an open face at impact is caused by having either or both of the hands too much on the left side of the grip handle. So, in trying to find out how to correct a golf slice there are some simple checks you can do to check your grip is correct. First take a normal setup as if you are about to strike a shot and check how many knuckles you can see on your left hand. If you can see at least 2 then your grip is most likely not the reason for your slice. A similar check is to ensure the V shapes formed by both your hands on the grip both point towards your right shoulder.

Taking a solid, neutral grip is one of the first steps to hitting straight shots. If you're a slicer and your grip fails one of the checks then you should certainly take a closer look at how you grip the club

By: Andrew McNaught
Andrew McNaught is the webmaster of Golf Tips World which offers the best golf tips and reviews of the instructional products that really do work.

The Grip

The grip is all important. It controls the height, length and direction of your shots and can make or break your game. Rest the clubhead on the ground, with the bottom groove facing your target. Hang the left hand loosely beside the club before folding it over to take hold of the club.

The tip of the thumb and joint of the index finger should be roughly level, with the line between the thumb and index finger pointing up to your right car or shoulder.

Add the right hand, with the palm behind the club, which should be resting in the fingertips. Fold the hand over, with the left thumb in the pocket of the right hand. The index finger is separated slightly from the next in a trigger position, with the right thumb to the left never to the front. The V between them points to the right shoulder.

Ideally, use the Vardon grip, with the right little finger overlapping the left index finger. If you find this impossible because your hands are too small, use the interlocking grip or the baseball grip with no overlap. Look these terms up online to easily find diagrams.

Faulty grips

If the left hand is too much on top of the club or the right hand too much beneath it, you will tend to return the clubface in a closed, left aimed position. The shot will be low and hooked to the left. If both hands are too far around to the left, the grip is weakened, the club face open, and the shot weak and sliced to the right.

The Stance

With the stance (or address position), you are preparing your body to move, setting the plane of swing for a good contact and aiming the shot. Even good players have more trouble producing a consistent stance than any other part of their game.

Keep your feet shoulder width (women think 'hip width'), left foot out a little, right almost straight, knees knocked in, weight on the insides of the feet. The arms hang in a Y shape, with the right hand below the left, pulling the right shoulder down but not forward. The arms are relaxed, the wrists dropped, and the head high, with the eyes looking down the face.

You must stand up straight, bottom out, and feel springy on the balls of your feet. Don't sit and sag. You must bend from the top of the legs, not from the waist.

The general rule is to stand as close as possible, with the arms hanging loose and the bottom out; but feel enough space to swing the arms back past the right hip and through beneath the chin.

Ball position

Professionals say they play all shots opposite the left heel. In fact, most don't. And this does not suit club golfers. Your swing with irons will fall opposite your nose the centre of the stance so play the ball there. If you are young and good, you can play it farther left.

By: David Walters
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