When finding the best grip to use for driving a ball, it’s important to study your grip down to the last detail.
Don’t jump into a change before understanding where you’re starting from as a golfer. This will make it a lot easier to implement subtle changes and see a major difference in your golf swing.
So what’s needed as you learn how to grip a driver?
To grip a driver, start by assessing your current grip. Now, change the golf grip on the club to a stickier one, create a “V” with your fingers, and then try linking the hands together with the pinky. Take a few practice swings. If this doesn’t work, unlink the pinky and try again.
Some golfers prefer an interlocked golf grip while others want to keep it unlinked. It is a preference thing.
When learning how to grip a golf club, you will need to go through the steps in this detailed guide on the subject.
You will learn the benefits of gripping a driver properly and what is required to make subtle changes.
Tips To Grip A Driver Correctly
1. Learn Your Golf Grip
If you want to learn how to grip a driver not to slice, you need to first understand your starting position.
How are you gripping the golf club right now?
Is it too tight? Are you interlocking your fingers? Is there an alignment issue with how your hands are holding the golf grip?
These are important questions you can answer and then begin working on when it is time to reinvent your golf grip.
Some people will immediately want to know how to hold the hands of a driver but that is not the first step. Just learning more about yourself is going to help set the foundation for a fundamental change in how you swing a golf club.
2. Choose A Better Golf Grip
A simple grip change on your golf club is smart.
However, you will also want to take the time to see if a potential equipment change might be what you require.
Average golfers will use slippery golf grips that are not well-maintained. Maintaining your golf grips is a must but it’s also common to change them.
If you haven’t changed your golf grips in a while or the grip seems slippery, it is time to regrip the golf club.
Choose the best golf grip on the market and make it a part of your setup. This might require an adjustment in size depending on the golf grip you go for.
3. Create A “V” Shape With Your Fingers
How do you hold your hands on a driver?
Your driver grip does matter and the first step is to create what is known as a “V” shape with your fingers.
You want there to be a “V” that forms when you place your hands on the golf club. This signals that you are holding the golf club properly and in alignment with what is required to maximize control.
If you feel like it is not easy to do this, set the golf club on the ground.
Now, lean over and pick the golf club with two hands while pretending to hold an imaginary golf club. This will make it easier to line up the golf club and strengthen your grip as you bring the golf club up.
4. Try Linking And Unlinking Your Hands
As you figure out how to grip a golf club, you are now going to have two options in front of you.
The first option is to link the two hands that are on the golf club. This is often done by those whose golf club slips out of their hands during the swing.
You are going to “link” the pinky from the top hand with the bottom hand. This will help create a stronger link that ensures both hands stay on the golf club.
The second method as you learn how to grip a driver is to unlink the hands. This would be simply keeping the two hands together but slightly apart.
Each golfer is unique in what works for them.
5. Check How Tight Your Grip Is
How hard should I grip my driver?
The correct golf grip for a driver is also going to encompass the tightness of your golf grip.
How tightly are you gripping the driver?
If you are holding the golf club with all of your might, this is not a good thing. You are going to lose control and also get tired by doing this.
If you are holding the golf club too loosely, this is also a negative. It will become difficult to maintain control of the golf club when you do this.
The best option is to maintain a firm but flexible grip. You can test this out when taking a few practice golf swings.
6. Try A Few Practice Swings
Always go through a few practice golf drills and swings.
This is going to help you learn more about your golf swing. It is also good to swing off of a golf tee when you are doing this to further understand how your golf grip is.
Benefits Of Gripping Driver Properly
1. Improved Swing Speed
The advantages of gripping a driver properly come down to overall golf swing speed.
If you feel like your golf swing is sluggish, it might be time to take a look at what can be done to improve your golf swing speed.
The pros often swing faster than 100 MPH, which helps generate quite a bit of power and distance on their shots.
If you are not in this range, you can begin changing how you hold a golf club to make subtle improvements to your golf swing speed.
A lot of golfers don’t do this and that leads to major issues.
2. Better Accuracy
You will also want to take the time to be more accurate with your golf swing.
When you are not holding the golf club properly, you will lose accuracy. The golf club will feel like it is slipping from your hands and that is not a good thing.
It will take away from how far you hit the golf ball and where you hit the golf ball.
3. Helps Optimize Your Swing
When figuring out the best hand grip for a golf club, you will need to understand there is an optimization of your golf swing that occurs by doing this.
A lot of golfers get better when they swing the right way with a proper grip.
You are going to have a more free-flowing, fluid golf swing that does not have hitches in it due to the wrong golf grip.
A few golf grip tweaks can be all you require to see a positive change as time goes on.
4. Less Fatigue
You are also going to feel less tired when you hold the golf driver with purpose.
Some golfers get tired because they are always struggling with the golf club and how it feels in their hands. You will not have to worry about this because the improved golf grip is going to optimize your swing.
You will exert less energy to hit the ball further.
This is due to the lack of hitches in your golf swing.
How Do You Grip A Driver To Fix A Slice?
To fix a slice, grip the driver by opening the hands up. This means at the time of impact, the golf club is going to be opened with the hands facing slightly up. This also includes turning the hands upwards.
This simple change is going to make it harder to hit a slice.
The ball is going to be hit square as you want it to.
What Grip Does Rory McIlroy Use on His Driver?
Rory Mcllroy uses an interlocked grip on his driver. This is designed to help generate more force and ensure the hands remain fixed at the time of impact. This is a technique that is used by numerous golfers including Tiger Woods.
Final Thoughts
These steps are a must when it comes to gripping a driver properly.
To grip a driver properly, start by analyzing your existing golf grip for flaws. Next, create a “V” with your fingers and then hold the golf club. You can interlink the two hands to strengthen your grip or keep them unlinked. Take a few practice swings and alter how tightly you grip the golf club while doing this.
Over time, you are going to find the right golf grip for you.
Your driving grip is important and it has to be an essential part of how you plan things out over time. A proper golf grip will make a real difference.
