5 Killers to the golf swing/Killer #1

There are 5 killers that I see almost every day on the range.  Eliminating these things is the kick start to better golf.  Here they are in no particular order:

1)     Excessive grip pressure (squeezing the club too hard)

2)     Gripping the club too much in the palm of the left hand

3)      Hitting off your back foot

4)      Handle back at impact (backwards shaft lean)

5)      Poor sequence of club and body (kinematic sequence)

I will be talking about each one of these topics in my next few posts with pictures and ways to improve each one.  

Killer #1 Excessive grip pressure 

Gripping the club too tightly can cause a loss of club head speed, a loss of range of motion, a lack of proper wrist action, casting the club, a loss of power, and fat and thin shots.  Most golfers grip the club too tightly because of an improper grip and to gain extra control of the club.  When you grip the club too tightly, you hinder the club’s potential to move at a high speed.  When you grip tightly, the tension goes all the way up your arms into your shoulders and back.  When the body is tight it can’t move.  When pressure is added early in the downswing the result is a club head that is cast at the ball.  Ever heard the term lag?  Casting is the opposite of lag.  Tight grip pressure also causes the club head to arrive at the ball too early with the hands behind the ball at impact, resulting in fat and thin shots that are not hit solidly.  All of the swing killers are all related.  They must all be eliminated to play at your best.  A good drill to combat the tight pressure would be to make some practice swings holding the club as light as humanly possible without it coming out of your hands.  Another good drill is to place the left hand on the club as you normally would and then just put your right thumb and forefinger on the bottom of the grip almost as if you were trying to hold your right ear lobe.  Make some swings with both of these drill without a ball to get the sense of a much lighter grip pressure.