How the Swing Feels to Me

Today’s greatest golfer lays down a set of rules that any player may follow to an improved game

- ARNOLD PALMER

Beginning golfers must learn sooner or later that the game is made up of feels or sensations. It’s only through feeling that certain things are correct that a novice will be able to grasp the significance of what I’m writing about. â–¶ What I intend to put over in this article is an idea of how I feel as I get ready to hit and when I swing. This could be used as a guide for playing the game, one especially helpful to golfers new to the game. Certain parts of it also should be of aid to the more advanced player.

THE GRIP

As I place my left hand on the club preparatory to taking the grip, I grasp the handle fairly lightly. The pressure on all the fingers is about the same, but I push on the shaft with my left thumb, which is placed over and slightly on the right side of the grip. My left-hand rests more on the top of the club than on the left side.

I feel that if I would swing the club with only my left hand, I would hit the ball with the back of that hand facing the target.

I use an overlapping grip and advise most strong people to do the same. I place my right hand on the club so that my left thumb fits snugly into the groove of my right palm. The little finger of my right-hand laces over the forefinger of my left hand. My right thumb is on top of the shaft, favoring the left side.

Should I open my hands after I take my grip, the palms would be directly opposite each other. The palm of the right hand would face the target. This gives me a feeling that my hands are in one piece; meaning being in direct opposition to each other, the result is a neutral feeling with neither more powerful than the other.