AVOID CHANGING YOUR GRIP BEFORE READING THIS!

Often students say to me I want to learn the basics, including a perfect grip. This is fun for me. First before I make a single change to the grip I need to see you hit some shots even if your grip looks ...

Once you've hit shots I'm considering several things but heres an inside view of some of the things I'm considering:

• Does the grip create the right club face direction at impact for the intended shot?

• Does the grip create enough power?

• Is the grip a good long term option with no unnecessary risk of injury?

The grip is not an absolute, it's a variable, evident by the range of grips on the best tours in golf.

Once I've checked where the ball goes only can I direct the grip change in the same way that a doctor would give medicine to help the patient only following thorough checks.

It's true that I would like to adjust the grip earlier in the process because of it's importance on the direction the ball starts. But first consider direction. I would state I see to many weak grips that lead to a club face more open to the target in the downswing causing the golfer to early release as a way of squaring the club face.

If you're not a student of mine and you are looking to make a change on your own then use this simple visual.

With this information you can tweak or rebuild your grip to change to the face you are looking to match your ball flight. If you hook it move from whichever grip you have above to a grip more to the open side of the chart, if you hook it then do the opposite moving your grip more like those on the right.

Who does which? Why they are not all neutral?

Sometimes you may hear coaches talk about matchups. Making sure parts of the swing match the desired ball flight and other particular pairings, which in all honesty is more than a pairing as there are many pieces to the swing machine we build! At a basic level you can matchup your grip to your desired start location of the ball.

Open Grips - Weak by golfing terminology:

• Colin Morikawa

• Jordan Spieth

• Adam Scott

Neutral Grips - More traditionally aligned between weak and strong.

• Tiger Woods

• Rory Mcilroy

• Scottie Scheffler (who is known to practice using a training grip)

Strong Grips

• Matt Fitzpatrick

• Anthony Kim

• Paul Azinger

It feels weird, can I leave it?

Ok, I agree and I personally work on my grip because if I leave it too long it becomes too strong and I start hitting shots to the left. How long does it take? 2 weeks of discomfort is quite normal. If it feels like you've learnt it instantly then go back and check again because its likely returning to the old grip! It will feel not nice, sorry, but it's because its the only thing you hold and when you change the grip all the weight and forces on the club feel in an unusual place. It's normal, 2 weeks... thats it!

Mike Bygrave - Shots Factory Wanchai