How to Grip a Golf Club Heel Pad

Golf Grip Heel Pad

A proper golf swing starts with a sound grip. Most golfers tend to grip the club too much into the palm of their hand, forcing them to re grip the the club during the swing. This may lead to additional tension on the grip and and can change the angle of the club face producing errant shots. The techniques discussed below will encourage a proper golf grip with the club positioned in the base of the fingers just above the heel pad of your grip hand.

Things You'll Need

• Golf glove
• Golf club
• Permanent marker
• Ruler or straight edge

Instructions

1. Take a golf glove and place it on your lead grip hand. This would be your left hand if you use right handed clubs, and your right hand if using left handed clubs. Buy new gloves with a snug fit.

2. Hold out the hand you fitted the glove on and open it by extending your four fingers out together with your thumb raised.

3. Take a permanent marker out and begin drawing a line on your golf glove across the inside of your hand. Start at a point just below your index finger and continue drawing down across your glove to a point at the bottom of your hand just above your heel pad. This point should be around 1/2 inch below the base of your little finger. Take a ruler or straight edge to help you line up the points on your hand and draw a straighter line.

4. Draw a second line perpendicular to the first, starting about 1/4 inch above and continuing across the fingers to the bottom, keeping the same width apart.

5. Hold the golf club out in in front of you with your other hand and position your glove hand beside it. Here you can view the lines you drew below your fingers, just above your heel pad.

6. Place the grip into the glove hand directly across the lines as a guide, and then take a natural grip on the club, forming your other hand around without changing position of the gloved hand.

Tips & Warnings

• Repeat this drill using the lines as your guide several times until you ingrain it as habit.

• Checking your glove for excessive wear in the heel pad, just below the lines you drew, is a good way to indicate you are gripping the club too much in the palm of your hand.

References

• "Golf Digest"; Full Swing Basics; David Leadbetter; March 2009