The Golf Swing

Hogan vs Leadbetter Grip

So, I have been using the Hogan style, overlap grip for quite some time. I have used the same left hand grip for years, with really only the right hand changing slightly from time to time. I was hitting the ball quite well through June and July this summer, shooting a bunch of rounds in the 70s. For some reason, I felt the need to do some more research on the grip and see if I could improve mine some. Occasionally I felt as if I was getting ‘loose’ at the top of my swing, and thought perhaps it was because of my Hogan type left hand grip.

David Leadbetter, among others, suggests using more of a finger grip with the left hand so that you reduce the amount of space between your hand and the grip itself. If the club is more in your fingers (see picture below) there is less of a gap between your hand and the grip, and thus, less chance for the club to move a little at the top or during the downswing. Made sense to me, so I thought I’d give it a try. Unfortunately, it also means changing your right hand, so it’s a pretty significant grip change.

As you can see above, the club is more in your fingers and resting less in the ‘meat’ of your left palm. I have a pretty ‘meaty’ left palm, so the Hogan grip always felt very comfortable and secure, as there was a lot holding the club in there. The following video, by Shawn Clement further sparked my interest in the Leadbetter style grip…Shawn advocates moving the club even further into the fingers of the left hand:

Ok, so I’ve tried to get accustomed to this grip for about a month. I’ve read and re-read the Leadbetter book describing this numerous times. I’ve studied Shawn Clement’s video repeatedly, noting the differences, and trying to master that while sitting around at home, at the range, and on the course. So far, no luck. I don’t know what it is, but this grip really just doesn’t seem to fit me. My forearms still get quite tense, and I have a hard time freely releasing the club.

Here are a couple pictures of the right hand in the Hogan vs Leadbetter grip.

With the old Hogan grip, I generally hit a straight ball or a slight draw if anything. With this new grip, I have a hard time hitting anything but a fade.

I think it’s probably time to go back to the old, Hogan grip. Anyone else struggle with a swing change, only to drop it and try and revert to your old ways?

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