Do you wrestle to sink putts? Do you know {that a} easy grip change will help you get extra snug on the greens and sink extra birdies?
The claw type placing grip has risen in recognition in recent times, each on the PGA Tour and with novice golfers.
Most golfers use the Vardon grip to putt, however can the Claw Grip make it easier to enhance your sport? Study extra about this placing grip type to see if it is smart for you.
Desk of Contents
- What’s The Claw Grip for Placing?
- Why Some Golfers Use This Placing Grip Model
- Professional Golfers Who Use the Claw Grip
- Different Frequent Placing Grips
What’s The Claw Grip for Placing?
The Claw Grip (also referred to as the pencil grip or prayer grip) is a distinct means of holding the putter and is taken into account unconventional by most golf instructors. With the claw placing grip, the left hand (aka the lead hand) holds the putter in the identical means as another placing grip. The thumb sits on high of the shaft and the forefinger factors straight down the facet or curls across the membership.
The appropriate hand (or path hand) is the place issues get attention-grabbing with the Claw Grip. As a substitute of taking a traditional grip just like the left hand, the suitable hand (for a right-handed golfer) kinds a claw. Each the index finger and the center finger relaxation on high of the shaft as the remainder of the putter matches proper into the “V” of the suitable hand.
Why Some Golfers Use This Placing Grip Model
Golfers change to the claw grip for a wide range of causes. Listed below are a number of the most typical.
1. Golfers Who Wish to Restrict Wrist Motion
Plenty of golfers undergo from utilizing an excessive amount of wrist motion whereas placing. This normally results in both not sufficient ball pace or an excessive amount of ball pace. Regardless of which means you slice it, having a tempo downside on the inexperienced is an terrible feeling.
Arising 5 ft quick is tremendous irritating on the inexperienced and so is watching your ball fly previous the outlet. The claw placing grip helps the golfer management the pace of their putts.
The Claw Grip helps take the arms out of the placing stroke by reducing the quantity of wrist motion. This results in higher type and extra motion from the shoulders. Permitting the shoulders to guide the placing stroke results in extra consistency on the inexperienced.
2. Golfers Who Are Preventing the Yips
Have you ever ever heard of golfers getting the yips? It’s some of the dreaded phrases in golf as a result of it severely impacts a golfer’s capacity to sink even quick putts. When a golfer will get the yips, their wrist muscular tissues convulse and transfer involuntarily.
The jury continues to be out on what causes the yips. Many sports activities psychologists really feel that the yips are brought on by an excessive amount of stress or efficiency nervousness. Different medical professionals imagine that the yips are brought on by a sure neurological situation referred to as focal dystonia.
Fortunately, plenty of golfers have been capable of remedy the yips by making a dramatic change of their placing stroke, reminiscent of switching to the claw grip. Many top-level golf instructors imagine that making the change to the claw grip is without doubt one of the only methods to remedy the yips.
3. Consolation
Some golfers merely are usually not snug with a traditional placing grip. Many of those people discover that the claw grip is extra snug. This elevated stage of consolation permits the golfer to make a extra constant stroke.
4. Golfers Who Need Extra Management of the Clubface
Is your clubface consistently flying open or snapping closed whereas placing? If that’s the case, the claw grip may make it easier to hold the clubface straight. Once more, it’s because the claw grip retains you from getting too handsy along with your placing stroke.
The important thing to sinking extra putts is to search out an correct placing type that permits you to make a full swing towards your goal line. Switching to a claw putter grip permits many golfers to do that. It additionally makes it simpler for golfers to lighten their grip strain on the putter, which will increase accuracy.
Professional Golfers Who Use the Claw Grip
Plenty of skilled golfers on each the PGA Tour and the European Tour use the claw grip. Here’s a temporary record of a few of these gamers.
Phil Mickelson
We needed to put “Lefty” on our record, as he’s some of the common gamers on this planet and is an enormous believer within the claw grip. Mickelson does change forwards and backwards fairly a bit between the claw grip and a traditional grip.
The six-time main champion says that the claw grip helps put him in a greater place whereas addressing the golf ball whereas placing.
Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood has but to win on the PGA Tour however he’s gained 5 instances on the European Tour. The 30-year previous Englishman stated he switched to the claw grip as a result of the clubface of his putter was consistently flying open or slamming shut.
Fleetwood claims the claw grip helps him use his shoulders extra throughout his placing stroke. With Fleetwood’s model of the claw grip, he prefers to maintain his proper hand extra towards the facet of the shaft as a substitute of on high of it.
Justin Rose
“Rosie” made the change to the claw grip again in 2016 and it has served him extremely effectively. Shortly after making the change, Rose turned the #1 participant on this planet.
Rose feels that switching to the claw grip has simplified his placing mechanics. It’s arduous to argue with the outcomes Rose has had since adopting the claw grip.
Sergio Garcia
Garcia began utilizing the claw grip again in 2011 after making an attempt a number of totally different placing grip kinds, together with the cross-handed approach. After adopting the claw grip, Garcia went from one of many worst putters on Tour to among the best.
Garcia is without doubt one of the greatest Ryder Cup gamers of all time. He additionally gained his first main by capturing the coveted Masters Match title in 2017.
Different Frequent Placing Grips
Noticed Grip
The noticed grip is eerily just like the claw grip and a few people even use the 2 phrases interchangeably. With the noticed grip, the left-hand stays within the impartial, or standard, place.
The appropriate-hand kinds right into a noticed form, as a substitute of the cupped claw form. The putter rests within the palm of the suitable hand with the suitable thumb greedy the underside of the grip. Two-time main champion Mark O’Meara was the one which made the noticed grip well-known.
Vardon Grip
One of the widespread placing grips is the Vardon grip or overlapping grip. With the Vardon grip, each thumbs relaxation on the putter’s shaft and this offers the golfer good management of the clubface. The pinky of the suitable hand sits on high of the index finger of the left hand.
Cross-Handed Grip
This one is also referred to as the “left-hand low” grip by some golfers. As a substitute of getting your proper hand within the decrease place, swap arms and make your left hand the decrease hand. That’s how you employ the cross-handed placing grip.
PGA Tour phenom Rickie Fowler switches over to the cross-handed grip each time he’s within the midst of a uncommon placing hunch. Fowler claims this grip helps him regain his really feel on the greens by serving to him hold the clubface stage at influence.
Reverse Overlap Grip
That is one other widespread placing grip. Each the left hand and proper hand are in a impartial place on the putter. With this standard grip, the suitable hand is the bottom one on the putter.
Take the left index finger and lap it over the suitable pinky. That’s the reverse overlap grip.
