Grip style: Vardon (Double overlap)

Hand position: Neutral

Putting grip style / hand position: Cross-handed (left hand low)

He may be a meat-and-potatoes guy from western Pennsylvania, but Jim Furyk’s grip is anything but conventional. Then again, neither is anything else about Furyk’s game.

Furyk takes the standard overlap (aka Vardon) grip style a step farther. Rather than placing his right little finger in the gap between the left index and middle fingers, he puts it between the middle and ring fingers. Furyk’s right ring finger goes where the pinky would normally be, creating a double overlap grip unique to professional golf.

It’s not the kind of grip you’d expect from a guy whose dad was a teaching pro, but this is Furyk we’re talking about. In fact, the grip works well with his figure-eight swing. In effect, the double overlap limits Furyk’s hand action and prevents him from hitting wild hooks. Were he to hold the grip more in his fingers, Furyk would have extreme difficulty controlling the ball as he does.

If you tend to his lots of curving shots, the Jim Furyk grip style could work for you. It will limit your distance, however, so it’s best for golfers who generate ample power with their big muscles.

Furyk has always been one of the PGA TOUR’s steadiest putters, and his grip has never varied. He’s been a left-hand-low (cross-handed) guy forever. It’s telling that his putting grip, like his full swing grip, serves to quiet the hands and wrists. Furyk proves that a consistent approach to every club – driver through putter – leads to consistent results.