Will MacKenzie Grip

Pros and Cons of Every Golf Grip Style

Best Grip? Overlapping vs Interlocking

Grip style: Baseball

Hand Position: Weak

Putting grip style / hand position: Reverse overlap

He’s not your typical pro golfer. So why should Will Mackenzie’s grip follow convention?

A native North Carolinian, MacKenzie dabbles in extreme sports like rock climbing. He moonlights as a professional kayaker and once lived in his van in Montana… for five years.

Somehow, he’s managed to carve out a nice career on the PGA TOUR, winning twice and adding a pair of runner-ups as of January 2015. A swing reminiscent of Ben Hogan’s – grip included – has a lot to do with that.

At address, MacKenzie’s left hand is rotated toward the target enough to expose his inner forearm to a face-on view. His right hand is turned onto the top of the club in a matching position. Now, here’s the really strange part – MacKenzie uses a 10-finger grip, aka a baseball grip. No overlapping, no interlocking, but all 10 fingers touching the club’s handle.

That’s practically unheard of in the modern professional ranks. For good measure, MacKenzie was once a proponent of the somewhat controversial “stack-and-tilt” swing method, though he’s moved on to a new teacher.

Not surprisingly, Will MacKenzie’s grip with the putter is rather uncommon. He goes with a reverse overlap, but lets his right little finger ride up on top of the left middle finger. Ernie Els employs a similar modification.

MacKenzie actually battled the “yips” while on the Web.com Tour, but a putting lesson from Luke Donald – one of golf’s very best with the blade – helped put him back on the right path. Whether that leads back to Montana is anyone’s guess.

Player Profile

Golf Grip Terms

Note: All descriptions are for right-handed golfers.

Vardon / Overlapping Grip: Method of holding the club by placing the right pinky finger on top of the crease between the left index and middle fingers. Named for British golf legend Harry Vardon.

Interlocking Grip: Method of holding the club by wedging or locking the right pinky finger between the left index and middle fingers.

Neutral: Position in which the hands are directly aligned with the clubface. The golfer with a neutral grip can typically see two full knuckles on the back of the left hand when addressing the ball.

Weak: Position in which the hands are rotated left (toward the target) on the club’s handle. The golfer with a weak grip can typically see one full knuckle on the back of the left hand when addressing the ball.

Strong: Position in which the hands are rotated right (away from the target) on the club’s handle. The golfer with a strong grip can typically see more than two full knuckles on the back of the left hand when addressing the ball.

Reverse Overlap Putting Grip: Conventional putting grip style with the left hand above the right and the left index finger extending downward, on top of the fingers of the right hand.

Cross-Handed / Left Hand Low Putting Grip: The right hand is placed at the top of the handle, above the left hand, the opposite of a conventional grip.

Claw Putting Grip: The left hand is placed in the conventional position, at the top of the handle, with the right hand lower on the handle and holding the club between the thumb (on the grip’s underside) and fingers.