Noh Seung-yul Grip

Pros and Cons of Every Golf Grip Style

Best Grip? Overlapping vs Interlocking

Grip style: Vardon (overlapping)

Hand position: Neutral

Putting grip style / hand position: Reverse overlap / neutral

Young golfer. Old-school fundamentals. Noh Seung-yul’s grip bears more resemblance to one from the 1970s than you’d expect from a player who was born in 1991. But then, his neutral hold lines up perfectly with Noh’s sound swing.

The precocious South Korean turned pro at age 16 and claimed his first big win as an 18-year-old. In 2014, Noh earned his maiden PGA TOUR title at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

A wiry 165 pounds, Noh boasts prodigious length off the tee. This despite a grip that’s not necessarily built for power. At address, Noh displays textbook technique: His glove’s logo faces the target, the left hand showing great balance between the palms and fingers. It’s more of the same with Noh’s right hand, where the “V” at thumb and forefinger aligns with the club’s handle.

What’s so great about a neutral grip? Primarily, it sets the hands in position to guide the club onto the proper swing plane, without manipulation by the wrists or forearms.

While he’s struggled a bit on the greens, Noh Seung-Yul’s grip certainly isn’t the culprit. Once again, he shows flawless technique with hands that are square to the putter face, the left wrist “uncocked” and feather-light pressure on the handle.

It’s a putting grip that should work at all distances, but Noh appears most comfortable with room between his ball and the cup. Despite ranking 122nd for strokes gained putting in 2014, he placed a solid 32nd for putts in the 10’ – 15’ range and putts of 25’ or more.

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.