You're Correct!

How you hold any golf club is key to being able to hit a sweet strike accurately at the target. Your hands are the only contact that you have with the golf club so it is essential that you position them on the handle correctly and in a way that will allow you to play your best shots.

When checking your grip, you need to ensure that you have your hands on in a position that will promote club head control through impact. As you swing your arms through impact and in front of your body, your arms and hands will want to be in their natural position. If you stand with your arms relaxed, you will notice that your arms hang slightly forward of your body and in a position to allow your hands to be palm inwards to your body. When you address the golf ball and then swing through impact, your arms are in front of your body, so therefore it follows that your hands will naturally want to be palm inwards.

Positioning your hands on the golf club as close to this palm inwards position as possible will therefore give you control over the club face. If you hold the club at address with your hands in a palm inwards position and the club face aiming at the target, then when you swing back and then down through impact, your hands will return to their palm inwards position and the club face will therefore return back to the golf ball aiming at the target.

The key check points for your hand position, or grip, are to ensure that you can hold a coin between your thumb and index finger, on each of your hands. There should be no gap between your thumb and hand/lower index finger. You should be pinching your thumb next to your hand/lower index finger. If you actually pinch a coin to check this, you can now use this coin to ensure your hands are correctly positioned. To achieve the correct hand position, the coin should be positioned so that it is on the front and centred on the hand, rather than around to the side. When the coin is on the front, it should also point upwards to an area between your chin or right shoulder. If you are looking to hit a straight shot, the coin will aim towards your chin, however, if you are looking to hit a gentle draw, the coin will aim more towards your right shoulder.

The final check point for your grip is the pressure you are holding with. Holding too tightly produces topped golf shots or even air shots. Sweet golf shots are produced from holding at the correct pressure. If you hold the club as tightly as you can and call this a 10, relax to a 5 and then just one more to a 4. This will now have you holding the club, rather than squeezing it.

Pointing the line of your thumb and index finger to your left shoulder means that your left hand is too weak on the handle. A weak left hand grip will result in shots that miss the target on the right as when you swing the club through impact, your left hand will rotate palm inwards and the club face will open and aim right as it strikes the golf ball.

If you rotate your right hand around clockwise on the handle of the golf club, then your hand is in too strong a position. The result of this will be that as you swing the club head through impact, your right palm will rotate palm inwards towards your body and the club face will shut and aim left, rather than at the target as it strikes the golf ball.

If you grip the golf club as hard as you can when you swing then you will not hit sweet shots with your hybrid. When you squeeze too tightly with your grip, the muscles in your hands and arms actually contract and the length between your shoulders and the club head reduces, pulling the club head up from the ground. This will result in you hitting the top of the golf ball.