For high-flying bombs off the tee, get this one grip position right

A lot of amateurs forget that it takes two hands to grip the club properly. Because they put their lead hand (left hand for righties) on first, they’re more likely to place that hand on the club carefully. The trail hand is often an afterthought, which can lead to a loss of control of the clubface—and often drives that never get up in the air enough. Here's why.

What I typically see in a poor right-hand grip is the handle laying too much across the base of the fingers or even into the palm and the hand turned upward so the palm is facing the sky before it closes on the club. This is often caused by bringing the hand in from underneath the grip. When you do that, the right hand ends up too much on the underside of the grip. This kind of ultra-strong grip causes the clubface to shut through impact, leading to a lot of low, left bullets off the tee.

To fix this issue, bring your trail hand more from the side than underneath when you add it to the grip and make sure the handle rests diagonally across the middle joints of the middle three fingers (top photo). This will neutralize your grip—with the 'V’ created by the right thumb and forefinger pointing between your chin and right shoulder when you complete your grip. Your right hand should cover your left thumb (above). From there, you’ll have a much easier time squaring the face and delivering the right amount of loft at impact so you can hit those high bombs you’ve been searching for.

Travis Fulton operates Travis Fulton Golf in Jacksonville, Fla.