It is now becoming evident to me that, out of all of the issues that people investigate with regards to swing modelling (ball position, stance, etc.), the grip is most overlooked part of it all.

I have spent years believing simply because he set the standard over a century ago that Harry Vardon’s grip was the correct one to employ.

Well, I can tell you all right now that it isn’t – in fact, it’s likely what has been confounding golfers more than anything else, because if you have a perfect “Vardon Grip” going on, why can’t you hit a golf ball with any sort of efficacy?

The thing is, those who are renowned from bygone eras as the greatest ball-strikers… didn’t use the Vardon Grip.

I’ve already shown you this below – Sam Snead, Young Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson, all with a non-Vardon grip.

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Now, take a look at the grip of the legendary Moe Norman, who could hit balls that flew so straight and with so little side-spin that the launch monitors would short out trying to analyze his ball flight:

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Moe’s right hand grip was so strong, his palm would face skyward when he opened his hand, and he even described taking his grip as having his right palm skyward, then placing the club grip across his fingers.

Now, I’m not saying that this is the optimal way to grip a club, but it struck me yesterday while looking at various methods of gripping the club that this explained his particular and peculiar swing action & follow-through:

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I’ve got a hunch about something with regards to the difference between the optimal grip and Moe’s, but I will keep that to myself until I’ve confirmed it with some actual ball-striking.

So, it isn’t Moe’s grip that was optimal (except for him), but I now understand it, which is a huge leap for yours truly.

It means a great deal to me because Moe Norman was my first model when I first began my swing research – if everyone was saying he had a “Perfect Golf Swing,” logic dictated that course of action.

I never mastered his grip and would never now try to hold a club that way because it necessitates an easy swing – harder than half-speed and you’ll likely hook the ball.

Since I was and always have been a power swinger since the day I first picked up a golf club (I hit a 330 yard drive on the golf course after my first five lessons or six back in the summer of ’97 and drove through a 325 yard par 4 with a 3 metal that autumn), I was never going to be able to hold the club Moe’s way.

The closest I ever got to Moe’s grip was in 2007, with a two-handed grip and holding the club in my right palm, and I was killing the ball:

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That particular grip method*, while similar to Moe’s, didn’t have me hooking the ball at all.

*Note – I am tempted to lament the years I spent on swing research between autumn of 2007 to now, because while the grip I had above wasn’t the optimal one, it was on the road to it, as you can see by the powerful and easy action through the swing bottom… but alas, better later than never!!

I remember a story in his biography about how Moe arrived late at a tournament and had no chance to hit any balls before his tee-time, upon which he promptly and violently hooked his tee shot.

In fact, while doing my swing work yesterday and playing with the grip between swinging my swing aid and then picking up a club to grip, there was a moment where I said, “So if Moe was gripping the club like this, now I get why he hooked his shots if he wasn’t careful!”

DJ At That Moment…

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This research is so intriguing that I haven’t visited the indoor launch monitor in some time and have delayed my first week out of doors (my local range has just opened up on Easter Weekend) in order to nail this stuff down before I make another swing.

The current problem has been to make myself take the grip I believe is optimal, which I can do effortlessly with the swing aid (which has no club head) but at which I struggle when holding an actual club.

Muscle memory and the “comfort” factor are so powerful that even when I think I’ve done it, I look down and say, “No, still not it.”

When I can grip a club properly without having to look down to ensure it’s the one I want to employ, I will hit the range!

More to come.