Certain movements in the game of golf are fundamental. There is not any middle course about these - a thing is either right or it is wrong. There are other parts of the game however in which it doesn't make a great deal of difference how you go about it; provided of course that the underlying principle of the particular movement is sound. In other words, the game may be pretty well divided into essentials and non-essentials. Among the non-essentials is the golf grip. It is not absolutely necessary to use any one particular grip. You can take your pick of several and still play very fair golf.

"What is the best grip?"

I'd like to have you figure that out for your self. And remember this; while there may be several good ways, there is usually a better way. I'll first name a grip that is not even a good way. This is the cross-handle grip. With this, the left hand is below the right in grasping the club. There are other freak grips of this sort which you would do best not to bother your head about. They only complicate matters. All the accepted grips which are basically correct fall into two classes; these are the V or natural grip, and the overlapping grip. There are certain variations in the overlapping. You'll play good golf with either of these two classes of grips. But I'll presently give you my reasons for believing that one is the best. In the overlapping grip, more often known as the Vardon grip, the left thumb lies down the shaft of the club, while the little finger of the right hand rests upon the forefinger of the left hand. As the name implies, the two hands overlap. In the V grip, the two hands come together on the club handle but there is no overlapping (Figs. 13-14).

"I've heard that the wrists work better in unison, in the overlapping grip."

Fig. 13

The V or natural grip. Just as if you were grasping a baseball bat

Why should we want unison when as everybody knows, the right hand does most of the work? A better plan would be to strengthen up the left hand so that it would do its own share. I am free to say that I do not consider the Vardon overlapping grip the best. That is especially true for people just starting out with golf. Of course with players like Vardon and Braid the muscles are thoroughly under control and everything runs as smooth as machinery. But with a new man it's different. The overlapping grip seriously complicates the back swing of the aspiring golfer. As an instructor, I see this constantly. I'm against anything that doesn't make the road as simple as possible.

Fig. 14

The overlapping or Vardon grip. Note little finger of right hand overlapping forefinger of left

"I like the overlapping grip," intruded the interviewer.

Mark you, I don't say that the Vardon overlapping grip is not a good grip. I only say there is a better one; that is the natural grip. If you have learned the Vardon grip and like it, there is no particular reason why you shouldn't continue with it, especially so if it has become a habit. I never ask a man to change his grip. I simply put the case up to him and he can suit himself. You say that in your particular instance you have used the Vardon grip but think a good deal about the position of your fingers when you grip a club. That's a pretty sure sign that the Vardon grip hasn't become a habit with you. Otherwise you wouldn't give the fingers a thought. If it suits you to change your grip, I'd say you could do so without hurting your game.

Another thing, a man who plays with the overlapping grip right along, usually carries around with him a mean sore on the knuckle of his left forefinger. Some time ago I attended a tournament and just after the contenders finished driving off the final tee a newspaper man asked me to name the most significant thing I saw. I told him the thing that impressed me most was the fact that every man but one was wearing a piece of tape on the knuckle of his left forefinger - the unfailing sign of overlapping. It happened also that the winner of the tournament was using the natural grip.

"Vardon's a pretty fair golfer. And besides, a lot of other first string men use his grip" hazarded the pupil.

Just the point I want to make. Vardon would be a supremely fine golfer however he played. And just because he is a bit eccentric about his grip, people think it's the grip that's playing the game, when in reality it is Vardon. You may name to me a list of champions that use the Vardon grip but I will come right back at you with as equally a creditable list that use the natural grip. For example, Ball, Hilton, Evans, and Dauge. Hilton used the overlapping for a time but finally discarded it because he found that he could get better distance with the natural. As for Dauge, sufficient to say that this Frenchman is probably the longest driver in the world; what is more, the amateur championship of the United States has never been won with the overlapping grip.

Perhaps you think I am saying a good deal about this grip which I don't favour very strongly and not enough about one that I do. I am doing so with a distinct purpose. The Vardon grip has been copied and talked about so extensively that a lot of people think it's the only one in existence. It is not my intent tion to criticize it too severely. I merely want to make plain some facts that you do not usually hear about, so that you will know all sides of the case.

As to my reasons for favouring the natural grip, I like it first of all because it is natural. Every movement in golf should first, last, and all time be natural. When a beginner at golf starts with the natural grip, the game automatically becomes a continuation of something he has done before. Most men have played baseball or chopped down a tree. The fundamentals of the V grip are the same. When a man grasps a golf club in the same way he has handled a baseball bat or axe he immediately feels at home. That means he will make much faster progress than he would if he tried to master the intricacies of a grip entirely foreign to those former actions. You can't exactly visualize a woodsman using the overlapping grip to cut down a tree can you? Nor can I visualize a golfer who takes to the game naturally using anything other than the natural grip - or in other words, the woodsman's grip.

Let me repeat: if you have become used to the overlapping grip and like it, you can stick to it. But just for fun, try out the natural grip. It will feel a little awkward at first, after the overlapping grip which you have been using; but you'll probably soon get accustomed to it and then won't want to go back to the overlapping. Grasp the club as if it were a baseball bat. That gives you the general principle of the V grip. But at the same time, you must remember that there is this difference between baseball and golf: in one case you are hitting the ball waist high and in the other on the ground. The head of the golf club is resting on the ground and that means that you can't grip it straight across the palms (Fig. 15). It's a mistake that a good many beginners make. The club should be lying diagonally across the fingers (Fig. 16). Furthermore, your hands should be relaxed.

Fig. 15

Correct lie of club across fingers. Remember that club head is resting on ground

Fig. 16

The club should lie diagonally across fingers of left hand, not straight across

You want to get as much power into your stroke as possible. You've no idea what a difference the position of the left hand on the club makes. Just address the ball, please, and hold that position.

FIg. 17

One reason why golf comes easy for tennis players.

The back-hand tennis stroke and back swing in golf have much in common

The interviewer followed instructions.

Fig. 18

Fingers of the left hand should be well hidden

You will notice that the fingers of your left hand are staring you in the face. Remember that the sweep of the left hand in the golf swing is like aback-hand tennis stroke (Fig. 17).

This fact makes the position of your fingers an important item. You will not get the maximum power to your stroke by gripping the club as you are now doing. Just as an experiment, keep your left hand on the club and take the right entirely away. Now swing the club towards my shins as if you were going to lambaste me; or as if you were going through a back-hand stroke in tennis. That done, go through the same motion again - only before you do it the second time, move the position of your hand so that the fingers are hidden (Fig. 18). Do you notice any difference in sense of power between those two strokes?

Unquestionably there were much greater possibilities with the stroke in which the fingers were hidden.

Always remember that - fingers of left hand hidden. It will save you a lot of trouble and give you a powerful stroke. To sum up the position of the two hands on the grip: the left hand should loosely cover the shaft with the thumb coiled underneath and the fingers out of sight. The right hand now: the back of the hand should be far enough under the shaft so that the fingers are half-way visible. The thumb should be coiled around the shaft as in the case of the left hand. The two hands should be close together (Fig. 19).

Fig. 19

Addressing the ball with the natural grip