Okay, so I decided to give the Tiger Woods grip a shot a while back. Been playing golf for years, you know, mostly hacking it around, but I kept seeing highlights of Tiger, and his hands just looked so… solid on the club. My own grip felt sloppy sometimes, especially under pressure. Figured, what the heck, let’s see if I can copy the GOAT.
Heading to the Range – First Attempts
So I went down to the driving range. First thing was trying that interlock grip. Man, it felt weird. I usually used an overlap grip, where my right pinky rested on top of my left index finger. Shoving that pinky between the index and middle finger of my left hand? Felt unnatural, almost like my hands were tangled up.
My first few practice swings without a ball felt clumsy. I wasn’t sure how tight to hold it, where the pressure should be. It just felt… wrong. Like wearing shoes on the wrong feet.
Getting the Hand Placement Right (or Trying To)
I remembered reading somewhere, or maybe seeing it, that Tiger had a pretty neutral to slightly strong left hand grip. So, I started messing with that. Tried to get the back of my left hand facing the target a bit more, seeing those two knuckles. Took a lot of fiddling. Looking down, adjusting, waggling, adjusting again.
Then came the right hand. Getting it to mesh with the left hand using that interlock was the tricky part. Once I got the pinky locked in, I focused on getting the right palm to cover the left thumb. The goal was to make the hands feel like one unit. Initially, I was gripping way too tight. Like a death grip. Had to consciously think about easing up, letting the connection be firm but not tense.
- Felt strange having the pinky locked in there.
- Had to adjust my thumb positions multiple times.
- Realized grip pressure was key – couldn’t strangle the club.
Hitting Actual Golf Balls
Alright, time for the moment of truth. Started hitting some balls. Oh boy. It was not pretty at first. Hooks, pushes, some nasty thin shots. It felt like I had less control over the clubface initially. My timing was all off because the connection felt so different.
But then… I hit one flush. Just absolutely pure. The feeling was different. More solid, compressed. Like the hands really worked together through the ball. That’s what kept me going. I hit a few more good ones mixed in with the junk. It showed me the potential, you know? That feeling was addictive.
Making it Work for Me
I stuck with it for a few weeks, hitting the range more often than usual. It wasn’t a quick fix. It took time for the interlock to feel less awkward. I had to accept hitting bad shots while my hands and brain got used to it. I don’t know if my grip now is exactly like Tiger’s – probably not – but the core idea, the interlock, is there.
Over time, it did help. My hands feel much more connected now. Less tendency for one hand to take over the other. It forced me to rely more on body rotation instead of just flipping my hands at it. It wasn’t easy, definitely frustrating at times, but making that switch and sticking with the practice? Yeah, it made a difference for my game in the long run. Took a lot of swings, though. A lot of swings.
