Is Your Golf Grip Costing You Distance?
As you've likely seen, golf students have been picking up serious distance through unique driver fittings that combine a golf lesson and fitting with technology to help golfers gain 30+ yards in a single session. One of the critical discoveries during these sessions involves the golf grip and how it directly affects the amount of lag in the golf swing, as well as the tension level during the transition.
In this video, we discuss the key biomechanical points about the left hand grip and its effect on lag and tension. Understanding how the wrist joint and bone structure create mechanical leverage is critical for generating maximum power with minimal effort.
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In the screen capture from the lag video below, you can see how it's biomechanically impossible to maintain lag with an improper grip. You simply cannot achieve the proper amount of lag in the golf swing with a weak or incorrect grip.
Notice the Massive Change in Lag Angle
In the next photo, notice that when a proper golf grip is taken, the angle between the shaft and left forearm increases dramatically — increasing lag and the potential for significantly more clubhead speed.
Commit to these two simple fundamentals presented in this video and you should be able to add at least 5 mph of clubhead speed in one session!
How the Arms Work in the Golf Swing
One area that hasn't been discussed extensively on the RotarySwing golf instruction website is the proper use of the arms and hands. We've focused primarily on using the big muscles in the golf swing up to this point. But that doesn't mean the arms and hands have no role — it's that they should feel like they do nothing, especially if you're accustomed to relying solely on them for power.
In reality, the arms and hands have an extremely important job in the golf swing. Today we're going to discuss how to use the arms properly and how the grip directly affects the amount of lag you can generate and maintain.
Preview the Lag Video
In the Bomb Your Driver golf lesson series, we're learning how to hit the ball as far as humanly possible with minimal effort through proper swing mechanics. The driver is the only club in your bag without a speed limit — every time you pull it out, you're seeking maximum distance.
Let's examine two key components that dramatically impact your potential for clubhead speed: the grip and the position at the top of the backswing. These two elements will transform your driving distance.
There is a detailed video on the golf grip (click here), but many golfers don't fully grasp its importance or understand the specific biomechanical reasons why the club needs to be held a certain way.
Typically, when giving a golf lesson, changing the grip in a one-hour session is the last thing you want to do — it takes time to adjust. But sometimes the grip causes mechanical problems in the swing that cannot be overcome any other way. In most cases, expect a grip change to take one to two weeks. Having a golf club around the house and re-gripping it several times a day accelerates the adjustment.
For this golf instruction video, we're focusing on precisely why the grip needs to be set up correctly to allow you to hit the driver as far as possible.
Starting with higher handicap golfers: the most common problem is a grip that's too weak. Both hands are rotated too far toward the target on the grip. The line formed by the left thumb and forefinger for a right-handed golfer points toward the left shoulder. The thumb often rests to the left of the center of the grip, typically marked by the manufacturer logo.
For a proper golf grip, the left thumb needs to rest just to the right of center. This positions the pad of the left hand to apply leverage to the butt of the club and hold it more securely — which is especially critical in the downswing where you need this leverage to maintain lag.
With a good golf grip, the left thumb sits just to the left of the center of the shaft.
When you arrive at the point in your downswing where the club is parallel to the ground with a weak grip, controlling the golf club becomes extremely difficult. With the stronger grip — where the pad of the left hand sits on top of the club — you're in a far more powerful, leveraged position. This allows you to maintain the lag angle much later into the downswing without increasing any muscular effort. It's purely mechanical leverage afforded by the bone structure of your body.
With a weaker grip at the same position in the downswing, you'd have to tighten your grip significantly just to maintain control. To hold the club with a weak grip, you'd need to cup your wrist — but that opens the club face wide. Without cupping, you're forced to release lag prematurely.
Losing Lag? Check Your Grip First
If you're frustrated about losing lag in the downswing, the first thing to examine is your grip. With the grip demonstrated in the instructional video, you should be able to reach the point in your downswing where the club is parallel to the ground and hold it easily with your left hand alone — maintaining the lag angle effortlessly.
With a weaker grip, not only will you struggle to hold this position due to lack of leverage, but you'll need to begin releasing lag earlier to square the club face. Otherwise, with excellent lag and a weak grip, you'd hit a massive slice unless you develop compensations elsewhere in your golf swing.
Rolling the hand under to arch the left wrist bone helps close the club face — but getting into this extremely arched position is an unnecessary compensation that costs you lag. Biomechanically, your wrist has very limited ability to cock up and down when bowed. You have far greater range of motion with the wrist in neutral or a slightly cupped position.
While you want a flat left wrist at impact, during the downswing it needs to remain more neutral. With the wrist bowed, you can only create approximately a 90-degree lag angle. With a proper grip and neutral wrist position, the lag angle increases dramatically.
The second critical element is arriving at the top of the backswing in the proper position. This is where golfers have picked up 7-8 mph of clubhead speed in a single swing — pay close attention.
When the hands and arms are soft during the transition, they will "fall" down into this position.
At the top of the backswing, you want to feel your hands and wrists go soft. This is called downcocking, and it actually increases your lag during the transition. This is visible in virtually all great long hitters on the PGA Tour. With a proper grip and soft wrists, this motion happens naturally.
What most amateur golfers do instead is start throwing the club immediately from the top — casting — in an effort to build clubhead speed early in the downswing. This is the exact opposite of what you want. Hand tension is one of the primary causes of this fault, so keeping grip pressure light is critical.
To practice, go to the range and exaggerate this downcocking motion. It doesn't matter if you miss shots on the range — that's what practice is for. Really overdo it. Feel that during the transition, your hands go almost completely limp, allowing the right wrist to bend back on itself.
When you soften your grip, you'll discover that your lag angle increases and you generate more clubhead speed with less effort. Couple this downcocking motion with the proper golf grip, and you'll gain significant driver distance immediately. If you want to see how your lag and release mechanics compare to elite standards, try a free AI golf lesson that tracks your body positions in real time.
Video Transcription: Golf Grip and Lag Connection
One aspect we don't discuss extensively in the Rotary Swing system is the specific role of the arms and hands. We teach you to use the bigger muscles and let the arms and hands follow — but that doesn't mean they have no function.
Weak grip (above), strong grip (below)
In fact, the opposite is true. The arms and hands should feel like they're doing nothing — especially if you're used to relying on them for power — but they actually have a very important job in the golf swing.
In this installment of the Bomb Your Driver series, we'll discuss how the hands and arms can be used properly to generate speed and power. That's the ultimate goal.
With Bomb Your Driver, you're trying to hit the ball as far as absolutely possible. The driver is the only club without a speed limit — every time you pull it out, you're looking for maximum distance.
Today's focus: the grip and the hands at the top of the swing. These two components have an enormous impact on your speed potential.
There's a detailed grip video on the website, but many golfers don't understand the specific biomechanical reasons why the grip matters. In a one-hour lesson, changing someone's grip is one of the last things you want to do — it takes time to get comfortable.
Weak grip & cupped wrist leaves the club face open
In most cases, a grip change takes two to three weeks before it feels natural. But today I'll explain why it's worth the investment — particularly for hitting the driver far.
The most common problem I see in higher handicap golfers is a grip that's too weak. The left thumb sits to the left of the center line, creating a V that points toward the left side of the head.
What we need is the thumb positioned just to the right of center. This places the meaty pad of the left hand on top of the club, creating mechanical leverage through the bone structure.
Losing lag (above), maintaining lag (below)
This matters most in the downswing. When the club reaches parallel to the ground, a proper grip allows you to hold the 90-degree lag angle much longer — without any additional muscular effort. It's pure mechanical leverage.
With a weaker grip at the same position, maintaining that angle requires significant muscular effort. You'd have to cup your wrist to hold it — but that opens the club face wide. Without cupping, you're forced to release lag early just to square the face.
For golfers complaining about losing lag in the downswing — arriving at impact with no angle between shaft and forearm — checking the grip should be the first step.
With a proper grip, you can get into a position where the club face is square and the wrist has a natural slight arch. You can hold the club at 90 degrees with virtually no muscular effort.
Arching the wrist shuts the club face, causing loss of lag
That's the goal — because unless you want to slow down and try to time a tense release, you want your hands to be soft. The proper grip gives you that ability.
When the grip is weak and you try to square the face coming down, you have to roll the left wrist bone under — which closes the face but also costs you lag. With the wrist bowed, its ability to cock up and down is severely limited.
With a flat or neutral wrist position, lag capacity is limited. But cup the wrist slightly and the lag angle increases dramatically. As soon as you arch the wrist forward, that ability disappears.
Wrist flat (above), cupped (center), arched forward (below)
That's why the grip is so consequential. Grab a club right now and experiment — feel how little effort it takes to maintain a 90-degree lag angle with a proper grip versus a weak one. The difference is immediately obvious.
The second critical element: once you have the proper grip, the transition at the top of the swing. I've literally seen students pick up 7-8 mph of clubhead speed in a single swing from this change alone.
At the top of the swing, feel your hands go soft and relaxed. During the backswing, the hands do work to set the club on plane. But at the top, what I see far too often is rigid, tight hands — causing the club to be the first thing moving in the downswing instead of the lower body and core.
Downcock (above), versus "throwing" (below)
When hands are tight at the top, there's no downcocking to increase lag. Instead, the club gets thrown from the top — casting — leading to early release, chicken wing positions, and dramatically less clubhead speed.
Go to the range and experiment. Feel your hands go almost completely limp for the first split second of the downswing. When your hands soften, the club whips through impact with significantly more speed.
Couple this soft transition with a proper grip — let the club relax at the top, let your hands be soft, then release it through — and you should see a measurable increase in clubhead speed and driver distance. For a complete breakdown of your swing mechanics, try a free AI swing analysis to see how your positions compare to the elite model.
Combine these two fundamentals and you will hit the driver farther.
Watch part 2 now to see how you're moving your body in the opposite direction of the pros!
Weak grip (above), strong grip (below)
