Hands Forward at Impact
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One of the most important parts of a great impact is getting the hands in front of the clubhead or ball. This position encourages a delofted clubface and increased ball compression. Additionally, I have found that the hands appear to line up up with the lead thigh at impact for the vast majority of the top players in the game. There are a few factors that play a big role in your ability to get the hands forward at impact and compress the golf ball.
If you are tired of scooping at impact or a weak inconsistent strike then read on..... The primary factor is the quality of your grip. The weaker the grip the further back the hands tend to start at address and the further back they are required to be at impact. I don't ever recall seeing a golfer with a weak grip (other than Ben Hogan) getting the hands far enough in front of the ball at impact. Think about it: if the grip is weak and the more forward the hands are, then the more open the face will be at impact. Take a look how many Tour golfers have grips that appear to be stronger vs. weaker and they all have forward shaft lean at impact. Essentially a weak grip necessitates that the hands be further back than they should at impact (they must be back in order to square the clubface), and the more back the hands are, the poorer the strike and the weaker the trajectory will tend to be.
If you are currently the owner of a weak, or even neutral, grip try this:
- As you prepare to take your grip, rotate the face 20-30 degrees closed
- Now take your regular grip
- At address make sure the face is square (this will rotate your hands and arms into a stronger position)
For some reason this method of strengthening your grip does not seem to be as uncomfortable as merely just rotating your hands on the club. Move the club instead. Give it a try.
A proper strong grip will enable you to lead the clubhead with the handle while maintaining a square clubface at impact and compress the ball - isn't that what we're after?
Here is a gallery containing almost 30 PGA Tour golfers from past and present. Take a look at where their hands are at impact:
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