What Are The Pros And Cons Of The Baseball Golf Grip

The golf grip is the most important fundamental when it comes to swinging the golf club.

It is the point of contact between you and the golf club. It provides power and control, gripping the club correctly will help you swing freely, and ultimately help you shoot the best score you can.

It influences a number of things, from shot shape, trajectory and the way you swing the golf club. So many swing faults are caused by a bad grip, from my teaching days I found a lot of people are fixated by the wrong things in their swing, and a simple grip change would fix everything.

Never overlook the grip as it is much more important than you think.

What Are The Different Options For Golf Grips?

There are 3 grip types when it comes to golf.

The two most popular being the overlap and the interlock grip. The baseball, also known as the hammer or 10 finger grip, are not used as much as it provides less consistency.

The Overlap Grip

Place your left hand on the grip first, towards the top of the grip, with your thumb on top pointing down the grip, take your right hand, and place your right pinky finger between the index finger and middle finger of your left hand, forming an overlap. The right thumb should also be on top of the grip pointing down.

This grip is generally used by players that have larger hands or someone that is looking to try grip the club lighter.

The Interlock Grip

Again place your left hand on the grip first, towards the top of the grip, with your thumb on top pointing down the grip, now you need to take your left index finger and right pinky finger and interlock them. The right thumb should also be on top of the grip pointing down.

This grip is usually used by players with smaller hands. You will generally feel more control with the interlock grip, as your hands will work together.

The Baseball Grip

Same as the other grips you start by placing your left hand on the grip first, near the top, with your thumb on top pointing down the grip.

From there you place your right hand just below it, there is no connection between the two hands with the baseball grip. Make sure there is no gap between the two hands.

The baseball grip might provide some more power, but you lose the connection between the two hands, this causes them to work separately, which could cause inconsistencies.

What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Baseball Golf Grip?

Advantages Of Baseball Grip

Feel

When starting golf, I found that most people would naturally grip the club in the baseball style, this seems to be the most natural and comfortable to start with.

Power

They say the most powerful grip between the three is the baseball grip, although I have not found this to be the cause, as I feel I lose control of the club to an extent that it starts to affect the power in the shot.

Disadvantages Of Baseball Grip

Control

As mentioned before, the main disadvantage with the baseball grip is control, unlike baseball or hockey, where you are just looking to make good contact and then get it in a general area.

Golf is more precise, so having your hands work together is incredibly important.

Should High Handicappers Use A Baseball Grip?

Simple answer is no. It can do more harm than good.

It is not the end of the world if you start with a baseball grip if the other grips feel completely wrong, but once your swing starts to develop, I recommend moving away from the baseball grip as soon as possible.

I have found the overlap is the best place to start when changing grips, the interlock is very different as your fingers interlock together, the overlap is very similar to the baseball, just with one finger overlapping another two. This should be the first alternative grip you try, as it will give a similar feeling to the baseball grip.

What Pros Use The Baseball Golf Grip?

There are currently no professionals that use a baseball grip.

Like mentioned before, the overlap and interlock grip are the most commonly used, as they provide the best combination of power and consistency.

Does A Baseball Grip Suit A Strong, Neutral Or Weak Golf Grip?

A baseball grip suits a neural grip, because the right hand is working separately to the left hand, the right hand becomes very active.

This means, if the grip is too weak you will slice the ball heavily, or if the grip is too strong you will hook the ball heavily.

Signs That You Are Using The Wrong Golf Grip

Baseball: Signs that you should change from the baseball grip are; if you can’t seem to control your ball flight, but have enough power. This is a good sign that you should consider changing grips.

Once your handicap starts to drop, I suggest changing from the baseball grip. There is a reason why no professionals use the baseball grip, it just is not good enough to be consistently reliable.

You need to bite the bullet, it is not going to be easy, choose between the overlap or interlock, and spend some time on the range to make it more comfortable.

Overlap/Interlock: Both of these grip provide the same results, there have been no studies that show one is better than the other. The only difference between them is how they feel to you.

You have to try them both out and see which one works and feels best for you.

Do I Need To Use The Same Grip For Every Club?

Yes, from your driver all the way down to your lob wedge. The only club that you will grip differently is your putter.

The reason why is, the interlock and overlap grip is there for you to have maximum grip and control when swinging at high speeds. With a putter the speed is reduced dramatically, so having a grip that provides the most comfort would be much more beneficial.

Should I Consider Switching To A Baseball Golf Grip?

No, I highly recommend not to change to a baseball grip. There is no reason to do so, as the overlap and interlock grip have done the job for many players over the years.

If you are someone that is not going to take golf seriously and just can’t stand the overlap or interlock grip, then moving to the baseball grip will be fine, however you must just realise you will be giving up accuracy and consistency.

When To Switch Away From The Baseball Grip?

Once you start to feel comfortable with your swing and your handicap starts to improve is the perfect time to change grips.

You do not want to play with the baseball grip for too long, changing sooner rather than later is highly recommended.

Once you use the baseball grip for too long, it will be hard to change, as you get so used to it. Changing the grip can be one of the hardest things to do.

Which Professionals Use An Interlock Grip?

The Interlock grip is very common between professionals. They say it provides great control between the two hands, and provides a lot of power.

Notable are: Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Matthew Wolffe and John Rahm

Which Professionals Use An Overlap Grip?

Similar to the interlock grip, this is very popular between professionals, they say it helps them grip the club loosely, while still providing adequate power.

Notables are: Ben Hogan, Phil Mickelson, Arnold Palmer, Kevin Na, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Thomas.

Conclusion

The grip is the most important part of your golf swing, it not only affects your shot shape and trajectory, but also the way you swing the club.

The golf grips are the interlock, overlap and baseball grip.

The baseball grip is also known as the hammer grip or ten finger grip. It is most commonly used by beginners, as they find it is the easiest way to grip the club.

Having a baseball grip is said to give you more power, this is true, but I have found it actually makes me lose distance, because my hands start to work separately causing them to become inefficient, and therefore losing power.

As a beginner starting with a baseball grip is ok, but I highly recommend moving away from it as soon as possible.

There is a reason why no professionals use a baseball grip, it just doesn’t provide enough consistency, and as I mentioned I actually lose power when I use a baseball grip.