Learning how to grip a golf club properly is essential when you’re looking to play consistent golf.
For many beginner golfers, though, they often don’t understand simple fundamentals that can help them keep the clubface square. In fact, some don’t even know which type of golf grip they should use based on their swing.
In the video below, top-ranked golf coach Jake Thurm doesn’t just help explain how to grip a golf club, but provides an easy tutorial on the differences between a strong golf grip and a weak golf grip — explaining which one works for your golf swing.
So take a look at Thurm’s advice, and follow Rainmakers Golf Club on YouTube for more golf tips and game-improvement hacks.
How to Grip a Golf Club
Look, I’ve been playing golf for nearly 30 years, but even I come across scenarios or golf terms that I don’t know about or understand.
So in this golf lesson with Thurm, he tells me a story about a beginner golfer who once thought a strong grip was simply using “more grip pressure” — which makes sense if you’ve never heard that term before.
“They were trying to actually squeeze [the club] even more,” Thurm tells me.
So when you’re learning how to grip a golf club, Thurm says it’s important to keep things simple — which is why he breaks down the differences between a strong and weak grip.
“A strong grip and a weak grip are basically slang terms for the placement of the hands,” he explains. “Finding out which one is for you always comes down to how [your body] moves and your ball flight.”
Next, Thurm has me grip the golf club without any help or guidance. This is simply how I would normally hold the club prior to addressing the ball for a shot.
“I’d say this is a fairly neutral golf grip,” Thurm tells me.
He then asks how many knuckles I can see on my left hand (which, as a righty, is on the top of the grip.
“Looking down at address, I can see about 2.5 knuckles,” I tell him.
This is where understanding how to grip a golf club is so important — because Thurm says that, based off your shot shape, you may consider trying either a weak or a strong grip.
“If I have somebody who slices the golf ball [as a righty], then the ball curves to the right,” Thurm says. “If that’s happening, I always say you should turn your hands to the right.”
Thurm then instructs me to place the club down like I’m addressing the golf ball — which helps square the clubface before taking my shot — and then positioning my hands for more of a strong golf grip.
“Take your left hand and turn it slightly to the right for a stronger grip” he tells me. “Your neutral grip showed 2.5 knuckles [on the left hand], so how many do you see now?”
“I almost see three or four knuckles now,” I reply.
Now that the left hand is set, Thurm also has me make a change with my right hand when gripping the club.
“We’re going to have your right palm come [underneath],” he says. “Now the left hand is more on top and the right hand is more underneath — which allows you as a player to get the clubface square sooner [in the swing].”
For players who tend to hook the ball, Thurm says this is when a weak golf grip would be helpful. He then walks me through what that looks like.
“Address the ball with a square clubface, and then we’re going to turn your hands to the left on the club,” Thurm explains. “With your left hand, the thumb should feel more like it’s riding straight down the shaft.”
After placing the left hand on the golf grip, Thurm matches up my right hand to almost mirror it, and then asks how many knuckles I can see with this weaker grip.
“Almost half of a knuckle,” I tell him. “At most, maybe one.”
So if you’re struggling with hooks, consider using a weaker grip. If you can’t seem to cure your golf slice, it might be worth using a stronger grip.
Now that you know how to grip a golf club and what options you have, you can start practicing the one that fits your game best — which will lead to better results and more fun each round.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 28, 2025, where it first appeared in the Golf section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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