The grip is likely the most fickle part of establishing a golf swing. A hand has 27 joints, over 100 ligaments & tendons, and thousands of nerve receptors. It’s easy for this part of the swing to feel uncomfortable.

But what is the best way to grip the club and why? Does the comfort really matter? 

There are three primary grips used in instruction: Interlock, Overlap (aka Vardon), and the 10-finger. The overlap grip has dominated golf, even to this day. It was made popular by 7-time Major Champion Harry Vardon (b.1870 - d.1937). The grip was widely accepted and used by the likes of Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer. It remained unchallenged till another American began crushing records — Jack Nicklaus. The Golden Bear employed the interlock grip and while it gained attention, few followed. It wasn’t the major record holder who swayed a new generation of golfers. It was a young phenom, fresh out of Stanford University. Once he started winning, everyone started mimicking. 

Tiger Woods went against the trend and used an interlock grip. Anything Tiger does ignites a frenzy of questions. He’s arguably the greatest of all time, so when he does something it’s interpreted as an ingredient to the secret sauce that makes him so good. The grip is no exception but the reason we should employ this is not just because Tiger or Jack used it. The proof is in the pudding, but the reasoning is in the biomechanics. As good as Tiger is, he cannot be the sole explanation for its use. 

The interlock is the superior grip. While it is not ‘my way or the highway’ when it comes to instruction, I will make a case to my client so they can make an informed decision. The interlocking grip provides one distinct advantage over the others.

The advantage is stability. Stability in the sense that the hands are not moving in relationship to one another or the club. NOT in the sense that they cannot move at the wrist. I’ve place two videos below of an unstable overlap grip (Right) and a stable interlock grip (Left). Notice how the interlock mitigates any changes. The grip affects our potential for good contact, direction, and distance. If the hands are able to change their relationship with the club, the most notable effect will be upon the angle of the club face. The angle of the club face at impact will determine directional spin and possibly directional launches. We cannot simply grip tighter with an overlap or 10-finger because the increase in tension will reduce critical range of motion in the wrists and arms.

The reason the interlock is so stable is because of the way the fingers fit together. There are several ways we can grasp and hold items according to medical professionals. While the nomenclature varies, the objective orientation of the hands and their clasps remain the same. One type is called a hook grip (Left). A hook grip is capable of bearing heavy weight, especially compared to normal grip strength. Think of carrying grocery bags to the kitchen from the car. You can probably handle a half dozen bags in one hand. Does it strike you as odd how much weight a few fingers can handle? If not, then you might already know that a hook grip activates two muscles in the forearm. Physical Therapist Noelle Austin MS, CHT writes:

“It [hook grip] can be sustained for prolonged periods of time, as anyone can attest who has carried a briefcase or books at his side or hung onto a commuter strap on a bus or train. The major muscular activity is provided by the flexor digitorum profundus and flexor digitorum superficialis muscles.” 

All three of the golf grips discussed are a form of the hook grip; however, only the interlock grip has the hands hooked together and to the club. While only two fingers are used to hook onto one another in the interlock grip, their usage enhances the potential of the two forearm muscles in a way the overlap and 10-finger grips cannot. Since the hands use radial and ulnar deviation to strike the ball, the ‘hooked’ fingers provide leverage for the lead hand to pull the trail hand, and thus the club, into place. The leverage is somewhat of a byproduct of the stability. It layman’s terms, the hands can act in greater unison. Can you still use ulnar and radial deviation effectively with the other two grips? Sure. Could you be leaving untapped performance on the table? Possibly — but Tiger isn’t (I said I wouldn’t use him as the ONLY reason!)

Again, stability is the only proven biomechanical reason for the interlock grip. Without it, a golfer can become more susceptible to club face errors, thus resulting in bad direction and possible errors in contact and distance. There has been frequent speculation over the interlock grip providing a higher capacity for club head speed. I have not found any biomechanical or statistical evidence to back this claim. Bryson DeChambeau, who employs an overlap grip, ranked 1st in driving distance and strokes gained on tour in 2021. Dustin Johnson leads in strokes gained off the tee for the last decade, he uses the overlap. Long drive legend Jamie Sadlowski and the ageless Phil Mickelson are also overlap aficionados. One grip may feel more comfortable but comfort isn’t an indication of right or wrong, it’s just subjective feeling telling you what’s familiar. If it’s right, but uncomfortable, then make it comfortable because comfort is the enemy of progress. Take smaller and slower swings for an easier transition. It’s natural to have some soreness but you will acclimate. I switched when I was 12 years old and it took me nearly a month. My clients are switching seamlessly within a week or two. 

Now there are a few instances in which an interlock grip should be reconsidered.

If it’s young children who are just getting into the game, stick with the 10-finger grip. As they develop more passion and become more open to teaching then the interlock can be implemented.

If the fingers are large and thick, the interlock grip can possibly hinder more than help. It will take some testing to see how the hands respond in a swing.

Although rare, if there is history of or a present injury to the interlocking fingers then it’s likely better to use another grip.

All considered, there is good scientific reason to use the interlock grip. There is also no detrimental reason to not use an overlap or 10-finger grip. Remember, I simply said the other grips make a golfer more susceptible to error. It’s a possibility, not a certainty. If you’re still unsure conduct a test between the two main ones. See how your hands take to them. Track your performance with both.

My final note is a personal observation. Us golfers can be obsessive about our swings and gear. We change things and often in the opposite direction of each other. One guy switches to a Titleist ball while the other switches to a TaylorMade. One player tries to shorten his swing while the other lengthens. Depends on their game, right? My observation of grip changes are contrary to that pattern; in fact, grip changes are completely one-sided. Out of the hundreds of golfers I have worked with and the thousands I’ve been around in my 20-plus years of this game, I have never seen or heard of a single golfer switching from interlock to overlap - only overlap to interlock. Make of that what you will, the biomechanics are reason enough for me.