1Academy · Setup
How to hold a golf club
The grip step by step, then how to stand to the ball: stance width, posture, alignment and where the ball goes for every club.
Read this first
Have a qualified coach check your setup in person. Everything on this page is common teaching convention, collected from how coaches usually describe the basics. It is general information, not coaching. A coach can see your hands, your build and your swing, and we cannot.
Golf's governing bodies, The R&A and the USGA, do not prescribe a grip or stance. The Rules of Golf only require that you make a stroke by striking the ball fairly with the head of the club. How you hold it is up to you.
The grip
Hold the club mainly in the fingers of your lead hand, then fold the other hand over it. For a right-handed golfer the lead hand is the left. Left-handed golfers mirror everything on this page.
- Rest the club across the base of the fingers of your left hand, not deep in the palm.
- Close the fingers, and let the thumb sit slightly right of centre on the top of the grip.
- Place the right hand below the left, palm facing the left palm, so the left thumb sits under the pad of the right hand.
- Check that both hands feel like one unit and that the club is in your fingers.
Three ways to join the hands
- Overlapping, or Vardon. The little finger of the trail hand rests on top of the gap between the first two fingers of the lead hand. It is the grip most instruction describes first.
- Interlocking. The little finger of the trail hand links with the first finger of the lead hand. Players with smaller hands often like it.
- Ten-finger. All ten fingers sit on the grip with no overlap. Many beginners and young players start here, and it can feel strong and natural.
None is best for everyone. Pick the one that lets the hands work together without strain.
Neutral, strong and weak
These words describe how far the hands are turned around the club, and coaches define them by what you see when you look down.
- Neutral. By common convention, you see about two knuckles on the lead hand. The V formed by thumb and forefinger on each hand points towards your trail shoulder.
- Strong. The hands are turned further away from the target, so you see more knuckles on the lead hand and the V's point further to the trail side.
- Weak. The hands are turned the other way, so you see fewer knuckles and the V's point towards the lead shoulder or the chin.
Convention says a strong grip tends to help close the face and a weak grip to leave it open. That connects to ball flight: TrackMan describes face angle as the key factor in starting direction. If your shots start one way every time, grip is a good place to look first.
Interactive
Neutral, strong or weak.
How far the lead hand is turned on the grip changes how the face tends to return at impact. Look down at your own hands and count the knuckles.
- Knuckles you see
- About two
- The V points
- Towards the trail shoulder
- Tends to
- Lets the face return square at impact, if the swing allows it.
- Knuckles you see
- Three or more
- The V points
- Outside the trail shoulder
- Tends to
- Helps close the face: the ball tends to curve left. Often suggested to golfers who slice.
- Knuckles you see
- One, or none
- The V points
- Towards the chin or the lead shoulder
- Tends to
- Tends to leave the face open: the ball tends to curve right.
Common teaching convention, not a verdict on your swing. A qualified coach can check yours in person.
Grip pressure
Hold the club firmly enough that it will not slip, and no harder. Many coaches describe the right pressure as light, something like holding a tube of toothpaste without squeezing any out. Tight hands tend to make the arms stiff, so keep the pressure steady and the forearms soft.
Stance width
Stand with your feet about shoulder width for a middle iron. Convention is a little narrower for short clubs and a little wider for the driver, where a broader base helps balance a bigger swing. These are guides. Your height and build set the right width.
Posture
- Stand tall with your feet set, then hinge forward from the hips, not the waist.
- Keep the back straight rather than rounded, and let the arms hang naturally from the shoulders.
- Flex the knees slightly. You should feel balanced over the middle of your feet, neither on the toes nor on the heels.
If you feel strained, you have probably bent from the wrong place. Start again from standing.
Alignment
Aim the clubface first, then set your body parallel to the target line. Think of railway tracks. The ball and clubface run on the outer rail towards the target. Your feet, hips and shoulders run on the inner rail, parallel to it. Many players set up pointing right of the target without noticing, so lay a club on the ground along your toes and check it.
Interactive
Ball position, club by club.
The strip shows your stance from above, with the target to the right. Select a club, from the driver to the wedges, and the ball and feet move to the usual position for it: forward for the long clubs, back towards the middle for the short ones. It shows the common teaching convention, not a fixed spot, and the chart beneath it lists every position for the range.
- Ball
- Opposite the lead heel, or just inside it
- Stance
- A little wider than the shoulders
- Why
- The ball sits on a tee and is met at the bottom of the swing or just after it.
| Club | Ball position | Stance width |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Opposite the lead heel, or just inside it | A little wider than the shoulders |
| Fairway woods | A ball or two inside the lead heel | About shoulder width, or a touch wider |
| Hybrid, 4–5 iron | A little behind the fairway-wood position | About shoulder width |
| 6–7 iron | Just forward of centre | Shoulder width |
| 8–9 iron | The centre of the stance | A little narrower than the shoulders |
| Wedges | The centre, or slightly behind it | Narrower than the shoulders |
Ball position
Ball position moves forward for longer clubs and back for shorter ones. As a convention, the driver sits opposite the lead heel or just inside it, fairway woods and long irons a little behind that, middle irons just forward of centre, and short irons and wedges at the centre or slightly behind it. The chart above lists each club.
The reason is the shape of the swing. With a driver you hit the ball as the club is on or just past its lowest point, which suits a forward ball. With short irons you strike down on the ball, so it sits further back. Coaches differ on exact placement, and the chart is a gradient, not a rule.
A pre-shot checklist
- Grip. Fingers, neutral to start, light pressure.
- Aim. Clubface to the target, then the body parallel.
- Stance. Width for the club.
- Posture. Hinge from the hips, knees soft, balanced.
- Ball. Position for the club.
- Breathe and go. Then swing without holding the setup tight.
Make this a routine you can run through in a few seconds. The etiquette lesson notes that a ready player keeps the group moving.
Common faults
- Grip in the palm. The club sits across the palm instead of the fingers, which costs feel.
- Squeezing too hard. Tension travels up the arms.
- Aiming the body at the target but the face elsewhere. Aim the face first.
- Standing too upright or bending at the waist. Hinge from the hips.
- Ball too far forward or back for the club. Use the strip as a starting point.
- Hands apart. The two hands should work as one unit.
Where this fits
Setup is the first lesson of the Academy and the first week of the 28-day practice plan. Learn to set up the same way each time before you chase anything else. See your bag for what each club is for.
Once more: have a qualified coach check your setup in person. This page promises no result.
What this lesson is not
- General information written to common teaching convention, not a lesson from a coach. A qualified coach who can see your swing outranks anything here.
- Interactive numbers are teaching models, labelled as such: not measurements, and not targets.
- Lessons are free and never decide election. The published rule on the plan page does, and only that rule.
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Ready to put it on a card? The 28-day practice plan is free to anyone; keeping it for Intake I is how members are elected.