The Grandad Grip

By Sheila
February 9, 2022

If I meet you on a golf course, I will never judge you by your clothes, clubs, looks, or wealth. Nope. My first impression of you will be based on your grip, setup, and swing! Who am I to judge you – you ask? Nobody special really, just a legacy. But, I will glance at you on the golf tee to make sure it’s safe for me to watch you again.

It’s good to start at the beginning – with the golf grip. Let’s step back in time to 1930 when my grandfather Joe Devany (name often spelled wrong) demonstrated the various grip positions for the Detroit News.

The following is the combined grips for my fellow golf gals and guys to study:

Naturally, we want to imitate the grip on the left as much as possible.

What if that indomitable slice could be corrected by simply moving the left hand so that a couple knuckles are showing? It could be that simple! We still must consider how our stance and swing plane could also be culprits. But Lesson 1 is understanding how the grip affects your ball flight.

Me? I like to mess around using the Left Hand from Straight mixed with the Right Hand from Hook. Yeah baby, I call it the "Strong Straight" – for extra yardage.

In a Sun Sentinel news story about George Blagg (my great grandfather's brother-in-law), a PGA professional on his 100th birthday in 1985, George said:

I believe the change in the equipment has been for the better. But the basic principles of the game remain the same. A good grip, featuring a strong left hand, is still the most important part of the game.

There you go!