Hello Tom,
I am an absolute beginner to golf. I started playing in March. I got a few lessons from a local pro shop to get started and read the Ben Hogan book (which is how I found you on YouTube). After watching some of your Ben Hogan videos on youtube, I managed to hit some good consistent shots at the range. So I decided to go all in on stack and tilt and purchased your membership. I started the program around a month ago but I’m really struggling now. I can’t hit the ball like I used to. I am on your 2.8 drill and I’m trying to get it right before I advance on. The ball goes about 50-80 yards with not much ball flight with a 7-iron. I tried your weight forward drill and retraced my steps on the curriculum but I was still unable to fix it.
After watching some videos of my swing I noticed my lead arm elbow rotate inwards in my pre shot routine/setup. I think my issue is with the grip. I don’t feel that it is secure with being in the fingers so in my pre shot routine my hand lifts the club and positions it more in my palm (it almost happens subconsciously). As a result my club face is more closed now so then my lead arm elbow and hands turn inwards to open the club face. I saw that you said a neutral grip with the club more in your fingers is essential for this swing.
I was wondering how would I go about securing my grip in the fingers? Is it done by compressing the thumb on the lead hand with the handle?
Hi @deelaka.14 - Have you viewed this grip video on my YouTube channel? Also, if you search the word "grip" on my channel you will see some others as well, including the "Grip Masterclass". These are consistent with the grip lessons provided here in the school, but perhaps the different explanations may help. It is very important that your attachment to the handle of the club be secure - not tight, but properly secured in the fingers so the club does not move around in your hands at all from start to finish.
As for having a "neutral" grip, you can certainly experiment with this to see what performs best for you. Some players do better with a "stronger" grip - hands turned more to the right for a right-handed player - while others prefer a "weaker" grip. (Hint: strong vs. weak has nothing to do with how far a person hits the ball. Mr. Hogan's grip, for example, would be considered quite weak. He had a tendency to hook the ball, and this grip helped to alleviate that.) In this regard, the "Find Your Natural Grip" YT channel video can be helpful as well.
It is so critically important to nail down Chapter 1's foundational elements prior to proceeding with learning and ingraining the motions in Chapter 2. You need a solid base - grip, stance, posture, ball position, hand position, weight distribution, etc. - upon which to build your swing. If you continue to be challenged with this, I recommend that you consider either an online lesson or a V1 Swing Video Analysis to get you over this hump and on the way towards crispy ball striking!
Tom