What should you be looking for in a good grip?

The left hand is best when you look down and see two knuckles. A stronger grip, more than two knuckles, is better than a weak grip.

When grabbing the club, you want the grip in your fingers. Imagine the grip you use to hold a hammer. Never put the club so far back that it’s in your lifeline.

While the left hand is important, the key to the grip is the right hand. Why? Because you want you right palm (left for left-handed players) to be in the same angle as the clubface.

With a bad right-hand grip, when your right arm is fully extended at impact, it could cause the ball to go either left or right.

What is the correct position for the right-hand grip?

Place a tee or pencil at the top of the “V” formed by your thumb and index finer of your right hand.

You now want the instrument to be pointing straight down the shaft as you look down at the grip. If the pencil is pointing right of the shaft your grip is strong. If it’s pointing left of the shaft, it’s a weak grip.

You can practice the grip and hit balls with the pencil in place. On the backswing or follow through, you can also use the pencil to see if the clubface is closed or open when parallel to the shaft. If the pencil is pointing left of the shaft in this position, the clubface is closed. To the right, it’s open.

A better grip leads to better shots. The pencil will tell.

— Bob E . Smith is a PGA professional at Olivas Links and the men’s golf coach at Ventura College. He can be reached at 444-0333.