Regardless of skill-level, every golfer on Earth has had a round that felt like “army golf.” A shot to the left, a shot to the right, the next one too high, the following shot “burning worms” as it scuttles across the ground.
In other words, we’ve all had days that feel like no part of our game is going smoothly.
We’re here to teach you a hidden golf set-up technique that can add exponentially more control, repeatability, and accuracy to your golf game.
Table of Contents
How Hand Position Affects Your Golf Game:
An easy way to think about your general “hand position” while setting up to the golf ball is focusing on where the handle of your golf club points related to your body.
The most common hand position flaws we see in amateur and recreational golfers are reverse shaft lean or too much forward shaft lean.
Effects of Reverse Shaft Lean
Reverse shaft lean adds much more loft to the golf club than it was designed to have.
This reverse leaning shaft position often results in skulled shots (from hitting the equator of the golf ball), slices, or topped shots that only roll a few yards.
Effects of Too Much Forward Shaft Lean
Excessive forward shaft lean de-lofts the golf club and will simultaneously restrict your ability to get your shots airborne with any back-spin.
Too much forward shaft lean results in chunked shots, hooks, or “stinger” type shots that will never have enough height or spin to hold a green!
How to Create Perfect Hand Position At Address in Golf
After following our advice on creating the perfect posture for your golf swing and building your “standard stance” to the golf ball, simply point the handle of your golf club just forward of the fly on your pants!
This amount of *slight* forward shaft lean is simulating the ideal impact position, creating a golf swing that begins and makes impact in the same way for greater repeatability!
This “grip pointing just forward of the zipper” reminder is something we check on a literal daily basis to ensure our general set-up is as fundamentally solid and consistent as possible!
Perfect Hand Position with Wedges
While there are near-endless variations of shots you can hit with wedges, for most “standard wedge shots” the handle of your club should be pointing just in front of your zipper (Refer to third image above).
If you want to hit a low wedge shot that runs, your hands should move closer to your target to lower the loft of your club and flight. This also closes the face and allows you to hit steeper at the ball steeper.
If you want to hit a high wedge shot with more spin, playing the ball further forward in your stance with less shaft lean will present more loft to the ball at impact. This opens the face and introduces more wrist to the swing, allowing you to hit the ball higher naturally.
Perfect Hand Position with Irons
Once again, after creating a stance you’re comfortable with, feel your handle pointing just forward (toward the target) of your zipper! Refer to the third image above!
The same idea with wedges applies with irons. Slightly more forward shaft lean will naturally lower the ball flight while moving the ball forward in your stance and having slightly less shaft lean will raise the ball flight!
Perfect Hand Position with Driver
In case you don’t already know, your ideal ball position with the driver is forward of center and more in-line with your leading heel.
This ball position naturally creates a shaft position that’s more vertically straight or even angled ever so slightly backwards (to present the face to the ball with as much of the driver’s loft as possible for greater apex height and more carry distance) but it still points just forward of your zipper!
This ball position naturally creates a shaft position that’s more vertically straight or even angled ever so slightly backwards (to present the face to the ball with as much of the driver’s loft as possible for greater apex height and more carry distance) but it still points just forward of your zipper!
Another Helpful Tip!
If you want to make sure you have a slight amount of forward shaft lean with your hands at address you can quickly check by releasing your trailing hand from the club and keeping your leading hand in its standard position.
If you have the correct shoulder angle at set-up and the proper hand position at address, your trailing hand should slightly lower and fall back more in-line with your trailing foot!
Summary of the Hand Position in the Golf Setup
In golf, how you position your hands at the start is critical for control and accuracy. To get it right, make sure the club handle aligns correctly with your body. Avoid extremes like leaning the shaft too far back (which leads to bad shots) or leaning it too far forward. For a regular shot, position the club handle just ahead of your pants’ fly for a slight forward lean. With wedges, aim closer to your zipper, adjusting for different shots. When using irons, have some shaft lean to strike the ball better. For the driver, place the ball forward to gain distance while maintaining the handle near your zipper. To ensure proper hand position, check if your trailing hand lines up with your trailing foot.
Hope that helps! Getting your hands right enhances control and consistency in your golf game, so it’s crucial you drill this into your golf setup.
