How you place your left pinky on the golf grip impacts the way your wrist rotates throughout the golf swing. The worst thing you can do with your left pinky on the golf grip is to rest it on the grip just like your other fingers. This creates the ten-finger, or baseball grip, and will inhibit the mobility your wrist needs to control the club face correctly.
For a more fluid golf swing, stick with an interlock or overlap golf grip. We’ll show you how to achieve both grip styles here and will show you the one that’s more recommended for beginners.
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Interlocking vs. Overlapping Golf Grip Popularity
| Interlocking Grip | Overlapping Grip | Ten-Finger Grip | ||
| Votes | 297 | 163 | 66 | Total Votes = 526 |
| Female Votes | 74 | 27 | 9 | Total Female Votes = 110 |
| Male Votes | 223 | 136 | 57 | Total Male Votes = 416 |
Based on a survey with 526 participants, the Interlocking Grip was the most popular grip amongst the interlock, overlap, and ten-finger, with 54% saying they use the Interlocking Grip, 30% using the overlapping grip, and 13% with the ten-finger grip. For females, 67% voted for the interlocking grip while just 54% of males who voted used the interlocking grip.
Contrary to belief, this statistic busts the myth that almost every golfer uses the overlapping grip. Plus, with 13% siding with the ten-finger grip, it shows that the ten-finger grip is also favored by a handful of golfers.
So what makes the interlocking and overlapping grip so popular (both taking up close to 40-50%) when it comes to holding the golf club? We’ll cover this here.
The Interlocking Golf Grip
The interlock golf grip is established when the right pinky and left index finger cross over between one another. This wedges your right pinky in-between the index and middle finger of your left hand.
It’s the most popular golf grip to date and it’s popular among some of the best golfers like Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, and Rickie Fowler. This means it’s likely a grip you guys should try too!
Advantages of the Interlocking Grip
With so many golfers using the interlock grip, including many of the best players in the world, there have to be some advantages with the interlock grip besides just comfort. Some additional advantages include:
- Helps with creating more firmness on the grip
- Great for golfers who have smaller hands
- Great for most children, female golfers, and most men
- Hands feel together instead of one dominating over the other
Disadvantages of the Interlocking Grip
However, just because most golfers use the interlocking grip, doesn’t mean you should too. The interlocking grip comes with its own set of consequences:
- For some, this grip applies too much grip pressure in the palm of both hands instead of the fingers
- May feel like you’re right hand is ‘stuck’ during the downswing, leading to a poor release of the golf club
Overlapping Golf Grip (Vardon Grip)
The overlapping/ vardon grip is the second most popular grip and is established by resting the right pinky on top of the notch created between middle finger and index finger of the left hand. Some golfers like Jon Rahm prefer to place the pinky on top of the right index-finger, in other words, there’s more than one way to do it!
Golfers you may know who use the overlapping grip are Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, and Dustin Johnson.
Advantages of the Overlapping Grip
Recently, I swapped over from the interlocking to the overlapping golf grip. For me, I don’t struggle too much with an overdominant right hand taking over my golf swing. Some advantaged I noticed with the overlapping grip are that it:
- Makes the hands feel free/ loose, resulting in a smoother golf swing
- Creates more space for the hands to pronate during impact, hitting balls straighter
- The pinky position allows the hand to still feel in-sync with the golf swing while promoting this additional freedom of motion in your wrist
- Great for golfers with larger hands as they tend to struggle with freedom of motion in the wrist
Disadvantages of the Overlapping Grip
Just like the interlocking grip, the overlapping grip also has its own set of consequences which include:
- Overlapping grips can introduce an overdominant right-hand into your golf swing, leading to going over-the-top or closing the face too much on impact
- Most beginners will feel uncomfortable with this grip when they first try it
FAQ About Both Grips
Is it Better to Overlap or Interlock the Golf Grip?
The most popular grip is the interlocking grip at 54%, for most beginners, interlocking may be something more comfortable for them! However, play around with both and find one that’s best for you.
Can I Swap Between Grips?
Though only 3% of golfers showed that they swap between grips, I believe more golfers swap between the interlocking and overlapping grips than what’s shown in this 3%. I’ve known many golfers who swap between the interlocking, overlapping, and even the ten-finger grip depending on the type of golf club they use!
A buddy of mine uses the ten-finger grip for his wedges! He says it makes him feel the head of the wedge better when chipping from the side of the green, and he’s an awesome chipper.
Do You Use These Grips on The Putter?
Golfers shouldn’t use the interlocking, overlapping, or the ten-finger grip on the putter. Instead, the most popular putting grip consists mainly of the conventional/ reverse-overlap, the claw grip, and the left-hand low grip. These grips are specifically suited for the putting stroke instead of the golf swing.
Summary Interlocking vs. Overlapping Grip
By now, we know the interlocking grip is the most popular grip among every golfers. Chances are if you’re new to golf, I’d try the interlock grip first. However, it’s all based on personal preference and which grip helps you hit the ball better at the end of the day.
