The way you grip a golf club before taking a swing can have a huge impact on the success of your shot. While there are many different golf grips, there are three common grips that most people use: the overlapping grip, the baseball grip, and the interlocking grip. Each of these grips has a slight difference in hand placement, but they are all based on the same basic rules. We’ll review the basic rules before sharing the alternations needed for each of the three most popular grips.

To begin gripping a club, start with the club directly in front of you with the club head pointing away from you at a 45 degree angle. Then grip your club with your nondominant hand (for most people this will be the hand they do not write with). The club will mainly be in the palm of your hand, across the pads at the base of your fingers. However, it will also lie across the first section of your index finger. Position your thumb so that it is straight on top of the shaft of the club; relative to the golf club, your thumb will be in the twelve o’clock position. Now, with your dominant hand (the one you write with; for most people this will be their right hand), grip the golf club just below your other hand (your dominant hand should be closer to the head of the club). But for this hand, instead of placing the club in your palm, hold it in your fingers. When you have the club properly placed in your hands the thumb of your dominate hand will be positioned slightly off to the left of the center of the club (at the eleven o’clock position). At this point, if you have gripped the golf club correctly, only the first two knuckles on your nondominant (or for most people left) hand will be visible. In addition, the index finger of your dominant hand will look and feel like a gun trigger finger. Also, be sure that the thumb of your nondominant hand is under your dominant hand.

Now that you know the basics of the golf grip its time to learn a little more about the three most common variations and how to use them:

• The overlapping grip is the most common golf grip. It is mostly used by male golfers and those with strong wrists and forearms. In this grip, the little finger of the dominant hand (the one lower on the club) lies on top of or overlaps the index finger of the other hand.

• The baseball grip is most commonly used by younger golfers, females, seniors, and those with weaker wrists and arms. In this grip, the little finger of the dominant hand touches the index finger of the nondominant hand, but does not overlap or interlock.

• The interlocking grip is often used by golfers who have shorter hands and fingers, those with thicker or chunkier palms, and golfers who have difficulty with the other grips. For this grip, the little finger of the dominant hand overlaps and interlocks with the index finger of the other hand.

You may want to try all three grips to see which is most comfortable and works best for you. However, regardless of which grip you use, you should lightly grasp the club (rather than tightly clutching it). If the pressure of your grip is right, the club could almost, but not quite be pulled out of your hands. You should feel as if you are holding the club mostly in the palm of you dominant hand and the last three fingers of your other hand. Make sure that both hands hold the club with equal pressure.

While a correct golf grip doesn’t guarantee a successful swing, an incorrect one will almost always result in a failed one.