10 Finger Golf Grip Vs. The Interlocking Grip – Which Is Best?

If you are new to golf, you have very likely been told to hold the golf club with all ten fingers. This is not bad advice as there are several benefits to the ten-finger golf grip. We have put together some information to try and help you decide between the ten-finger and the interlocking grip. Ultimately it would be best if you chose something that works for you.

Many people say that golfers with smaller hands do better with an interlocking or ten-finger grip; however, from personal experience, I don’t always believe this to be true. The best grip for your golf game is the one that feels the best when you swing the golf club.

 

What Is The 10 Finger Grip

The 10 finger grip is also commonly known as the ‘Baseball grip’ as it is almost the exact way way you would grip a baseball.

The 10 finger grip can be achieved (For Right Handers) by:

  • Holding the golf club with the club head pointing towards the sky.
  • Your left hand should be closest to the club head with the thumb around the index finger and closest to the club head.
  • The right hand should be touching the left pinky with the index and the thumb and should be held closes to the end of the grip on the golf club.

 

Ten Finger Golf Grip – Benefits

One of the best benefits of the ten-finger grip is its simplicity. It is by far the best grip for beginners to learn and this is a grip that you probably used on a baseball bat when you were a kid. Although there are a few modifications to make, it is not entirely impossible to get a ten-finger grip mastered in a matter of a few days.

Another great thing about the ten-finger grip is that it helps golfers who have not yet learned how to release a golf club properly. The ten-finger grip is known for letting the right hand take a little more active roll in your swing.

Having that right hand slightly more involved can help work against the slice and get the club turned over.

Lastly, the other great benefit of the ten-finger grip is that it is suitable for people with smaller hands. Juniors who have a hard time getting their hands around the golf club will benefit significantly from a ten-finger setup until their hands start to grow.

 

What Is The Interlocking Golf Grip

The interlocking grip is similar to the 10 finger grip except you place the pinky of your right hand between the index and the middle finger of the right which should give you more control over the club, especially if you have smaller hands.

 

Interlocking Golf Grip- Benefits

The interlocking golf grip can give a golfer who is unsure about their grip a lot more confidence. An interlocking grip feels like the strongest and most secure grip on the golf club. When using an interlocking grip, you will feel as though you have both power and control.

One of the main benefits of this added power is the fact that you can get some extra clubhead speed. If you are starting to increase your speed, the interlocking grip can undoubtedly help you gain even more and improve your overall speed in your game.

The interlocking golf grip is excellent for players with small hands that feel as though the club may slip out of their hands. If you do feel as though the golf club is just too big for your hands, check to make sure you are playing with a club that has the right grip size.

Which Is Better Ten Finger Or Interlocking?

Now that you have seen the benefits of the two golf grips, how can you determine which is better?

There are a few things to know about the downsides of each of these grips that may help you decide which is better overall.

The ten-finger grip is not always intended to be a long term solution. Sometimes this is considered a beginners grip, and after a few years, a player should switch grips. The reason behind this is because the right hand has too much control in the swing.

When it comes to short game and control, you do not want your swing to be led or controlled by the right hand. When you switch to the interlocking grip, your hands will start to work together quite a bit more. The hands working together will lead to better tempo and better timing.

How Do I Know What Is The Best Grip For Me?

Knowing which grip is the best for you can take a bit of time. Many golfers will start with one grip and eventually switch to another. You have to see what works most naturally with your golf game and your swing to make a final decision as to what grip is going to work for you.

Taking a golf lesson is going to also help give you some direction as to which grip will be best. A golf professional can see how the grip is impacting your swing plane.

If you are a person that slices the golf ball and you have been using an overlapping grip, it may be worth switching your hands around a bit to see what works out better. Most golfers will play around with a few different grips for the first year or so of their golfing career and then choose one to stick with for the long term.

 

Can You Use Different Grips For Drivers And Irons?

It is very rare to use a different grip for your drivers and your irons. Using a different grip between an iron and a putter is a little bit more common and acceptable. The problem with using a different grip between drivers and irons is that there are too many variables.

When you are playing golf, the clubs change, the weather changes, your stance changes, your lie changes, and more. If you start changing your grip between each hole, you are setting yourself for too much change, and it will likely cause some inconsistencies in your golf game.

 

 

What Grip Do Most Pros Use?


The majority of professional golfers use an overlap or an interlocking grip. It is rare to find a professional that is using a ten-finger grip, but it certainly is possible. Many professionals like the overlap grip because it helps them have a much lighter grip pressure. Sometimes the ten-finger and the interlocking make a player grab onto the club much tighter, and this causes increases in grip pressure.

Pros want to have a light grip so that they can get the most rotation and speed out of their golf shots. When you grip the club too hard and try and over-control things, it can become more challenging to hit the proper golf shots.

 

What Grip Does Tiger Woods Use

Even though many professionals use the overlap grip, Tiger Woods uses an interlock. In fact, Jack Nicklaus also used the interlocking grip. This is a pretty powerful duo that makes the interlocking grip move up a bit further on the popularity list.

Both of these players have been able to manage their grip pressure well enough to win tournaments even while interlocking the fingers. One of the main reasons that Tiger uses the interlocking grip is because of his swing speed and the control he wants over it as he gets through impact.

 

 

Can I Switch From One Grip To Another?

Yes, you can change your grip at any time; the problem is that when you change your golf grip, you can expect to feel uncomfortable over the golf ball for quite some time. The grip is the only connection with the golf club. When you start making changes to the grip, it will significantly impact your ability to swing the club confidently.

 

What Are The Different Types Of Putter Grips And What’s The Best?

Where standard golf grips are generally a choice between ten-finger, interlocking and overlapping, when it comes to putting, there are additional options. Since a putter does not need to be swung in the same way that iron or driver does, there are lots of different ways that you can hold a putter.

Most of the putting grips are designed to help a player have a more consistent stroke that incorporates more of the larger muscles in the body and not the hands and wrists.

  • Standard Putting Grip: The standard putting grip can be the grip you use on all of your clubs, or it can be a standard ten-finger grip; both are quite popular on the putting green.
  • Cross Handed Grip: A cross-handed grip is where you put your left hand lower on the club than your right hand. The cross-handed grip makes it harder for players to move their wrists around during their stroke. The wrists are going to be locked in place along the sides of the golf shaft, and it keeps things more stable.
  • The Claw: The claw grip has gained popularity in recent years. With the claw grip, you keep your left hand in place and then use just the thumb and index finger of your right hand to help guide the club along. Again, this putting grip is designed to give a player more control with the left hand and keep any wrist action out of the putting stroke.

 

Conclusion

Hopefully, our guide to the ten-finger verse the interlocking grip gave you some insight into how similar these two grips are. One of the easier grip transitions to make is from the ten-finger to the interlocking. This transition is very natural and will very likely not throw off your swing as much as something like an interlocking to an overlapping can.

It is ok to experiment with certain types of golf grips on the driving range, however before you make your way to the first tee, make sure that you have a good idea as to what your plan is.