.38 Special’s Golf Tip

After the weekend’s terrible Saturday round, I went to the range on Sunday to try to see if I figure out what was wrong with my swing. But even at the range, all of my shots seemed to fall even shorter than usual. My husband said it was because of the cold weather.

But I knew it wasn’t. After practicing, I did notice that my fingers and left forearm were sore. That could only mean one thing: my grip was too tight. I had been so focused on trying to keep my left arm straight and my wrist hinged that I didn’t realize my fingers were squeezed around the club like a boa constrictor.

One of the first rules of golf is to keep a loose grip on the club, like you’re holding a live bird – tight enough so it doesn’t fly away but loose enough so you don’t squeeze it to death. I’ve never held a live bird, so I really have no idea what that’s supposed to feel like, but I’m pretty sure if I gripped a bird the way I gripped my golf clubs at the range, I’d have gotten bird guts all over my shoes.

Gross? Perhaps. But I think that’s a decent image to keep me from gripping my clubs too tight. That, and the lyrics of a certain classic rock band who once sang, “Hold on loosely… but don’t let go… If you cling too tightly…you’re gonna lose control…”

So true, Mr. Van Zant, so true…