Placing the hands on the golf club has always been the first and one of the most important components of a golf swing. The reason is that the positioning of the fingers around the grip of the club sets the alignment of the wrists and has the greatest influence on the clubface position.

The goal of your golf grip is to align the clubface square to the hand position. Clockwise or counterclockwise rotation on the grip will alter face position at impact, potentially causing a sliced or hooked shot. Also, the hand pressure a player squeezes the club with influences timing, speed and control. Finally, how far up or down the hands are placed on the shaft alters the club's effective length, which effects posture and distance.

The grip used by Jim Barnes when he won the inaugural PGA Championship in 1916 was designed for use with leather-wrapped grips set around wood shafts. These grips were sized by the shaft dimensions, not the player, and were less padded than today's molded and special composite grips.

Today's grips come in various sizes, shapes and materials to match the preferences of individual players. Many of today's grips also have markings to help a player set a consistent grip position, and some practice grips are actually molded so beginning players will know exactly where to put their hands each time they grip the club (these are training grips and not for use in competition).

Having a grip put on your club that fits your hand size and comfort level is a simple and necessary part of the club fitting process, which leads me to remind you that April will mark the second annual installment of PGA Free Fitting & Trade Up Month, in which participating PGA Professionals are offering free 15-minute fitting sessions to help you make sure that the equipment you are using is right for you.

Holding the Club

Positioning of the hands by Barnes and other players of the leather-wrapped era required specific finger positions and pressure points. The top hand tended to be rotated farther to the trail side to help control the torque of the wooden shaft. The fingers were forced to grip with more pressure as the grips had less traction than today's grips. The pressure in the grip was applied by the thumbs and first two fingers of each hand. This allowed for greater wrist hinging.

The modern grip of today places the top hand more straight on top of the shaft and pressure points are under the heel pad and with the three top fingers. The bottom hand is also more in line with the top of the shaft and its pressure is applied in the first two fingers. This positioning allows the top wrist to align better with the arm.

Nothing keeps a player from making progress in golf like a bad grip. If you are having trouble getting your clubface square on impact, there is a high probability that the problem starts with your grip. These problems can be corrected with the help of a PGA Professional. To find one in your area, and to determine if he or she is participating in PGA Free Fitting and Trade Up Month, visit www.PlayGolfAmerica.com and use the zip code search.

Until next time, here's to better golf!

Rick Martino is Director of Instruction for The PGA of America. He teaches at the PGA Learning Center in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and is ranked among the Top 50 instructors by Golf Digest Magazine. The author of the PGA Manual of Golf (Warner Books/$34.95), Martino can be reached at (800) 800-GOLF or by email at pgalearningcenter@pgahq.com.