Impact of Grip Size + 5 bad habits


Last week, we released one of the videos I'm most proud of creating. The buzz and feedback have been incredible!

Make sure to watch it here!

Here's my golf story from the last week...

Played in a week long stroke play + match play tournament all week. Super fun!

Here's how I started my second match...

Walked up to the first green looked in my bag and there was no putter.

Somehow I left my putter on the practice green. Must have leaned it up against my bag and then walked off and it fell into the grass.

I had no idea where it was.

Made par on the first hole and then made a 6 foot birdie putt with my wedge on the second. What in the world!

I was frantically calling the pro shop and a spectator from the group thankfully went back and helped look for it.

Finally, the pro shop found the putter and got it to me by the third green.

Honestly after that things went great.

But when I got to the 8-9th hole I started to feel just horrible.

I was walking and it was a hot humid MN summer day.

Made sure to keep drinking hydration powder and had a protein bar. Totally thought it would pass.

But it just got worse.

Things got really bad.

Somehow ended up -5 through 12 holes 😂. And then the body just gave out. Ended up bogeying a few coming in and lost the match.

Never felt so bad on the course.

Somehow made it back to the place I was staying.

Ended up throwing up all night and eventually recovering 24 hours later.

Anyone else had heat exhaustion / stroke on the course.

I never want that to happen again!

What a round!

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⭐️ Interesting ideas from the week:

👋 Does grip size dictate shot shape?

The good folks at Ping did a great test to figure out this idea of grip size and shot shape.

I think most of us have heard that a large grip would lead to a fade. But does it?

  • Traditional Beliefs: Larger grips are believed to be harder to rotate, leading to fades; smaller grips promote an early release, resulting in draws.
  • Test Setup: PING conducted a two-part test with 18 golfers to understand grip size effects on driver performance. Three grip sizes were tested: Blue (-1/16”), White (Std.), and Orange (+1/16”).
  • Swing Weight and MOI: Swing weight remained constant across grips, but the total club weight and Moment of Inertia (MOI) varied. Larger grips required heavier club heads to balance swing weight.
  • Results of First Test: Larger grips led to a more open face angle and increased offline distance. Statistically significant differences were found, suggesting grip size affects performance.
  • Second Test: All variables except grip size were controlled. No significant differences in face angle or offline distance were found, indicating total weight and MOI, not grip size, affect performance.
  • Recommendations: To maintain preferred shot bias with larger grips, keep the club head weight the same as with standard grips. Future research will explore the relationship between hand size, club delivery methods, and grip size.
Changing the total weight and club MOI were the primary sources of the change in club delivery, not the grip size.

🤬 Bad habits that have held me back:

I recently went on a podcast and was asked to talk about bad habits golfers have.

For me I've had all of these at one point or another in my golf career and every time I've recognized it and changed it's helped with big gains.

Bad Habit #1: Aiming for the Middle of the Fairway

Aiming for the middle of the fairway often backfires. Your driver spreads shots across a 75-80 yard area.

Instead, pick a target that accounts for this spread. Scott Fawcett’s DECADE system really showed my this concept and helped me get more aggressive and make better tee shot selections.


Bad Habit #2: Not Having a Go-To Club

Do you have a club you can rely on under pressure?

Find a go-to club and practice until you can hit it consistently. Most people don't practice this shot enough and don't have confidence in it.

Coach Will with The Scoring Method has really helped me understand the importance of this one!

This will be your secret weapon to keep the ball in play.


Bad Habit #3: Always Trying to Save Par

Trying to save par from difficult positions often leads to double bogeys.

Play it safe: hit the ball onto the green, take two putts, and move on. A bogey is fine but a double can kill a round.


Bad Habit #4: No System to Reduce Tension

Find ways to lower tension.

Techniques like walking meditation and the 54321 exercise help you stay present and reduce stress.


Bad Habit #5: Practicing Without Feedback

Practice without feedback rarely leads to improvement.

Use a coach, video analysis, or training aids.

Set clear goals and incorporate challenges into your practice to simulate real-course scenarios.

Here's the full podcast if you want to hear me ramble on about these ideas :)

video preview

Thanks for tuning in this week! Have a good one.

-Cordie


✍️ Written By: Cordie Walker.

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