What is the "helicopter"??

Spring is officially here! My 7th season at Pinehills Golf Club is also here and so does another great year for the millions of golfers in this world. As you dust off your clubs this spring make sure you take an extra look at your grips. Did you know that grips that are worn and slick even a little bit will add strokes to your score. Why is this true you ask? Well, I will give you a very simple answer. The more slick and worn your grips are the tighter to hold on to them so you don’t helicopter* one off of your playing partners head. (* helicopter…a golf club flying out of a golfers hands for one of three reasons. 1. it slipped 2. you are working on your release with the club throwing drill 3. you just shanked your third ball in a row. For those of you that I have given the club throwing drill, by the way also fun at parties, slick grips are ok just don’t do it in the house.) The tighter you hold onto the club, the more tension you create in your body. Tension is a very, very bad word in a golf instructor’s vocab. Tension makes it very difficult to have a repeatable swing which leads to poor ball contact and higher scores. Bottom line…if your grips are worn and slick, go see your pro and he or she will get you into a new set of grips that are right for you. For those of you keeping score at home, I have re-gripped my clubs with Golf Pride DD2 grips. These grips not only look cool they also have a great feel to them. If you have any questions please feel free to comment or send me an email. Hit it straight but if you don’t go find it anyways and hit it again.