Its all in the grip size

Just to share a simple & true story (I just exchanged emails with my friend in the States).

I have a friend who is now in the States.
He started golf in Singapore and was taking lessons on a regular basis.

Just before he left for US, his game took a nosedive.
Everytime he went back to his coach, he would have something new to change.

One of our last game together, he actually walked off the course in the middle of a round.

Now he is in California and after trying at the range and still not hitting the ball, he finally went to a coach (Mark Reid, http://www.markreidgolf.com/about-mark/).

His reponse after his FIRST class of 30 mins...."30 mins with Mark is better than 6 months with XXX (his coach in Singapore)"

He said that he was hitting the ball more solidly and swing is now more compact and swing speed increased as a result.

One of the key change......was the grip size.

Mark Reid told him that "standard off the shelves" grips were too small for him (he is not big but probably had big hands), resulting in him either gripping harder or the club slipping out of position.

Something trivial like grip size but it took the fun out of the game for my friend.

Get fitted by a qualified and experienced fitter, get qualified instructions from a certified instructor.
No doubt your might like the look of a particular club or the shop assistant's honest recommendation or your friend's advice but something as trivial as the grip size could be stopping you from playing much better golf.

100% agree. Our swing are all start from our grip. Proper grip, good swing.

totally agree with you,

but i guess a good experience fitter should able to give advise on the grip size too..maybe the instructor are more focus on swing mechanic, that is why less focus on matter like grip size...

just my guessing only..keke

snowman[left]

Agree that an good fitter would be able to advice.
Getting fitted correctly (if possible) before making the purchase is best.
If not then would incur extra cost to change the shaft, grip etc.

I wonder how many of us would check the professional credentials of the coaches before taking up lessons? I know Australia has its teaching classification with AAA rating being the highest and US has its own rating/ classification. Singapore was thinking of doing it something similar to the Australian model but not sure if they have started.

I see a few Singapore coaches only state "certified member of Singapore PGA" without reference to any grading/ rating.

Even for fitters, do we ask to see their certifcation?