The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods (36 page)

Weak Grip

When the left thumb rests more on the top of the club handle (in a right-handed golfer). At address, the golfer would look down and see fewer than two knuckles, and in an extremely weak grip, barely one knuckle. In a weak grip, the club tends to be held more in the palms. Because such a grip restricts hand rotation through the ball, it tends to be favored by players who are seeking accuracy more than power. Tiger weakened his grip shortly after I became his coach.

Up and Down

The act of taking two strokes to hole out from areas within about 50 yards of the putting surface, including sand bunkers. For a professional golfer “getting up and down” usually means “saving” a par, but it can also produce a birdie on a par 5 after a player has gotten near the green in two shots. Getting up and down consistently requires both skill and creativity with short shots, and a sure putting stroke.

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