Improving your golf swing often means rethinking how much your hands control the club. In this hands-free golf swing tutorial, Golf Digest Top 50 coach Erika Larkin teams up with Performance Golf to introduce a swing approach that minimizes hand intervention—letting your body naturally generate power and control.
Be sure to watch the video on our YouTube channel, and keep reading for three fun drills that will help you rely less on your hands, and more on your body’s natural movement.
The Concept: Less Hands, More Swing Power
The idea isn’t to remove your hands entirely—they still grip the club—but to prevent them from driving the swing entirely. Instead, your hands should follow your body’s motion, not the other way around.
Erika calls this being “passively active.” Your hands hold the club lightly and react to your body’s movement, reducing tension, improving tempo, and eliminating common swing flaws caused by overgripping. See what she means here:
How to Grip the Golf Club for a Hands Free Swing
In the video, we walk through three grip variations that train you to trust your body, encouraging you to worry less about your hands, and more about the body’s movement through the swing.
These specific golf swing drills get you used to swinging the club without the pressure of your pointer finger, encouraging the right movement in other areas and a true “hands free” swing.
Drill 1: The “I Love You” Sign
Hold the club with only your two middle fingers on the trail hand (right hand for right-handed golfers). No firm squeeze—just enough to maintain connection. You’ll notice that you have to initiate the swing from your body since your fingers can’t manipulate the club.
Drill 2: The “Double Guns”
Form finger “guns” with both hands—pointer finger and thumb extended, others loosely holding the grip. This version is a bit more difficult, and further forces you to swing from your core and shoulders instead of meddling with your hands.
Drill 3: The “Peace Sign”
Another two-finger grip, this time using the pointer and middle fingers to make a peace sign. It offers a slightly different feel but emphasizes the same principle: hands simply supporting, not steering.
The Golf Swing Itself: Pendulum Motion
Erika likens this to a pendulum: with minimal grip pressure—just two light fingers—the club swings freely, powered by momentum rather than tension. Gripping with your full hand and squeezing, by contrast, locks the wrists and limits fluid motion. The goal is effortless tempo and natural release.
Get Immediate Swing Feedback
These quick drills offer immediate feedback you can recreate. Practicing a hands free swing has many benefits.
- Using minimal grip, you can still impact the ball cleanly.
- You feel your larger muscles engage, reducing strain in arms and hands.
- Slicers often find the ball turning over more naturally with a hands free swing.
- Golfers prone to hooks enjoy a smoother release.
- Reduced tension means less risk of injury—beneficial for golfers with shoulder, back, or wrist issues.
Making Practice Fun is Beneficial, and Encouraged!
Erika emphasizes the importance of experimentation with these drills to find your true swing. Try these grips with half- to three-quarter swings at the range or even into a net at home. Focus on making contact and feeling the shift of power to your core. Use them as warm-up drills to build trust in a more body‑driven swing.
A “hands‑free” golf swing frees your game from excess tension and micro‑management. By deliberately limiting grip involvement, you allow your body to guide the club, improving tempo, release, and ball striking—all with less effort.
Don’t forget, if you’re really looking to ramp up your golf swing and improve massively in just a few days, check out our Exclusive VIP Golf Experience.
