I found this extract from John Daly's 'The Killer Swing' interesting and believe some of you may also.
WHY THE STRONG POSITION WORKS WONDERS
We’ve already talked about the theory that is accepted by most teachers and golfers; At address, the back of the left hand and the clubface should be square to the target. They claim that from this starting position, it is supposedly easier to duplicate this position at impact. Although this theory sounds logical, there is one major problem with it. I don’t believe that returning the back of the left hand square to the target is a natural position, but rather an unnatural one. Why? Because there is a tremendous amount of stress on the back of the left hand in the impact position when it is directly facing the target.
The natural position that your left hand would like to be in is one in which the back of the left hand is turned slightly upward, into a strong position with the butt of the hand leading the way through impact. This position is clearly shown in the photograph (above). You can see that the emblem on the back of my glove is facing somewhat upward rather than directly at the target.
Let me give you an image that will help you understand what I’m saying. Suppose you wanted to go up to a door and knock on it very forcefully with your left hand. Would you sweep your arm around and hit the door with the very back of your left hand? No, you wouldn’t. Why? Because it would hurt the back of your hand! What you would do instead is bang on the door with the butt of your left hand, because that would give it the strongest blow possible.
In golf, too, you naturally want to deliver the strongest blow possible to the ball, and you will do so if the butt of the hand leads the way through impact. I believe that most golfers will naturally want to bring their left hand through impact this way because they instinctively understand what I’ve just said. I can tell you from my own experience that I’ve hit thousands of balls using a neutral left-hand grip position, and in addition to pretty weak shots all I got was a very sore and tired back of my left hand. So I said, “Forget this, I’m going back to the left-hand position that’s right for me, with the butt of the left hand leading, the left thumb at just about two o’clock on the grip, and the V pointing to the right shoulder.”
I’d like to add here that when I place my left thumb on the shaft, I don’t extend it as far down as possible but rather inch the thumb up slightly in what is called the ‘short’ thumb position. This minor adjustment feels secure to me and also, I believe, allows me to make a fuller wrist cock at the top of my backswing.
Of course, as you assume this left-hand position, you should be aligning the leading edge of your clubface square to the target.
I’ve explained the left-hand position in detail because if you position the left hand correctly, the right should follow. Always keep in mind that you want your right palm to match up with your left palm, so that the V between the right thumb and forefinger points to your right shoulder.
A final point regarding my preference for a fairly strong grip position is that I’m not insisting that you place your hands on the club exactly the way I do. Experiment on the practice tee and go with the position that produces the most consistently straight ball flight for you. Quite possibly you may wish to turn your hands a little further to the right on the club handle than I do, or possibly a little less. But I firmly believe that the correct position for the vast majority of golfers is one with the hands turned slightly further to the right than what to date has been considered the neutral position.
