Mastering golf with Papwa Sewgolum’s unique grip

There could have been many beneficial factors taken from Papwa Sewgolum had he graced us for a little more years to come.

The mindset to become a world champion and to conquer all obstacles against him would have served a great inspiration for golfers far and wide.

December 10th would have marked the 96th Birthday for this legend and I found this the perfect opportunity to draw a tip from his game as a tribute to my grandad.

While there are many golf tips to take out from Papwa, I have chosen two that stand out for me as coach and something most golfers can learn. As we know the golf grip for a right handed golfer is left hand above and right hand below.

Papwa made his unique grip famous as he went on to grip the golf club using the reverse method; right hand above, left hand below.

If he had sought a golf coach or lesson, this would likely have been the first aspect to change.

Papwa never bothered about this and went on to use a grip he was comfortable with. This required complete trust in his set up and golf play within himself, knowing that this would be his grip for all walks of his golfing life.

Using this reverse grip he went on to win the Dutch Open, three times and many other pro tournaments.

The lesson we can take from this is to find trust within our game and play to your strengths. Having that strong confidence in your own unique set up can be a huge factor in achieving your goals.

The next tip we can use from the legend is to practice the grip he used. On the backswing we sometimes take the golf club too far inside or outside the line.

This delivery position would be incorrect at the top of the golf swing and we will have to be really compensating to get the club back square at impact.

Try the papwa grip next time on the range. Start with a chip and then some longer irons. You will be amazed at how much more square you take the club back on the upswing.

Let’s grab these tips from Papwa and use his spirit to get our golf games to much higher achievements while we strive to improve. Catch you on the fairways!

– Sewgolum is a PGA AA golf professional, Golf Pro for Saudi Aramco and was voted Top 5 International PGA professional for the year 2022.