grip adjustment

hi all

after being down the range tonight getting a bit of practice ready for the match saturday i (somewhat streangely) noticed that i seem to be doing some thing wrong

why i havnt noticed this before is a complete mystery to me

what happened is i gripped down the shaft of my irons by roughly 1" and instead of drawing/hooking my shots i was hitting them straighter (some with a very slight draw) and felt a hell of lot better

this seems very strange as my last round i shot lvl par for the back nine and was holding my clubs the same as when i first got them

i have mizuno mx23 irons off the shelf not fitted

i have a few questions relating to this

1. have i been doing something wrong initially that for some unknown reason has not come to light untill recently

2 has my swing changed since last weeks amazing nine holes

3 why have i only just noticed this change after having these clubs for 2yrs

4 does this explain why i have been drawing/ hooking my irons for the last few months

5 wtf do i know about golf and its internal workings

6 should i just carry on like i was at the start and grip it at the top of the club

or am i just stupid and i should have been gripping down the shaft from the start

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

regards 

darren

It is a well know fact that gripping down the club aids control, obviously because the dispersion rate will be tighter with the  smaller arc due to gripping down the shaft.

Personally, Darren I just feel that you are now beginning to understand how the club should be swung and are at ease with the way you are currently playing. Nothing like nice consistent shotmaking to bolster ones confidence.

Look how far down the club the USA Pro Kim holds it.

Darren

I'll explain the mechanics of what you're doing tomorrow, it may help you to understand why you're doing it and why it works.  It may or may not help, but I reckon John has hit the nail on the head with his analysis.

That was the way I was taught by the pro, always leave about an inch of grip at the top, and I still do it now, not that I'm knocking down flag sticks or anything but I just assumed everyone did it. 

Very glad that i read this post,played today and tried gripping down a little,striking the ball felt much better and cleaner, in the past i've nearly always faded/sliced with the fairway woods but today the ball was flying much straighter.my gross score was 100 but would have broken the 100 if not for one bad hole the, 17th were i took a 9 and then proceeded to birdie the par 5 18th. three pars and a birdie today very good for me, hope i can keep it up. playing in a medal on wednesday (weather permitting,thunder storms forcast) so hoping to break the 100 and get my club handicap down.