switching from righty to lefty a good idea (for a lefty?)

[RoyHotPower]

I'm left handed, defiantly left hand dominant, and never swung a golf club left handed before today because I had a hard time swinging a bat left handed as a kid.  I batted right handed full time, and never gave it another thought.  Then took up golf in college, using right handed clubs as well.

I'm 7 weeks into taking lessons and we've been at an impasse now with my lower body moving and my coach had me swing a left handed club for him.  Without thinking about it other than the grip, I just swung a few times and was AMAZED at the lack of movement that has been plaguing me for weeks in the video I saw.  The grip is odd, gut I can feel my left hand pushing the club through the downswing.  I say that because my right hand always felt passive before - this was a new sensation.

He asked me if I was willing to try using the left handed club for a week just to see. I'm willing to give it a try.  What do you think?

[newtogolf]

Can't hurt.  I just read Jason Dufner is a 20 handicap playing left handed.

[RoyHotPower]

I agree - can't hurt.  If anything it is going to take my mind of the stuff I'm seeing from the right side

[Lihu]

I definitely see a difference in the speed and accuracy I can hit left handed versus right handed. Even though I just started hitting right handed, I can feel the difference.

When I first started golf, I used right handed clubs. However, my son and I are naturally left handed. So, I picked up his kids club, and shot straight and far with it as compared to my right handed shots with adult clubs.

So, I bought a left handed set of cheap clubs, and found it was more natural.

However, if you had been playing baseball right handed, your muscle memory might be ingrained to right side hitting. So, in your case it might be better right handed.

I am also ambidextrous (almost 50/50 for most normal things like writing, cutting and even most sports like tennis and hockey), but in golf, definitely stronger and more natural left handed.

Just out of curiosity, I am wondering why it took 7 weeks for your coach to ask? Also, what prompted him to ask?

[RoyHotPower]

Originally Posted by Lihu

...Just out of curiosity, I am wondering why it took 7 weeks for your coach to ask? Also, what prompted him to ask?

This was based on 3 factors.

1). During practice, we got my shoulder rotation to where it should but had to remove lower body to get there; my problem has been that instead of turning my hips, I rotate my back and end up throwing left hip pin ward and stiffening up my right leg.  This creates all sorts of movement for me.  Up to this point no matter how much I drill/practice, I can't commit to muscle memory.

2). Yesterday we had a drill where I was supposed to throw a golf ball towards the net like a pitcher in baseball would - to feel the transfer of weight and power.  I told coach I'd look like a girl if I tried since I was left handed (In their database, there is only one table for 'handedness'.  He just forgot that I was left handed).

3). My coach was goofing around over the weekend and played a round with left handed clubs.  He said how awkward it felt for him and when I mentioned I couldn't throw right handed he recalled for his LH experience he basically was mirroring the struggle of my body movements.

[HawkeyeDan]

I am in the same boat as you - I am a lefty who is left-side and left-eye dominant, but golf right handed.  I also batted right handed in baseball even though I threw lefty.  First clubs were my dad's, which were righty's.  I have thought about switching to the left side off and on but never tried it.  To me, it feels like starting over - nothing feels correct or looks correct when I grab a lefty demo and take some cuts at the golf store.

Is there anyone who has successfully done this and has been better off because of it?  It feels kind of like an all-in kind of thing, and I don't want to devote my time to it if fundamentally it won't make me any better ultimately.  Is it fundamentally better to follow your dominant side?  Does it matter at all?

If it would make me better in the long run provided I put in the work I would make the switch.

[RoyHotPower]

another coach overheard our conversation and shared a first account story of a lefty in his 50s who had always played right. He wanted instruction because he could never break 100/handicap @ 30 or so.  He too was left handed but never once swung a LH club.  He was willing to put in the time to switch after he had tried a demo in the bay and talked it over.  So as the tale goes, the first time he played a round after his lessons shot in the low 80s.  So for him it was worth it.

For me, if it works it will be worth it for me.  It is all 'foreign', but again, what I saw in the video was proof it would be worth a week of not really thinking about my swing to see where it goes.

[RoyHotPower]

last night at the range i was topping the ball 75% of the time.  Not sure what to make of that.  I'll hit @ 75 balls in the back yard later today and see

[Hoppopotamus]

I am very interested to see how this works out for you.

I on the other hand am predominantly right handed, but I did play baseball for over 10 years and would bat lefty 90% of the time. However, I have never played a full round with left handed clubs. Being new to the game of golf and yet to have taken a professional lesson, I'm not sure if I have a problem with my weight shift or lower body rotation/timing. I have swung my right handed clubs as if they were lefty's but it just feels awkward, so I haven't given it a second thought. I would definitely give it a try if I had a buddy that was a lefty however. Good luck!

[Lihu]

This was based on 3 factors. 1). During practice, we got my shoulder rotation to where it should but had to remove lower body to get there; my problem has been that instead of turning my hips, I rotate my back and end up throwing left hip pin ward and stiffening up my right leg.  This creates all sorts of movement for me.  Up to this point no matter how much I drill/practice, I can't commit to muscle memory. 2). Yesterday we had a drill where I was supposed to throw a golf ball towards the net like a pitcher in baseball would - to feel the transfer of weight and power.  I told coach I'd look like a girl if I tried since I was left handed (In their database, there is only one table for 'handedness'.  He just forgot that I was left handed). 3). My coach was goofing around over the weekend and played a round with left handed clubs.  He said how awkward it felt for him and when I mentioned I couldn't throw right handed he recalled for his LH experience he basically was mirroring the struggle of my body movements.

I did not read your post carefully enough. I just noticed you said you batted left handed. I interpreted that as fielded left handed as well. Yeah, you might do better left handed.

[AWilson013]

Interesting that the day I join this forum, is the day I started golfing right handed.

I grew up golfing left handed (forced by my father, who bought his left handed son, left handed clubs) and as my brother and father got better and better than I did, I grew to hate golf more and more.

Anyway, I picked up the clubs yesterday and played 9 with a buddy after work.  Again, embarrassed myself and never wanted to play again.  After a few holes I was I wondering why I was so bad.  I remembered switch hitting in baseball (made me a valuable member of my little league team) and thought I'd give it a try.  My friends clubs ($20 from Goodwill, but shoot straight and solid) were the perfect clubs to try it out.

My first hit was bad.  Real bad.  But then I slowed down, focused on the connection and POW hit the furthest, straightest shot with a 6 Iron I'd ever shot.  I was sold.

Played again this morning and rented some right handed clubs.  I'm sold.

Just got back from picking up a set of clubs for $140 on Craiglist, I cannot wait to play tomorrow.

Give it a shot.  It truly changed the game of golf for me... For the better.

[JetFan1983]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

Can't hurt.  I just read Jason Dufner is a 20 handicap playing left handed.

Steve Flesch, a notable left handed golfer, started out playing rightie and then made the decision to switch to lefty later in life. Good thing he did because he had a pretty good career on the Tour. I think he's like a 5 rightie.

Mac O'Grady plays to scratch left handed and actually tried to gain amateur status as a left-handed golfer so he could play in club tournaments but was denied by the USGA.

Pretty sure Shawn Clement is better than scratch both left and right handed. He also has a two sided putter that he can putt from either side with depending on the break. Notah Begay famously does too and used it in tournaments.

Vijay Singh practices so much he hits balls left handed (10 balls for every 400 right-handed swings) so he's prepared when he needs to do that in a tourney if his stance is affected by the terrain. He can drive the ball 260 left handed is probably pretty good from that side in general, but I don't know his index.

Mike Weir is a 15-handicap right handed.

Sergio's best ever round left handed was a 39 over nine holes at his home course back in Spain, but I don't think he plays lefty anymore.

I'm pretty sure Adam Scott and Chad Campbell are both close to scratch left handed.

And I've seen Phil and Tiger hit it from the opposite side at clinics pretty damn well. The crowd always goes nuts when they flush it from the other side.

I've also heard that in Japan, all juniors are instructed to practice from the opposite side every now and then so they can keep their bodies "balanced." So you'll often see the Japanese pros on tour hitting 20 or so shots left handed on the range when practicing on Tuesday or Wednesday or something.

I say go for it, OP. Golf's supposed to fun, right?

[pucks2golf]

I am left-handed in everything I do except three things: Golf, hockey and guitar.

I did bat left-handed as a kid, but hockey was my dominant sport when I took up golf so I decided to go with righty for golf, too. There have been moments where I've wondered if I should golf lefty, but I don't think starting over would be worth the time/effort. I've tried lefty clubs and it's felt incredibly strange.

[MEfree]

I am mostly left handed and switched to righty at 17 when I felt that my game wasn`t improving (I was about a 4 capper)...I was able to break 80 right handed within a year, but as I started playing less often, felt I had better muscle memory left handed and switched back after 3 years of righty.

[RoyHotPower]

so after banging and bashing about left handed for a week, my coach needed to know; do we proceed with left or go back to right? It became a quid pro quo as I was hoping he would tell me what to do, but I guess I said the magic words during our conversation: left + more + natural.

He said he too tried again left handed for comparison and everything felt 'un-natural' to him, and the fact that I felt natural made him warm to the idea of my going full-on lefty.  To my mind this is a good decision as I began to struggle late last week with one thing that was simply identified and corrected by coach- my right hand ends up palming the grip.  We regripped and fingered it and that 'natural' feeling came back.  Some of my right handed poor habits still exist as a lefty, but these were at least temporarily corrected - I've been struggling with two of them for a long time as a righty and never got to where I wanted to be as I did this last lesson left handed.

The big challenge I see will be committing everything to muscle memory.  But the fact I get there without much coaching is what is selling me.

[Lihu]

so after banging and bashing about left handed for a week, my coach needed to know; do we proceed with left or go back to right? It became a quid pro quo as I was hoping he would tell me what to do, but I guess I said the magic words during our conversation: left + more + natural. He said he too tried again left handed for comparison and everything felt 'un-natural' to him, and the fact that I felt natural made him warm to the idea of my going full-on lefty.  To my mind this is a good decision as I began to struggle late last week with one thing that was simply identified and corrected by coach- my right hand ends up palming the grip.  We regripped and fingered it and that 'natural' feeling came back.  Some of my right handed poor habits still exist as a lefty, but these were at least temporarily corrected - I've been struggling with two of them for a long time as a righty and never got to where I wanted to be as I did this last lesson left handed.   The big challenge I see will be committing everything to muscle memory.  But the fact I get there without much coaching is what is selling me.

Good choice. To add to this, I started hitting right hande again. I don't have any bad habits formed over the last two years, so I hit with better form right handed. Then I switched to left hand using the same form improvements and a new stack and tilt like swing. Works great. I use a shorter swing, even though I can take it back 360 degrees if I wanted. This shorter swing, a little less than horizontal, hits really consistently. On top of that, I did not lose any distance. I am practicing this swing twice a day at home with a net. Hopefully, when I am ready for a scoring round, I will have this new swing in my arsenal. So, be prepared to switch hit occasioanally, it might help you break bad habits in the future.

[RoyHotPower]

I'm starting with a grip drill, and came up with this beauty last night.

Also 100 reps where I clench a kick ball with my arms to reinforce not bending arms/begin backswing with shoulder turn.  Take a few swings into the net, then 100 reps.

[RoyHotPower]

I did probably 800 drills with the kick ball so far since my last lesson, and took the ball with me to the range and met a LH friend over the weekend.

• I was consistently striking the ball 125-140 yards with the TM R7 six iron.  A couple errant balls, but most had a slight draw
• Towards the bottom of the bucket, I used his Adams G2 10* driver twice.  425 total yards and a very slight draw.
• Also for the last 10 balls I borrowed his Nike Ignite 8, 9 and PW.  I really liked the weight, feel, and performance of these clubs.  Never thought I'd say this as I have never been a fan of their shoes.

So I am very excited and the feedback so far is all positive.  Wish I had tried LH clubs a long time ago, but then again, maybe the timing now is just fine.