Who Practices Shooting the Opposite Way?

[Uncle Peter]

Does anyone practice shooting the opposite way?

After seeing Phil Mickelson take a right-handed shot on the 10th hole, I figured it might be a good idea to practice shooting the opposite way, even though the odds of hitting that way are very high.

What do you think?

[zeg]

I will usually make a couple swings off-handed when I'm practicing chipping, but it's just for fun. If it came up on the course, I'd take the unplayable lie under almost any conceivable circumstances. A penalty stroke with a drop is cheaper than the likely outcome of my left-handed chipping.

[goblue107501]

Every once in a while I will. I just take the last 3-4 balls from the bucket, turn over a wedge and swing away. I have only had to use it a couple times, but with good success. All I look for is the ability to advance the ball a bit and get it back in play.

[jamo]

Here is a video of me hitting a few balls lefty:

[Uncle Peter]

Fair arguments. I too would probably take a penalty, depending on the shot.

jamo, are you using lefty clubs or a right-handed club turned upside-down?

[jamo]

jamo, are you using lefty clubs or a right-handed club turned upside-down?

It's a lefty 6 iron. I didn't know I was being filmed, and I think I whiffed one or two, but I made decent contact on a couple.

[Uncle Peter]

That's pretty good, and your form is awesome!

[jamo]

That's pretty good, and your form is awesome!

You're talking about my swing? Haha, maybe sometime I should take face on and down the line videos of my lefty swing ad let everyone critique it. I would be willing to guess that a lot of bad things that I used to do righty might show themselves lefty. I was using a Mizuno MX 200 I believe too in that video.

[bong_crosby]

I do, but not because I think it will come in handy. There's not enough range balls on this planet to get me to swing in anything that resembles good form from the wrong side of the ball. I do it because it's fun. When's the last time you whiffed a shot? Or duffed it so that it just skitters along the ground for 40 yards. I do it all the time when swinging lefty and it cracks me up. It's also humbling and makes me appreciate how far I've come and how difficult this game is for people just starting out.

[Fairway_CY]

When's the last time you whiffed a shot? Or duffed it so that it just skitters along the ground for 40 yards.

I hate you...

CY

[bong_crosby]

I hate you...

It's all relative. Today I played with our club champ from last year...he's 14 or something like that. The entire day the Bobby Jones quote kept scrolling through my mind; ''He plays a game with which I am not familiar.'' The kid's innate ability just boggled my mind. Last year I played with him and he hit a monster drive on a short par 4 to pin high but missed right and got stymied against a tree. He flipped his club over and knocked it to within three or four feet and made birdie.

So, like my buddy Einstein used to say, "it's all relative, Holmes". Actually, I added the "Holmes" part.

[Fairway_CY]

Absolutely. I had to respond though because I was thinking to myself on the range earlier today that I'm really enjoying the fact that, with the rare exception, I've been striking the ball really well. I then watched a guy a few stalls down from me top 2 or 3 in a row and I thought... "I remember that".

Then I hit about 5 in a row the EXACT same way he was. I figured it was the Golf God's telling me NOT to think I had this game figured out.

I've really enjoyed watching my handicap fall from the stratosphere this season, but it seems like every time I have a REALLY good day... I turn around and have an equally horrid day, whether it be on the range or the course. I long for the day when I can tell someone it's been years since I've topped a shot that rolled 40 yards. Until then... I've got to live with the fact that it's a part of my game. Without fail, once every 5 or 6 holes... I'll either top one that will bound down the fairway and in to the rough... or I'll hit one so fat, I've dug up a sprinkler line. The GOOD thing is that I've figured out how to let those roll off my back and they don't result in quadruple bogey's as often as they used to.

Meh... either way, I still love the game. I just hate the guys who are better than me.



CY

[IcemanYVR]

I spent a lot of time playing golf when I was younger, and sometimes got bored. I would often switch bags with a lefty friend of mine, then we would go off the white tees for 9 holes and just have some fun... once shot a 44 for nine holes playing lefty

I practice flipped club shots every now and then, but usually only a SW or something like that. It's one thing to practice on the range, it's a completely different thing in reality when you're stuck up against a tree or seomthing like that (which is usually why you are trying to hit the shot)

[RC]

As a kid I started out playing left-handed because a set of clubs I could get for free. Then switched because better left-handed clubs were pretty hard to get way back then -- at least for a kid of modest means like myself. However, now it is nice to be able to take a decent swing at a ball left-handed when it is a necessity -- you never really forget how to at least make contact. I am naturally right handed. In college I had a roommate whose life was mostly centered on golf and he was right handed and played left-handed because he thought he was longer that way. He was very long, but sometimes complained about touch shots being harder with the dominant hand in the lead... I have no idea if that is true or not. He used to joke that he wanted to re-learn to play carrying a right-handed sand wedge and putter for pitching and putting.

[Zeph]

I do it sometimes on short chip shots that I just want to get running along the fairway or green. Usually hit with a mid iron, a small punch chip. Did it last round when I was dead up on a tree, worked out quite well.

[golfaddiction]

I don't usually practice, but I've hit a few left handed shots with my 54 degree wedge turned upside down. One time I mis-hit it and didn't get out of the rough (had a much better lie for my next shot, though), and the other time I over-shot the fairway, but also to a decent position.

[shades9323]

Or duffed it so that it just skitters along the ground for 40 yards.

It was monday. I actually topped it so bad it went backwards. Then proceded to hit 2 more skitters trying to kill the ball. Took a 9. I haven't had a 9 on a hole since about 1996. Still came away with a 43 though.

[michaeljames92]

If you are just chipping out of bush, get like a 4 iron and hit the ball off the back of the club. It actually works pretty well. Ive done it numerous times while trying to hit it say 40-50 m up the fairway