Gonna start golfing lefty

[kyle92]

I have decided that i am going to start golfing lefty. I feel that i have too many bad habits golfing righty. I have been golfing for about 4 years and still suck. Way too inconsistent. My dad never golfs and hes lefty so i can use his clubs. Is this a good idea or a bad idea?

[Kieran123]

I literally have the co ordination of a new born giraffe when I try and hit a ball left handed.

But, if you can swing O.K left handed, try it out.

[mdl]

Given you already golf righty, and if you're like most people have played all the racquet/bat sports you've ever played from the right side, then it seems hard to tell whether it'll be a win overall to switch sides.

But I've heard from a bunch of places that a proper golf swing is actually easier if your dominant hand/arm is your leading arm.  I don't know about whether that's true overall, or whether that's true if you've spent your whole life doing things from the other side, but for power at least I have anecdotal evidence at least that it's true.  My little brother and I are both big and played DIII college baseball, and I actually had significantly more power in college than he did, hit a tennis ball harder than he can, etc.  But he grew up hitting lefty and plays golf lefty, and even when he's not way over swinging (rare) he can still pretty easily out drive me, even though I'm a much better player than he is.

And if we go to the range and just try to mash the ball, we're obviously both very inconsistent that way, he even more so than I, but I absolutely max out on the 1/10 or 1/20 drives carrying it maybe 275, but his mashes where he puts everything he's got into it carry closer to 300+.

[CuppedTin]

How much practice time, lessons, etc have you put into being a good right handed golfer? If you have truly given it your all from the right side then maybe, but be honest with yourself before you make the switch. Because it will take just as much time to become a successful lefty... Think it over and best of luck man.

[newtogolf]

You can give it a shot, but if you're right handed there's a good chance your right eye is your dominant eye.  Ocular dominance will impact your swing and perceived bottom of the swing arch.  Just something to consider before making the switch.

[GaijinGolfer]

You know, in hockey they teach that you should hold the stick with your dominant hand on the top because it gives you more control of the stick.  Ive honestly thought about switching to left for this reason, just dont want to go out and blow $2000 on a new set of clubs.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by kyle92

I have decided that i am going to start golfing lefty. I feel that i have too many bad habits golfing righty. I have been golfing for about 4 years and still suck. Way too inconsistent. My dad never golfs and hes lefty so i can use his clubs. Is this a good idea or a bad idea?

Some fairly uncoordinated people can drive cars with manual transmissions, yet otherwise athletic people can't get to second gear without stalling. They can't seen to coordinate their two feet and two hands to make it all happen. Maybe you'll pick up the game left handed and it'll click, and maybe you won't.  But either way, why not try it? It's not like you're on the cusp of greatness and this would risk throwing it all away. It's a hobby for goodness sake. If nothing else, it would improve your chances of pulling off those trick shots like a flop shot with a flipped over sand wedge.  "Hello ladies - yeah, I just made that shot . . . call me".

Personally I play tennis (and squash) left handed when playing with the wife to make it more even. Same as playing hockey either way though, right handed always feels a bit more powerful.

[GRudolph]

I played my first left-handed round of golf over Fourth of July weekend at a small course (Auburn Center Golf in Salem, Ore.) and had a blast.

The swing looked good but the contact was horrible. A lot of fun though and I still beat a right-handed player playing right-handed (although it was his first time swinging a golf club in over 10 years).