Cross Handed Grip/Swing?

[Kazuhiro]

Hello all, Few days ago I play golf with somebody for the first time. This was in Malaysia, and he had handicap of 2. He was a very good golfer. However he playeding with a Cross Handed Grip.....(his hand were wrong way round...left hand was lower than right). I heard of this over the years in the past, but I've never actually seen somebody play with it. He played all shots like cross, with driver through to putter - and he beat me! Is this common and as anyone else ever seen people play with such a swing/grip? I thought it was avery strange. Thank you.

[liveeel]

I would not say it is common, someone else on here may know some statistics on the subject. I have personally played with guy that played this way. I play left handed and since he already gripped the club the same way I do I asked him to try and swing one of my clubs.After we hit our tee shots on a par 3 he grabbed my 7 iron and completly missed the golf ball 3 times and handed the club back to me and said '' I dont know how in the hell you can play like that''. Im not sure what his handicap is but on that day he played as well as I did. One thing I did notice was that he had an extremely high ball flight.

[MS256]

I used to know a guy that played like that. He did it because of some kind of arm injury but had done it so long that he was pretty good at it. Probably a mid-80s weekend golfer.

Another guy I know plays with a full four finger cross handed overlap (or the left hand directly over the right with only the right hand touching the club). Also about a mid-80s golfer. Hits the ball surprisingly far like that but is a big strong guy and he could probably be pretty good if he played more.

(And maybe even better if he gripped the club the right way).

A little more common to see people chip cross handed like a left hand low putt. Somebody on Tour did that a few years ago but I can't remember who it was or if they are still playing on the PGA Tour.

Edit: Chris Couch is the pro that chips like that.

[Chunky]

I played with a guy a year ago, he wasn't crossed handed but he had a very odd swing. The general way his swing worked was he picked the club straight up to just right of his head (right handed) and then dropped it in and hit away. The day I played with him he only carried a 7 iron and a driver, no putter and shot something just over par. About three quarters the way through the round I asked him if he had ever hurt his arms. He said as a matter of fact he had broken both of them and had, had a lot of lessons and came to this swing as the best way for him to play. He also, said that lots of guys wanted him to play with him to hustle some golf because his swing looked so bad that people couldn't believe he could play!

[liveeel]

Originally Posted by Chunky

I played with a guy a year ago, he wasn't crossed handed but he had a very odd swing. The general way his swing worked was he picked the club straight up to just right of his head (right handed) and then dropped it in and hit away. The day I played with him he only carried a 7 iron and a driver, no putter and shot something just over par. About three quarters the way through the round I asked him if he had ever hurt his arms. He said as a matter of fact he had broken both of them and had, had a lot of lessons and came to this swing as the best way for him to play. He also, said that lots of guys wanted him to play with him to hustle some golf because his swing looked so bad that people couldn't believe he could play!

Thats crazy. Would love to see that in person.There have been some days that I couldnt have putted any worse even if I was using a 7 iron, but why would he not even carry a putter?

[Blitz28179]

There was a guy on big break golf challenge who used the cross handed grip.He was a african american who was pretty good with it too.

[Mozgolf]

Seen it a few times. I played as a member at a club that had three single digit handicappers hitting cack handed. Another was a greenkeeper, hit the ball a mile and played to about a 10, probably could have been lower if he played more and spent less time on the mowers.

None of them had injuries, they just played that way, claiming it felt more natural/ they thought it worked better having their master hand (stronger hand) on top of the grip. One commented he wondered why everyone else had their stronger hand in the weaker position on the club.

[Tallsam]

I just logged onto this forum to comment on this thread. I swing cross/cack handed. From what I've learned about it, for most guys that golf left hand low, it's just the way they started swinging a club as a kid. I swing a baseball bat the same way. I play hockey with a lefty stick. As far as hitting a lefty golf club, I'm actually better hitting lefty than I am swinging a golf club normally. It also helped in baseball because I could switch hit with success. I've really been interested in how the mechanics of a cross-handed swing effect things like ball trajectory, clubhead speed, wrist action, swing plane etc. I can pound the living snot out of the ball, but I'm guessing most of that stems from being a 6'9", 260lb. basketball player. I've swung for a few golf instructors, and they've commented I seem to be able to lag my club a lot farther back with my hands switched...which would lead me to believe this is the case with other cross-handed golfers. I've never actually seen or played with anyone else that swings this way, and, as you can imagine, it becomes quite the spectacle when I play with people for the first time.

[BostonBrew]

Saw a guy on the range hitting cross-handed a few weeks ago in Colorado. Real nice guy. Started small talking with him and finally asked about it. He said he had some form of a shoulder injury and that was the only way he could swing. He also claimed that because of the mechanics of it, he always hit the ball a mile high. It's certainly strange when you see someone do it in person.

[RPMPIRE]

Josh Broadaway plays on the Web.com tour and uses a crosshanded grip. Also, his speed of play makes Brandt Snedeker look like a turtle.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by BostonBrew

Saw a guy on the range hitting cross-handed a few weeks ago in Colorado. Real nice guy. Started small talking with him and finally asked about it. He said he had some form of a shoulder injury and that was the only way he could swing. He also claimed that because of the mechanics of it, he always hit the ball a mile high. It's certainly strange when you see someone do it in person.

It wasn't by chance in Fort Collins, was it?  My Dad is 72, and swings cross-handed due to a shoulder injury.  And he can't much get his hands any higher than somewhere between the area of his elbow and shoulder.  And he is convinced he has to scoop and lift the ball in the air, and literally falls backwards during the downswing to try and do so.

Sad part is, he usually whoops my a$$!

[BostonBrew]

Originally Posted by glock35ipsc

It wasn't by chance in Fort Collins, was it?  My Dad is 72, and swings cross-handed due to a shoulder injury.  And he can't much get his hands any higher than somewhere between the area of his elbow and shoulder.  And he is convinced he has to scoop and lift the ball in the air, and literally falls backwards during the downswing to try and do so.

Sad part is, he usually whoops my a$$!

Was at Highland Hills GC in Greeley, CO.

[RickK]

When I first got comfortable playing golf with people outside of my close buddies, I accepted an invitation to play golf with a guy who worked at the same company I did.  I had heard he was "good", which to me meant he could shoot better than in the 90s.  Turns out, he could shoot in the high 70s/low 80s most of the time.  He played every shot with a cross handed swing.  I was amazed and how effortless it seemed to him.  He said he just wasn't consistent with a standard type grip.  I tried a couple of times and honestly I felt like I was going to break my wrist or arm with a full swing.

[glock35ipsc]

He actually played there a couple weeks ago with a long time friend of his and his son.  It's entirely possible that it was him!

[glennlyall]

Hi, Though i would tell you my experience. I'm new to golf, been playing a few month and i play cross handed. The reason I do it is because even though i'm right handed i play the drums left handed, meaning from the back of the kit i sit to the right. So when im playing the drums my left hand is playing the hats above my right hand on the snare drum. So when i started golf my arms just naturally fall with the left out further than the right and the cross handed grip works for me. ive tried the traditional grip and i takes far more effort and i very rarely make a nice contact with the ball. Where as crossing my hands i have a better swing and am far more relaxed even just holding the club. I wanna take a few lessons but im sure the pro will want me to change my grip straight away but i dont see the point. I can drive pretty straight and about 170-200 yards so why change. I was trying to adapt my grip by watching instructional vids and using what worked for me but ive since found out that guys like Josh Broadaway and John Gallagher are awkward like me so i'll be checking these guys out to see what i can do to improve my game. A lot of instructional vids say get a grip that works for you and stick with it, and i will.

[greenhuman]

I play cross handed here in Australia. I arranged a lesson with a local pro. We went to the practice range and he tipped out some balls and said hit a couple with my 5 iron. I did so then he started putting the balls back in the bucket. I asked him what was going on and he told me he can't teach me anything, I belong in a circus. Very good inspiration.

When people ask me now why I play cross handed, I tell them I'm not cross handed, you are.

[TheSit]

I have been golfing cross-handed since my first day picking up a club.  I picked up a baseball bat as a kid this way and as I got older (high school) it allowed me to switch hit at the pate when needed.  I heard nothing but "you are going to break your wrist" comments the entire time.  I golf this way currently and have made several attempts to switch the grip to a normal right handed grip.  The only change I see is that it does not feel "normal" addressing the ball or when I swing the club.  I also find that any issues I have are still there regardless of the grip ie..weight fwd, head down driving through the ball etc.

I golf with several guys routinely and when paired up with another group it really messes with their head to see me swing.  It usually takes them 3-4 holes before they ask me about it.  I do find that my short game around the green is probably my strongest part of the game and the most consistent.  I personally have not met anyone that has a cross-handed grip and lessons are a bust unless I change the grip.  I am a recreational golfer that shoots in the mid to high 80s and goes out 2-3 times a month.

Reading this post was interesting and greenhuman's comment sums it up.  Glad to see there are some other golfers out there with a "normal" grip.

[carlos1985]

hi guys, i'm Carl, 30 yrs old from England, I play a left handed grip with a right handed club, I use a stiff graphite shaft on my irons. with the extra flex on the shaft, i can loft the ball right up there.. iv been playing for 2 yrs now, and have become quite good.. i often get asked how i loft the ball so high, the cross grip gives your hands more freedom to move. and you can pull the left hand, not push it like you do with a right hand grip. would any1 be interested in getting a group of cross grippers together 1 time for a day out on the golf course????? it would be good to meet others and learn from you guys too.