Newbie to the site and a very frustrated golfer

[finn5033]

Hello everyone I am new to the site. I am 33 years old and have been golfing on and off since I was in my early teens. I was actually a pretty good golfer in middle school. I was on the golf team and was a high 70's low 80's shooter on a regular basis from senior tees. I went through a big growth spurt the summer before my 9th grade year and it really threw off my swing. I lost interest and really didn't golf more than a couple times a year after that. Every time I've decided I wanted to put in the time and work to improve I get worse instead of better. This year I have golfed a lot and am taking lessons. My grip was bad so I've been working on that and am starting to get comfortable with it. I went out and shot a 42 on the back 9 of the course where my membership is this last week. I hadn't played that well in over 10 years. So I go out saturday to play and it was terrible everything that I felt I had started to correct came back and I couldn't figure out why. Now I know this is probably pretty common but I am very frustrated. I am right handed and do everything right handed except when I played hockey when I was younger left handed was my natural side. When I swing a club left handed it feels very comfortable to me. I am tempted to try hitting some balls at the range left handed and see how it feels. Right now everything to do with my right hand swing feels so awkward. Any thoughts are appreciated. I have decided to put in the time and practice necessary to improve. Since I'm starting from scratch I thought why not try both and see which one is better. I don't have any bad habits from the left side so maybe that would be an advantage.

[flopster]

Welcome to the site, as far as trying left handed I would never recommend someone do it before talking it over with your instructor, since your basically starting all over though then it may not be a bad time to do it. I knew someone who had to do it because of back problems and he's about where he was before and a friend of mine has a brother who was a pro had to because of a shoulder injury and he's down to a 2 or 3 now and had a hole in one last summer.

[dylan006]

Welcome to the forum. I joined the forum yesterday. I play right handed since the age of 10. Because it felt awkward I was an on and off golfer. Tried once or twice to take it seriously. Change to left handed in December last year. Now shooting in the mid 80s. On Saturday I shot my best 9 hole score, 38. I have feel now. If you feel like you might be more confident left handed, make the change.

[finn5033]

Thanks for the encouragement. I tried hitting lefty at the range last night and it was ugly but expected. I think for now I am going to keep putting in the work right handed. I have 4 more lessons with my instructor. On top of that I've been playing twice a week and going to the range 3 times a week. If I don't see any improvement by the end of this year I think I may try switching for next year.

[scorpion12]

OP, I'd encourage you to stay on the right hand side of golf. Do you see any improvement in your game since you started taking lessons? Are you practicing what you're being taught? You might want to try a different instructor before you step over to the other side of the ball... it's not very nice over here.

I'm left-handed in everything I do and kind of wish I were right handed at times. Pricing lefty golf equipment is about the same as what's available for right handed players but the availability is less... where there are drivers, irons, woods, wedges, and putters galore for righties, the selection for south paws is limited... granted, it's much better than it was 20 years ago but it's still nowhere near what right handed players have access to.

[finn5033]

I really like my instructor and am enjoying the lessons. I have been practicing a lot using what he is teaching me. I payed for 3 hours of lessons which we decided to break into 6 half hour lessons. First lesson was grip and stance. Second lesson was another grip tweak and more with the stance. He is giving me 2 things at a time to work on. I am trying to get out to play at least once and get in 3 trips to the range between lessons. It is a struggle but I knew it would be and I am sticking to it.

[scorpion12]

Just don't get discouraged. Keep working at it and it will click

[dylan006]

Ok I have to admit I am left handed in everything I do. So it came very naturally to me. I have spent 1000s of hours swinging other sports equipment left handed(cricket, tennis, squash) so I suppose the motion of a left handed swing was in me. The only reason I started playing right handed in the first place is that back in the day left hand golf clubs were more difficult to come across than hens teeth. Especially in South Africa in the 80s. But fortunately now I can get anything I want in a left handed version. So it happy days. For me I think the most important thing regarding a golf swing is feel and practice. You need to feel as comfortable as possible with a certain grip, stance, swing pattern and then give it enough time and practice to get it going. So find what feels the most comfortable and work with it for an extended period. Good luck.

[CarlSpackler]

Welcome. You've come to the right place.