Left-handed golfers quickly realize golf equipment is most often built for right-handed golfers. Even published golf tips and strategies seldom include instruction for lefties.
You aren't alone. The PGA boasts some well known left handed players. Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, Mike Weir are all left handed. Bonnie Bryant is the only left-handed LPGA Tour champion. Phil Mickelson isn’t even left-handed by nature. He’s actually right-handed but chooses to be a lefty, which is also his nickname.
Whether it’s a personal choice or natural hand orientation, you want to know how to play the game better from the opposite side of that golf ball.
1. Golf Club Grip for Lefties
Just because you’re a lefty doesn’t mean you’ll end up with a weak or improper grip. When you grip your club the correct way, you save yourself a lot of trouble. No matter your hand orientation!
When gripping, make sure the golf club passes across your left palm. It should go through your index finger base to right above your pinkie finger. Don’t make the mistake of moving the grip into your fingers. Otherwise, it leads to a frantic golf swing movement, thus producing a hook. Likewise, when the grip is in your palm, it slows down the swing and often produces a slice.
2. Left-Handed Golf Stance
Stance and swing techniques are the same for both right-handed and left-handed golfers. The only difference is that they are mirror images of each other.
Any golf tip video you watch or post you read about adopting a better stance and swing, just reverse the alignment of the body. Easier said than done, indeed. But, with time, it becomes much simpler to adjust.
3. Golf Swing Follow Through
It’s beneficial for left-handed players to end their swing movement with a complete follow through. That’s how you know you’ve generated enough power with a full hip rotation.
It’s imperative to swing on the balls of your feet to use all the power at your disposal with the complete rotation of your hips. This applies to both left-handed and right-handed golfers, so why mention it in the first place? Allow us to explain.
Neglecting the importance of a well-balanced follow through is quite common among golfers, no matter the hand orientation. Yet, it proves to be much more detrimental in the case of left-handed players. Proper follow through technique links your start and finish positions together. This gives you the best strength and control over your shot.
Being a lefty golfer means training your body to repeat the opposite of the conventional sequence. No doubt, that demands greater effort, focus, and practice. It’s all about muscle memory, which is why it’s also very important to not switch back and forth between right and left.
You don’t have to be a PGA Tour champion to understand that inconsistent follow through position produces inconsistent, out-of-balance results.
Tips from 3 Left-Handed Golfing Champions
Only 5% of PGA Tour golfers are left-handed. Golf legends like Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, and Mike Weir, have dominated in spite of the right-handed slant in golf.
Here’s something useful each one shares for left-handed orientation…
Phil Mickelson
The winner of 44 professional golfing events, Phil Mickelson knows how to hit hard as a lefty. For him, left-hand orientation came very naturally. He strongly believed that the success of your shot largely depends on swinging only as fast as is required to prevent losing balance.
He says that with just 80-percent effort, the golf ball can travel surprisingly far if you’re also able to maintain your balance during your swing.
Bubba Watson
Bubba Watson reveals it was his iron play that got him to conquer the Masters tournament twice. As a left-handed golfer, he focuses more on an open stance, remaining loose, and keeping the arms relaxed and the grip firm.
He also emphasizes proper footing, which maintains balance and prevents you from swinging harder than you can control.
Mike Weir
Mike Weir is the only Canadian golfer to ever win a major (so far). His discipline for his signature move, despite being a lefty, was the most noticeable quality. It consisted of a practice backswing before starting the full swing. It was this very discipline and consistency of the small practice backswing, that got him to his major victory.
Increases Creativity and Imagination On the Golf Course
So did professional golfers like Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson use their left-hand orientation to their advantage? Well, they surely did. But in your case, it depends on your imagination and creativity. If you’re anything like them, then there’s no denying that you can use your unconventional hand orientation to gain better intuition, visualization, and rhythm.
A fitting example would be when Phil Mickelson struck a spectacular shot through the trees on the 13th hole of par-5 to make way for an eagle putt. Then there was Bubba Watson too who, on the 10th hole of par-4, managed to curve his gap wedge around quite a few trees, which got him to win the Masters tournament.
The moral of the story - being a lefty doesn’t mean you can’t possess golfing superpowers like Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson, both lefties of course.
Buying Golf Clubs Becomes A Challenge
Now it goes without saying that top brands that manufacturer some of the best golf clubs offer both left-hand and right-hand orientation. For example, these widely recognized TaylorMade drivers. But, more often than not, lefties don’t have such a great time buying clubs because the majority of them are not engineered for left-handed play.
So it’s tricky, even now in 2020, for golfers with left-hand orientation because the gap between them and right-handed players is still quite large.
Is the Game of Golf More Difficult for Left-Handed Players?
Unfortunately, it is harder. But not because being a lefty means failing to approach the game the right way. It’s mainly because left-hand orientations golf clubs, gloves, and other gear are much more difficult to come across. Nevertheless, it has become slightly easier now in comparison to what it was 15 to 20 years back.
The one method that has proved to overcome the challenges faced by left-handed golfers presents itself in the form of a left-handed golf instructor. Don’t make the mistake of working with a righty. Only a lefty can make the process more efficient and streamlined for you. Agreed that finding a left-handed instructor isn’t easy but know that they exist.
How to Produce A Fade or Draw Being As A Left-Handed Golfer?
It’s actually very simple. Normally, you would keep the clubface open, which makes the golf ball curve accordingly. So if you’re left-handed, do the opposite i.e. close the clubface to make the ball travel from the right to the left.
Should I Choose Left-Hand or Right-Hand Orientation?
If you want to know which side is the best to play from, then the answer depends on what your dominant side is. Naturally, everybody has a dominant brain hemisphere, correct? So if your dominant side is left, then golf left. And if right, then golf right.
You can switch if you wish, just like Phil Mickelson and many other experienced golfers. But know this, that suddenly forcing your body to adjust to a side it’s not familiar with is a very challenging experience. Only professionals have the courage to do and master it!
Nevertheless, golf isn’t a one-sided sport. There are plenty of effective strategies to play the game. So play from a side that works the best for you.
Conclusion
Once again, it’s important that you adopt an approach that works in your favor. And one that you’re the most comfortable with. But what remains the same is the list of challenges that both right-handed and left-handed golfers face as far as golf grip, stance, and swing is concerned.
So it’s not that lefties face any new or special hurdles. The only challenge that presents itself is finding proper golfing equipment, mainly clubs and gloves.
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