Time For A Switch?

[Nat Williams]

I was out at the course this evening messing around playing 9 holes w/ a friend and on the last hole we decided to play each other's clubs (i'm a lefty he's a righty).

It's a par 5 515 yards, and the only rule was no woods (since you could damage them swinging poorly).

I pumped a 2 iron 210 yards up the pipe dead straight, followed by another 2 iron from the deck for another 195 yards right up the pipe leaving me 110 to the pin. I dropped a 9 iron to 8 feet (right on line just 8 ft long).

This was all using 3/4 swings (since I couldn't quite figure out how to make a full swing right handed). So the clubs were performing approximatley i nthe same distance range right handed as right (my 3/4 might go a few extra yards lefty, but nothing significant).

I missed the putt (as it turns out putted the 'wrong' way was the hardest part).

The whole thing made me wonder about golf. I know the mechanics of a proper golf swing, I've taken lessons, and helped give lessons in the past. I applied the mechanics that I have taught & been taught to my opposite side and it was amazing to see the results. I have never tried swinging right handed before.

It would take me weeks to train myself to make a change left handed, but with the total lack of 'feel' right handed I rely on mechanics and any adjustment is instantaneous ...

time for a change ? lol! I feel as though I could train myself to have a better swing right handed (i.e. a better base to work from) before developing a 'feel' right handed than I currently haave left handed.

Has anyone ever tried this?

[Txxxxxxx]

I've never done it, but I know a couple of people who were horrible golfers left handed and switched over to right and were no worse. They continued to play right handed and still play that way in the 80's.

[jvincent]

Just curious, which way do you bat in baseball?

Canada, because of our hockey heritage, has a disproportionate number of left handed golfers. I was always one of the few right handed hockey players when I played, hit right in baseball (actually switch hit but right was my good side) so right handed at golf always felt better.

But when you think of it a baseball swing is closer to a golf swing than a hockey shot because the hands are together among other things.

[Nat Williams]

I actually bat both sides equally comfortably in baseball, and believe it or not ... never palyed hockey !@ (occasionally w/ friends but nothing organized, always used whatever sticks were lying around until this season when I finally bought one, can't remember which hand it is)

[Timothy.Reeve]

I started right handed and switched to left after about 3 years. After about a week, I was playing better than ever. Therefore, I have never gone back. I am left handed in most things, which has an influence, but swinging lefty has always felt more natural to me. My hope is that this leads to a better swing too, but that is hard to prove either way. Then again, a lot of golf comes down to belief anyway.
Cheers,
Tim

[daveyc]

Sounds like quite the expensive proposition. It might be hard to find somebody who is willing to trade

[Nat Williams]

davey, you suck right handed ... let's start a trade

[daveyc]

I have a feeling that my ineptitudeat golf has nothing to do with direction I hold my clubs

[TourIQ]

time for a change ? lol! I feel as though I could train myself to have a better swing right handed (i.e. a better base to work from) before developing a 'feel' right handed than I currently haave left handed.
Has anyone ever tried this?

Hi Nat Williams

As a leftie are you more of a feel or a technical player?

If you changed to RH'ed, do you think you would develop more feel or be more technical? The reason I ask, I think better players tend to have strong mechanics but develop great feel. Personally I would give the edge to feel or technical. I guess it also depends on your prodiminant learning style, but my pick is FEEL ...

Are you right or left eye dominant? Critically important for putting. If you are right eye dominant than you should continue to putt left handed, regardless if you decide to retool and swing RH'ed.

When I took both my boys to the golf pro when we started out Dwight was 9 and Duane was 12. We had no idea what side they should swing from. It was clearly evident that Dwight could make better contact with the ball from the Right side so the pro said you should get RH'ed clubs. It was also evident that Duane sucked equally from both sides, with 1 side not much better than the other, so the pro said 'which side FEELS more comfortable' and he said LH'ed. He eventually got to a +1 handicap playing LH'ed so I guess the FEEL question was the correct one. We would later find out that Duane also has a strong Right dominant eye.

My 2 cents ...

[jonf]

I've been tempted to make the switch the other way a couple of times. Often at the driving range I'll grab one of the crappy lefty drivers they have for people to use. It feels awkward as hell, but i hit it pretty good, and most say I have a nicer swing left handed than right handed (which is saying something, because my swing is so gorgeous to start with ) Quite often when my game is crap I will take a few slow swings left handed. I'm forced to concentrate purely on mechanics, so I can remind myself of what a proper swing should look like. I think you get so used to hitting a shot that you go purely by feel and mechanical errors creep back in (probably why hitting from the other side tends to work so well)

I would be interested in experimenting with lefty clubs for a couple of weeks, just to see if I got the feel of them or not as its really hard to tell at the range. Don't think I could afford more club changes though...already spent more on equipment this year than I should have, and have a couple more deals in the works.