Any benefit to playing your wrong hand?

[ScottyDont]

I was wondering if you guys think playing lefty (practice mainly, for coordination purposes) would benefit my game, or hurt it? I was a switch hitter in baseball and played at a fairly high level. In baseball my hitting while right handed improved after I practiced left more, because I was noticing fundamentals that I had gotten lazy about. Would starting golf left handed do anything you guys think?

Thanks in advance for any input.

[RCCHGA]

I was wondering if you guys think playing lefty (practice mainly, for coordination purposes) would benefit my game, or hurt it? I was a switch hitter in baseball and played at a fairly high level. In baseball my hitting while right handed improved after I practiced left more, because I was noticing fundamentals that I had gotten lazy about. Would starting golf left handed do anything you guys think?

Thanks in advance for any input.

VJ practices hitting left for an hour each day, primarily to keep his muscles and skeletal system in sync.

[dekker]

I was wondering if you guys think playing lefty (practice mainly, for coordination purposes) would benefit my game, or hurt it? I was a switch hitter in baseball and played at a fairly high level. In baseball my hitting while right handed improved after I practiced left more, because I was noticing fundamentals that I had gotten lazy about. Would starting golf left handed do anything you guys think?

Thanks in advance for any input.

There's a lot of "If it feels bad it must be right" thinking in golf and I don't believe a word of it. In my time that perverse thinking centered mainly on the grip. It's the same crappy logic they used on kids to get them to swallow their medicine.
I can't see how "crossing "yourself in the beginning,on purpose,will have any benefit.
If you are naturally ambidextrous then I'd incorporate it in practice but you will have your stronger side and you should stress that in play.

[dks_34]

I've never really tried hitting a club right-handed but I found that when I used to dragonboat, practicing on my weaker side made me a better paddler over-all.

I also find that when my back tightens up, swinging righthanded helps to loosen up the back.

[corchard]

I'll practice wrong handed for maybe 10 min every 2 weeks. It is very usefull to be able to flip a 6 iron over and hit it wrong handed when a tree is in the way.

[tjhayko]

I'm one of those people who is right handed in pretty much everything else, but I golf left handed. I tried both left and right handed as I was learning to play, and I definitely found left felt more natural to me.

[Grass Roots Tour]

Many instructors believe in controlling the golf swing with the lead hand. If that lead hand were also your stronger one that may prove benfitial.

Phil Mickelson is right handed, if that makes any sense.


I occassionally practice chipping left handed with a flipped over short iron, just in case.

[xander.uk]

Saw an instructional golf dvd once ( sorry cant remember who it was ) who was saying that playing with your wrong hand is like playing backhand shots in tennis.

Some people ( apparently ) are better using their backhand.....i guess mickelson is the obvious example.

Never tried it myself :)