Playing Golf Left-Handed: From the Other Side of the Tee

When i go out, I’m playing golf left-handed. I’m often asked if I think I have an advantage.

Does playing golf left-handed allow me to see the course in a different way, unlock some sort of shortcut to success with the swing, or provide some indeterminate advantage over the legion of right-handers I encounter?

The simple answer is: No. In fact, I’d argue it’s a hindrance. Lefties actually struggle more on the course than their right-handed counterparts.

Want proof? Fine.

Sir Bob Charles was the first lefty to win a Major when he took the British Open in 1963 at Royal Lytham & St Annes. It was 40 years before another lefty, Mike Weir, won a Major – the 2003 Masters – in a playoff, no less.

Since then, Bubba and Phil have captured a handful of Majors. But four champions in the last 100+ years of Major golf? That’s not statistically significant. In fact, it makes it more of an anomaly.

That means the Mount Rushmore of Lefty Golfers is Phil, Bubba, Mike Weir, and Bob Charles.

Phil

Bubba

Mike

Sir Bob

"I believe it’s carved out of Crisco and can be seen at the Iowa State Fair this summer."

For added perspective, Steve Flesch is in the Top 5 of all-time PGA victories by a left-hander with four wins.

On ranges all over the world, young left-handed golfers are dreaming of being remembered as one of the best lefties to ever tee it up. And they’re chasing Steve freaking Flesch to get in the top 5 all-time.

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Sure, the lack of great lefties reflects the general scarcity of the beast. But still, if course layouts – or the game in general – favored lefties over the righties, we’d see a lot more southpaws.

As an amateur, I can tell you being lefty sucks. The stacked deck against lefties is well illustrated by our choice in equipment. I’d venture to say that lefties only get about 50% of the options right-handed players get when buying new clubs. Sure, we get most of the popular stuff, but putters are a particular breed of golf club where options get quite limited.

Want a new Scotty Cameron putter? They have 15 current models. Four for lefties – including the Futura mallet that no one likes. On TGW.com there are 271 Men’s putters for righties and just 119 for lefties.

A quick look at the Golf Galaxy website shows that there are 45 right-handed driver models and just 29 for lefties. Iron sets? Righties get 105 choices, lefties get 52.

And that’s online. Do you enjoy Easter egg hunts as a middle-aged adult? Go to any club pro shop or big box golf retailer as a lefty. It’s a real treat.

I can hear Willie Nelson now, “Mama don’t let your babies grow up to be lefties.”

And don’t get me started on finding a golf glove. Imagine if “Where’s Waldo?” had a riveting sequel called, “Now go find Waldo a Men’s medium golf glove for his right hand.” Spoiler alert! That book has no ending.

And at the end of the round when you shake hands? The lefty always has that awkward moment of either trying to rip his glove off in a hurry or shake with the glove on. And yes, we feel like rude idiots shaking with the glove on.

How about those Titleist golf hats with integrated ball marker magnets in the bill. Those are nice. I’d like one of those. Except the magnet is on the wrong side. Bet you didn’t think about that, did you?

Did you also know golf shorts and pants are designed for righties? It’s true. The left rear pocket is usually designed with a button, unlike the right one that is designed for a glove or scorecard to slide in. So eventually, I accidentally rip off all the back pocket buttons stuffing my glove in the pocket. Or I crush my scorecard trying to slide it in my pocket. That’s cool, too.

How about this? Tee boxes on par threes. If the best angle is from the right side of the box I get to stand in all the righties divots – and get a less favorable angle. Sure my ball has a nice clean lie over on the far left of the box, but my stance is a mess.

And the practice range? That’s a treat. I have to use the pyramid of balls that are supposed to be for the guy to my left. So I either have to turn around to get a ball from “my” pile, manually move a bunch before I start practicing, or just say, “screw it”, and disrupt the entire range by essentially taking up two spots.

As for the course layout? Don’t even go there.

Every golf architect I’ve ever heard of plays right-handed. So when they are staking out a new course do you think they stand on the imaginary tee box and visualize what the hole looks like for a right-hander or a left-hander?

Even the greenskeeper is against us. He seems to forget about a lot of overhanging branches on the left side of the fairway. The right side always has a nice clean line. Why? Because he’s right-handed and notices those things more naturally.

I personally love being blocked out from the fairway. But that’s just me.

And finally the teaching Pros. Bless them. We all need them. But try having a righty Pro talk you through the golf swing.

“My left, your right” precedes every critical piece of advice. After a while you are both so confused you start looking like my dog when she hears whistling on the TV. A misplaced, “Bring the left elbow in and down” can result in the destruction of your physical and mental game for the foreseeable future.

“But what about all the great books on the golf swing,” you say. Penick’s Little Red Book, Hogan’s 5 Lessons, Pelz’s Short Game Bible – all written for the righty. Every tip requires mental gymnastics to reverse engineer.

And yet we endure. We lefties are a hearty, albeit tortured, lot.

Even as fans we suffer. Look at our choices for icons. One guy plays with a pink driver and cries every time he sees that Sarah McLachlan ASPCA commercial and the other guy is known for his horrible dancing pants commercial and quick-raking putts at Shinnecock.

Not super inspiring.

Next. Phil Mickelson: A look ahead at what’s next for Lefty in 2019. dark

So if you have a lefty in your group, tip your cap to him or her. They really are playing a slightly different game. And dispense with the, “You’re playing from the wrong side” jokes. We are reminded of it at every turn. It’s truer than you can ever imagine.

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