I quit golf last year, and it was the best decision I could have made.

[bm11]

Last year I posted about quitting golf. I got a fair amount of flak, which in retrospect, was deserved. Thread here, for reference: 

 

 

So, I actually did it. I quit. I made it a full week before I picked up a new passion- right handed golf.

 

I started golf in 2016 as a lefty. I'm left handed, like most lefties, I'm relatively ambidextrous but the teaching pro thought that picking up golf as a lefty made the most sense, so that's the route I went. I took quite a few lessons and spend quite a bit of time practicing before ever making it to a course. I joined my local country club shortly after, and made pretty good strides, shooting in the low 100's in the few months left to play. I invested in a simulator, I practiced and played sim golf all through the winter, but next season I didn't find the results I was hoping for. Keeping this story as short as possible, I never had the success I felt I should considering the work I was putting in. The year leading up to quitting lefty was the worst, as my swing had developed a nasty fault that I wasn't able to resolve with multiple lessons from my local teaching pro, some training aids, and a lot of work. A fault bad enough that I didn't keep score and never made a par in the 2022 season. So out of frustration (I golf every Sunday and it was ruining the rest of my day) I quit golf. For a week.

 

Being that I don't easily accept defeat, I started from scratch as a righty. I took some more lessons to try to develop some fundamentals, and my pro was encouraged- my new righty swing looked fundamentally much better than my broken lefty swing. I also made the critical resolution to golf righty from here on out without expectations of ever getting "good." Part of my issue is that I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform, I excel at everything else I do and put in the work necessary to do so, but my lefty swing never made consistent progress. I had glimmers of hope, one stretch where I was somewhat consistently shooting under 100 and one magical round where I shot an 89, but it was short lived and still rather mediocre for the amount of years of work I had put in. 

 

Last season playing righty I never kept score, I made some bogies but never a par, as my swing produced a pretty consistent weak slice. I played sim golf over the winter with my Sunday group at my house on my GC Quad, and was able to work around my weak slice to play OK sim golf on shorter courses. I made some progress over the winter, but never really got rid of the slice. This season I played and started keeping score. The scores weren't good, I was shooting 110-120, but I had a much better attitude about it- I was just going out to have fun! I worked some with my pro but wasn't able to identify a fix. I continued to practice, getting a bit more of a consistent impact but still a slice, one that I was able to play around here and there to varying results. 

 

About a month and a half ago I signed up for online lessons with Cogorno golf, and started working on his slice fix program. A couple weeks in, I had a breakthrough where I discovered mid round a couple of swing thoughts that produced a straight shot with some level of consistency. I also listened to an audio book of Golf is Not A game of Perfect, twice. This really strengthened my already improved mental game. I did a much better job preparing for each shot and mentally blocking out whatever bad shots had come before them. My scores started to come down, I was now making low 100's, and starting to make a par or two a round.  

 

Two weeks ago it really clicked, I made my first right handed birdie on the first hole, and my second right handed birdie on the 7th hole. There were bad shots for sure, but less of them, and better recoveries. I walked away with a 96, the best score I had shot in over two years, and a much faster sub 100 than I got lefty. Even more importantly, my practice is very productive. I'm getting more and more consistent, making more good shots and consistently better bad shots (IE, a "good" 8 iron goes 150 and straight, a "bad" 8 iron goes 125 and 20 yards right, where as not long before a "good" 8 iron would go 110 yards and 40 yards right.)

 

Most importantly, I'm enjoying the game more than any time in the past. I don't approach each round with the mindset "I hope this is going to be a good round" and get frustrated when the first hole goes bad. I instead approach every round really looking forward to the opportunity to play, but without any feeling of anxiety of "I probably won't." I'll certainly continue to have bad rounds, but I'm not worried that the bad round is a reflection on a current trend, and I accept it is just part of the process.

 

I really look forward to continuing to work hard to improve, and I can't wait to play more golf. 

 

[Shankyouverymuch]

Welcome back to the game.  A friend I play with has been playing for 30+ years and never broke 90.

[TheBiles]

I'm naturally left handed, but I golf righty.  I always have this "what if" spectre that makes me wonder if I should switch.

[Ferguson]

 

 

There should be no such thing as left-handed golfers. 

[caniac6]

1 hour ago, Ferguson said:

 

 

There should be no such thing as left-handed golfers. 

My 95 year old father, who still plays, would disagree.

[Ferguson]

1 hour ago, caniac6 said:

My 95 year old father, who still plays, would disagree.

 

I'm sure he is a wonderful person, but I have always felt righthand golf should be the standard, like driving a car.  

Nowhere in the US is it "lawful" to turn left on red. 

 

 

[bm11]

10 minutes ago, Ferguson said:

 

I'm sure he is a wonderful person, but I have always felt righthand golf should be the standard, like driving a car.  

Nowhere in the US is it "lawful" to turn left on red. 

 

 

Haha, appreciate that perspective!

[bm11]

On 9/20/2023 at 3:48 PM, Shankyouverymuch said:

Welcome back to the game.  A friend I play with has been playing for 30+ years and never broke 90.

It's a humbling game for sure. It does seem to be a massive uphill battle if you didn't take it up young. As referenced in the OP, I play more than most casuals (27-36 holes a week, minus vacation weeks where I play 5 or so full rounds) and practice more than most golfers (almost every day.) All of that to shoot above 100 almost all the time, scores which a teenager could conceivably be beating within a weeks to a few months of picking up the game. 

[ShawLF]

My golf coach learned to play left handed as a way to better understand what it was like for adults learning to play golf. He only plays left now. Interestingly, we're both right handed and played hockey left, but all other sports (tennis, baseball, golf, etc) right.

 

I think that for the golf swing there is an advantage to the lead side being stronger. Range of motion is also important. For example, there is an advantage to being able to internally rotate the lead hip more than the trail hip (assuming typical limits - if you can't rotate into a backswing forward mobility is useless).

[efduffer]

1 hour ago, Ferguson said:

 

I'm sure he is a wonderful person, but I have always felt righthand golf should be the standard, like driving a car.  

Nowhere in the US is it "lawful" to turn left on red. 

 

 

Except onto a one-way street, so…

[caniac6]

3 hours ago, Ferguson said:

 

I'm sure he is a wonderful person, but I have always felt righthand golf should be the standard, like driving a car.  

Nowhere in the US is it "lawful" to turn left on red. 

 

 

He forgot his glove when he went to Kingsmill. When he asked the young lady at the counter if they had gloves for lefties, she said they only had gloves for normal people.

[Tyrus Webb]

6 hours ago, Ferguson said:

 

 

There should be no such thing as left-handed golfers. 

 

Weird thing to be a bigot about.

[jordan2240]

Have you ever played baseball or softball?  Seems you should use the same handedness for golf.  But I do play with an older guy who batted lefty but golfs right.  Makes no sense to me.

[bobfoster]

16 hours ago, Ferguson said:

 

 

There should be no such thing as left-handed golfers. 

Judging by the periodic - but continual - frustrations voiced in the Equipment forum - according the offerings from a number of OEMs, there apparently actually aren't any left-handed golfers. 🤣

[bcjim]

On 9/22/2023 at 6:26 AM, Ferguson said:

 

 

There should be no such thing as left-handed golfers. 

I can't watch them swing for fear of it messing up my swing.

[bm11]

11 hours ago, jordan2240 said:

Have you ever played baseball or softball?  Seems you should use the same handedness for golf.  But I do play with an older guy who batted lefty but golfs right.  Makes no sense to me.

Batted lefty, pitched righty. 

[Ferguson]

23 hours ago, bcjim said:

I can't watch them swing for fear of it messing up my swing.

 

We all know the typical reaction when meeting one.

"Oh, ah, you're um, a lefty."

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

OP, you made the correct decision.

 

Not because playing right-handed is intrinsically better than playing left-handed, but because by switching from left-handed golf to right-handed golf it gave you the perfect excuse to buy a complete new set of golf clubs, along with a bunch of spare wedges, hybrids, and various speciality clubs required for "course conditions."

 

And on GolfWRX, that is the perfect solution every time, regardless of the problem😁

[bm11]

8 hours ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

OP, you made the correct decision.

 

Not because playing right-handed is intrinsically better than playing left-handed, but because by switching from left-handed golf to right-handed golf it gave you the perfect excuse to buy a complete new set of golf clubs, along with a bunch of spare wedges, hybrids, and various speciality clubs required for "course conditions."

 

And on GolfWRX, that is the perfect solution every time, regardless of the problem😁

And putters! Even though I still putt lefty sometimes, I do putt righty now. And I only have one righty putter to four lefty putters. Time to get busy.

[Fwitz11]

I would be amazed to see someone on the course playing righty but putting lefty!

[acemandrake]

On 9/24/2023 at 6:06 AM, Ferguson said:

 

We all know the typical reaction when meeting one.

"Oh, ah, you're um, a lefty."

I never know where to stand when playing with a lefty.  😕🙃

[bm11]

10 hours ago, Fwitz11 said:

I would be amazed to see someone on the course playing righty but putting lefty!

It does mess with my head a bit. Tough to explain if you've never made the transition, but you know how you think about your next shot when you are walking up to your ball? Well, for a long time I'd automatically do that as a lefty, and then realize what I was doing and mentally swap to righty, which is a weird mental feeling to change how you visualize a shot feeling. Anyhow, I had just about worked that out of my system when I started putting lefty again, and find that it creeps up pretty often again.

 

I'm resolving to practice the heck out of righty putting until it becomes the better option, and put all lefty swings behind me. 

[Kai Slater]

Im another one that "mixed up" on the right/left concept.  I play golf left handed, shoot pool left handed, when I was a kid I rode a skateboard "lefty" or what they call "goofy footed."  I write left handed, but throw a baseball or football right handed.  In my case, it all comes down to the stance where I just feel much more comfortable on my feet from the left side and turning my body from the left.  It just feels better and fits my eye-sight better from that side.

 

 

[Dan Drake]

@bm11 Congrats on a HUGE step towards enjoying the game of golf!  I play "competitive" golf righty with modern equipment.  I play fun golf with clubs from days of yore.  I also play goofy golf (usually with adult beverages!) from the opposite side, lefty for me.  And I love them all so much more now than when all of my rounds were of the "competitive" variety!  DM me if you want to have further conversation via phone or whatnot, I'd love to offer any help I can!!!

 

Great job and good luck!

[McMunch]

My father was a natural lefty but learned golf right handed because that was the set he had access to. Had one lefty 7 iron in his bag just in case and could chip or punch great with it. Same with putting. Had one of those old steel head putters that was flat on both sides. If he wasn't putting well one way he'd switch.    Totally annoying.

[bm11]

37 minutes ago, McMunch said:

My father was a natural lefty but learned golf right handed because that was the set he had access to. Had one lefty 7 iron in his bag just in case and could chip or punch great with it. Same with putting. Had one of those old steel head putters that was flat on both sides. If he wasn't putting well one way he'd switch.    Totally annoying.

I want to rock an ambidextrous putter!!!

[bm11]

4 hours ago, Dan Drake said:

@bm11 Congrats on a HUGE step towards enjoying the game of golf!  I play "competitive" golf righty with modern equipment.  I play fun golf with clubs from days of yore.  I also play goofy golf (usually with adult beverages!) from the opposite side, lefty for me.  And I love them all so much more now than when all of my rounds were of the "competitive" variety!  DM me if you want to have further conversation via phone or whatnot, I'd love to offer any help I can!!!

 

Great job and good luck!

Thanks a bunch!

[golfortennis]

On 9/29/2023 at 6:31 AM, Fwitz11 said:

I would be amazed to see someone on the course playing righty but putting lefty!

 

I play with a few guys who do exactly that.  Can't putt RH so.... 

[bigred90gt]

On 9/22/2023 at 7:35 AM, Ferguson said:

 

I'm sure he is a wonderful person, but I have always felt righthand golf should be the standard, like driving a car.  

Nowhere in the US is it "lawful" to turn left on red. 

 

 

Never driven in Texas? Left on red when turning from a one way to a one way is "lawful". 

 

I'm very much left handed at everything I do, including golf. When I was probably one or two years into playing, I was out with my uncle and his brother in law one day and decided on #17 I wanted to hit a shot righty. I borrowed a driver and proceeded to pipe one dead center of the fairway. Considering I was fighting a nasty slice with my lefty swing, I was encouraged. It felt awkward, but the result was fantastic. To ensure it wasn't a fluke, I borrowed his 7 iron for the approach shot. I almost broke my wrist when I hit the ground about a foot behind the ball and buried the clubhead in the dirt. Over the last 20 years since, I have randomly tried to repeat the one good righty shot, each attempt met with utter and complete failure. My right handed swing looks like something out of a very poorly drawing comic book. It is one of the most unathletic movements you could imagine. No balance, no rhythm, nothing you would expect a 40 handicap to even produce, let alone a 6 handicap I carry left handed. 

[Pepperturbo]

On 9/20/2023 at 8:51 AM, bm11 said:

Most importantly, I'm enjoying the game more than any time in the past. I don't approach each round with the mindset "I hope this is going to be a good round" and get frustrated when the first hole goes bad. I instead approach every round really looking forward to the opportunity to play, but without any feeling of anxiety of "I probably won't." I'll certainly continue to have bad rounds, but I'm not worried that the bad round is a reflection on a current trend, and I accept it is just part of the process.

I was born a lefty, but as a youngster switched to being right-handed at everything.  My guess, you're enjoying golf right-handed cause you feel you fit in.  Being a lefty can make someone think and do crazy things, plus it is difficult finding lefty equipment.  Essentially, I've been ambidextrous at most activities all my life.  I play golf right-handed, but often putt left-handed, using the flange of my SC putter, and make putts. LOL

 

Good luck.

Edited October 9, 2023 by Pepperturbo