How to Play a Golf Course Left Handed
By Steve Silverman
On the surface, the average golfer may not think there is any difference between playing golf left-handed and right-handed. However, most golf courses are built for right-handed golfers. Most of the dogleg holes go left to right and when there is a tough pin placement, it's usually in the back left corner of the green. Both of these factors work in favor of the right-handed golfer.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate
Realize that when you play a round of golf that the course is built for a right-handed golfer. It is much easier for most right-handed golfers to hit a ball from left to right than it is from right to left. There may 6 dog leg holes on the course, and 5 of them will bend left to right while only one will go right to left.
If you are playing in a tournament or an important match, the placement of the holes will have a tendency to to be in the upper left portion of the green. This works in favor of the right-handed approach which will normally go high and roll toward the left when it comes down.
Take a positive attitude when you play. These may be small advantages for the right-handed golfer but they can easily be overcome by a left-handed golfer who hits the ball solidly and can think as they play the game. Don't get defeated by the circumstances of the game or the layout of the course.
Learn how to hit a controlled hook shot. As most golfers learn to play the game, they learn how to hit a shot with right-to-left action as well as a shot with left-to-right action. You should understand that your need a square stance as you address the ball and that your must have an even weight transfer as well as a strong snap of the left wrist to get your ball to go left to right on those dog leg right holes.
Read the greens carefully when you get ready to putt. Your playing partners may be all right-handed and they may have putted before you. You can read their putts and get information from watching them strike the ball, but you will have to reverse the information when you are standing over the ball. You may be better off forgetting what they have done and standing behind the ball and reading it yourself before taking one practice swing and hitting it.
Tips & Warnings
While courses may be set up for right-handers, just attack it with a clear frame of mind and keep a positive attitude.
About The Author
Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman authored The Minnesota Vikings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Who's Better, Who's Best in Football -- The Top 60 Players of All-Time, among others, and placed in the Pro Football Writers of America awards three times. Silverman holds a Master of Science in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism.
