Going Lefty.....with GoingLefty

GoingLefty

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Ok, well my first post on the forum and it looks like a good community here. I've been away from golf for awhile so looking forward to posting here often.

So my backstory:

Golfed right handed for 25 years (41 now). Was a 13-14 cap. Touched the single digits for about a week once. Spring of 2017 I injured my back pretty badly and ended up with a compression fracture and finding out I had osteoporosis. It's strange for a guy to have this at my age, it has been chalked up to heredity. 2 months later I was almost completely healed and on Vacation. Tripped in the dark when I got up one morning and bam. Second fracture, right below the first. Neither were bad enough to need surgery and I was lucky to get a top Physio that works with our Olympic team. I had many, many sessions with her. That was 19 months ago since the first injury. Rehab went really well thankfully and I am pain free unless I'm sitting on a stool or something for long periods of time. I hadn't touched a club since (sold all mine so I wasn't tempted) until a few days ago.

So I have clearance form the Doctors to return to golf if I wish. I have decided to learn left handed due to several reasons. Mostly because I don't want to have to "unlearn" 25 years of bad habits. I swung really hard (110ss+) and with what I know now is bad form and I know it's going to be really hard to lay off that if I go back right handed. That certainly contributed to my back issues, no doubt. I also won't be able to swing as fast lefty so that will help my back as well. Unfortunately I am not ambidextrous so this could be a big learning curve, but I love a challenge so I'm excited for this. Just being on the course will be a victory.

My approach was going to be 100% based on feel (whatever didn't stress my back) and I was not going to get any coaching. I see most coaches teach a mechanical based method (left arm here, hing wrists there, club head pointing in such a direction at the top..etc.)and for me I don't agree with that any more. I've had several coaches over the years and despite my best efforts I never got any better. All my improvement was on my own. I have heard the same from many friends.

So I figured that I would just start myself based on what felt good for my back. No more worrying about positions or head down or anything like that. Just a good setup and grip and then the rest strictly feel. Well I found out recently there are some golf coaches that teach this way and I have one in my hometown! So I am going to him for a lesson on Jan. 7th. We talked on the phone and our philosophy is the same. The swing should be based on feel. He understands my back situation and that my health comes first. Seems like a good guy!

So we are going to start slow with putting, chipping and pitching and go from there. His winter rates are good so I'll probably go every two weeks if we are a good fit and my back is pain free. I just bought my first left handed clubs which was an odd feeling. I got a used Ping Glide SW and a Ping Mallet Putter. I have been taking half swings and so far totally pain free. If pain happens at any point, that will be the end of golf. The only way this works is if I put my health first, which I am.

I've been really ramping up my exercise program and dropping some weight as well. I'm focusing on core/back and leg strength as well as mobility. Lots of weird balls and foam rollers haha. My strength is getting better and better and so is my mobility. I think that by spring if all continues well, I should be able to hit a par 3 course to test myself. :clap:

Sorry for the length, I'll update here as I go (hopefully this thread goes on for years as that will mean I'm golfing). I have some odd ideas for course management that I may post about at some point. Have a great day all and Merry Xmas!
 
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Welcome to THP and good luck.
 
Welcome to THP and good luck with the new swing, looking forward to how it goes.
 
Welcome to THP!
I'll be following along.
 
Are you right handed? I'm right handed but swing lefty and I bet it'll make your transition to play LH much easier.
 
Welcome to THP and good luck with the swing!
 
Welcome!
 
Welcome to THP! Good luck with the new swing.
 
Welcome aboard and an interesting strategy. I hope it works out for you! I make a lot of long posts, but I'm not going to here. I too swing hard. I've totally lost my game, but I haven't even thought of going lefty-that's a pretty nuclear option, lol.

I'll instead offer that I wish you luck and point out that if the going lefty thing doesn't work, you could always swing less hard as a righty. I get the thought process, but man that's going to be tough. I haven't touched a club in a month (other than to sell a couple) and I'm purposely waiting until the first of the year because I'm doing a total swing overhaul. I'm in the "committing mentally" portion of it now. I know I'm going to lose 8-10mph CHS with it, but if the goal is to shoot lower scores I know it'll be for the better. Anyways, I wish you luck and if the nuclear option that you've outlined drives you away, just do what I'm planning to do-swing less hard:)

What? That's a short post for me.
 
Welcome to THP.
 
Thanks so much to everyone for the nice welcome, I really appreciate it. Cheers!
 
Are you right handed? I'm right handed but swing lefty and I bet it'll make your transition to play LH much easier.

Yep, I'm right handed. I shot left though playing hockey when I was younger so I'm hoping that helps. Its encouraging to hear you play left, but are right handed. I think my approach is going to help...I hope haha...
 
Welcome aboard and an interesting strategy. I hope it works out for you! I make a lot of long posts, but I'm not going to here. I too swing hard. I've totally lost my game, but I haven't even thought of going lefty-that's a pretty nuclear option, lol.

I'll instead offer that I wish you luck and point out that if the going lefty thing doesn't work, you could always swing less hard as a righty. I get the thought process, but man that's going to be tough. I haven't touched a club in a month (other than to sell a couple) and I'm purposely waiting until the first of the year because I'm doing a total swing overhaul. I'm in the "committing mentally" portion of it now. I know I'm going to lose 8-10mph CHS with it, but if the goal is to shoot lower scores I know it'll be for the better. Anyways, I wish you luck and if the nuclear option that you've outlined drives you away, just do what I'm planning to do-swing less hard:)

What? That's a short post for me.

Haha, I have a problem with long posts too, as you see. It's true that I could go back to right handed if it didn't work out but I am going to give it a real shot playing left. My plan is to go left for the entire year to give it a good shot. I didn't mention but I have some disc degeneration as well and it doesn't bother me swinging left but I feel tightness when I do it right handed. Plus I could never slow my swing down for some reason, especially with the driver. I think it's because I read the Little Red Book by Harvey Pennick as a young guy and he said to swing hard. So I did lol. Too hard... I just think it's going to be less dangerous learning left than re-learning right. My health is first, so that's going to be my approach. If It's a huge failure and I can barely hit the ball maybe I'll reconsider.

I don't know what to expect as far as how hard it will be to do this. Assuming my back is good and holds up, will I break 120 even? 100? I don't have any goals for that at all at this point and no reference point as to how hard this challenge will be. I only have one goal right now: to be able to golf 9 holes on a par 3 course here in Calgary when the courses open in the Spring. Once that goal is achieved, then I'll make some new ones. I have fitness and health goals but i'll put that in a future post.

Good luck on the swing overhaul, that's a huge challenge as well. Hopefully you make a thread for it and I can follow along. I did it once on my own and the scores went way up before they dropped. Hopefully you don't have the same issue. Cheers and thanks for the message!
 
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GoingLefty, want to see you succeed. I ruptured a disc many years ago and can now say I've played golf pain-free for years. Want the same for you!

Do you get any more pain from the compression fracture? If so, where do you feel it? What disc and which side hurts? On the osteoporosis, you can grow new bone with specific exercises and nutrition. If you aren't aware of that and want more information PM me.
 
Welcome to THP and good luck!
 
GoingLefty, want to see you succeed. I ruptured a disc many years ago and can now say I've played golf pain-free for years. Want the same for you!

Do you get any more pain from the compression fracture? If so, where do you feel it? What disc and which side hurts? On the osteoporosis, you can grow new bone with specific exercises and nutrition. If you aren't aware of that and want more information PM me.

That's great to hear you are playing pain free, that's my plan as well. I have almost zero pain from the fracture now. Some chairs or stools will be tiring and uncomfortable but otherwise I'm good. It was my L1 and L2. I am on a nutrition plan for my osteo (though with the hollidays...) and also my physio has given me an exercise regime to do. Recently been able to increase it as well. I do a lot of mobility work but for bone growth its mostly walking and weight bearing exercises. Lots of planks, squats and lunges. I've added weights to these exercises in the last few weeks (well not planks).
 
Well I ended up getting a golf bag yesterday (Wilson Lite) on sale and a couple of golf shirts. So I have a bag now, a putter and a sand wedge. Irons, Woods and shoes will be next. Any of you guys have good rec's for really stable shoes? I have been scouting FJ's top of the line model and some Ecco's. I'm going to get used clubs I'm pretty sure to save on the cost but stability is not something I'm going to scrimp on for obvious reasons.

Otherwise Christmas went well, I kept up with my exercise program and even managed to lose a bit of weight. That's a first haha. Hope all had a good holiday!
 
Well I ended up getting a golf bag yesterday (Wilson Lite) on sale and a couple of golf shirts. So I have a bag now, a putter and a sand wedge. Irons, Woods and shoes will be next. Any of you guys have good rec's for really stable shoes? I have been scouting FJ's top of the line model and some Ecco's. I'm going to get used clubs I'm pretty sure to save on the cost but stability is not something I'm going to scrimp on for obvious reasons.

Otherwise Christmas went well, I kept up with my exercise program and even managed to lose a bit of weight. That's a first haha. Hope all had a good holiday!

Good news, GL. I'm really interested in your journey and I think I can speak for most of us when I say I wish you the best in your journey. I'm also a right handed person who plays left handed. I do everything in my life right handed except golf, swing a bat, and fish. My left handed tendency started before I even knew there was a left and right hand way to do things. My uncles were big fans of Sal Bando when he played for the Oakland As. Sal was a left handed batter. They put a bat (not even sure if was actually a bat) in my hands at about two years old, put me on the left side of the plate, and my swing started from there. A little league coach (knowing that I did everything else right handed) tried to get me to swing from the other side of the plate (I don't know why considering lefties have an advantage against right handed pitchers) and it felt too awkward, so I've swung lefty for as long as I've been able to swing anything.

Keep us posted on your progress. This will be an interesting follow, for sure. Good luck.
 
Welcome to THP! Really looking forward to your journey!
 
Wishing you the best of luck. Pain and injury free is definitely objective one above all else even if it means significantly higher scores. You'll still be out on the golf course! And who knows, due to a million other variables, you may even be better than right handed.

I am a lefty that plays golf righty, and swinging a baseball bat and golf club are literally the only things I do righty. The one bit of advice I would offer as a fellow "opposite hander" is that it is unfortunately so easy to let the non dominant hand (i.e. my right, your left) get really really lazy in the swing and just go along for the ride since as the non dominant hand it is already accustomed to sort of just being along for the ride. I would encourage you to exaggerate using it early on to "groove" that hand's participation! Obviously we're all different but just a nugget that may help.
 
Good news, GL. I'm really interested in your journey and I think I can speak for most of us when I say I wish you the best in your journey. I'm also a right handed person who plays left handed. I do everything in my life right handed except golf, swing a bat, and fish. My left handed tendency started before I even knew there was a left and right hand way to do things. My uncles were big fans of Sal Bando when he played for the Oakland As. Sal was a left handed batter. They put a bat (not even sure if was actually a bat) in my hands at about two years old, put me on the left side of the plate, and my swing started from there. A little league coach (knowing that I did everything else right handed) tried to get me to swing from the other side of the plate (I don't know why considering lefties have an advantage against right handed pitchers) and it felt too awkward, so I've swung lefty for as long as I've been able to swing anything.

Keep us posted on your progress. This will be an interesting follow, for sure. Good luck.

Thanks man, it really is encouraging hearing how many of you guys have been able to adapt to your non dominant hand in sports. My Dad was left-handed, I figure that's gotta help me right haha?

Thanks again for the support this place is great, wish I would have found it sooner.
 
Wishing you the best of luck. Pain and injury free is definitely objective one above all else even if it means significantly higher scores. You'll still be out on the golf course! And who knows, due to a million other variables, you may even be better than right handed.

I am a lefty that plays golf righty, and swinging a baseball bat and golf club are literally the only things I do righty. The one bit of advice I would offer as a fellow "opposite hander" is that it is unfortunately so easy to let the non dominant hand (i.e. my right, your left) get really really lazy in the swing and just go along for the ride since as the non dominant hand it is already accustomed to sort of just being along for the ride. I would encourage you to exaggerate using it early on to "groove" that hand's participation! Obviously we're all different but just a nugget that may help.

Thanks for the advice, I will keep that in mind. Pain and injury free is the constant goal, if I can't play that way then this thread might end early, but I'm pretty sure I'll figure a way out. I am cautiously optimistic.
 
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