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Which Hand To Teach A Left Handed 8 Year Old

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mdowney58

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My son's 8 year old daughter has gone golfing with him for several years, and so far she has simply enjoyed riding along. She seems to now be interested in learning to golf.
She is left handed.
My son is also left handed, but golfs right handed.
He said she tends towards golfing left handed, and asked me if he should be guiding her either left handed or right handed from the beginning. I surely do not know.
Anyone with experience in this scenario?

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I grew up left handed and my dad played right so when I messed around with his clubs it was always right handed. I played baseball left handed and do most everything left handed but golf just feels better right handed.

Not an expert at all but let her try both and see which way she is the most comfortable.
 
This may sound strange coming from someone that is left handed, but plays right handed, but.............why would you teach someone that is left handed to play right handed?


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Mark_UK said:
This may sound strange coming from someone that is left handed, but plays right handed, but.............why would you teach someone that is left handed to play right handed?


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I have 11 year old twin sons and a 9 year old son. All three are left handed......but I am teaching them to play right handed. The reasons are simple:

1. Left handed equipment is much more difficult to find.....especially in child size clubs.
2. Some manufacturers don't make all of their equipment available in left handed version.
3. Left handed clubs in the used market are often times more expensive.
4. I am right handed, and wouldn't be able to mimic the left handed positions as easily when teaching them.
5. They can get my hand me down clubs during their teenage years to make it less expensive on the family budget.
 
It would depend upon how left handed she is. People are more one way or another.
 
Kay-Dee said:
I have 11 year old twin sons and a 9 year old son. All three are left handed......but I am teaching them to play right handed. The reasons are simple:

1. Left handed equipment is much more difficult to find.....especially in child size clubs.
2. Some manufacturers don't make all of their equipment available in left handed version.
3. Left handed clubs in the used market are often times more expensive.
4. I am right handed, and wouldn't be able to mimic the left handed positions as easily when teaching them.
5. They can get my hand me down clubs during their teenage years to make it less expensive on the family budget.
Click to expand...

I wonder how you would have felt if the person that taught you had forced you to play left handed? I constantly wonder if I would have been a better golfer had I played to my natural dominant side, especially when it comes to putting.


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Which Hand To Teach A Left Handed 8 Year Old

I asked my pro this exact question as my son who is 5 is also left handed. He said without question play him right handed. His reason was a right handed swing is left hand dominant and as he is left handed he should find it easier.

Also there are many good pros who play the opposite way, Mickelson and Stenson being just two of them


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barryboymunro said:
I asked my pro this exact question as my son who is 5 is also left handed. He said without question play him right handed. His reason was a right handed swing is left hand dominant and as he is left handed he should find it easier.

Also there are many good pros who play the opposite way, Mickelson and Stenson being just two of them


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The part that puzzles me is, isn't Mickelson ambidextrous? His choice?
I don't have an answer, just following along.
 
I am right handed but golf left handed. When I first started my dad had me swing whatever way was more comfortable, even though he plays right handed. When my daughter first started I let her do the same thing and she is also right handed but golfs left handed.

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If she can play righty, go righty. Equipment is harder to find, but not impossible, so if she has a strong preference towards lefty it’s not the end of the world.
 
I am left handed and I play left handed. I have a 2 year old son that is showing signs he will be left handed as well. I have always been of the mind that in sports I want my kids to be able to be ambidextrous. I think let the child decide what hand they want to play to get started then work the other in. The equipment for left handed players as has been stated before is less than right handed. I have know several people that played baseball and golf and their dads were worried that golf swing would hurt their baseball swing, so they taught them to use the other hand.
 
I’m left handed and play right handed. But, it felt natural for me to play right handed. When I played baseball growing up I’d throw left handed but preferred to bat right handed.

I have had several coaches tell me that being left handed and playing right is probably why I swing so fast (100 mph w/irons, 120 mph w/driver). So maybe there is more speed/power to be had from playing opposite your dominant hand.

Also, it seems most left handed people are fairly ambidextrous. So it probably doesn’t matter as much as it would trying to do the opposite (with a right handed person).
 
Awstyn said:
The part that puzzles me is, isn't Mickelson ambidextrous? His choice?
I don't have an answer, just following along.
Click to expand...

From what I’ve read/heard Phil is right handed but mirrored his father who is right handed.
 
Let her do whatever is most comfortable. Forcing her to go one way over the other just won't work out well in the long run. My son is righty in everything one handed, like throwing, writing, etc. But he's a lefty in two-handed activities like golf or hockey. I'm right handed at everything, so no handed down clubs or anything like that. It's part of the price of having kids.
 
barryboymunro said:
I asked my pro this exact question as my son who is 5 is also left handed. He said without question play him right handed. His reason was a right handed swing is left hand dominant and as he is left handed he should find it easier.

Also there are many good pros who play the opposite way, Mickelson and Stenson being just two of them


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The horror... How much time do you think they spend wondering how much better they'd be if some overbearing parent hadn't forced them to play from their weaker side?

Seriously though, the only lefty that I've really spent much time on the course with plays right handed but does putt left handed, so don't ignore that as an option.
 
Bucketsofjoy said:
The horror... How much time do you think they spend wondering how much better they'd be if some overbearing parent hadn't forced them to play from their weaker side?

Seriously though, the only lefty that I've really spent much time on the course with plays right handed but does putt left handed, so don't ignore that as an option.
Click to expand...

My daughter is right handed but plays lefty, and putts righty. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
Left hander, play golf / throw righty. For me, it was simple. I wanted to golf, and the clubs we had in the house were righty. So off I went. Same deal with ball, we had a glove for the left hand, so it was throw righty or drop the glove after every catch to throw. I managed. Can't throw for beans with my left hand now, but if you throw something at me odds are I'll use my right hand to grab it.

Go with whatever's more comfortable for the child. Yes, some equipment isn't available left-handed. Whoopie. That's the exception today. Up here, I'd think 20-30% play left handed. Lefty clubs certainly seem easy enough to find for the guys I play with, and I don't see that used prices are any different. Might even be lower.
 
Pretty sure ben hogan was also left handed but played right handed. Regardless, if she has an inclination to swing left handed, I would go with that. The only experience I have was trying to teach my nephew who was about that age but he was a right hander who did everything right handed so it was pretty simple.
 
I am left handed and play golf right. Pretty sure I was taught that way. My son is left handed and he swings right handed with a golf club and baseball bat. Now is only 3, but I tried to get him to swing left handed with a golf club and baseball bat and he did not like it at all, so I didn't force it. I would say let your 8 year old do what comes naturally.
 
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