I'm a Lefty........but I'm right handed, write with my right, wave with my right, use my right eye to shoot a gun and pull the trigger with my right, use my right hand to work the mouse on my computer, look through a telescope with my right eye, put the phone up to my right ear....etc etc....but I shoot left in Golf.
I'm also very curious by nature so I tend to be a student of whatever I'm into....a Golf nerd in this case if you will.
A recent comment in a thread got me thinking...why the F' am I a left handed golfer? We get made fun of, club selection is not as good, instruction is confusing...etc etc. Its a hard life of abuse to be sure. Lord knows I'm right handed, I should have played golf Right....right?
Then I started to think and question myself...am I really a left handed gofer? I stand with the ball in front of me (It's not on my left), I take away towards my left side yes, but then swing through on my right. The ball exits on my right, I generate power towards my right side, I use my right eye and right side of my body to power the swing and coordinate my motions. This is not the debate though (I'd lose that one), because in Baseball, we classify the hitters based on the same positions (right vs. left), so lets just call it what it is for simplification. But I would like to think I bring up some interesting points.
With that said.....it got me thinking based on the fact I happen to play "left", but I use all my dominant right side to truly engage in my swing. Are people playing "right" when they should be playing "Left" all because that's what most people do? Golf and the motion of it is extremely complicated and each person thinks the game differently depending on how his or her body works best. I control the swing (The precision part of it) with my right hand...right or wrong, that's what I do. My left is there for moral support, at least that's how I strike. The only job my left arm has is to make sure it's straight at impact so my damn wrists square up. I don't need right handed precisions to do that. But my swing path, decent, position at the top, position at impact, holding my lag and all the fussy crap is the job of the leading hand, which in most gofers is their left hand/arm....wait....whaaaat? So how the heck do you righties play with your left side as the dominant side through impact? Statistics around the globe show most people are right handed (something to do with language being taken care of by the left side of the brain that works the right side of the body ...blah blah blah). Golf instruction is clear in this as well, it details all the things your left hand and wrist should be doing, doesn't really care what the fudge the right side is doing though. I feel bad for you righties, you're leaving all the decision making to the dumb side of the body?
Pondering further I have to wonder, how many people out there just can't for the life of them improve or even remotely play half way decent because they are actually swinging the wrong way. Is it because the stigma of playing "left" has kept the correct clubs out of their hands?
Something to chew on
I'm also very curious by nature so I tend to be a student of whatever I'm into....a Golf nerd in this case if you will.
A recent comment in a thread got me thinking...why the F' am I a left handed golfer? We get made fun of, club selection is not as good, instruction is confusing...etc etc. Its a hard life of abuse to be sure. Lord knows I'm right handed, I should have played golf Right....right?
Then I started to think and question myself...am I really a left handed gofer? I stand with the ball in front of me (It's not on my left), I take away towards my left side yes, but then swing through on my right. The ball exits on my right, I generate power towards my right side, I use my right eye and right side of my body to power the swing and coordinate my motions. This is not the debate though (I'd lose that one), because in Baseball, we classify the hitters based on the same positions (right vs. left), so lets just call it what it is for simplification. But I would like to think I bring up some interesting points.
With that said.....it got me thinking based on the fact I happen to play "left", but I use all my dominant right side to truly engage in my swing. Are people playing "right" when they should be playing "Left" all because that's what most people do? Golf and the motion of it is extremely complicated and each person thinks the game differently depending on how his or her body works best. I control the swing (The precision part of it) with my right hand...right or wrong, that's what I do. My left is there for moral support, at least that's how I strike. The only job my left arm has is to make sure it's straight at impact so my damn wrists square up. I don't need right handed precisions to do that. But my swing path, decent, position at the top, position at impact, holding my lag and all the fussy crap is the job of the leading hand, which in most gofers is their left hand/arm....wait....whaaaat? So how the heck do you righties play with your left side as the dominant side through impact? Statistics around the globe show most people are right handed (something to do with language being taken care of by the left side of the brain that works the right side of the body ...blah blah blah). Golf instruction is clear in this as well, it details all the things your left hand and wrist should be doing, doesn't really care what the fudge the right side is doing though. I feel bad for you righties, you're leaving all the decision making to the dumb side of the body?
Pondering further I have to wonder, how many people out there just can't for the life of them improve or even remotely play half way decent because they are actually swinging the wrong way. Is it because the stigma of playing "left" has kept the correct clubs out of their hands?
Something to chew on