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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — When Jake Knapp was simply three years previous, he picked up his brother’s previous golf golf equipment for the primary time and began taking some whacks. However there was one obtrusive downside: He was hitting the ball with the unsuitable facet of the membership.
Knapp, 29, who made the 2024 WM Phoenix Open his eighth begin on the PGA Tour, used to play together with his brother’s right-handed golf golf equipment, however felt extra comfy swinging lefty.
“I began taking swings lefty and (my dad) put a right-handed membership in my hand and was like ‘We’re not paying for 2 units of golf equipment, you’re getting hand-me-downs out of your brother,’” mentioned Knapp, who performs hockey right-handed and is a switch-hitter in baseball.
“Golf was pressured on my proper hand.”
Knapp has been a right-hand dominant golfer ever since. And, surprisingly, his story is much less distinctive than you’d suppose. Whereas left-handed people make up roughly 10 p.c of the worldwide inhabitants, solely about 5 p.c of PGA Tour golfers are lefties.
What’s much more perplexing is that left-dominant persons are really overrepresented in lots of different racket and bat sports activities. Roughly 15 p.c {of professional} tennis gamers, and 30 p.c of baseball, cricket and desk tennis gamers are southpaws.
Like Knapp, many younger left-handers have a tough time discovering golf golf equipment — particularly higher-end golf golf equipment — at their native golf outlets.
“You hardly see something on the shelf for lefties,” mentioned James Ridyard, a short-game coach for a handful of PGA Tour golfers. “If somebody desires one thing that’s the increased finish equipment-wise, you’re a lot much less prone to see it left-handed within the retailer.”
In consequence, many of those younger southpaw golfers do precisely what Knapp did — they swap their dominant hand and decide to play right-handed.
“There’s a number of right-handed golfers who’re left-handed individuals,” mentioned Sean Foley, a swing coach for a number of tour gamers and junior golfers. “I’ve three guys who’re left-handed, however play golf right-handed.”
There is perhaps a sociological element at play, too, which forces lefties into utilizing their proper hand from a younger age, although that is probably not what’s pure for them.
“When a child begins writing left-handed, [in many countries] they convert him to right-handed,” Foley mentioned. “There are such a lot of guys who began enjoying golf left-handed after which they mentioned ‘No, you’ve obtained to change to right-handed.’ Being left-handed has some unfavorable bias to it. It’s a social stigma.”
Foley is true. In some cultures, the left hand is taken into account the “soiled” hand — or the hand used for hygiene — whereas the fitting hand is what’s used for grabbing, delivering, consuming and different every day actions.
However in golf, maybe there shouldn’t be a bias in opposition to southpaws, particularly as a result of there’s no apparent drawback related to swinging lefty.
Garrick Higgo, a left-handed South African who received the Palmetto Championship in 2021, says sure holes may pose sure issues for lefties, however that all of it evens out ultimately.
“There’s sure holes (which might be higher for righties) and vice versa,” he mentioned. “It additionally simply relies upon what form you hit the ball. I don’t actually consider in (there being an obstacle to being lefty).”
Nicolo Galletti, an Arizona State graduate who turned skilled in 2017, agrees.
“What it comes right down to is all ball flight,” mentioned Galletti. “I don’t actually suppose it issues what facet you’re on, it simply issues which approach you form the shot.”
The truth is, there could even be a bonus to being left-handed on the course in relation to instruction.
“From an instruction perspective, it’s generally simpler to show a lefty, as a result of they will mirror you,” mentioned Ridyard, who coaches each lefties and righties. “(Lefties) can actually copy the actions you’re making. Whereas when you’re a righty, they need to swivel round — they will’t face you, so it’s not like a mirror picture anymore.”
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