Left Handed Golf Clubs Offer Southpaws Same Advantages

Contrary to what a few might believe, left handed golf clubs are not for use on the other side of the fairway. Although right-handed golfers may find themselves in a situation where a club with the shaft attached to the other side of the club head may come in handy, specific design and weighting goes into the design of left handed golf clubs.

It takes more than switching the shaft to the other side of the club head to make left handed golf clubs and most manufacturers work as hard on developing quality equipment for lefties as they do for the larger market of right handed golfers. There are left handed golf clubs designed for men and women as well as youth, made as a matched set or as individual clubs for those who want to put together their own unique set of woods or irons.

Many theories exist as to what causes a person to be predominantly left handed, but none of them are completely understood. While eight to 15 percent of the population is left handed, the discrepancy lies in geography, national origin and the fact that identical twins are about 76 percent more likely to be left handed. These figures have not been lost on the makers of golf equipment and they look to cater to them with left handed golf clubs.

Clubs Not Always Selected For Write Reasons

Phil Mickelson, the 2005 PGA Championship winner is nicknames Lefty due to his left handed swing, but for most activities, he is right handed. Many times people are judged by which hand they use to write with but several may write with their right hand and still use left handed golf clubs on the course.

Unlike baseball players who are considered switch-hitters and can use the same bat from either side of the plate, lefties are limited to the number of clubs they can carry in their bags. Even if ambidextrous, they can only use the number of clubs allotted by USGA and PGA rules. However, they can carry a mix of right and left handed golf clubs in their bag, provided they do not exceed the maximum.

Manufacturers continue to make design changes on both right and left handed golf clubs and modifications to head design, shafts and grips are made to improve the game of all golfers, regardless on which side of the tee they stand. The same face angles, the same shafts and the same grips are used, only they apply the configuration needed for lefties.