Anyone play right-handed but putt left handed?

[Nevin]

I gave up on it last summer.  I definitely had less problems with the yips putting left handed, but aim was a bigger problem.  My dominant eye is my left eye and the hole always looked to be in the wrong place.  I went back to right handed with armlock left hand low and that seems to be somewhat better.

[BMart519]

Played with a guy that swung right handed and putted left. When asked about it he said he always played hockey left handed. Probably a similar situation where he was given RH clubs to learn on when young. 

I play right handed and putt with a traditional grip. I've tried left hand low and it feels weird. But putting LH and then using a right hand low opposite grip feels great for short putts. Never tried it on course. 

[ChuckZ]

I did once upon a time in la la land.  Just developed a lot of inconsistencies.  Play and putt righthanded, now. 

  

[Johnnosgolf]

I played golf right handed and used to put right handed playing on a 2 handicap, I stopped smoking and got the yips overnight and could not sink a putt of 6 inches. In 6 months my handicap increased by 6 shots, I started smoking again and the yips went away overnight and I ended up back on a 2 handicap after 3 months. 

Finally I stopped smoking about 5 years later and the same thing happened (massive yip overnight). After 3 years of no smoking and trying everything to counter the yips, I had almost given up playing because I was averaging eight 3 putts a round.

One day I picked up my wife's putter (she plays left handed) and had a few putts, lo and behold no yip. I putt with a right handed grip but putt left handed, which is effectively a conventional right hand low left handed putting stroke.

I have done this for 5 years now without any hint of a yip and returned to playing on a 2 - 3 handicap. I have always used a line on the ball for alignment, so when I started left handed putting distance control is really the only thing I had to learn.

I cannot recommend this more as a potential solution to the yips for those of you who suffer from them.

I regularly play with a right-handed golfer who putts left handed with an old bullseye putter from 15 feet and closer and then uses the other side to putt right handed for longer putts.

Edited December 9, 2021 by Johnnosgolf
spelling mistake

[Haro]

Anyone try chipping lefty for chipping yips?

I found it works for chipping as well as putting and really enjoy chipping and putting lefty 

[Rick M]

I started golfing over 55 years ago left handed. It was very difficult then to find LH clubs. Today I play right but putt left? I feel more comfortable over the putt and make a greater percentage of putts less than 6 ft.

[Headhammer]

I'm righty and putt righty, but switched one season to lefty. I putted a little better inside 10', but had little feel on longer putts and tended to be way past the hole. 

[MNUte]

I grew up putting both ways (my dad thought it would help make my motion more consistently straight), and still will putt left handed with the back of my Odyssey if a round is going poorly and I just want to smile and reset my mind. 

[record1010]

On 7/27/2020 at 4:25 PM, Nevin said:

I am naturally left-handed.  The only thing I do right-handed is golf.  I think my dad read that Ben Hogan was left-handed so he decided to have me play from the right.  I have always been an exceptionally mediocre putter bordering on the truly awful.   This weekend I played with  a guy who was naturally right handed  but had switched to left handed for putting.  Definitely putted better than I did.  I dug out an old left handed putter (given to me by a pro who had switched to left-handed) and I do putt better with it, at least on carpet.  The target looks weird, but If I use an alignment line and stick with that I should be ok.  I've always had a strange stroke right handed where the putter goes immediately to the outside and loops back to the inside for the downstroke.  I notice that when putting left-handed, the putter goes straight back or a little to the inside.  

Has anyone else made this transition?  How did it go.  How long did it take to get comfortable.  Have you putted well in competition?

My dad forced me to play golf right handed when I was a kid because of club availability. At one point in the junior days I did switch to lefty for a year as until recently I was always a terrible putter. At that time I putted just as bad lefty as right. Every other sport I played was left though baseball, hockey and lacrosse. 

[PeterCL]

I play right and putt left. I play/do everything righty except ice hockey. After a horrible stretch about 12 years ago my friend suggested putting left. Its been a godsend, I'd say I'm now an above average putter for my handicap (12ish.) My hands are calmer, no yips and I putt well long and short. For a while I used a Plop 2 faced putter in case a break favored a righty (you should see people's faces when they noticed I was putting from both sides!) but now I have an Oddessey Blade. I'm currently thinking of buying a Cameron DelMar.

For people who have yips, I'd say "try it!!"

[Middler]

There's a guy in our league who plays right handed, but chips and putts left handed. I didn't even notice until the fourth hole when he was getting ready to chip left handed, and I thought WTH? Must be fun buying iron sets...though much easier these days with all the "specialty" wedges.

[MNUte]

3 hours ago, Middler said:

There's a guy in our league who plays right handed, but chips and putts left handed. I didn't even notice until the fourth hole when he was getting ready to chip left handed, and I thought WTH? Must fun buying iron sets...though much easier these days with all the "specialty" wedges.

I mean, I can see it. If they're only doing putting-stroke chips, doing it lefty and having that mental disconnect between your righty full swing mechanics and your lefty short, sweet and simple mechanics could be really helpful. 

How does the guy do in your league?

[Middler]

4 hours ago, MNUte said:

I mean, I can see it. If they're only doing putting-stroke chips, doing it lefty and having that mental disconnect between your righty full swing mechanics and your lefty short, sweet and simple mechanics could be really helpful. 

How does the guy do in your league?

He’s a solid C player of A thru D.