Why are there no switch hitters in golf?

[JMorgan]

My first-born son demonstrated a left-handed preference at a fairly early age.   When he started swinging a plastic bat or golf club as a lefty, my first thought, oddly enough, was, "Maybe I can teach him to be a switch hitter."  

And then it dawned on me:  Why are there no switch hitters in golf?  

A bat is cylindrically symmetrical, but a golf club doesn't have that same symmetry.  Could the lack of a useful club be the reason?

Suddenly, I was brilliant.  

So I came up with a few CAD designs for ambidextrous clubs and sent them off to a patent attorney.

But obviously, many others have had the same idea over the years, with or without the baseball analogy.  For instance, check out the Ellis Antique Club auction coming up later next month at Sotheby's:



or





So I ask you, Why are there no switch hitters in golf?  

Would the Rules of Golf allow it?

Would the advantages to the ambidextrous player be significant?  

If not, why?  If so, in what way(s)?

[Tom Birkert]

Interesting thought… My suggestion would be that – unlike baseball – golf is far more technical, and the goal isn’t simply to make contact (and even 3 times out of 10 is considered successful in baseball), but rather precision, control and power.

Notah Begay putted both left and right handed, and many players are able to play to a very high standard left handed, but I think one hand will always be dominant. Again using the baseball analogy I believe I am correct in saying that hitters will generally be better from one side than the other?

Tennis is a useful comparison – how many players use both their left and right hand so they are in effect hitting a forehand all the time??

Golf is a game of feel, touch, technique and muscle memory. In order to be as good as possible I think you need to specialise as much as possible, and trying to play both left and right handed brings too many variables into that quest.

[Garland Bayley]

Well now if he could hit Jack's high fade from both sides, he might make us forget about this Tiger character.

Mac O'Grady wanted to play a tournament from both sides, but as two different entrants. O'Grady 1 and O'Grady 2. I suppose if both made the cut, he would be his own twosome.

[Ken Moum]

Would the Rules of Golf allow it?

Nope, the only clubs permitted to have two faces designed to strike the ball are putters, and they have to be the same loft, and not more than 10*, IIRC.

It's all about preventing people from circumventing the 14-club rule.

K

[wsmorrison]

A friend of mine, a multiple club champion over 4 decades, has taken up playing left handed to play with his wife as she resumes playing after many years.  He shoots in the mid-90s after about a year of playing lefty on occasion.  He applied to the USGA for a left-handed handicap but was denied.  They wouldn't allow him two handicaps.

[John Kavanaugh]

Would the Rules of Golf allow it?

Nope, the only clubs permitted to have two faces designed to strike the ball are putters, and they have to be the same loft, and not more than 10*, IIRC.

It's all about preventing people from circumventing the 14-club rule.

K

Exactly...I probably hit at least one left handed shot a week and have found the modern hybrid to have an excellent back face for the shot.  The turned upside down sandwedge works but is less consistant.

[Scott_Burroughs]

I used a two-sided putter for years when I was younger.  I found short hook putts to be easier than short fade putts, so when I had short, right-handed fade putt, I'd turn around and hit it left-handed.  I do think I hit it cross-handed, though.

[A.G._Crockett]

At the risk of stating the obvious, because there is no advantage to be gained.  (or, more accurately, any slight advantage from switching is far, far outweighed by the loss of practice time from one preferred side.)

In baseball, if all pitchers pitched with the same hand, there would be no switch hitters.  The golf ball is just sitting there, so....

[Scott_Burroughs]

A.G.,

Creighton has a pitcher who pitches with both hands (and his glove is specially made to fit both hands), depending on the hitter.

[Garland Bayley]

At the risk of stating the obvious, because there is no advantage to be gained.  (or, more accurately, any slight advantage from switching is far, far outweighed by the loss of practice time from one preferred side.)

In baseball, if all pitchers pitched with the same hand, there would be no switch hitters.  The golf ball is just sitting there, so....

AG,

When is the last time you saw a ball park dogleg left, or dogleg right?
Or have the outfield sloped?
Or have the outfield guarded by a hazard on the right or left?
 

I don't think the lack of practice time from one side would be the problem you make it out to be.

[Garland Bayley]

Nope, the only clubs permitted to have two faces designed to strike the ball are putters, and they have to be the same loft, and not more than 10*, IIRC.

It's all about preventing people from circumventing the 14-club rule.

K

Interesting! This means that all those two faced chippers you see are illegal.

[Jim Nugent]

It could come in handy in those times when you can't play the shot well from the right side, usually due to problems with your stance.  (Trees, water, bunkers, etc.)  What if you gave up one or two of your current clubs, and replaced them with clubs from the other side?  That would be legal, wouldn't it?  Not sure if it's worth effort, actually.    

[JohnV]

Garland,

Yes two faced chippers are illegal.

Jim,

There would be no problem with having a left handed club in your bag with 13 right handed ones (or even a 7-7 split).  Just don't go over 14.

There was a guy who I knew at Pumpkin Ridge who had a left handed 5-iron in his bag just in case.

[Tom Roewer]

I play pingpong switching from hand to hand so I'm always hitting forehand.  And for the 2 weeks I cared about tennis, I did the same thing.  

I've thought about carrying a lefty 5 iron over the years and learning to perfect a lefty swing.  

Hell, I've thought about scrapping right handed golf altogether and starting from scratch as a lefty, just for the
yuks of it.  

SHIVAS:  I BELIEVE YOUR PLAYING LEFTY COULD ONLY ENHANCE THE EXPERIENCE OF A REVERSE JANS ROUND.  IMAGINE!!

[wsmorrison]

Dave Schmidt,

"What a great way to legitimately sandbag your way into a two decades of D Flight Club Championships and Calcutta wins."

I suppose you are kidding, though it is hardly obvious.  There is nothing nefarious about his actions or his intentions.  He is just having fun with the sport and making time on the golf course with his wife more enjoyable.  It isn't much fun for either player when one shoots a 68 while the other is shooting a 168.

I left a message and an IM for you.  Maybe Tom Paul was mistaken about your interest.  If so, sorry to bother you.

[Kalen Braley]

At the risk of stating the obvious, because there is no advantage to be gained.  (or, more accurately, any slight advantage from switching is far, far outweighed by the loss of practice time from one preferred side.)

In baseball, if all pitchers pitched with the same hand, there would be no switch hitters.  The golf ball is just sitting there, so....

AG,

When is the last time you saw a ball park dogleg left, or dogleg right?
Or have the outfield sloped?
Or have the outfield guarded by a hazard on the right or left?
 

I don't think the lack of practice time from one side would be the problem you make it out to be.

Garland,

Only cause you asked, Houston actually has a portion of its outfield that is indeed sloped....

And being a Yankee and playing Right Field at Fenway could be considered hazardous, if not outright a hazard.  

And even some outfields are guraded by hazards on occasion.  Its called the pitching mound for those bullpens that aren't located behind the outfield fence.  Ever tried catching a fly ball on the run while trying to negtioate one of these bad boys??

[A.G._Crockett]

At the risk of stating the obvious, because there is no advantage to be gained.  (or, more accurately, any slight advantage from switching is far, far outweighed by the loss of practice time from one preferred side.)

In baseball, if all pitchers pitched with the same hand, there would be no switch hitters.  The golf ball is just sitting there, so....

AG,

When is the last time you saw a ball park dogleg left, or dogleg right?
Or have the outfield sloped?
Or have the outfield guarded by a hazard on the right or left?
 

I don't think the lack of practice time from one side would be the problem you make it out to be.

Garland,

For purposes of what I am about to say, ignore the 14 club rule for a moment.  For the sake of argument, imagine yourself with a LH driver and 7 iron, and two less RH clubs in the bag, if that visualization helps you.

Don't know exactly what you mean by the dogleg/hazard/slope stuff, but the practice time IS a good reason, or you would see golfers switch, wouldn't you?  The more skills that you have to practice, the less time available to practice each one, no?  That's a pretty simple law of sports, and when you think about how much time we have all spent trying to perfect skills from one side, adding a second set from the other side is no small thing.  Why don't more major leaguers switch hit, despite having IMMENSE athletic talent, gain huge benefits from switch hitting?

Anyway, what I actually said was that the advantage of being able to play from both sides would be outweighed by the cost; you MUST agree with me, or you would BE a switch hitting golfer, wouldn't you?

Or do you turn around and hit a left-handed fade on a dogleg left, right after you hit a right-handed fade on a dogleg right?  No?  Why not?  (I'd submit that the answer is that it is easier to learn to hit a right-handed draw on the dogleg left than to hit a left-hand fade as well as a right-hand fade, but that's just me!)

[John Kavanaugh]

I'm taking my 3 wood out of my bag and getting me a left handed 6 iron if for no other reason then I will never be against a tree again.  I can no longer pull a 3 wood without thinking of Shivas and his warnings and I am sick of it.

[Garland Bayley]

At the risk of stating the obvious, because there is no advantage to be gained.  (or, more accurately, any slight advantage from switching is far, far outweighed by the loss of practice time from one preferred side.)

In baseball, if all pitchers pitched with the same hand, there would be no switch hitters.  The golf ball is just sitting there, so....

AG,

When is the last time you saw a ball park dogleg left, or dogleg right?
Or have the outfield sloped?
Or have the outfield guarded by a hazard on the right or left?
 

I don't think the lack of practice time from one side would be the problem you make it out to be.

Garland,

For purposes of what I am about to say, ignore the 14 club rule for a moment.  For the sake of argument, imagine yourself with a LH driver and 7 iron, and two less RH clubs in the bag, if that visualization helps you.

Don't know exactly what you mean by the dogleg/hazard/slope stuff, but the practice time IS a good reason, or you would see golfers switch, wouldn't you?  The more skills that you have to practice, the less time available to practice each one, no?  That's a pretty simple law of sports, and when you think about how much time we have all spent trying to perfect skills from one side, adding a second set from the other side is no small thing.  Why don't more major leaguers switch hit, despite having IMMENSE athletic talent, gain huge benefits from switch hitting?

Anyway, what I actually said was that the advantage of being able to play from both sides would be outweighed by the cost; you MUST agree with me, or you would BE a switch hitting golfer, wouldn't you?

Or do you turn around and hit a left-handed fade on a dogleg left, right after you hit a right-handed fade on a dogleg right?  No?  Why not?  (I'd submit that the answer is that it is easier to learn to hit a right-handed draw on the dogleg left than to hit a left-hand fade as well as a right-hand fade, but that's just me!)

I would say the 14 club limit is why you don't see anyone developing switch hitting. I would remind you that there are some pros on tour that practice very little. I would also remind you that most have a natural ball movement tendency and it is much less reliable to turn it the other way. Jack had difficulty with the draw. What is to say that he wouldn't have had a natural fade playing left handed that would have complimented his right handed one?

Finally, I put forth Bruce Lietzke, who seldom practiced and always played a fade/slice from the right-handed side. Could he have been one of the all time greats if he had the chance to develop the same swing from the left-handed side and used both?

[John Kavanaugh]

You should see VJ swing left handed.

[Garland Bayley]

You should see VJ swing left handed.

How about Steve Flesch swinging right handed? I believe those are the two who switch clubs with each other on the range while practicing.

[JohnV]

Well now if he could hit Jack's high fade from both sides, he might make us forget about this Tiger character.

Mac O'Grady wanted to play a tournament from both sides, but as two different entrants. O'Grady 1 and O'Grady 2. I suppose if both made the cut, he would be his own twosome.

I believe that Mac wanted to go further than that.  He wanted the USGA to let him enter the US Open as a pro from the right side and as a amateur from the left.

I think someone pointed out that he would have the same brain from both sides which in his case might be a disadvantage.

[Rich Goodale]

A few years ago in one of those silly season things, VJ borrowed Mike Weir's 8-iron and stifffed it.

[Kyle Harris]

And even some outfields are guraded by hazards on occasion.  Its called the pitching mound for those bullpens that aren't located behind the outfield fence.  Ever tried catching a fly ball on the run while trying to negtioate one of these bad boys??

Ask Michael Bourn of the Phillies

[Wayne_Kozun]

You should see VJ swing left handed.

A few years ago at the Canadian Skins game the golfers switched clubs on a par 3.  The lefties (Weir and Mickelson) hit from the right side and the righties (Vijay and I think JD) hit from the left side.