OT - Why so few European lefties?

[Wayne_Kozun]

Seeing Robert McIntyre got me thinking about other GB & Ireland lefties - and no one came to mind.  Why are there so few lefties from Europe?
There are some from Oz - Nick O'Hern, Adam Bland and Greg Chalmers.  Bob Charles from NZ was the first lefty to win a major.
In the US there have been a handful, including major champs Mickelson and Bubba. There's also Brian Harman, Russ Cochran, Steve Flesch, and a few others.
From SA we have recent winner Garrick Higgo.

Here in Canada we have tons of lefties, about 30% of all golfers due to hockey, so it isn't surprising that our only major champ, Mike Weir, is a lefty.
Any reason why so few lefties come out of Europe?  Lefty clubs impossible to get in Europe?

[Peter Flory]

Maybe left handedness was less tolerated at boarding schools? 

[Mike_Clayton]

Perhaps more perplexing is why there has never been a left handed woman on the LPGA - not that I know of anyway.

[Pete_Pittock]

Perhaps more perplexing is why there has never been a left handed woman on the LPGA - not that I know of anyway.

There are currentlt two LPGA lefties.
It could be the quality and availability of left handed womens' clubs. This article doesn't paint a rosy picture
https://www.golfclubguru.com/the-best-left-handed-golf-clubs-for-women/

[Peter Flory]

There are very few.  Bonnie Bryant won on the LPGA tour in the '70s and is the only one to do so I believe.  There have been a couple lefties in recent years.  It is weird though that it doesn't mirror the percentage on the men's tours. 



 

[Kalen Braley]

From what I can gather based on a few studies, looks like about 10% of the population is left handed.  So it certainly seems to follow there should be far more left handed golfers at the highest levels.

Wayne may be right that perhaps there are some biases or barriers to entry at play here.

[John Kavanaugh]

Europe is a hateful place. Not a lot of red headed golfers either given their abundance in the wild.


https://meridian-magazine.com/broken-identity-what-the-stigma-against-left-handedness-means-for-eastern-european-democracies/

[Ken Moum]

Among other things, I think that there's a slight advantage to having your strong hand on the end of the club.  Especially is you are a "puller" of the club. 


Among left-handed major winners, Phil, Mike Weir and Bob Charles are all right handed.  Only Bubba is a natural lefty. Brian Harman says the only thing he does left handed is play golf.


Johnny Miller, Jordan Spieth, Nick Price, Greg Norman Curtis Strange, David Graham and Byron Nelson are natural lefties who won majors playing right handed. It's been said that Ben Hogan was lefthanded too, but I don't think so.


Of course, then there's hockey, A 2006 study found that 60 per cent of all National Hockey League forwards were left-handed, as were 70 percent of all NHL defencemen, but those statistics were not sorted by nationality." --[/size][size=78%]https://www.cbc.ca/sports/2.722/it-s-not-political-but-more-canadians-are-lefties-1.908439[/size]

[David_Tepper]

Golf is the only thing I do right-handed.


Anybody know what percentage of cricketers bat and/or bowl left-handed?

[Wayne_Kozun]

Perhaps more perplexing is why there has never been a left handed woman on the LPGA - not that I know of anyway.

Canada has produced a few female lefties as well.  Megan Osland qualified for this year's US Women's Open and Angela Buzminski played several seasons on the LPGA starting in 2001.


https://www.tsn.ca/lefty-osland-a-rare-sight-at-u-s-women-s-open-1.1648609

[Ian Mackenzie]

As a kid growing up in Canada, I played hockey, lacrosse and golf “lefty”. And when,called on, i batted lefty.


Moved to the US as a teen and was converted to “righty” by the caddy master at the club where I looped in Princeton, NJ.


I was hitting balls lefty on the range one Monday and I saw hime eye balling me. Thought I was in trouble.


“Mackenzie…come here.”
“Uh..uh…hi, pete.”
“Here, hit this and do this, that and this.” As he handed me a right handed 8 iron.
“But it’s a right handed  club…?”
“No shit, you’re a righty golfer now”….and he walked away in a trail of Marlboro smoke.


True story. Been a righty from that day forward.

[Mike_Clayton]

Among other things, I think that there's a slight advantage to having your strong hand on the end of the club.  Especially is you are a "puller" of the club. 


Among left-handed major winners, Phil, Mike Weir and Bob Charles are all right handed.  Only Bubba is a natural lefty. Brian Harman says the only thing he does left handed is play golf.


Johnny Miller, Jordan Spieth, Nick Price, Greg Norman Curtis Strange, David Graham and Byron Nelson are natural lefties who won majors playing right handed. It's been said that Ben Hogan was lefthanded too, but I don't think so.


Of course, then there's hockey, A 2006 study found that 60 per cent of all National Hockey League forwards were left-handed, as were 70 percent of all NHL defencemen, but those statistics were not sorted by nationality." --[size=78%]https://www.cbc.ca/sports/2.722/it-s-not-political-but-more-canadians-are-lefties-1.908439[/size]

Fair bet David Graham was the only one who turned pro as a left-hander:)

[Jeff Schley]

I really think there is a very real scarcity of left handed clubs, thus you learn. 




I batted lefty in baseball and was an asset for that sport. I recall playing lefty golf as a kid with like 3 clubs my dad found. I wanted to use his old clubs and thus i switched to righty. I do “play” or did “play” hockey left handed as well although moreso floor hockey as I wasn’t grace on ice.

[Mike_Clayton]

Bob Charles once told me he thought it was an advantage being left-handed because there wasn't the array of clubs to try.
He played Dunlop irons for years - and ordered six identical sets so he'd never run out of them.
And, he used the same model Acushnet centre-shaft putter for decades - although he had a few of them which all looked the same.

[MKrohn]

Golf is the only thing I do right-handed.


Anybody know what percentage of cricketers bat and/or bowl left-handed?

David, no stats (they aren't my go, haha) but left handers are overly represented in cricket. There is an advantage in the LBW laws that favours lefties facing predominately right hand bowling.


Lots of left hand batsmen will bowl/throw right handed. One of the better ones from "England" Ben Stokes is also a ginger.

[Garland Bayley]

Perhaps more perplexing is why there has never been a left handed woman on the LPGA - not that I know of anyway.

Canada has produced a few female lefties as well.  Megan Osland qualified for this year's US Women's Open and Angela Buzminski played several seasons on the LPGA starting in 2001.


https://www.tsn.ca/lefty-osland-a-rare-sight-at-u-s-women-s-open-1.1648609

I believe at one point I asked Mark Buzminski, a poster here, if he was related to Angela. My recollection was that the answer was in the affirmative, but I can't find that respone.

[David_Tepper]

Leftie golfers have a home in the Highlands of Scotland!

http://www.myusualgame.com/2012/04/10/the-capital-of-left-handed-golf-its-not-augusta/