Triggering Your Swing

Most club pros teach "left-sided golf" in their golf lessons. In other words, when it comes to triggering the swing, you start your backswing using the left side of your body. You might start the swing, for example, by pushing off with your left foot, left shoulder, or left hand and arm, which is what most pros teach in their golf lessons. It's an approach I've even written about it in my golf tips.

But there is an option to "left-sided golf"-one that's not discussed often in golf instruction sessions. When it comes to triggering your swing, "right-side golf" can be just as effective as the left-handed approach. At least it was for golfing great Seve Ballesteros, who switched to the right-handed approach early in his career. The Spaniard found it more comfortable and more effective. But he had to make some adjustments for it to work properly.

Conventional Wisdom
Most instructors teach you to start the swing with your left hand. That's the conventional wisdom dispensed in golf instruction sessions. They believe that if a golfer activates his right hand too early he's liable to take the club up too quickly, or jerk it too far to the inside of the target line, throwing off the rest of the swing. If you give as many golf lessons as I do, you quickly realize that that argument has merit. Many weekend golfers are prone to these problems.

But most of us are right handed. We eat, sleep, and drink right-handed. So most of these left-handed movements are unnatural. Anytime you ask a person to do something that's unnatural, it's both physically and mentally challenging. And while golf is clearly a game of opposites, some players must do things naturally to succeed.

Ballesteros Makes the Switch
The great Seve Ballesteros was apparently one. He struggled early on in his career trying to play "left-sided" golf but to no avail. He became so depressed over it that he even thought about giving up the game. Then he switched from triggering his take swing with his left side to starting it with his right. The switch paid off royal to him and he was able to maintain his low golf handicap.

What triggered the switch? He realized early on that he did almost everything with his right hand. He wrote right-hand. He answered the telephone right-handed. And he turned a doorknob right-handed. He was a natural right-hander. Why shouldn't he play "right-sided" golf? For Seve, it was both a logical and wise choice.

Necessary Adjustments
Igniting your swing with your right hand requires you to make some necessary adjustments, however, as Seve eventually found out. For the switch to work, the first movement away from the ball must be a very deliberate one. In fact, it has to be slower than any other movement in the swing.

Also, there is the problem of synchronization-another discovery Seve made. To get the lower body in sync with your hands, you need to turn your right hip clockwise an instant after you started pulling the club away from the ball with your right hand. Otherwise, your swing sequence is thrown off.

By making these adjustments, you're able to control the pace of the takeaway better. It also helps put the club away on the correct path and keep it traveling on the proper plane and arc-two keys to hitting the ball longer and straighter consistently.

Neutral Grip is Critical
A third adjustment you may have to make affects your grip. Seve found that using a neutral grip was critical to triggering his swing. Basically, a neutral grip is one in which the palms are set parallel to each other, with the right palm facing the target. With a weak grip, the palm is angled toward the ground. With a strong grip, the back of the left hand and the right palm are angle toward the sky. I covered this topic in my golf tips also.

Some people naturally favor a strong grip. Some a weak grip. But for most golfers, the neutral grip is the most effective grip anyway. It provides the most consistently square and solid striking of the ball. It certainty worked for Seve, who is a legend in his homeland of Spain, and it's what I teach in my golf lessons.

Learning to trigger his swing with his right hand paid off for Seve Ballesteros. It helped him achieve the golf handicap it too to compete on the tour. But it took a lot of hard work to perfect the approach. If you're having trouble triggering your swing with your left hand, the right handed approach is an option. Just remember that you need to sync your hands with your arms and body for it to work-and that takes practice and discipline.