Golf tips for left handed golfers can be as elusive as… well, something that’s really hard to find. Thousands of pages of books and websites are devoted to right handed golfers, but lefties often seem to be left out of the party. So for all of you who are new to the game, we’ve compiled some simple but effective tips for left handed golfers.

Clubs
First and foremost, the most important of all tips for left handed golfers is to play with the proper clubs. It’s true that a lot of lefties play with clubs designed for right handed golfers. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But you’ll never play to your full potential until you get a set of left handed clubs. Period.

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The good news is that finding left handed golf clubs is much easier than finding a lot of other specialty items for lefties. It’s also important to play with clubs that are properly sized for your height. Very tall players, petite ladies and juniors will play much better with clubs of the appropriate size. You can find left handed clubs in pro shops, sporting goods stores and online to meet your individual needs.

Terminology
The second of our tips for left handed golfers is to know that, for you, the directions of the shots are reversed. For lefties, these terms mean the following:

• Slice — the ball curves on a right-to-left path and ends up left of the target
• Hook — the ball curves on a left-to-right path and ends up right of the target
• Push — the ball goes right of the target on a straight line
• Pull — the ball goes left of the target on a straight line

Note: For right handed golfers, these directions are reversed. And in a right handed world, the reverse is usually what you’ll read.

The Swing
The mechanics of a good golf swing are the same no matter which side of the ball you stand on. As a beginning player, one of the most important tips for left handed golfers is to keep your head down throughout your entire swing. (This applies to righties, too.) Lifting the head to see where the ball is going is probably the most common flub made by beginner golfers.

The second goof made most often by beginner golfers is not allowing their body and hips to rotate fully as they come through the ball and into the follow through. As a lefty, you should rotate to the right as fully as possible to power your swing, leading with the right hip with your hands following. This is a key element to solid hitting.

It’s also important to lead your swing with your right hand, but finish with your left. In other words, the power of your dominant hand, along with the power of your dominant side, should combine to drive through the ball at contact.

One of the most important tips for left handed golfers is to end your swing with a complete follow through that leaves you on the balls of your feet. You don’t want to end flat-footed or on your heels. When you end your swing on the balls of your feet, you know that your hips made the full rotation needed for maximum power.

The Draw Shot
A collection of tips for left handed golfers wouldn’t be complete without a few words on how to play a course.

The more courses you play, the more you’ll notice that some holes are on a direct line of sight from the tee, some veer to the left and some veer to the right.  These angled holes are called dogleg holes — more specifically dogleg left and dogleg right. The secret to playing a dogleg right is that you must learn to perform a draw shot. (See our tips on hitting a draw.) This shot makes the ball curve, under control, to the right (for right handed players it curves to the left). As a bonus, it can add significant yardage to your drive. Never underestimate how helpful that can be.

As usual, most of the material you’ll find on hitting a draw is written for righties, so make sure you reverse those instructions when you practice. And do practice regularly. Mastering the draw will serve you well for as long as you play the game.