I myself am a leftie who plays golf with my right hand. I have never noticed any kind of impairment as such, but I know that there are some sports and activities for which I have to use one hand or the other. For some things, one hand will feel more natural, so if you’ve decided you feel more comfortable with the club in your left hand, here are some tips to improving and restructuring your game to get the best results quickly.

While it’s easy to say the basic techniques are the same but in reverse, in practice it’s slightly harder to follow than suggested. If you’ve already learnt to play right handed, it can be an added challenge when it comes to relearning the game. However, if playing left handed feels more comfortable for you, you will pick up the techniques far quicker the second time round and you will be able to implement them with more confidence.

One of the things that is most noticeable about people who have swapped from right to left-handed golf is that they tend to start looking to see where their shots go. It’s a natural inclination when you feel less engaged with the ball and the direction and distance of your shots to start looking up before you’ve finished your swing.

As with all right handers, it’s imperative you look up as a part of the swing, never before the club meets the ball. Make sure you keep your head as still as possible and don’t lift up before you make contact. For people with broad shoulders, this can feel slightly unnatural as it seems logical to lift your head to avoid knocking your chin on the upswing.

Instead of this, ensure that your chin is just high enough to allow you full mobility. This will give you the freedom to perform a full swing with no head movement necessitated until the follow through.

Another thing which tends to happen with converted golfers is that their swing can become stunted, with the overall movement becoming too short. Again, it seems logical to speed up and shorten your swing to reduce the number of problems that occur when you are relearning the shape and movement. This is a big mistake as you can end up limiting your control over the distance and power you can obtain.

Try to keep a sense of fluidity to your game by aiming to complete a full swing with confidence, regardless of where the ball goes to start with. This can be helped by getting lessons or watching videos online (see our tutorial section) to get a feel for the rhythm and range of swing for your body type. It’s always a good idea to find videos of players with a similar physique to you. This can give you an added insight into how your swing should look.

Ideally it’s good to have someone record your swing for playback. Many modern phones have a video recording function so utilise it.

If you have previously been taught the right-handed way and are finding it difficult to figure out how to reverse your hand position, you could always ask someone to photograph your right-hand grip - this way, you'll have a reference you can check against when working out the mirror image. Visually, this can provide you with a good reference point. Another good thing to do is keep a grip of the club for a second photograph but to open up your palms while keeping your fingers in place. This will show how your fingers look as you interlock your hands.

Although most aspects of the game are the same in theory as for right-handed players, the one thing that left-handed players should really practice are draw shots. It is common for courses to feature dogleg holes which veer from left to right, favouring those whose right hand is dominant. Either talk to your instructor or look at more tutorials and videos to gain an understanding of how to play advanced shots when you are starting to feel comfortable on the course.

There is plenty of left-handed golf equipment available to choose from these days, but there still isn't the amount of choice available that you can expect as a right hander. It's definitely possible to find clubs which will fit your needs and it certainly should not put you off - your game will be far better off for investing time and money into a good set of left-handed golf clubs rather than struggling on the wrong side of the divide.

While larger stores are likely to have a reasonable selection, your best bet is to look online - this will no doubt save you cash in the process. Whether you are completely new to the game or have been coping with right-handed clubs for years, it will be a relief to play with a good set of clubs designed to complement your playing style.