How To Swing Left in Golf?

Written by Todd in Online Golf Instruction

For many years, the common golf instruction was to swing out to the right.

The logic was rather simple, we wanted a golf swing that had a path out to the right.  This was believed to help start the ball to the right and to create a draw swing path.

In addition, many golfers start the game with a slice issue.  They hit the big slice that starts well left and slices way right.

For many golfers, especially those who once struggled with the slice swing, the thought of 

swinging left might seem overwhelming.

So, let’s dive in and explore how to swing left and if swinging left is for you.

How To Swing Left in Golf

Golf is a game built on feels or intention.  Even though certain feels are not actually taking place in the golf swing, the intention of our swing can help influence the swing path and club face angle through impact.  The best way to swing left is to change your intention for the golf swing.

What we do know about the flight of the golf ball:

  • The golf ball will generally start in the relative direction of the clubface at impact.
  • The golf will then curve away from the swing path.
  • The relationship between the clubface and the swing path produces certain side spins that influence the curve of the ball.

This overall concept became much more clear in the past decade with the ball flight laws being further investigated and understood at a much deeper level.

The ultimate goal is to understand and own your golf swing.

How To Swing Left: Tip #1 – Change Your Intention

As we previously explained, many golfers were taught to swing right.  After potentially fighting a slice early in their golf journey, they eventually developed a swing that created a path to the right of the target line.  Eventually, for some golfers, this can result in a draw and then many times progresses to an overdraw and sometimes the dreaded hook shot.  

If you are someone battling this scenario, it might be time to change your intention.

The intention change is to swing to the left.  This can be tricky and done while still keeping the swing shallow.  The move we don’t want to see is the over the top swing right from the start of the downswing.  Instead, we want to remain patient and get the golf club moving left and up to help maximize speed.

What does a good golf swing feel like?

How To Swing Left: Tip #2 – Get Left and Up

After loading up in the backswing, transitioning into the downswing and using ground forces, the golfer wants to get left and up and send the club accelerating.  The best way to accomplish this is to picture something over your left shoulder.  The main swing through is to get the club headed in that direction.  This will help produce a swing that accelerates through the ball and maximizes your club head speed.

It also keeps the golfer from stalling right before impact and hitting the dreaded hook shot or over draw which can be devastating in several different ways.  It also keeps the golfer focused on a final destination instead of internally focusing on certain movements with the hands, shoulders or hips.  Simply focus on getting that club firing left and up past the golf ball.

Over the top from the inside!

Who Should Swing Left in Golf?

  • Golfers fighting the hook shot or overdraw.
  • Golfers who stall through the impact zone and over rely on the timing of the hands.
  • Golfers who need additional speed

The better a golfer is, the more likely they have fought a hook at one point in their golf journey.  This change of intention of feeling the swing going left can help straighten out the swing path and reduce how far to the right it is going.

Many golfers, who end up too far to the inside, can end up stalling to let the hands catch up to save the shot.  The intention of swinging left can get the path straightened out, keeping it from coming excessively from in to out.  It helps the golfer reduce the timing reliance on the hands in the golf swing.

Ultimately, the golfer who can swing left will generate additional swing speed as the thought or intention to get to the target over your left shoulder produces the speed in the right zones.

Test out this feel or intention the next time you head to the range!

What Are the Benefits of Swinging Left in Golf?

  • For some golfers, it straightens out their swing path.
  • It can reduce the reliance on timing the hands properly.
  • Golfers generally produce more swing speed.

Who wouldn’t want less timing reliance, additional speed and straighter shots in their golf game?  The combination of these three led me to try this swing intention to see the results I would get.

My Story: Swinging Left

I fought the overdraw and/or hook for the past 5-7 seasons.  On some days, I would play great golf when the timing of my hands was on.  On other days, I would hit the devastating hook or overdraw at the worst times. 

As a result, I was seeking a solution.

I came across MySwingEvoloution’s Youtube page and saw his series on the Miracle Swing or the Over The Top From the Inside.

My backswing matched many of the golfers he used as evidence of this over the top from the inside move or swinging to the left.  So, I gave it a shot during my practice sessions on my golf simulator and was impressed with the results.

Over the next month, I increased my numbers of birdies per 18 hiole round from 1.8/18 holes to 4.0/holes in the month of July.  This was a result of the following:

  • I kept more drivers in play.
  • I added 10-15 yards with my driver.
  • My irons were more accurate from not relying so much on a big right to left ball flight

Currently, I am working on the exact feels and intention, but my go to intention is the left and up feel and intention and getting the speed in the right place.

Gone are the days of stalling and flipping through the hitting zone and now my clubface is much more stable resulting in straighter, further flying golf shots!  What a combination!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH_QUMtIs4U

My Secret To Golf Improvement

Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently.  About three years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage.  I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.

This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer.  I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day.  I can practice or play rounds of golf.  I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.

It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.

Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:

Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better

What does this mean for you?  I believe in the following recipe to get better:

1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor.  Here are some options:

Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:

2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed.  Here are some options:

Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:

3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier.  Here is a series on breaking through:

We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.

4 – Practice Frequently

Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system?  It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:

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