In this instructional video, Mike Rugg of the Steve Dresser Golf Academy at True Blue Golf Club in Pawleys Island, S.C. addresses the “left side controls everything in the golf swing” theory – and shows how and why it’s okay to incorporate the right side properly as well.
Hi, my name’s Mike Rugg. I’m from the Steve Dresser Golf Academy at lovely True Blue and Caledonia Golf courses here in Pawleys Island, and I have a simple tip. One of the things I see a lot with my lessons as well as here at the golf schools is an overemphasis on the lead side, or left hand. Almost everybody’s under the belief that the left side controls everything. So I have a little simple drill that will really kind of clarify that a little bit, and use some of our natural athletic instincts to learn where the club should actually be in our golf swing.
A lot of times I see people who barely have their right hand on the golf club, and the club can do anything on the backswing. I can see over swinging, or under swinging, flat, just horrible positions. I always tell my pupils that we want to put this club in throwing position. I would be in that position. I could create some speed from here. So if they merely get in their golf stance, go to the top, feel like you’re throwing, then connect your left hand. Just generally gives us a pretty good top-of-backswing position.
Also, one of the other things is I generally see a tremendous pull with the arms. Well, that kind of keeps us in business because it generally leads to slices and steeped and horrible shots; I always tell them to get a sense of throw and finish. It gives us a good position where we should be in our finish of our golf swing. Also, if you just go back and you’re going to toss something, connect your left side, it gives us a good vision where we should be halfway back and he can do that all the way throughout their swing.
So remember, golf is a bilateral game, but to train your golf swing, it’s okay to use your right side!