Editor’s note: We often get messages from left handed golfers asking for access to teachers who see the game from their point of view. Our LPGA Director of Instruction, Deb Vangellow strongly recommended Greta Anderson from Atlanta, GA, and we are delighted to welcome Greta as our first left-handed expert instructor with this enlightening introductory Q&A interview.

Welcome Greta, Tell us about your history in golf?

Although I hit my first golf balls pretty early in childhood (7-8 years old) and eventually got pretty good at it, I didn’t really consider myself to be a golfer until post-college. I grew up playing junior tennis, and so I’m pretty confident that this played a big part in making it reasonably straightforward for me to rather quickly develop my golf skills once I switched my focus.

Growing up, my father was a golfer. He didn’t have time to play much as a younger man (career, family, etc), but he really enjoyed the process – practicing, studying, experimenting. I enjoyed hanging out at the range with him – more so for the together time than anything else.

One day when I was about 9 or 10, I vividly recall asking if I could hit a few balls. My Dad replied, “Sure.” Of course, his clubs were too long and too heavy for me, but I didn’t really understand that at the time. I picked up his 8-iron and flushed it, frankly. With an interesting look on his face, my Dad drops down another ball and says, “Do that again.” I did it again. I think he was a bit surprised! He then asked if I wanted to learn more and take a few lessons. I did and really enjoyed it, but it wasn’t until after college that my interest in golf truly intensified.

At what point did you realize that your golf was good enough to make playing and coaching golf your career?

While I didn’t have the time or resources as a young adult to play much golf, I knew that I was pretty good at it. I was still nationally ranked and competing in tennis as I began my corporate career, so I wasn’t playing much golf.

In my late 20s as a young globetrotting consultant, my boss called me into her office one day and advised me that I would be playing in a golf event with one of our largest clients – and I better not disappoint. Needless to say, I quickly surmised that I better get my golf game in gear! So I began practicing and playing nearly every day for about a month straight in preparation for the tournament. Within a few weeks, I was shooting in the very low 80s and by the time the event rolled around, I knew I could shoot 4 or 5 over (par) without much problem. The tournament was great – uber competitive clients were elated that I was such a good golfer. During the social event after the round, I overheard one of the clients advising another person that the “young lady on our team was a college golfer.” Later I advised him that this was incorrect. He was shocked and asked how I could so easily play so well if I hadn’t played at such a high level in the past. That’s when I knew that I could do more with golf.

We’ve had a few readers write in asking us for the left handed point of view so tell us, what has been your experience as an elite left handed player?

Interestingly, I didn’t start out as a left handed golfer! About ten years ago, I woke up one day with a severe tingling and numbness in my right hand. I mean, it wasn’t working at all! Turns out that I had some pretty severe issues going on. Shortly thereafter I had surgery to repair it and stop continuing nerve damage. Even with that and extensive physical therapy, my hand has never been the same.

This damage severely impacted my golf motion – it was really painful after more than a few strokes. I was dejected. Pretty quickly, I realized that this was the situation and pouting wasn’t going to change it! If I wanted to enjoy golf for the rest of my life (as planned), I was going to have to find another way to do it.

I decided to begin experimenting with left-handed play. I sucked! After a bad outing as a lefty, my bruised ego would lead me back to my right handed clubs, even though playing this way caused me pain. Soon though, my surgeon advised me that I was on a collision course with additional damage and continued soreness if I didn’t stop.

Knowing that I needed to go all-in on my commitment to becoming a left handed golfer, I gave away all of my right handed equipment. I treated myself as a brand new golfer, investing in a set of beginner clubs, and searching for a good instructor.

It was here that I began to learn that the world can look and feel very different from the lefty’s side of the golf ball. Despite my extensive experience as a competitive tennis player and golfer, saying “just reverse this or that” does not always make sense to left handed golfers. Learning style matters, after all. There must be a clear understanding of all the nuances that help individuals develop a sound golf swing.

What is your coaching philosophy? 

As I often say, however you arrive is perfect – the only thing that matters is that you’re interested in learning and enjoying golf! To that end, all instruction is rooted in sound methodology but customized to support the unique needs and learning style of the student.

Furthermore, we know that men and women learn and process information quite differently, so we honor that distinction in all that we do.

I’m a social scientist at heart (I earned a Ph.D. in Education Research from The University of Michigan – Go Blue!). So within Dr. Greta Golf, we make use of evidence-based data and insights to develop offerings that are inviting, engaging, educational, and welcoming to everyone interested in golf.

Do you think that the left handed golf swing simply a mirror of the right handed swing or are there subtle differences?

In many ways, the left handed swing is a mirror of the right handed swing, but there are some subtleties that must be understood from an instructor’s perspective.

Having extensive experience in playing from both sides of the ball, I can say that some aspects are a bit more than just a mirror. I’d say that this is certainly the case with many aspects of the short game in particular where eye dominance plays such a significant role.

The most common flaws that I see among left handed golfers have to do with alignment. I tend to think that this is because most all of the examples they’ve observed (friends, publications, online, etc.) almost exclusively feature right handed golfers, so the lefties are taking cues from these.

For those who don’t spend most of their days thinking about golf, something as subtle as aligning the body to the left or right of the intended target doesn’t seem like it would matter much. Details like this can get lost in translation for many golfers, including lefties.

While I certainly believe that highly qualified and competent golf teaching professionals are capable of teaching both left and right handed golfers, there is something to be said for having the experience of visiting with a same handed instructor at some point, if nothing more than to hear a voice that is versed in playing from this different perspective. This is especially true if a person has never experienced instruction voiced in a dexterity-neutral fashion.

Are there any advantages to being a left handed golfer?

It is a great advantage to be able to view things from a ‘mirror’ perspective, and since the majority of golfers are right handed, this is frequently the case. Likewise, hardly anyone ever asks to borrow my clubs since they’re no use to righties – lol!

Equipment availability seems to be a sore point for lefties. What is your advice for getting fitted and buying suitable equipment?

Yeah, I can say that I’ve both observed and experienced that disappointment when it’s revealed that the manufacturer doesn’t make a certain model in left handed. Things have gotten lots better in this regard, though all equipment still isn’t available. I think the biggest gap in availability is found in equipment for high-level players. My suggestion is to partner with a non-biased professional club fitter because she’ll have a clear understanding of ALL available options for lefties before you get attached to a particular model or line. This certainly doesn’t seem fair, but it is getting better as more and more golfers choose to play left-handed.

Thank you so much Greta, your coaching philosophy and your own switch from right to left handed golf are both very inspiring. We really look forward to featuring lots of Dr. Greta instruction on WomensGolf.com