Chris Kirk his caddie, Michael Cromie, on the BMW Championship final week.
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If the benefit at which the sport involves the very best golfers on the planet brings you envy and even perhaps a tinge of resentment, this might be an excellent time to click on out of this story.
That’s as a result of six-time PGA Tour winner Chris Kirk is healthier than most golfers not solely taking part in right-handed (his dominant aspect) but additionally from the left aspect. Kirk started messing round as a lefty when he was a child. For one week through the winter, he and his golf buddies would play solely left-handed, throwing down a couple of dollars on the outcomes to maintain issues fascinating.
“We had been all horrible,” Kirk mentioned earlier this yr. “It was simply quite a lot of speaking crap to one another and simply having enjoyable goofing off.”
However a humorous factor occurred as Kirk continued to dabble from the left aspect: He turned fairly rattling proficient. Simply a few weeks in the past, the truth is, Kirk mentioned he posted a southpaw 84, two strokes off his all-time low. He’s on a mission, he mentioned, to interrupt 80.
“It’s simply so enjoyable,” Kirk mentioned earlier this week of taking part in lefty; he was talking from the Tour Championship, the place he’s making his first look since 2014. “However clearly I’ve an enormous benefit over a standard newbie golfer. I type of already know all of the solutions to the take a look at. It’s only a matter of how lengthy it takes me to determine learn how to do it.”
Enjoying lefty is greater than only a lark for Kirk, although. He mentioned he has performed a lot from that aspect at his house membership in Georgia, Athens Nation Membership, that he has inquired together with his fellow members about establishing “a left-handed handicap,” with the objective of taking part in in membership occasions “as a left-handed beginner.” Kirk estimated that he’s “a couple of 10 to 12 proper now,” including, “I’m probably not certain how that basically works with the principles.”
We weren’t, both. So we checked in with the whizzes within the USGA’s handicapping division, who replied with some sobering information as spelled out in Part 6 of the Guidelines of Handicapping beneath Native Steering for Rule 1:
Handicap Index Based mostly on Dominant Hand
A participant should set up a Handicap Index taking part in from the participant’s preferential aspect of play, often known as the dominant hand. For instance, if the Handicap Index is established taking part in left-handed, the participant should proceed to play left-handed and publish all acceptable scores.
A participant might not have a Handicap Index whereas taking part in each left-handed and right-handed concurrently. A fundamental premise of the Guidelines of Handicapping is {that a} participant is making an attempt to make their greatest rating and to publish each acceptable rating. This consists of selecting the right play for every stroke, so until a ball is positioned requiring a deviation from the dominant aspect of play, the participant should try and make the very best shot for every stroke utilizing the dominant aspect of play.
If a participant is compelled to discontinue play from the dominant hand by which the Handicap Index was established as a result of an damage or switches the dominant hand when studying the sport, and begins play from the alternative aspect, the unique Handicap Index have to be archived, and a brand new scoring report have to be established. The Handicap Committee ought to work with the AGA to take away the unique Handicap Index and scoring report from additional entry.
In brief? Yep, unhealthy information for Kirk. Golfers might hold just one handicap and solely through scores from rounds that they performed with their dominant hand.
Nonetheless, Kirk can and may take a look at the intense aspect: Enjoying as a lefty, he can nonetheless beat most golfers. No strokes required.
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