Left-Handed Short Game: Chipping and Putting Tips for Lefties

Try searching for "left handed putting tips" online. Go ahead, we'll wait. What you'll find is page after page of advice about putting with the "left hand low" grip—a technique designed for right-handed golfers. The actual left-handed golfer looking for putting help? Completely ignored.

This is the reality of the lefty short game. While full swing instruction at least gets an occasional nod toward left-handed players, short game content for lefties is virtually nonexistent. Instructors talk about chipping and putting as if every golfer on the planet swings from the right side. And when they do mention lefties, it's usually a throwaway line like "just reverse everything."

That's not good enough. The short game accounts for roughly 60% of your total strokes in any given round. If you're a left-handed golfer relying on mirrored right-handed advice for chipping, putting, and bunker play, you're leaving strokes on the table. This guide changes that with dedicated left-handed chipping tips, putting fundamentals, bunker techniques, and practice drills built from the ground up for lefty golfers.

Watch: Left-Handed Putting Tips

Practical putting techniques designed specifically for left-handed golfers:

Chipping Fundamentals for Left-Handed Golfers

Chipping is where left-handed golfers can gain a serious edge—if they understand how their setup differs from the standard instruction. The mechanics of a chip shot are compact enough that small positional differences have an outsized impact on results. Get these lefty-specific fundamentals locked in and you'll start getting up and down with consistency.

Setup and Ball Position

For a standard chip shot, a left-handed golfer should position the ball slightly right of center in the stance. Your feet should be close together—about six to eight inches apart—with a narrow, slightly open stance. "Open" for a lefty means your feet line up slightly right of your target line, which gives you a better visual of the landing spot and allows the club to work along the target line through impact.

Your hands should be positioned ahead of the ball, toward your right side. This forward press de-lofts the club slightly and promotes the descending contact you need for clean chips. One key difference for lefties: because your dominant hand (for most of us, the left hand) is the trail hand in the grip, you naturally have more feel and control at the bottom of the swing. Use this to your advantage—let your trail hand guide the clubhead through the hitting zone.

Weight Distribution

Place approximately 60-70% of your weight on your right foot (your lead foot) and keep it there throughout the entire chipping motion. This is non-negotiable. Many left-handed golfers instinctively shift weight to their left side during the downswing because that's where their dominant hand pulls them. Resist this. Keeping your weight forward ensures you strike the ball first and the ground second.

A useful checkpoint: if you can lift your left foot slightly off the ground at address without falling over, your weight distribution is in the right place.

The Chipping Stroke

Think of the lefty chipping stroke as a pendulum driven by your shoulders, not your hands. Your wrists should remain firm and quiet throughout. The backswing and follow-through should be roughly equal in length, and the tempo should feel smooth and unhurried.

The most common mistake left-handed golfers make in chipping is getting too "handsy"—using their dominant trail hand to scoop or flip at the ball. This produces fat and thin shots that kill your scoring. Instead, maintain the angle in your right wrist that you established at address and let the body rotation drive the stroke through impact.

Club Selection Around the Green

Many golfers default to their lob wedge for every chip, which is a mistake. Smart club selection around the green is one of the fastest ways to lower your scores. Here's a lefty-specific guide:

• Pitching wedge (44-48 degrees): Use when you have lots of green to work with and want a low, running chip. The ball will fly roughly 30% of the distance and roll 70%.
• Sand wedge (54-56 degrees): Your go-to club for most standard chips. Expect a 50/50 split between air time and roll.
• Lob wedge (58-60 degrees): Reserve for situations where you need height—over bunkers, to elevated pins, or when you have very little green between you and the hole.
• 8 or 9 iron: Don't overlook these for bump-and-run chips from just off the green. The low trajectory and predictable roll make them incredibly reliable.

Three Essential Chip Shots Every Lefty Needs

Master these three shots and you'll have an answer for virtually any situation around the green. Each one builds on the fundamental swing principles that every lefty should know.

1. The Bump and Run

This is the highest-percentage chip shot in golf and should be your default choice whenever conditions allow. Use a pitching wedge, 9-iron, or even an 8-iron. Position the ball back in your stance (toward your left foot), keep your weight firmly on your right side, and make a compact stroke with minimal wrist action. The ball will pop up briefly, land on the front of the green, and roll out to the hole like a putt.

Left-handed golfers have a natural advantage with the bump and run because our trail hand position gives us excellent distance control on these short, punchy strokes. Lean into this strength.

2. The Standard Chip

This is your bread-and-butter shot from 10 to 30 yards. Use your sand wedge with a neutral ball position (center of stance). The setup is identical to the fundamentals described above: weight forward, narrow open stance, hands ahead of the ball. Make a smooth, shoulder-driven stroke and let the loft of the club do the work.

The key for lefties on the standard chip is maintaining a consistent grip pressure throughout. Because our dominant hand is the trail hand, there's a tendency to tighten the grip at impact. Keep your grip pressure at about a 4 out of 10 and hold it steady from start to finish.

3. The Flop Shot

This is the most dramatic shot in the short game and the one that requires the most practice. Use your lob wedge with the face wide open (rotated away from the target so you can see the full face of the club). Position the ball forward in your stance (toward your right foot), widen your stance slightly, and commit to an aggressive swing that slides the clubhead under the ball.

For left-handed golfers, the flop shot requires extra attention to face angle at address. When you open the clubface, the leading edge will point to the right of your target. You need to align your body further right to compensate, then swing along your body line while the open face sends the ball high and toward the target. This is counterintuitive at first but becomes second nature with practice.

Left-Handed Putting Fundamentals

Putting is the great equalizer in golf. It doesn't matter how far you drive the ball if you can't get it in the hole once you're on the green. For left-handed golfers, putting instruction is particularly frustrating because the internet is flooded with "left hand low" putting advice that has nothing to do with us. Here are the putting fundamentals that actually matter for lefty golfers.

Grip Options for Lefty Putters

There are three primary putting grips, and each offers distinct advantages for left-handed golfers:

1. Conventional (reverse overlap): Your right hand sits higher on the grip with the left hand below it. The left index finger overlaps the fingers of the right hand. This is the most popular grip and provides a good balance of feel and stability. For lefties, this grip lets your dominant trail hand contribute to distance feel without overpowering the stroke.
2. Cross-handed (right hand low): Your left hand goes on top with your right hand below. This is essentially the "left hand low" grip that righties use—but for us, it means our dominant hand is in the lead position. This grip quiets the wrists and promotes a more pendulum-like stroke. If you struggle with yipping or twitchy putting, try this grip.
3. The Claw: Your right hand holds the putter conventionally while your left hand grips the shaft between your thumb and fingers in a claw-like position. This grip takes the dominant hand out of the equation and can work wonders for lefties who get too wristy on the greens. Phil Mickelson used this grip during several successful stretches in his career.

There's no single "best" grip for left-handed putters. Experiment with all three during practice sessions before committing to one for competitive rounds. The right grip is the one that produces the most consistent roll for your stroke.

Alignment: The Lefty-Specific Challenge

Alignment is where left-handed golfers face a genuine, measurable disadvantage on the greens. Most practice greens have alignment aids, training lines, and visual references that are designed for right-handed players. When a lefty steps up from the opposite side, those visual cues can actually work against you.

The solution is to build your own alignment system. At address, your eyes should be directly over the ball or slightly inside the target line (toward your feet). Your shoulder line should be parallel to your intended start line. Use the alignment principles from our setup guide and adapt them to the putting green.

One proven technique for lefties: instead of looking at the hole as your target, pick a spot on your putting line about 12 inches in front of the ball. Roll the ball over that spot. This intermediate target method reduces the tendency for lefties to pull putts to the right, which is the most common directional miss for left-handed putters.

Stroke Path

The ideal putting stroke follows a slight arc—inside on the backswing, square at impact, and inside again on the follow-through. For left-handed golfers, this arc is a mirror image, but the principle is the same. The putter head should move slightly inside on the takeaway (toward your body), return to square at impact, and then move inside again on the follow-through.

Avoid the temptation to force a perfectly straight-back, straight-through stroke. While this was popular instruction for years, modern putting research has shown that a natural arc matching your body's rotation produces more consistent results. This is especially true for lefties, whose natural rotation pattern creates a slightly different arc than right-handed players.

Reading Greens as a Lefty

Here's something that rarely gets discussed: left-handed golfers literally see the green from a different perspective. When you stand behind the ball to read a putt, you're looking at it from the opposite side compared to a right-handed playing partner. This means your depth perception and slope reading can differ, sometimes significantly.

Use this to your advantage. Read every putt from behind the ball AND from behind the hole. Left-handed golfers often get a more accurate read from behind the hole because our dominant eye positioning gives us a clearer view of the slope from that angle. Additionally, walk the full length of the putt to feel the slope with your feet. Your body can detect subtle grade changes that your eyes miss.

Bunker Play for Left-Handed Golfers

Greenside bunker shots terrify most amateur golfers, and left-handed players have it even harder because bunker instruction is almost exclusively presented from a right-handed perspective. The good news: once you understand the lefty-specific setup adjustments, bunker shots become one of the most predictable shots in golf.

Open Stance Setup for Lefties

A standard greenside bunker shot requires an open stance and an open clubface. For a left-handed golfer, "open stance" means your feet, hips, and shoulders aim to the right of the target. Your clubface should be rotated open (away from the target) so you can see the full bounce and face of the sand wedge.

The critical adjustment for lefties: open the clubface BEFORE you take your grip. If you open the face after gripping, the club will return to square at impact and you'll hit a low, skulled shot over the green. Set the face angle first, then wrap your hands around the grip. This locks in the loft you need to splash the ball out softly.

Sand Wedge Technique

The bunker swing is different from every other shot in golf because you're NOT trying to hit the ball. You're hitting the sand behind the ball, and the sand carries the ball out of the bunker. For lefties, aim to enter the sand approximately two inches behind the ball.

Swing along your body line (which is aimed right of the target) with an aggressive, committed motion. The open clubface will redirect the ball toward the target. The biggest mistake left-handed golfers make in bunkers is decelerating through impact. You need to accelerate through the sand. Think of it as a full, committed swing that happens to go through sand instead of air.

Your follow-through should be full and high. If you're stopping the club in the sand, you're not committing to the shot. A proper bunker shot follow-through for a lefty should finish with the club over your right shoulder and your chest facing the target.

Different Sand Conditions

Not all bunkers are created equal, and adapting to sand conditions is crucial for consistent bunker play:

• Soft, fluffy sand: Open the clubface more and swing harder. The club will dig deeper into soft sand, so you need extra speed to get the ball out. Position the ball slightly forward (toward your right foot) in your stance.
• Firm, wet, or packed sand: Use less clubface opening and a shallower swing. On firm sand, the bounce on the bottom of your wedge will prevent digging. If the sand is very hard, consider using a gap wedge instead of your sand wedge to reduce bounce.
• Fairway bunkers: These require a completely different approach. Play the ball in the center of your stance, keep the clubface square, and focus on hitting the ball first. Choke down on the grip slightly and use one more club than the distance calls for. Your club fitting matters here—make sure your wedge bounces are suited to the courses you play most often.

Practice Drills for the Lefty Short Game

Knowing the technique is one thing. Ingraining it through deliberate practice is what actually lowers your scores. Here are six drills designed specifically for left-handed golfers to sharpen every aspect of the short game.

Drill 1: The Coin Drill (Chipping)

Place a coin on the ground and practice making chipping strokes that brush the coin off the turf. Don't use a ball at first. Focus purely on making clean, forward contact with the ground at the coin's location. Once you can consistently sweep the coin, place a ball two inches behind the coin and chip. The coin gives you a visual target for where your club should contact the ground.

Drill 2: The Ladder Drill (Putting Distance Control)

Set up five tees in a line at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 feet from your starting position. Putt one ball to each distance, trying to stop the ball within three feet of each tee. This drill builds the distance control that left-handed golfers need because it calibrates your feel for different stroke lengths. Do this drill with each of the three grip styles to find which gives you the best distance feel.

Drill 3: The Gate Drill (Putting Accuracy)

Set two tees in the ground just wider than your putter head, about two feet in front of the ball. Practice rolling putts through the gate. This drill trains a square face at impact and a consistent stroke path. For lefties, pay special attention to keeping the putter from drifting right through the gate, which indicates a pull tendency.

Drill 4: The Circle Drill (Pressure Putting)

Place four balls in a circle around the hole at three feet. Make all four putts before moving to four feet, then five feet. If you miss, start over at three feet. This drill simulates pressure and builds confidence on the short putts that make or break your score. Left-handed golfers often struggle with short putts from the right side of the hole—make sure you include putts from every angle.

Drill 5: The Line Drill (Bunker Entry Point)

Draw a line in the bunker sand and practice entering the sand at that line with consistent depth. Don't use a ball. Make 20 swings focused purely on where your club enters and exits the sand. Once your entry point is consistent, place a ball two inches in front of the line and splash it out. This is the fastest way to build confidence and consistency in bunkers.

Drill 6: The Up-and-Down Challenge

Drop five balls around the practice green in different locations and lies. Chip and putt each one, keeping track of how many you get up and down (on the green and in the hole in two shots). Your goal is three out of five. Once you can consistently hit that mark, move to four out of five. This game-like practice is more valuable than hitting 50 chips from the same spot because it forces you to adjust your setup, club selection, and shot type on every attempt.

Common Short Game Mistakes Left-Handed Golfers Make

After working with hundreds of lefty golfers, certain patterns emerge. These are the most common short game errors that left-handed players make—and how to fix them.

1. Scooping the ball on chips: Because our dominant hand is the trail hand, there's a natural tendency to try to "help" the ball into the air by flipping the wrists at impact. The fix: keep your right wrist flat through the hitting zone. The club's loft will do the work.
2. Pulling putts right: This is the lefty's version of the right-hander pushing putts left. It happens when your dominant trail hand takes over and pulls the putter inside on the follow-through. The fix: use the gate drill described above and focus on extending the putter toward the target after impact.
3. Decelerating in bunkers: Fear of hitting the ball too far causes lefties to slow down through impact, which actually makes the shot worse. The fix: commit to a full finish on every bunker shot. Think "splash" not "dig."
4. Using the wrong club around the green: Many lefties default to their highest-lofted wedge for every chip because they feel they need maximum control. The fix: follow the club selection guide above and practice with multiple clubs around the green. A solid fundamental approach means you can use any club confidently.
5. Ignoring the grain: Left-handed golfers tend to read putts differently than righties, which means the grain (the direction the grass grows) affects our reads differently too. The fix: on Bermuda grass greens, always check the grain by looking at the sheen on the green surface. Shiny means you're looking with the grain (faster), and dull means against the grain (slower).
6. Inconsistent grip pressure: Because our dominant hand is the trail hand, grip pressure fluctuations during the stroke are more common for lefties than righties. The fix: consciously set your grip pressure at address and maintain it throughout. A pressure scale of 4 out of 10 is a good target for chipping and putting.
7. Poor practice habits: Hitting 100 chips from the same spot on the range teaches you one shot. Playing the up-and-down challenge teaches you the game. Always vary your practice to simulate course conditions.

Sharpen Your Lefty Short Game and Start Scoring

The short game is the fastest path to lower scores for any golfer, and left-handed players have been underserved by conventional instruction for far too long. The tips, techniques, and drills in this guide are designed from the ground up for the way you swing, the way you see the course, and the challenges you face as a lefty.

Start with the fundamentals. Lock in your chipping setup with proper weight distribution and ball position. Experiment with different putting grips until you find the one that produces your most consistent roll. Spend real time in the practice bunker building confidence with the open-face, open-stance technique. And above all, practice with purpose using the drills outlined above.

Your short game won't transform overnight, but with focused, lefty-specific practice, you'll start saving strokes within weeks. The next time someone tells you to "just reverse the right-handed tip," you'll know better—and your scorecard will prove it.