The best golfers learn how to play the sport 'reversed' by switching hands when holding the club, a new study suggests.
From a sample of 150 golfers, researchers have found the successful players tend to hold their golf club in a 'reversed stance'.
Traditionally, if a person is right-handed they would place their right hand at the bottom of the club when they grip.
Conversely, a right-handed person who places their left hand at the bottom would be playing in a so-called 'reversed' stance.
Left-handed people who play right-handed – or vice-versa – could have a better chance of excelling in the sport, as major championship winners Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth have demonstrated.
American golfer Phil Mickelson, pictured, is right-handed, but holds his club as a left-handed person would traditionally do - with the left hand nearer the bottom
Adopting this reverse technique may help players hit the ball further and with greater accuracy according to the research team, led by Dr Oliver Runswick, lecturer in performance psychology at King's College London and a golf player himself.
The study was inspired by the success of golfers whose golf stance is the opposite of their handedness in other activities, such as writing.
American golfer Phil Mickelson, for example, is right-handed, but holds his club as a left-handed person would traditionally do.
'Four men have won one of golf's major championships using a left-handed stance,' Dr Runswick said.
'Of these men, three prefer their right-hand when writing – Phil Mickelson (ironically nicknamed 'Lefty'), Mike Weir and Sir Bob Charles, with only Bubba Watson preferring his left-hand for other everyday activities.
'Three-time major winner Jordan Spieth throws and shoots left-handed but plays golf in a right-handed stance.'
Dr Runswick had questioned why 'most golfers learn to play the game in a stance that may limit the standard of play'.
'I do think this could have a significant effect, even if it's just getting kids to try both ways round, rather than just saying 'here's a set of golf clubs, which hand do you write with?', he said.
'This isn't just for kids though but also for those who are new-ish to the game. There's always scope to question traditional methods and advance things.'
For the study, Dr Runswick recruited 150 golfers of varying abilities, divided into five different handicap categories (30 golfers in each).
