Whiffle: verb – to blow lightly in puffs or gusts; noun – something light or insignificant.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

One-Armed Wonders

So here's an interesting twist on the left- vs. right-hand debate. It seems there are a couple of organizations that cater to one-armed golfers. The "domestic" version is the North American One-Armed Golfer Association (NAOAGA); their European counterpart is the Society of One Armed Golfers.  In addition to sponsoring various championships, the two organizations stage a biennial Ryder Cup-style competition called the Fightmaster Cup. Alas, much like their two-armed counterparts, the Europeans won the 2010 match, which was also held in Wales, by a score of 16-12.

Here's a video of the top American player, 47-year-old Bobby Baca, in action:



What I find interesting, in perusing photos on the NAOAGA website, is that while most of the golfers seem to swing the club in a "forehand" style, a number of them are "backhanders." I'd be very curious to learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, and why each golfer chose to swing the way he does.
     What do you think? Would forehand or backhand be a better way to go? Personally, it certainly seems like it would be easier to go forehand – but I wonder what the advantages to backhand would be.

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