Who do you think the best lefty to ever play the game is. Though he is not playing anymore, I have to go with Steve Valencia.

I watched Scott Martin play a skins safari round yesterday. He's definately an impressive lefty. 1016 rated and eligible to `move up` to masters next year. In my opinion, he's probably one of the most underrated players out there right now.

I think Megan "li'l crusher" Stroh is the best lefty ever. :)

I think Megan "li'l crusher" Stroh is the best lefty ever. :)


Hey, Rhett. I haven't met you yet, but hope to do so soon. Heard alot of great things about you and your family, and saw a nice interview with you and your son. I am sure little Megan is a force to be reconed with.

I think Megan "li'l crusher" Stroh is the best lefty ever. :)

I'm getting pretty good lefty, but I'm not Megan Stroh good. :D

I think currently, Minnesota might have the highest rated lefties over age 39, Mike Misakian 1004, and over age 49, Tim Mackey 961 (non-current). Master Johnny Lissaman is "only" at 996.

of course lefties are underrated because they need some extra skills to deal with all those rightieholes out there. stick a righty on a true lefty course (if one even exists) and they would drop prolly 50 ratings points.

Brookside in Indy...

Zebulon (one of the courses used for the pro crosstown) is a great lefty course. Every single hole, the trouble is on the left side of the fairway.

joe mela

http://www.pdga.com/tournament/tournament_results.php?TournID=4672#Masters

Mela is still 6 points behind Misakian but, of course, he does have a World title he won here.

What do you consider older? Cause we got one mean "older" leftie down here in NC. HOF member Alan Beaver.
He's been a threat in almost every worlds since the beginning.

Zebulon (one of the courses used for the pro crosstown) is a great lefty course. Every single hole, the trouble is on the left side of the fairway.



I'm sure tiZZle was talkin to sandalman, but if you want a fair assesment of "lefty" courses you need too hear it from as lefty. In the "right" world a lefty course is one that is close to equal or only SLIGHTLY favors the righty. I can only think of one lefty course i've played and that's kentwood in raleigh. Most of the holes are straight, which equals lefty friendly. we throw straighter than righties anyway.

oh yeah - my vote goes for Al birdie, cause he's whooped myass in the last couple lefty challenges we've had.

i dont think lefties want a lefty course.....what i want is a fair, balanced course.

scott martin has my vote for best lefty in the world... is there a lefty who is rated higher than him? or a lefty who has ever finished better then him at USDGC?

craig leyva finished pretty high two years ago. he's in the upper 980's i think. and he can throw an aviar about as far as i can throw a driver with a tailwind :eek:

btw, sandalman is a lefty. i agree that to most righties a lefty hole is a hole that only barely favors a righty. seriously, some of you righties oughta hear yourselves sometimes. there's nothing funnier than playing 3 or 4 righty friendly holes in a row then coming to an even balanced hole and hearing y'all start moaning :D

Yep, Beaver has Mackey by 11 points in the over 49 age zone with a 972. It will be interesting if Mackey tries for Worlds now that he just hit 50. He's much more of an overall player than just disc golf. He just whooped a bunch of us in a 2-round retro tournament where we all used old 71C molds on a 6000 ft object course.

for 2 outta ther three rounds that i played this weekend at the MI finals there were three lefties in the group and one righty. it was awsome.
i know there are courses that i have played where almost every hole favors a righty... then when you get to the one hole on the course that does not favor a righty, nor a lefty, they still have room to whine about it. i think its funny as heII.
i love bein a lefty... makes it more criticle to work every shot in the bag.
i am actually wanting to get a course put in and design it stupidly in the righty hyzer favor.... so that way it gives me a chance to practice anhyzers even more and nail it down, and then no one could ever even whine and say the course was designed poorly.... all the rightys (majority of the world) would rave on it bein the best course ever. lololol, and it would benefit me more than anything.

am actually wanting to get a course put in and design it stupidly in the righty hyzer favor.... so that way it gives me a chance to practice anhyzers even more and nail it down, and then no one could ever even whine and say the course was designed poorly.... all the rightys (majority of the world) would rave on it bein the best course ever. lololol, and it would benefit me more than anything.

or to save time, you could just move to DFW and play Lake Lewisville or the Coyote course at Cedar Hill! (the locals here know what i'm saying) :o

Quote from a top NEFA leftie:
www.msdgc.com/msdgclive/www/holes/MH_a_03.jpg (http://www.msdgc.com/msdgclive/www/holes/MH_a_03.jpg)

Quote from a top NEFA leftie:
www.msdgc.com/msdgclive/www/holes/MH_a_03.jpg (http://www.msdgc.com/msdgclive/www/holes/MH_a_03.jpg)



Correct me if I'm wrong, but Dr. Doug is not only the top leftie in NEFA, but also the top-rated disc golfer.

"They're all lefty holes" is my go-to comeback when the righties dare say anything. spoken out loud, it is usually followed with a muttered "[I'm a potty-mouth!] [I'm a potty-mouth!]" :D

I have golfed with both Scott Martin and Joe Mela. Both incredible lefties.

At 995, Dr. Doug is the highest rated player in all of NEFA plus NY. Not until you get to Brinster in NJ or Mike Sullivan and Bob Harris in Ontario do you find a higher rated resident.

Harvey (the Life Force) Barger is a lefty. He thinks that every hole is a lefty hole, too.

Hal Kurz is a righty who can shoot lefty when he want to. He's pro master righty and good advanced lefty.... I hate that....

Valencia

Got to play 2 rounds with Dr Doug at Marshall Street, and enjoyed playing with him immensely.

Was Valencia a true lefty? Seems like I remember he threw 400 ft with either hand? Maybe best ambidextrous player ever?

Joey Mela is the best and most accomplished lefty I know.

A masters world champion, several top worlds finishes in Open in the early and mid 90's. Just two weeks ago at age 44 he beat a tough masters field to win the Skylands NT (would've finished third in Open). Not sure what his career pdga win total is, but I bet he's in the top 7 or so.I'm pretty sure he has over 50 sanctioned wins in addition to his many unsanctioned titles.

No doubt Johnny L and Scott M are also very talented and accomplished but I think Joey has the most complete game and can perform well on the widest variety of courses.

By the way if you're ever in his group and he pulls out a yellow phantom, pay attention because you're about to witness some magic!

Joe Mela when in top form is hard to beat. I should know he's been beating my @ss for 20 years now. I think he has way more than 50 PDGA wins BTW.

Honorable mention to Tim Day, top 10 in '88 Pro Worlds. :cool:

Keith Warren is real good but he hardley ever plays, my vote would still go out to Scott Martin for best over all lefty.

of course lefties are underrated because they need some extra skills to deal with all those rightieholes out there. stick a righty on a true lefty course (if one even exists) and they would drop prolly 50 ratings points.


Everyone knows that if a course has even one lefty hole, then it's a "dang lefty course". :)

of course lefties are underrated because they need some extra skills to deal with all those rightieholes out there. stick a righty on a true lefty course (if one even exists) and they would drop prolly 50 ratings points.


Everyone knows that if a course has even one lefty hole, then it's a "dang lefty course". :)



I throw RHBH, but whenever I get to a lefty hole I think 'sweet, I can anny this and everyone else is gonna blow it' then proceed to blow it while everyone else parks it.

THREAD DRIFT ALERT!





of course lefties are underrated because they need some extra skills to deal with all those rightieholes out there. stick a righty on a true lefty course (if one even exists) and they would drop prolly 50 ratings points.


Everyone knows that if a course has even one lefty hole, then it's a "dang lefty course". :)



I throw RHBH, but whenever I get to a lefty hole I think 'sweet, I can anny this and everyone else is gonna blow it' then proceed to blow it while everyone else parks it.



I throw RHBH and I love so called "lefty holes". I have more control with turnover shots and rollers than I do with hyzers. I feel like I have a distinct advantage when a hole doglegs or curls to the right. Most people can throw hyzers well. Being able to work the flippy stuff to perfection is so much more fun than simply throwing something out and allowing it to crash and burn.

Kurt Bayne.

Was Valencia a true lefty? Seems like I remember he threw 400 ft with either hand? Maybe best ambidextrous player ever?



I've got tape of Cam almost putting one over the lake at Winthrop throwing leftie right after he did it rightie. 550 with either hand?

And we still need to clarify what is "older". I agree with Mela, Martin and such but they're still young guys.

Martin isn't exactly a youngin with pdga #5560 if we can go by that. I believe he's 39 goin on 40, but doesn't plan on moving into the masters division.

Randy Lahm...world record holder for the longest roller...over 1/2 mile!

Kurt Bayne.


YES!!!! THAT GUY ROCKS!!!! The guy plays with his discs in a lunchbox and is rated 986 !

I have also heard there is a lefty from SoCal that has been making waves, probably be up in the top ranks within a couple years.

I know who you're talking about, and he can throw. I think he's Welsh too.

"SugarBear" (John Child) http://www.pdga.com/tournament/playerstats.php?PDGANum=17540
If you don't know of him, you will soon.

Jimi Hendrix

or to save time, you could just move to DFW and play Lake Lewisville or the Coyote course at Cedar Hill! (the locals here know what i'm saying) :o



Amen to the Lake course being a complete righty course....

I love stepping up to righty holes, taking an anny and parking it, all the while muttering under my breath "Bleeping righty hole!" I birdie the true righty hole on the home course more than the wider open "lefty" holes...

- Best lefty in Houston (because Matt Hall throws RHBH) :)

or to save time, you could just move to DFW and play Lake Lewisville or the Coyote course at Cedar Hill! (the locals here know what i'm saying) :o



Amen to the Lake course being a complete righty course....

I love stepping up to righty holes, taking an anny and parking it, all the while muttering under my breath "Bleeping righty hole!" I birdie the true righty hole on the home course more than the wider open "lefty" holes...

- Best lefty in Houston (because Matt Hall throws RHBH) :)



I'll challenge you to a lefty match at Macgregor. /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Chuck -- it's scary that you even know the Brookside course in Indianapolis. It's definitely a lefty course.

Kennett Square PA's course short tees are also skewed to the left with 13+ baskets favoring leftys.

If it was a lefty-only tournament, it would be tough not to bet on Mela -- especially if it's a wooded course.

Chuck -- it's scary that you even know the Brookside course in Indianapolis. It's definitely a lefty course.



Not sure why it should be a surprise. I've played around 325 courses since 1989 and always evaluate them on design issues even if just informally. When I played it in a Checkered Flag sometime in the mid-90s, it just jumped out as the most lefty course I had ever played. Since I throw backhand rollers when possible, I used them a lot there. Clockwise routing on the outside edge of a central wooded area bounded by roads can lead to lots of lefty holes.

"scary" was probably a poor word choice. I just remember reading this when it was posted and thinking that aside from Kennett, Brookside is about the only lefty course that I've played, but no one would know those courses . . . . something along those lines.

When I played Brookside, I was thinking I'd have to learn to drive left-handed if I played here because I can't throw a roller and my elbow hurts when I even think of throwing a forehand that hard and often. It's odd how the few left handed courses jump right out at you but you forget how right-handed most courses are.

There are several courses in the mid-atlantic that have multiple pin placements and the lefty-biased ones rarely if ever get used.

The other part is I play with left-handers alot and of course I pick on them on the one or two baskets on a course that favor a left-hander. "Lefty hole" or "cheater" while of course the vast majority of baskets are made for right-handers.

The best lefty player I ever met was John Greensage. He was good at all disc sports (Disc Golf, Double Disc Court, Distance, Self Caught Fly/Maximum Time Aloft, and Freestyle). I believe he won the Texas Overall Championship 7 times back in the 80's. He was one of the Pioneers of disc golf in Texas and was the one who introduced me to the game. He gave my daughter Nicole (SuperGirl) some pointers a year ago that really helped her game.

I remember playing a round of disc golf with John in the late 1980's at Rice University in Houston. He was explaining course design to me. He said that a good par 3 whole was one that was a hard but makeable two. He then pointed to a light pole that was way the hell out there, and said that might be a good tough par three hole. I said no way! I thought it might be difficult for me to get to the hole with two drives. I told him it was a bad par 3 because no one could ever get a 2 on the hole (unless they got lucky and hit the pole with a long second shot). He smiled, took out his driver, and threw the longest drive I had ever seen. I watch the disc fly toward the pole and next thing I hear is a "ping" as the disc hits the pole. I stood there amazed that he just aced a hole I thought no one could ever deuce.

I saw players who were more consistent than he was, but when he was on his game he was truly amazing.

Thanks........Rick