By Kim Jeong-kyoo

Right-handers do almost everything with their right hand: jotting down a swing key, unlocking the car, throwing an object and shaking hands. They do things more naturally and better with their right hand than with the left.

Despite the adroitness of the right hand, the right-side role in swinging the golf club has tended to be rather ignored so far. The left-side control can make the already unnatural movement even more unnatural and complicated. The left side is weaker and thus less efficient in controlling the swing than the right.

Your dominant right side is more dexterous in swinging the club. Allowing your right-side to play a dominant role makes you feel more natural and easier in swinging the club, facilitating repeating the same, effective swing with less effort. This is particularly true of golfers who set up in a bent posture and thus go for a flat one-plane swing. Players whose setup posture is rather upright would be better off swinging with their left side in spite of its ineptness or awkwardness.

Just imagine you are painting a stripe along the proper swing path from the ball to the top of the backswing. You will instinctively use your right hand. You know that your right hand presents the best chance of painting the correct line. Painting the line with your left hand causes an awkward movement, tending to force your left hand to come across the chest that is in the way.

However, drawing the line with your pre-eminent right hand allows nothing to get in the way, which means that you can set the club in the proper position at the top of the backswing.

Without a doubt, your right hand can bring about problems if you allow it to function improperly during the swing but using it properly greatly helps control both distance and direction in the perfect manner.

To produce an effective swing with your right hand playing a dominant role, it's essential to hold the club correctly with it. Place it alongside the handle so the palm is parallel to the clubface. Prior to closing your right hand, be sure the handle of the club lies diagonally across the fingers, from the second joint of the index finger to the bottom of the smallest one. If you complete the grip correctly, there should be an unbroken line running from the back of your forearm through the back of your right hand so there is no obtuse angle in your right wrist.

Also crucial is the grip pressure that is light or soft. For an unqualified success you need to keep the fingers and wrist of your right hand relaxed.

On the backswing you need to hinge your right wrist so your right thumb starts to work toward your forearm at the end of the takeaway when your right hand is in front of your right thigh or slightly past it. That keeps the club from getting out of position.

For an ideal backswing you need to cock your wrists upward as you turn your body; hinging your right thumb toward your right forearm assures this without having to push yourself into doing so.