Lee Trevino has forgotten more about golf than the rest of us could ever dream to learn. And the best thing about “The Merry Mex” is that he’s never been shy in sharing it with others.
Back in the 1970s, Trevino was actually a playing editor at GOLF Magazine. Each month he’d offer instruction tips to readers, so earlier this week, I dived into the archive to see what gems I could find from the six-time major champ.
Trevino’s Left Hand Secret
One I found particularly interesting was a short article from Trevino in a 1974 issue. In it, Trevino explains the move that helps him be more accurate off the tee: Keeping your left hand ahead of the clubface on the downswing.
“If the other guys ever learn that it is the back of the left hand that controls the clubface, there would be a lot more winners, and I would have a lot more to worry about,” he says.
Trevino says that keeping your left hand ahead of the clubface is such an important tip for him that he considers it his “secret.” He recommends working on this move with an open stance, which will give your arms room to extend along the way as your body turns.
Luke Kerr-Dineen is the Game Improvement Editor at GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com. In his role he oversees the brand’s game improvement content spanning instruction, equipment, health and fitness, across all of GOLF’s multimedia platforms.
An alumni of the International Junior Golf Academy and the University of South Carolina–Beaufort golf team, where he helped them to No. 1 in the national NAIA rankings, Luke moved to New York in 2012 to pursue his Masters degree in Journalism from Columbia University. His work has also appeared in USA Today, Golf Digest, Newsweek and The Daily Beast.