'Not Available For Us Lefties' - Do Left Handers Get A Raw Deal When It Comes To Choice Of Clubs?

Mizuno’s Pro M-13 and Pro M-15 irons have been some of the most well-received irons to have launched so far this year. I was reading my colleague Joe’s review of the M-15 iron to see his thoughts when one comment at the bottom of the piece from KMEE3 piqued my interest. It said, 'not available for us lefties..........so yeah, there is something to complain about. Mizuno giving up a slice of the market to the P790S and T250s.....'

‘Surely not,’ I thought. As a left-hander myself, I’ve always found custom availability of clubs to be near flawless. Sure, the odd loft option on drivers and the occasional loft and grind option on wedges are missing for left-handers, but on the whole, I have actually found the choice open to left-handers to be very strong.

However, this commenter was right. The Mizuno Pro M-15 irons simply are not available for left-handers. It’s the first instance I can ever recall of a club from a major manufacturer not making one of its models for lefties. Sure, I’ve seen a lack of stock and limited options, but never the flat-out refusal to make it for the southpaws of the world.

The Mizuno M-13 and M-15 irons side by side — Mizuno's Pro M-13 iron (left) available in both right hand and left hand, and M-15 irons only available for right handers.

While the world’s population of left-handers is estimated to be 10-12%, in golf, that drops quite drastically to around 5-7%. It’s a very small percentage of the overall golfing fraternity, so do manufacturers reserve the right not to make left-handed clubs if they don't want to? Are lefties over- or underrepresented when it comes to the custom availability of golf equipment?

Mizuno has responded to the reason it has excluded lefties from using Pro M-15, which I’ll get to later, but this comment led me to wonder: Do left-handers actually have it harder when it comes to equipment? I turned to the World Wide Web, the phone and my little black book of industry contacts to find out.

Stock, demo and second-hand availability

I want to start with what this investigation isn’t. This isn’t a deep dive into the availability of left-handed golf clubs in brick-and-mortar retailers, online shops, in fitting bays or in the second-hand market. That’s a whole other topic I need to get in the weeds on another day. Anecdotally, I know this falls way short of where it probably needs to be. Without a doubt, left-handers suffer from quite a punitive ‘convenience tax’ when it comes to buying, trying and getting fit for the full depth and breadth of golf equipment available.

I’ll dip my toe into that later, but, for now, I want to address the commenter’s issue head-on: the M-15 Pro wasn’t even available at custom - how common is this across the rest of the industry, and why does it happen?

SKU availability

To understand ‘availability’, we need to talk about Stock Keeping Units (SKUs). SKUs are unique, internal alphanumeric codes assigned to specific product variants. For example, Callaway’s Quantum drivers will have different SKUs from the fairway woods. But it goes far deeper than that. For example, the Callaway Quantum 9° driver has a different SKU than the same driver that has a 10.5° base loft. This goes for left-handed clubs. The left-handed Callaway Quantum 9° driver has a different SKU from its right-handed cousin. Apart from the aforementioned Mizuno Pro M-15, there are some left-handed SKUs of the majority of clubs made by the major manufacturers.

Before I started this research, I’d have said that one of the most common clubs left-handers miss out on is niche driver lofts and wedge loft/grind combinations. That being said, availability has become a lot better over the last decade. I went digging to see what the true representation of left-handed golf was like at the custom level.

Here’s an example from the new TaylorMade Qi4D range. Of the four heads and 13 different stock loft options available, 11 are available for left-handers: that’s 85%. The only SKUs that aren’t available for lefties are the 8° Qi4D LS head and the 8° Qi4D core model. I suspect the amount of right-handed 8° heads TaylorMade sells is so small already that the need to offer a left-handed version was negligible.

Photo of the Callaway Quantum Max Driver

Let’s look at Callaway’s Quantum offering for 2026, where the number is a little weaker. Of the five driver heads (Max, Max D, TD Max, TD and Max Fast), there are also 13 loft options, nine of which are available for left-handers: that’s just shy of 70%. This number is hurt by the fact that the two loft options in the Max Fast - a lightweight version of the standard Max - aren’t available for left-handers at all. The other non-lefty options are the Max D in 12° and the Triple Diamond in 8°. Again, these are niches within niches for the majority of the right-handed population, which is likely why production isn’t viable for lefties.

This 70-80% SKU availability number stood strong across most of the major OEMs in the industry, but what about Direct To Consumer (DTC) companies?

Takomo, one of the most well-known DTC companies, is a little patchy. Currently, the Ignis D1 driver is only available in right-handed. I’ll give Takomo the benefit of the doubt here. It’s a young company, and the driver isn’t even a year old yet. It’s lefty coverage in irons is much better, however, with every iron being available in both right and left-handed variants.

Remember, left-handers make up well below 10% of the golfing population, so surely 70-80% of SKU availability can be classed as over-representation?

Let’s try irons, often a more drought-ridden category for lefties. This brings me nicely onto Ping, the gold standard brand for left-handed golfers. A full 100% of Ping’s right-handed SKUs are available for left-handers, too. Chef’s kiss. I’d expect nothing less from a brand like Ping.

Yes, 100%. From the G440 Max driver in every loft right down to the quirky Chip-R and Bunk-R wedges. If Ping makes a right-handed SKU, it will make the same in left-handed. It’s the only brand of the lot that does this.

This coverage includes niche irons at the top and bottom of the set. So that means a 3-iron in i240 or a 56° wedge as part of the G440 iron set are all available for left-handers. I’m going to keep listing things for effect. From a left-handed G440 7-hybrid to a 12° G440 K driver, a model that other brands may see as too niche to create a left-handed SKU for, Ping makes that.

Fun fact for you while we’re here. Thanks to the popularity of ice hockey, Canada has far more left-handed golfers than the rest of the global population. To that effect, some 35-40% of all of Ping’s sales in Canada (which is the 6th or 7th biggest golf market in the world) are for left-handed clubs.

Shall I keep going? I will, because I want to give Ping its flowers. Every single one of the 26 different loft and lie combinations for the S259 wedges is available in left-handed. Quite simply, if you’re a lefty reading this, frustrated with the world of equipment, Ping is your brand.

Srixon, on the other hand, is much harder to read. After digging into the spec sheets of one of its most popular irons, ZXi7, left-handers can get 4-PW just like their right-handed mates can. But, do you want a 3-iron? How about a set gap wedge or sand wedge? Nope, sorry. The story is similar when looking at the brand’s driver and fairway woods, as ZXi only comes in one loft option in each driver head, and only two fairway wood lofts in total for lefties.

This leads me to wedges and Srixon’s sister company, Cleveland. The RTZ wedge is the envy of many brands, but it has disappointed in its left-handed offering. Indeed, wedges quickly became the trickiest sub-category of clubs for left-handers to find, mostly due to the volume of loft/grind options, all of which have their own SKU.

With a smattering of loft and grind options here and there, and only one wedge option at all if you want 58°, it's miles behind Ping’s and Vokey’s 100% offerings. Specifically, accounting for all the loft and grind options in RTZ, only 40% are available to left-handers.

A lot of the left handed exclusion in the wedges and iron category can often be random, I can see where people’s frustration comes from. With that in mind, I reached out to the brands to see what they had to say about their own left-handed SKUs. I laid bare the offering they give for left-handed golfers, and here are a selection of responses.

Callaway told me, ‘Our key objective is to offer across all in-line products our core selling SKUs to support left-handed players to choose Callaway, both through finished goods and custom fitting. Internally, we may manage this as MTO / custom only for many LH SKUs, so we have more flexibility to adjust supply using head stock across various flexes offered.’

‘Looking at LH offerings specifically, our program management/commercialisation teams look very carefully at many factors to lock down commercialised offerings: historical sales of right-handed & left-handed SKUs, industry trends and product-specific factors.’

In response to the lack of RTZ options for lefties, Srixon Cleveland said, ‘When planning our product ranges, including left-handed options, we carefully assess expected demand alongside a range of commercial and manufacturing considerations for each SKU. Our goal is always to offer meaningful choice while ensuring our line-up reflects how golfers engage with different configurations.’

‘We value ongoing research and feedback from golfers, including insights like those you’ve highlighted, and we continue to review expectations across all players as part of our future product planning.’

Finally, Mizuno’s response to the absence of left-handed M-15s goes, "We’ve continued to incrementally expand our iron offerings over several product cycles to better serve the needs of more players. Within the 24X family, we introduced the 245 model in left-hand; however, the 243 was not available in left-hand, which meant this category went some time without a compact, players-style option that also delivers added ball-speed performance benefits.'

'Today, we offer both JPX 925 Forged and JPX 925 Hot Metal Pro in left-hand. As we evaluated the lineup, we saw an opportunity to further support players seeking a more traditional, player-focused profile with the introduction of M-13, rather than adding another model within the same players-distance category.'

'M-13 represents a meaningful step forward in design and engineering when compared to 243, incorporating new materials and technologies to significantly enhance overall performance and feel.'

'As always, we carefully balance innovation, performance, and production considerations when determining which models and dexterities to bring to market, with the goal of delivering the greatest benefit to the widest range of golfers.'

Sure, some lefties might argue that they should be given a choice of 100%, not just 60-70%. ‘If Ping can do it, why not everyone else?’ Fair points, yes, but I think the ‘problem’ of a lack of left-handed equipment isn’t as systemic as some wish to believe.

‘This is great, but where can I go to demo or get fitted for these clubs?’ I can hear you screaming, and whatever device you’re reading this on. Well, here’s why the problem truly lies for left handed golfer: the convenience tax.

The convenience tax

I do want to address this elephant in the room, as it is likely the main reason left-handed golfers can rightly feel hard done by the lack of demo equipment. I think a lot of lefties mistake lack of stock and demo availability for a lack of availability in general. We’ve seen that this simply isn’t the case.

However, there is a huge convenience tax placed on left-handers in trying to get fit for clubs locally or just buying a new driver or set of irons right off the shelf. Heading to your local pro or a local big box retailer reveals the true frustrations for left-handed golfers: lack of instant availability. This is part of the convenience tax that comes in. As we’ve seen, most OEMs are offering 70-80% of their product in left-handed, but left-handers just have to go the extra mile (often quite literally) to get a proper fitting to try these clubs out.

Whether that be the Titleist Performance Institute at Woburn, Ping’s UK HQ in Gainsborough or the PXG South London store, left-handed golfers will have to travel to the brand’s own fitting centres where their right-handed friends will get the pick of all the clubs they want from their local pro or fitting store.

Ping women's fitting — Ping's fitting centre in Gainsborough will offer a full left-handed range.

Then there’s brand agnostic fitting specialists in the UK like Precision Golf and SGGT. Again, these will offer ample choice for the left-handed golfer, but unless you live close to one of these centers, you’ll have to go well out of your way to try left-handed clubs of all types out. If you're a left-hander lucky enough to live in the Surrey area, the left-handed golf shop at Silvermere Golf Complex is your local treasure trove - although I know a few golfers who have travelled a long way to visit. It also has a website, which lists pictures of right handed clubs, the irony of which was not lost on me.

For those left-handers who aren’t worried about trying before they buy or a custom fitting (both of which I would highly recommend doing, by the way), the lack of ‘stock’ left-handed equipment often requires significantly more effort and time to get a hold of.

While it may feel like left-handers have it harder, it doesn’t take a profound dive to see that the availability of left-handed equipment is strong when compared to the percentage of the market we make up. In fact, I'd argue it is stronger than it's ever been before. The Pro-M15 is the absolute exception to the rule, and Mizuno's omission of it from the left-handed lineup is unique.

What’s undeniable, however, is the inconvenience left-handers suffer when it comes to equipment. Left-handers are arguably overrepresented in the number of SKUs brands offer, but there are still far too many hoops to jump through for lefties to test and demo equipment.

Are you a left hander who struggles to find the right clubs? Let us know down in the comments.

Dan has been with the Golf Monthly team since 2021. He graduated with a Master's degree in International Journalism from the University of Sussex and looks after equipment reviews and buying guides, specializing in golf shoes, golf bags, golf trolleys, and apparel reviews. Dan is also a co-host of Kick Point: The Golf Gear Show. A left-handed golfer, his handicap index is currently 7.1, and he plays at Fulford Heath Golf Club in the West Midlands.

Dan's current What's In The Bag:

Driver: Cobra DS-Adapt X
Mini driver: TaylorMade R7 Quad Mini
Fairway: Ping G440 Max 21°
Irons: Titleist T250 (5), Titleist T100 (6-PW)
Wedges: Ping Glide Forged Pro (50, 56, 60)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Bag: Vessel Sunday III

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