Is it bad to accept my fade?

[Jakester23]

Ive been working hard on figuring out a draw for the last year. For the last month or so Ive been on the course struggling with the draw but Ive stuck with it even though my scores have suffered. I played alone on the 4th and about half way through I decided to go back to my comfort zone which is a fade.  Today after work my buddy and I went to a local course and I decided I was going to stick with the fade for 18 holes and see how it went. Well I had my best 18 holes score of my life. There was a dogleg left par 4 so I went back to the draw on that tee shot and hit it perfect but on almost all my iron shots and every other tee shot I stuck with fade. I know there will be times Im going to pull out the draw but should I just give up my dream of hitting that Rory draw and go with what Im good at or keep at it. Im kinda venting but when I have a round like today it makes me consider giving up on the draw unless I need it.

[Hacker James]

so why do you want to hit a draw?  Straight is not bad either. Play to your strengths.

[Jakester23]

A straight shot is hard for feel comfortable with. I like shaping shots so I have something to aim at and work the ball from the target to the flag. If I do that and it goes straight fine if it fades or draws closer to the target great.

[Shorty]

What on earth makes you think that there is something wrong with a fade?

Unless what you actually mean is a slice.

[Vector Zero]

Is it because of distance that you want to draw it? Draws tend to be lower and more penetrating which, for me, go further, especially if there is a breeze. That said, my local course is short by modern standards with ALL of the OOB on the left which means it heavily favours guys who fade the ball and drawers like me have to be super accurate. Last weekend I would have happily swapped my draw for a fade after being 5 off the tee on a par 5 (walked off with an 8 though!)

[David in FL]

Originally Posted by Shorty

What on earth makes you think that there is something wrong with a fade?

Unless what you actually mean is a slice.

This^^^^^^^

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a nice little fade.  It's my shot shape of choice.  If it's actually a pull (or push) slice that's costing you accuracy and distance, that's an entirely different thing.  And don't believe the "a draw is a stronger/longer shot shape"......that's simply not true.  Again, because what a lot of people refer to as a fade is more of a weak slice.

[billchao]

Originally Posted by Jakester23

Ive been working hard on figuring out a draw for the last year. For the last month or so Ive been on the course struggling with the draw but Ive stuck with it even though my scores have suffered. I played alone on the 4th and about half way through I decided to go back to my comfort zone which is a fade.  Today after work my buddy and I went to a local course and I decided I was going to stick with the fade for 18 holes and see how it went. Well I had my best 18 holes score of my life. There was a dogleg left par 4 so I went back to the draw on that tee shot and hit it perfect but on almost all my iron shots and every other tee shot I stuck with fade. I know there will be times Im going to pull out the draw but should I just give up my dream of hitting that Rory draw and go with what Im good at or keep at it. Im kinda venting but when I have a round like today it makes me consider giving up on the draw unless I need it.

You answered your own question. Do you want to play good golf or hit your dream shot?

[Jakester23]

I'd like to do both Bill but I here ya.

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by Jakester23

I'd like to do both Bill but I here ya.

Accept your fade and move on with it, so long as it is not a slice.. but a gentle curvature from left of target (if you're right-handed) to target.

To me, draws are like hooking the ball in bowling. It's pretty and it's rare to find a real cranker going from gutter to gutter, but you can be just as effective (if not more effective as an amateur) with the "straighter is greater" mentality. If you have a fade that works, don't reinvent the wheel to mirror your ball flight to the other side.

Practice the draw for situations where you can fall back on the shot, but I would never change my comfortable and natural ball flight that is accurate and repeatable for something new.

[Jakester23]

Ha that's funny spyder over the last 4 years I stopped trying to hook the shit out of my bowling ball and have got considerable better. Thats a great analogy for me ill just work on the draw at the range.

[TourSpoon]

Originally Posted by Jakester23

Today after work my buddy and I went to a local course and I decided I was going to stick with the fade for 18 holes and see how it went. Well I had my best 18 holes score of my life. There was a dogleg left par 4 so I went back to the draw on that tee shot and hit it perfect but on almost all my iron shots and every other tee shot I stuck with fade.

OK, there is nothing wrong with the best score of your life especially when you played the fade, hit the draw when you needed it, and went back to the fade. What's the problem here? To play golf well (ie score) you need to hit your spots. If you consistently hit the fade, then play it. If you want to change your ball flight, then invest the time to rework your swing.

I play with one guy who regularly plays a fade well. He is a sectional pro that plays to a +1. He can hit any shot, but prefers to aim a little left knowing that his miss is straight, and rips it down the middle. He effectively removes the left side of the golf course.

[saevel25]

Fade's are not bad to play. A lot of tour players play fades. So, i wouldn't call it a bad thing. A push draw/pull fade are the same shot but opposites, so there's nothing wrong with them.

[cipher]

Jake don't feel bad about it.  Just play the fade.  It is your natural shot.  As you are learning more and more about your swing, if the draw turns into your natural shot then great.  Until then just play the fade and enjoy taking the left side of the golf course out of play and hitting fairways.  I have always wanted to play a draw with every club as well.  I just can't do it without hooking the ball with my driver and often with the 3W.  Oh well, I will just have to settle for the shot I hit down the fairway this morning that was a high fade on a 381 yard par four that left me 90y into the green.

[ghalfaire]

Jack and Lee made a pretty good living with a fade.  So I guess it isn't something to worry about as long as you can hit the draw when needed.

[WUTiger]

Most competitive golfers have a go-to shot shape - draw or fade - they use for most of their full shots.

You get into trouble, however, if you're a draw guy like Rocco Mediate who simply cannot/will not hit a fade on any occasion. Recall Mediate's 2008 U.S. Open playoff loss at Torrey Pines to Tiger Woods. Tied after 18 holes, the pair went to sudden death on No. 7,  a dogleg right par 4. Mediate drew his drive into the left fairway bunker, and ended up with a bogie, losing the playoff.

Like you Jakester , Jack Nicklaus was big on the fade; but, he eventually learned to hit a draw when he needed to. (See Jack's book, Golf My Way , for details.)

I talked to one mini-tour player: He draws his 3W and 5W, and fades most other shots.

Many golfers learn to "go the other way" on tee shots, where you have ideal conditions: You're standing on level ground with the ball on a wooden (or plastic) tee.

Years ago when I could play three times a week, I would fade or draw as needed. On good days great... on bad days, really baaaad!

[GaijinGolfer]

Theres nothing wrong with a fade.  Many very good players have made quite a living on tour playing a fade.

[Jakester23]

Its not like I think there is something wrong with the fade I just like the way the draw looks. What drives my crazy is that I can hit the draw almost any time but I don't have a grip how to align myself to get it to end up where I want.

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by Jakester23

Its not like I think there is something wrong with the fade I just like the way the draw looks. What drives my crazy is that I can hit the draw almost any time but I don't have a grip how to align myself to get it to end up where I want.

Let it go unless it's a high risk high reward situation for you. Your fade will always be playable. Even dog-legs that forced a draw on me, before I could hit one, simply resulted in me playing a tight fade with a higher club from the tee. Then, I was set up to attack the hole accordingly, though I was obviously further back than playing partners who could draw on command. I would still usually card a decent score on these oddity holes so long as I didn't do anything stupid like try to swing outside of my limits to make up for lost ground.