One-planer fade

I've been trying recently to make a transition to making fades my stock shot as opposed to my usual draw. Yes, I'm a one planer so this is tough. I've been opening the face (wide) and my stance, flaring the left foot so my knees are lined up with my hips, aiming maybe 20 yards left. With this position, the shot that comes out is a baby fade right at my target. Great, but I'm trying to learn how to control that cut into something bigger. Especially, when my swing path is just a bit off, it turns into this push that looks like it starts to fade early, and then the ball basically spins over almost 360 and takes to a draw, right where my feet are aiming. Any tips to getting my fades more consistent?

Try making your swing plane a little more vertical than normal. The more vertical plane favors a slight cut.

I'm a one planer as well. I have learned over time that some things are backwards for our swings. If your swing is too flat, the swing becomes inside to out instead of down the target line. The ball starts off in the direction of swing path, then curves in the direction of the face angle. So, If the ball is starting right of target, then drawing back online, the swing path is in fact inside to out with a closed club face in reference to swing path (the club is pointing to the target and is not square to the swing path) If the club face is square to swing path, then he ball would start right and stay there or even might fade a bit.

The solution is to work on swing path. Put a few clubs on the ground parallel to each other and really focus addressing the ball square to the target line, then swinging down that line.

Now the fade... What I do is aim left and point the face where I want the ball to go. On my swing, I focus on swinging a little outside to in and I make sure I hold the finish so I don't turn the club over. Sometimes my swing is such that those things don't really produce the fade I'm looking for. When that happens, I stand farther from the ball, make sure I keep my weight back longer, and make sure I swing "under" myself. When I really feel it I can produce some really good bananas... Stadler would be proud.


P.S. More vertical swings don't really favor a fade. I have knows really good players that get a little too steep on a driver and can't help but hook it.

Yeah, I'm pretty positive going more vertical is bad for the one planer, too much separation from the body. Funny you mentioned swing plane because this morning, I just worked on trying to stretch that backswing further away rather than around myself, getting me that square swing path to my target line and it did help me get those fades in a little more control. I used the drill where you put a ball a 6 inches behind the ball you're hitting and push it straight back along your line during the backswing.

I'm also trying to use Hogan's method where he opens up the face early in the backswing to hold off that left ball, like Tiger's takeaway these days. Does that help you as well or do you not even use that? Oh, and thanks for the help.

Hank Haney would beg to differ with you (and my personal experience would support it). In his book "The Only Golf Lesson You'll Ever Need," he goes so far as to say that vertical plane swings are the major cause of slices--because they make normal wrist rolling and release more difficult, hence more likely an open club face. Can't speak for whatever else your friends are doing to cause their hooks.