Choosing Ball Flight Pattern

[Lefty_3Jack]

Did you choose your ball flight or did it choose you?  Do you believe you have a swing DNA that chose your ball flight for you?  

I'm in a bad spot now as my path is consistently between -1° & +1° with irons and 1° to 3° out to in with the driver, but the face is consistently shut to the path (6°-8° sometimes) so I'm hitting some really unplayable shots.  I'm plus missing off the heel/neck a lot.  A year ago I was 4° in to out and still was unable to play a push draw because of lack of face control.  I ended up playing a variation of fades by the middle of the year with some good success, but the pull hooks would always get me if I took a few days off.    

Right now I'm a 4.5 who was a 3.2 a few weeks ago and I'm on my way to being a 15 with each passing day!  As I begin to sort this out I've wondered if I'm supposed to be playing a draw or if I'd be better to play a fade?  How do you tell what's going to be best for you?  I have been unable to do either consistently in the 10 years I've played so I'm confused.  I want to practice more efficiently now and chose a path to improvement based off of a consistent ball flight, not necessarily what my FO view looks like on a camera.  

[saevel25]

Probably depends. For me, I like fades with the driver and draws with my irons. Though, I wouldn't mind hitting fades all the time. I rather hit a cut than battle a hook. 

[Vinsk]

7 hours ago, Lefty_3Jack said:

Do you believe you have a swing DNA that chose your ball flight for you?  

A shank. My swing DNA is a pure, magnificent shank. I believe only naturally talented golfers have a ball flight that just ‘comes’ for them. Then you’ve got the trained talented golfers who decide which they prefer...maybe one gives more distance and/or controllability. 

[RWC]

Great question by the OP. I have wondered the same many times. Over the years I've moved from a fade to a draw to a hook to a pull. I'm betting that age and limitations on practicing (life happens) may play a part in the change as well. Looking forward to comments from others.

[oregongolfguy]

At my best before back issues stopped me from playing I was push draw with my irons. And after reading a couple of the long threads on hitting driver here I found that hitting a fade was easier, match up with my swing pattern better.  
  Hybrid was also draw.  The 3 wood was the one I hadn’t quite got dialed in at the time. I still had a two way miss there

[gbogey]

My ball flight chose me, not the other way around.  In my mind I love the idea of a baby fade.  Spent countless hours practicing it.  But the reality is that I have a strong grip and a tendency to close the face.  Every club but driver the ball is likely to go straight to draw.  That part isn't too bad.  My driver, however, tends to go straight with a two way miss.  That isn't good.  I've again spent countless hours trying to limit the miss to one way or the other.  Getting better at it but not where I want to be.

[Patch]

My ball flight tells me what I'm doing, on a day to day playing basis.

Some days it goes "this" way. Other days it goes "that" way. Not by much, but there are differences. What ever the first couple of holes tells me about my ball flights, thats how I play the rest of that round. 

[Bonvivant]

On a standard full length shot, I am very close to straight. I do have a tendency to pull one here or there, but generally my distance control gets on my nerves more than side to side dispersion. My wedges tend to draw a teensy bit, and my long irons tend to fade a teensy bit. When there is an obstacle to get around, I "can" work the ball both ways, but success rate of the shot goes way down. I'm a pretty crap golfer though, so this may not be any good for info.

[FlyingAce]

I have a natural fade with all my clubs. The only club that I can draw/fade at will is my driver and I have been working on that for 2 seasons now. 

Since I don’t hit my driver that far (avg. 200yds), my misses are all still playable. 

[pganapathy]

If the pro's are anything to go by, there is no advantage/disadvantage to hitting a controlled draw or fade.  No more than a couple of yards.  However, admittedly, a lot of holes favour one shot over the other, so if you ideally have both shots in your arsenal, use them.  If not, stick to your stock shot and play it all the time

[billchao]

You can choose your ball flight? 😜

[boogielicious]

17 hours ago, billchao said:

You can choose your ball flight? 😜

I respectfully request the ball do one thing, not hook! It doesn’t listen.

[billchao]

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

I respectfully request the ball do one thing, not hook! It doesn’t listen.

If you want your ball to stop hooking, you have to climb up a fire escape with a dozen roses and rescue it 😜

[dennyjones]

1 minute ago, billchao said:

If you want your ball to stop hooking, you have to climb up a fire escape with a dozen roses and rescue it 😜

Visions of Richard Gere?

[billchao]

8 minutes ago, dennyjones said:

Visions of Richard Gere?

Clearly not being Richard Gere is why I can’t get my ball to stop hooking.

[bwdial]

I call my ball flight Danny DeVito.

Short and fat.

[phillyk]

What I have found is that if I play a stock draw, my fade when called upon looks picture perfect. If I decide to play a fade, it quickly goes into slice mode. Playing the draw is my best option. However I need to control it to being less swingy. Basically the draw/fade stock decision depends on how big the misses are.

Edited April 24, 2020 by phillyk

[PatCav]

Maybe I’m old fashioned but I usually just try to hit it straight. I don’t worry too much about shaping it into a pin location etc. I can 2 putt from anywhere on the green for the most part. If I attempt straight, the miss is less for me. My strategy is to get to the green in regulation. The rest doesn’t matter to me.