Trying to draw the ball

[jfrain2004]

Hi,
have been doing some messing round with trying to draw/fade the ball and wondered what swing thoughts people employ to pull off either shot.
Seems to me that if at the top of the swing if I have the club slightly across the target line, ie point to right of my target as I view it, then this will encourage a draw.
As for a fade if I leave it point to the left it promotes a fade.
Is there any basis for this ? The way I see it is my club line through impace will be more in to out in the first case and this is what is causing the draw.
I like to understand why something happens rather than jsut accept it "as is"

Also, does a steeper swing favour a draw and a flatter backswing favour a fade?

[tm22721]

This works for a draw or a fade.

1. Align your body to where you want the ball to start.

2. Align the clubhead to where you want the ball to end.

3. Take a normal swing.

[Augusta Hacker]

This works for a draw or a fade.

x2....my only addition is to make sure you swing across your body and not your final target line. I use this method to shape shots and I find that I screw up when my swing tries to go down the clubhead line and not the body alignment. And when you do this, you really are screwed. LOL.

One other thought.....it takes a few tries to get it figured out but works. It takes some tweaking to not "bend" the ball too much.

[sonicblue]

This works for a draw or a fade.

The only problem with this method, is that it leads to an impact that is more of a side-slap than a square hit. I heard this snippet from Johnny Miller (who I like as an instructor/philosopher), paraphrasing:

'Ideally, what you want to do is impact the ball squarely, and then impart spin while the ball is on the clubface. That may sound impossible, because the ball is on the club so briefly, but don't underestimate the abilities of the mind.' Picture the extreme case: you aligned yourself to your starting line, then tilt your club 45° toward your target, a severe shape. If you swing along your body line, the club is going to come in very angled, leading to just a glancing impact. My swing is a bit shaky right now, but when I first envisioned this, I was swinging very in control, and when I paid attention to it, I did feel like I was able to actually "catch" the ball on the face and then manipulate the face ever so slightly to get the desired shape. I guess my point is, if you're advanced enough to want to shape shots around the course, you're advanced enough to try this. Me, I kinda lost the feel for it (undergoing a swing overhaul), and as a result, am generally playing all my shots straight and am just aiming for the safest destination for such a shot to land.

[FlopShotArtist]

I know this works with a driver...not sure about other clubs.

Stronger grip.
Play the ball a little bit back further in your stance.
Swing more "around" than "up".

[DJYoshi]

try doing the open, standard & closed stance.
if your standard stance/setup promotes a straight trajectory. try to
open your stance by moving your left foot (if you're a righty) back just a 1/2 step. it opens your body and promotes a fade

for a draw, close your stance by setting up standard and then close it by moving your left foot (again if you're a righty) towards the ball a 1/2 a step. it should promote a draw.

you might need to work on your timing. i've been working on this for the past few months, and i'm just starting to be able to control the amount.

oh and lastly, always keep your club scare to the original target