Should I start playing a draw?

[shankapotamus]

Lately I have been practicing working the ball, and I have gotten pretty good at it. I have heard that a lot of pros play a draw. Is this true? Is it also true that it gives you more distance? I was thinking about hitting a draw off of the tee, would that cause certain swing problems? Sorry for all of the questions. Thanks in advance.

[senorchipotle]

Lately I have been practicing working the ball, and I have gotten pretty good at it. I have heard that a lot of pros play a draw. Is this true? Is it also true that it gives you more distance? I was thinking about hitting a draw off of the tee, would that cause certain swing problems? Sorry for all of the questions. Thanks in advance.

i would have thought with a ten handicap you might have worked this out already. nonetheless, a draw can get you more distance, but it is also harder to predict where it will land. i like to play a slight fade off the tee with my driver because i can hit it hard, and i know it's only going to go no more than 15 yards right of my target. a draw on the other hand, unless fully extended and with a perfectly timed stroke, you're going to jack it way left into the trees. even the pros do this, so no one is exempt. yes, a lot of the pros do play this shot, because they swing from an in to out position. but, if you are as you say, a 10 handicap then whatever you're doing now seems to be working fairly well.

[skagen]

A draw will give you more distance because you're effectively delofting the club vs a fade where you give it more loft.

Hitting a draw usually consists of an in to out path. I also use switch to a stronger grip to help square the club face.

aim body at first base, aim club head at second base, swing along body line.

[bunkerputt]

Do what Raymond Floyd suggests. Play both. Don't think of yourself as a "drawer" or a "fader", but as a shotmaker. I used to hit a lot of draws, but I've found a fade is a bit easier to control. That more than makes up for 15 yards or so. It's also a bit easier to hit a fade, as if we all didn't know that already.

[youngskip40]

Typically, a lot of players "get good" by having a reliable, predictable, and above all, repeatable ball flight... whether it be a draw or a fade. More often than not, with amateurs, it tends to be a draw because most better players "trap" the ball at impact, which usually is a result of an inside-out path into the ball.

I don't think you should be worried about what kind of ball flight you should be playing. If you naturally play a fade, and you can predict that you will hit a 5-10 yard fade on every swing, then you should play that shot.

A draw will almost always result in a little bit of a longer shot, especially if you play courses that play hard and fast, but I feel like a predictable cut is a more reliable and more accurate ball flight than a draw.


I'm fortunate and unfortunate that my natural ball flight is pretty straight. Maybe I have a 2 yard draw on the ball, but I hit it almost dead straight off the tee, and then I like to work the ball into the greens depending on the distance I'm trying to achieve, the angle I want to take, and where I'm trying to put the ball on the green.

But the short answer, in my opinion, is that I think you should play your natural ball flight, not worry about changing your mechanics to achieve a specific curve of the ball.

[AmenCorner]

Personally I'm working on this now. I hit a very straight ball, but sometimes fade or draw just by accident. I think I need to be more predictable to get better.

I agree with the person above who said draws go further but fades are easier to control. They also land easier on the green.

[TN94z]

My teacher says that a perfect golf swing on a perfect plane will result in a draw. Now you can take a+b=c and suggest that the perfect ball flight is a draw.

Not my opinion but that's what he said. I would prefer, like mentioned above, a 5-10 yard fade!! Much more consistent in my eye.

[Leftygolfer]

Play whatever you can do the most consistently. I play a draw and it doesn't set up well being left handed, but I can keep it in play well with that shot. There is a big difference in the way a pro hits a fade than the common hack. There fade swings are exactly like the draws but they hold the release for a split second causing a baby fade. They don't do it by hitting the outside of the ball as a slicer would do.

Keep in mind that the better players don't play big anything. They play a 5 yard fade, 5 yard draw. It is very close to a straight ball. They can, but why would they unless it is a specialty shot.

[TN94z]

I hit my fades by opening my stance a bit and keeping the face aimed at the target. Then i swing along that path. I don't hold off on the release because that tends to get me having swing mechanics thoughts during my swing.

[Leftygolfer]

I hit my fades by opening my stance a bit and keeping the face aimed at the target. Then i swing along that path. I don't hold off on the release because that tends to get me having swing mechanics thoughts during my swing.

I set up very similar as well. I just have to really be thinking to not hit a draw. I don't hit many fades and if I do, I really have to focus on not letting that face close through impact, the dreaded double cross. I was playing with a really strong grip which I just changed, seems to make it a little easier.

[iacas]

My teacher says that a perfect golf swing on a perfect plane will result in a draw. Now you can take a+b=c and suggest that the perfect ball flight is a draw.

That's true, because the clubface closes ever so slightly during impact.

[Mizzy57]

That's true, because the clubface closes ever so slightly during impact.

I think it was Jack that said when asked about his club address it's slightly open, because it squares up just at impact...or maybe it was Hogan???

[hippyboy]

After having (several) lessons my instructor is happy with me hitting my natural ball flight which is a fade with my driver to 5-6 iron & straight with 7-SW.

Before lessons it was a slice but I now have it as a controlled fade. Although my handicap says 21 i'm actually playing now to around 10-12 over par, just not played in any comps to reduce my handicap.

I can draw the ball by closing my stance a bit (mainly turning upper body to the right) but it is very diificult to control, sometimes 5 yard draw sometimes 25 yard (hook?) I prefer my fade, the difference in yardage to the green between a fade & perfectly timed draw with the driver is only one club at the most, with irons I find it easier to hold the green with fade or straight shot rather than a draw.

[TN94z]

After having (several) lessons my instructor is happy with me hitting my natural ball flight which is a fade with my driver to 5-6 iron & straight with 7-SW.

If you have a "controllable fade", I suggest sticking with it. That is a very consistent shot!

[hippyboy]

If you have a "controllable fade", I suggest sticking with it. That is a very consistent shot!

I have finally accepted there is nothing wrong with hitting a fade.

For months (prior to lessons) I tried to change my fade into a straight shot or even the fabled draw, convinced I was losing distance off the tee. I'm now at the point where I realise the difference between 10 yards is nowhere near as much as the difference between rough & faiway. I've been playing for around 2 & half years, this year I've knuckled down & really tried to improve, if I can get a settled tempo I will be very happy with my progress so far.