Shaping the ball

[pittpanther]

I think shaping the ball is the absolute last thing an amateur should think about when playing golf. There are so many requirements to playing good golf at our level that does not include shaping. An important requriement is however knowing what your "normal" shot shape is rather than trying to hit draws and fades...

I'm going to disagree with you, because I think there are times that even mid-caps, if they CAN shape it, will find it makes things easier in some everyday situations.

For example, my natural shot shape is a draw. I cannot fade, and have never tried to put any energy into learning how to fade. On a straight hold, or a dogleg left, my natural draw either doesn't hurt me, or can even help. But at my "home" course, there are a few holes that veer to the right - not necessarily doglegs, but think more of a "crescent" shape to the right. With my draw, if I am not careful I will either end up off the fairway to the left, or I will hit the trees on the right. Due to the shae of the hole, my draw makes things worse. If I had the ability to fade,this shaped hole is where I would do it. It would reduce the possibility of me getting into trouble.

[Deryck Griffith]

I'm going to disagree with you, because I think there are times that even mid-caps, if they CAN shape it, will find it makes things easier in some everyday situations.

I can understand your sitaution and what you say makes sense because I was the same as you. Draw, bigger draw to hook all the time. One day I said screw it and my game improved tremendously once I stopped trying to hit draws and fades and focused 100% on my swing fundamentals which has given me the ability to hit a relatively straight shot from the tee and the fairway. All this shot shaping business is a "cart before the horse" sccenario. With my current shot I can play all dogleg rights or lefts. The point I am making is not that shop shaping isn't important but rather, something that golfers at our level don't need to focus on right away.

Obviously, if you are behind a tree and need to hit some sort of draw or fade to get around it will help a ton. But if you really think about it, the ability to execute that fade or draw can only happen at a high percentage if the understanding of your swing fundamentals are spot on. If you only hit a draw and cannot hit a fade, then you need to focus on why your swing produces a draw and how it "can" produce a fade. Learning that can only happen once you get a better grasp of your swing.

[holeinon3]

At a tournament this week there was a hole that demanded a straight shot or a fade. With my draw (that occasionally wants to hook) it was trouble since there was a hazard on the right. I was something like 4 or 5 over on this single hole after the 2 day tournament which obviously is trouble. I'm going to start practicing on the range..