offset and no intended fade ....

[Gerald]

Not sure to ask this here or at Playing Tips.......

I have been playing Wilson blades (FG17) many, many, many years and after a lay-off of 16 years, I started playing golf last autumn again, not back at my former level (hc 5), but not quite off at hc 8 at the moment.

I used to play a natural fade at about all shots and since a started again about 9 months ago, I am now playing my 4th set (Wilson CI-7, TM TP, Wilson FG Tour .... expensive game it is).... now Ping i15 and I like them for sure, but my natural slight fade has gone, more like a natural slight draw now, which of course looks great.

Playing an intented draw .... wow no problem at all ....., but our course has some doglegs I really need a fade or even a slice to get a second shot to the green, but whenever I play an intended slice it goes dead straight into lots of trouble .... it costed me quite a few strokes.

Is it the offset, is it the GI design or is it just me ?

Length is no issue, and I also appreciate the distance result of a slightly off-center stroke, but the lack of intended fade (working the ball to the right) is driving me nuts.

Please advise.

[Gordon McTavish]

I can't imagine it's the equipment. I play a natural fade with virtually all of my irons (i15s), and on some occasions it's a spectacular fade with the longer irons despite the noticeable off-set.

[Zeph]

A "natural" fade is a swing moving out-to-in, or alignment differences.

If you have gone from fade to draw, your swing path has changed from out-to-in, to in-to-out.
To hit a fade or slice with an in-to-out swing path, aim the clubface where you want to start the ball, and align your body left of the clubface angle, leaving the club open. If you only open it a little bit, you will hit straight push shots. The more you aim your body (and swing) left, the more the ball will curve.

It is harder than hitting your stock draw, but not impossible. Practice makes perfect. Just make sure you focus on making the same swing, having the same swing path. It is easy to swing even further in-to-out when opening the clubface and still hit the ball straight. Moving the ball a bit forward in your stance and handle a little back will also help.

Here is a image to help visualize the swing. If you haven't done so already, look up the Ball flight laws, so you understand the relationship between swing path and club face angle. The clubs can make a difference on how easy it is to achieve, but they are not limiting you to only hitting it straight or right to left. You just have to practice with the proper setup and find the feeling when it is done properly.



You can't measure these angles of course, the point is to know how it is done. Very short put: Body aimed left of where you want to start the ball, club face aimed where you want to start the ball (left of the trees you are hitting around). How many degrees here and there depends on your swing path and club face angles. Just hitting shots at the range will give you a good idea.

[TourSpoon]

It's you...I have a similar experience to you where I was a 5 back then and after coming back it took a while to be able to hit all the shots (still not there). While it would be convenient to blame the offset, I found that when I played offset (845s) I had no problem hitting the fade. Years later I have a much harder time with almost no offset (735 cms). It is technique and getting that feeling back. I have been playing solid for two months and I am just starting to get the knock downs back to where I can trust them. Keep working...

And for an offset discussion, I think that better players will adapt to offset over time and their natural ball flight will eventually come out, not in the short term, but over time.

[Zeph]

Offset won't change your swing path. If the swing changed from fade to draw by the change of clubs, the player could be aligned differently. The offset changes the relationship between the swing path and club, but if you aim at the same point, the ball should not end up on the same place.

[TourSpoon]

Offset won't change your swing path. If the swing changed from fade to draw by the change of clubs, the player could be aligned differently. The offset changes the relationship between the swing path and club, but if you aim at the same point, the ball should not end up on the same place.

True it doesn't change the path...but psychologically it does something. Hitting three irons the offset supposedly will give you a little help getting the club square...and looking at no offset can make some just panic. My point was that after playing clubs with offset to clubs without, my natural pattern returned fairly quickly.