Draws & Fades

[damoc1]

What is the best way to get draw or fade on a ball?
(in simple terms no technical nonsense please)

[Rafcin]

to get just enough spin on the ball one way or another you can start simple. Draw: imagine a V line, where left line goes at the target; line up your feet along the right line in the "V" - start small, few inches. Keep your club aligned towards the target (left line in the "V"). Try to swing "normal" and allow your body guide your club from inside-out along the line of your feet. Experiment with that, changing the angle in the "V" until you reach appropriate effect.

To hit a fade - do exact the opposite. Feet alingment is the easiest way to send your club down the proper path, if you don't have to - leave other "technical nonsense" out of it
You won't be able to generate a sweeping hook or hard fade (around imaginary obstruction), but I'd start there first. Once you get comfortable moving the ball 10 feet either direction you can add some of the "technical nonsense" to get the 'hard movemement of the ball' down !

[Thrash13]

I've always struggled to hit draws and fades because I just don't hit enough balls at the driving range anymore. However, I was watching Golf Academy Live last night on TGC, and Stuart Appleby was on there as a special guest.

They asked him to demonstrate how to hit a draw and fade, and Appleby basically did exactly what Rafi just described. I always tried to take some huge swing from inside out, and in all reality, the alignment of the feet is the main key from what I gathered last night. I'm excited to hit the range to try hitting the shots more now.

So Rafi, you are pretty much dead on according to Stuart Appleby.

[muskegman]

Rafi, thats about the best and simplest explanation I've ever heard for hitting draws and fades. You da man.

[RX Phoenix]

As far as the driver is concerned:

Step One: have a driver that has a 1* open face and NOT a draw biased club like is popular now.
Step Two: keep it as simple as possible using ball positioning first and see how you do with this.
Move the ball up in your stance for a fade, and set the club naturally with the 1* open doing the work for you, this will produce a slight fade.
For the draw move the ball back in your stance and square the club with 1* closed at address, and try to hit the ball down the middle, don't try and pull it.

If you want a bigger draw then that's when you need to do the V with your feet and club, but this can lead to many disasters.

Same thing with a big fade, opening the stance can open you up to a lot of trouble. The pro's usually don't hit sweeping fades or draws, they just want a little bend and tail on it so that it kicks down the fairway in the right direction.

The worst that can happen with this method is that you'll hit it dead straight which usually isn't too bad. Also the ball you use has an effect, the high spin balls like the HXTour56 and ProV1 will bend more then the ProV1x, HXTour, TP Red/Black

[RX Phoenix]

LOL, I was trying a similar method hitting range balls with my new Nike SQ driver and they wouldnt do anything except fly straight. The only way I would get them cut in any direction was to open up the face big time. I then resorted to "ole trusty" (TaylorMade 320) and no problems. I like the Nike driver since it has a much better feel when cutting throught the air on the downswing and I consistently have club head speeds in excess of 118mph compared to the 117mph on "ole trusty".

I had a similar situation with the Cleveland HiBore, some of the newer clubs are designed to hit it straight no matter what! Workability is a problem.

Now I use the Tayor Made R7 425 TP with the 1* open clubface and it is very easy to work the ball with just small adjustments of ball position and clubface. What I found is that there is no need to overdo the set up like that which is necessary when trying to shape shots with clubs like the HiBore or Nike SQ which do require excessive adjustments.

[damoc1]

Thanks for the advice guys and for keeping it nice and simple!!! will try these out and let you know how i get on!!

[elizzy.jones]

You might want to try experimenting with some of these tips. For a fade open your stance up and bring the club slightly outside on your takeaway. On the downswing feel like you are coming over the top and hold your release. To hit a draw close you stance a bit and slightly hood the clubface at address. On your down swing feel like you drop the club under a bit and release the club. Hope this helps!
Elizabeth

[Ziophils]

the most important thing you want to lign up to the right are your shoulders, not your feet. Most amateurs stand to the ball with a closed stance and open shoulders.