Is it bad to accept my fade?

[marmooskapaul]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

Most competitive golfers have a go-to shot shape - draw or fade - they use for most of their full shots.

You get into trouble, however, if you're a draw guy like Rocco Mediate who simply cannot/will not hit a fade on any occasion. Recall Mediate's 2008 U.S. Open playoff loss at Torrey Pines to Tiger Woods. Tied after 18 holes, the pair went to sudden death on No. 7,  a dogleg right par 4. Mediate drew his drive into the left fairway bunker, and ended up with a bogie, losing the playoff.

Like you Jakester, Jack Nicklaus was big on the fade; but, he eventually learned to hit a draw when he needed to. (See Jack's book, Golf My Way, for details.)

I talked to one mini-tour player: He draws his 3W and 5W, and fades most other shots.

Many golfers learn to "go the other way" on tee shots, where you have ideal conditions: You're standing on level ground with the ball on a wooden (or plastic) tee.

Years ago when I could play three times a week, I would fade or draw as needed. On good days great... on bad days, really baaaad!

Wow! Good memory, I had forgotten about the sudden death play off after the 18 hole play off.

To the OP, I can hit both but notice I score better with a fade. After trying really hard to hit a draw, I developed a hook as my miss. I went back and had to start hitting a fade again, to get rid of it...lol

Paul

[Meddle]

Originally Posted by marmooskapaul

Wow! Good memory, I had forgotten about the sudden death play off after the 18 hole play off.

To the OP, I can hit both but notice I score better with a fade. After trying really hard to hit a draw, I developed a hook as my miss. I went back and had to start hitting a fade again, to get rid of it...lol

Paul

Earlier this year I started hooking it too! Tried my best to get rid of it and now I'm finally fading the ball again. So much easier to control it.

[JonMA1]

Originally Posted by TourSpoon

OK, there is nothing wrong with the best score of your life especially when you played the fade, hit the draw when you needed it, and went back to the fade. What's the problem here? To play golf well (ie score) you need to hit your spots. If you consistently hit the fade, then play it. If you want to change your ball flight, then invest the time to rework your swing.

If you're already a 14hc (which I'm envious of) and you played the best round of your life, that's pretty good. As TS said, the fact that you hit a different type of shot when it was needed would suggest that you've taken your game to a higher level.

What was the motivation for learning the draw? Did you just want that ability when it's needed or did you believe a draw is an overall better shot? The reason I ask is that I'm trying to learn how to better control ball flight, maybe get to the point where I simply adjust my stance or swing path/face angle to correct a bad swing or shape the ball when it's absolutely necessary.

[Hacker James]

Many aspiring golfers regard the draw  as some sort of Holy Grail.  It is not. It is just another "tool". Not saying it is not something you should learn to do as it definitely has its uses on given situations. Another poster compared it to bowling, Many good bowlers have a nice last minute hook that curves in between the #1 and #3 pins at the last moment producing a strike (in most cases).  I was a fairly good bowler once, not pro quality mind you, but I could score in the mid 200's.  Yes, I could hook the ball. But more often than not, a straight shot on the "Brooklyn" side would mow those pins down as if they were cut with a scythe whereas, the pretty looking hook, the pins would fall but rather slowly. The score card does not care what your method is. As for distance on a draw vs a fade, there "May" be a bit more as the draw often has more roll whereas the fade comes in a little softer, but even that is arguable.   I would like to have a lower handicap again too, but I know that at this stage of life, it ain't gonna happen.  I will be thrilled to beak 90 once again. I am getting there, but if I don't quite make it, no biggie.

[Jakester23]

To be honest I thought the draw was a longer shot and I know this sounds stupid but also a cooler looking shot. Im glad I do have the draw in my bag but what I started doing the last month was shaping every shot and going back and forth between the draw and fade. I remember on a par 5 I hit a draw off the tee a 2nd shot fade and attempted another draw as my approach shot(which didnt work I bladed the approach  and ended up with bogey). I feel like after the round I had monday I need to stay in my comfort zone 90% of the time and only pull out the draw when its necessary.

[JonMA1]

I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to learn something new even if it doesn't pan out the way I hoped it would. Had a pretty consistent iron swing this year but scrapped it to learn something new. Presently, my overall consistency may have suffered but my short irons seem to have improved. For me, making mistakes, learning from them and hoping to get better is what golf is all about.

I want to learn to draw the ball. I'd like to at least get to the point like the O.P. where I can choose my go-to shot instead of being limited because of a lack of control or options.

Regarding shaping shots, I purposely hit a slice last week to get around a tree. I could have simply punched the ball onto the fairway but instead I opened up the face, swung out to in and the ball sliced to the right towards the green. I probably only picked up an extra 20 or so yards, but it resulted in being able to use a shorter iron for the approach.

[Hacker James]

Originally Posted by JonMA1

I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to learn something new even if it doesn't pan out the way I hoped it would. Had a pretty consistent iron swing this year but scrapped it to learn something new. Presently, my overall consistency may have suffered but my short irons seem to have improved. For me, making mistakes, learning from them and hoping to get better is what golf is all about.

I want to learn to draw the ball. I'd like to at least get to the point like the O.P. where I can choose my go-to shot instead of being limited because of a lack of control or options.

Regarding shaping shots, I purposely hit a slice last week to get around a tree. I could have simply punched the ball onto the fairway but instead I opened up the face, swung out to in and the ball sliced to the right towards the green. I probably only picked up an extra 20 or so yards, but it resulted in being able to use a shorter iron for the approach.

Nice shot!    Its always a good thing when you plan something and actually pull it off. What was it that Trevino said concerning his big fade?  "aim left, swing right, walk straight". Over simplification and maybe not even technically correct, but he sure had away to make it look (and sound) easy.

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by Jakester23

To be honest I thought the draw was a longer shot and I know this sounds stupid but also a cooler looking shot. Im glad I do have the draw in my bag but what I started doing the last month was shaping every shot and going back and forth between the draw and fade. I remember on a par 5 I hit a draw off the tee a 2nd shot fade and attempted another draw as my approach shot(which didnt work I bladed the approach  and ended up with bogey). I feel like after the round I had monday I need to stay in my comfort zone 90% of the time and only pull out the draw when its necessary.

Just remember that trying to do too much can be very, very bad. Keep it simple, keep it consistent, and keep it predictable. The less mechanics and thoughts that you need to focus on, the more predictable your results will be because you're not constantly jumping out of your comfort zone. Repetition and consistency is key in almost any sport, especially in golf.

[BayouBomber]

I've had a fade for my entire life.  Grew up playing baseball and I think that's the reason for it.  I've learned to accept it over the years and actually use it to my advantage now.  It was more severe back in my early days of golf but has eased up over the past year or so.  I'm comfortable with that swing and, hey, if you can be consistent with it, more power to ya.

[GreenB]

I would rock that fade like it was 1989.

[Lihu]

To be honest I thought the draw was a longer shot and I know this sounds stupid but also a cooler looking shot. Im glad I do have the draw in my bag but what I started doing the last month was shaping every shot and going back and forth between the draw and fade. I remember on a par 5 I hit a draw off the tee a 2nd shot fade and attempted another draw as my approach shot(which didnt work I bladed the approach  and ended up with bogey). I feel like after the round I had monday I need to stay in my comfort zone 90% of the time and only pull out the draw when its necessary.

I have also been trying to get rid of my natural fade. I used to pull like you and turned it into a fade. The ball ends up where I point the head, but makes a banana curved path to get there. My new coach has me straightening out my swing by forcing me to use better swing mechanics. It's taking some time to do that, and I am still working on it. I found that my drives were okay distance wise with the fade, but straightening it out added 20% to 25% more distance. I think you are correct in trying to fix it and keep it to your bag for some situations, as I had been told by others on the driving range. However, I gained quite a bit of distance getting rid of it. You probably hit further than me, so if your fade reaches the right distance keep it.

[BrokenShaft]

a couple of thoughts.

im not sure you can assume the best round of golf was because you hit a fade. its probably more of a comfort thing. once when i regripped some irons, they felt new and more powerful and i shot my best round on that course.

you CAN hit a consistent draw. i hit both draws and fades but only when i need to. i hit a draw mostly off the tee because i want the extra rollout. i like to hit a fade or cut around tucked pins behind bunkers.

its all about swingplane and grip. you must figure that out on the range. no magic bullets for it.

i will say swing inside out and weaken your grip and you will hit draws.

If you can control your fade, there is no shame in playing that shot all the time. Just

get it in the hole anyway possible.

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by BrokenShaft

i will say swing inside out and weaken your grip and you will hit draws.

I assume you mean strengthen your grip?

Really no need to make grip changes. All about the set-up, not grip or swing changes.

[BrokenShaft]

nope. i meant weaken your grip. works great for me and my 300 yd drives.

If he doesnt change his grip, the club face will never be in the closed position he needs it to be at impact.

RTR!

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by BrokenShaft

nope. i meant weaken your grip. works great for me and my 300 yd drives.

If he doesnt change his grip, the club face will never be in the closed position he needs it to be at impact.

RTR!

I see what you did there.

Never say never. Keep in mind that the closed club face is going to start the ball... where?

[BrokenShaft]

i see your point.

i wouldnt recommend his club face being closed but more of a closing as it comes from inside out.  maybe he can try setting up right of the target while aligning his clubface with the target.  if he continues to swing outside in, he will probably continue to hit the fade no matter what his setup or grip is.

i recommend getting a swing coach for a while. that really helped with me with my big sliceafter six hard months.

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by BrokenShaft

i see your point.

i wouldnt recommend his club face being closed but more of a closing as it comes from inside out.  maybe he can try setting up right of the target while aligning his clubface with the target.  if he continues to swing outside in, he will probably continue to hit the fade no matter what his setup or grip is.

i recommend getting a swing coach for a while. that really helped with me with my big sliceafter six hard months.

As stated in the video above, an open face with an in-to-out swing will produce a push draw. This combination is going to produce a curvature of the golf ball's path beginning right of target and coming back towards target (for a right-handed golfer). The biggest misconception of a "draw" in beginners is that you're "closing the face" during contact to promote that counter-clockwise spin, when it is in fact the path that is creating the spin.

If the OP were to set up right of the target and align the club face with the target at impact, he's now aiming right to pull the ball left. With an in-to-out path on top of that, he will produce a pull-draw yet again.

Read this first: http://thesandtrap.com/t/56453/ball-flight-laws-and-misinformation

T hen, go back and watch the video that Erik posted in this thread. It will make more sense.