How to Draw the Golf Ball (or How to Stop Slicing)

[mvmac]

Just have the path further to the right of the face....The End

I wanted to put this thread together to help players that have never hit a draw or players that want to reduce the amount they slice/fade it.

To do that we need to start moving the path more OUTward and identify what is going on with your swing to create the slice. Below you'll find a list of things I typically see slicers do. You also find me demonstrating these pieces (left pics). If you want to start drawing the ball or hitting a slight fade, STOP DOING THE THINGS ON THE SLICE LIST.

One thing that's a little pet peeve of mine is how golfers love to talk about the club face when it comes to hitting draws and they usually describe the face as being "closed". While the face has to be closed to the path to draw the ball, the description can be misleading. If I was to tell someone to close their face, good chance they'll just aim the face left of the target or try to "close" the face dynamically during the swing. For a better description of ball flights, go here

http://thesandtrap.com/b/playing_tips/ball_flight_laws

For a draw we want to have the ball start right of the target (for a right handed golfer) and curve back to the target. The ball curves back because the path is further OUTward of the club face. So for the ball to start right of the target, this means the face has to be aimed somewhere right of the target at impact. Quick way to remember it, the ball starts where the face is pointed and curves away from the path.

Typically slicers have the face aimed left of the target at impact, yet common advice for a slicer is that need to "release it" and that they need to be more relaxed to allow the toe to pass over the heel. It's just flat out bad information.  Rolling the toe over more won't really help because it does two things: it's orients the face left and can move the club head more INward or left.

So if you slice it the culprit isn't the face, it's the club path! The path is too INward or too much across the ball.

Slice List

Here's a list of all the pieces I'm demonstrating in the left pics for the slice swing. Again, the reason you slice it is because the path is well Inward or left of the club face, these are the pieces that are contributing to that problem. This doesn't mean that you have ALL of these issues, if there was a "model" slicer swing, this is what they would do. You might only need to fix two or three of them to move the path more OUTward so you can draw it or play a slight fade.

- Weak or palmy left hand grip

- Shoulders aimed left

- Knees rotated inward

- Lack of axis tilt (spine is vertical)

- Hips slide back on the backswing

- Minimal turn on the backswing

- Weight doesn't go forward on the downswing

- Club head is outside the hands at A6 (club shaft parallel to the ground on the downswing)

- Lack of Key #3, the shaft and lead arm line up well before impact

- Club head overtakes the hands at a fast rate.

Draw List

Here's the list of all the draw pieces I'm implementing in the pics/video. Just like with the slice list above, you don't need to implement all these pieces in order to draw it/fade it. I would start with the set-up stuff, it doesn't take any skill to have a good grip and address the ball correctly

- "Good" grip, left hand is in the fingers, heel pad on top

- Aim your body parallel left or slight right of the target

- Feet are flared, knees are rotated out slightly

- Axis tilt due to the hips being a few inches forward with the head not moving forward

- Hips turn, left hip stays forward

- Shaft points slightly outside the ball at A5 (lead arm parallel to the ground on the downswing)

- Weight is well forward at impact, allows me to achieve Key #3 Inline Impact

- "Stretching" the arm into the followthrough

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100% Guarantee Draw Pattern

For the pics below, rather than describe what not to do I'll be mostly pointing out what I'm doing in the right pics, the "draw" examples. Again the swings on the right are me putting in ALL the draws pieces. If $1000 was on the line and I had to draw the golf ball (and start it right of the target), this is the procedure I would use.

A1

• Feet are turned out, knees are rotated out slightly. This will make it much easier for me to turn my hips, which will allow my torso to rotate.
• Left hand grip is in the fingers, heel pad on top. If the grip is weak, it's going to be difficult to create or sustain "lag". If the club shaft lines up with the lead forearm before impact, the club path can start to rotate left.
• Hips are "bumped" a few inches forward while not moving the head forward which creates some axis tilt.
• Handle is forward.

• Golfers that slice are tried of seeing the ball go right so they start to aim more and more left, this only rotates the swing direction more left, meaning you're only making the problem worse. On the right, body lines are square or slightly right. For the example I rotated them right, helps pre-set a little rightward path.
• I want to point out that I'm only aimed right with my body a few degrees, anymore than that and you might find yourself swinging INward because path can be instinctual. This means that you know you're aiming away from the target and will swing on a path trying to start the ball more online with the target. Basically don't aim 20-30 yards right of your final target.

A3

• Hips turn with the left hip staying forward. Note the difference in the amount of torso rotation. Try to get in the 80-90 degree range by A3.

A4

• Being able to turn a good amount has allowed my hands/arms to gain depth. This is going to help me swing OUT on the downswing.

• Same kind of thing as A3, hips have continued to turn, left hip is forward, head is steady.

A5

• Since I turned my hips and my hands on were able to travel inward on the backswing, I still have some "depth" at A5, I have space to move my hands down and OUT.

• Kind of had to cheat with the lines on this one Typically see slicers with the shaft pointing inside the ball at A5, players that draw the ball will have it pointed at or just outside the ball. If the shaft points inside the ball, the club is going to want and travel across the ball.

A6

• Similar theme to the A5 pics. Club outside the hands on the left, club path will be left. On the right club is inside the hands (the fact that I'm rotated more right at set-up makes it look more "in" than it actually is).
• My lead wrist is flat to slightly bowed (palmar flexed) on the right. In the left pic there will be some cup or dorsiflexion.
• The club head being inside the hands at A6 doesn't "guarantee" that you'll draw it, I've seen some players actually fade it because they start rolling their forearms and the face "wipes" across the ball. So make sure to stretch the arms into the followthrough.

A7

• On the left the shaft and lead forearm lines up well before impact. On the right, good example of Inline Impact.

• Importance of Key #2, Weight/Pressure/Force favoring the lead side at impact. Note how the weight is forward with axis tilt, helps me swing OUTward longer.

A9

• Full release on the left!
• On the right, I'm "stretching" my arms. Again doing everything I can to make sure the club is moving out. I don't want to pull my arms apart and have the club head "wipe" across the ball.

• Yes you can hit draws all day without having to "roll the toe over".

You may have noticed that I talk a lot about Keys 1-3, they are every important, especially when it comes to hitting the ball solid and drawing it. If you're wondering what the heck I mean by Keys, please check this out

 

[Hammer 4]

Definitely a 2 thumbs up for this post. Good stuff Mike.

[Club Rat]

Excellent description !!!

Great photos and details !!!

Thumbs Up here as well...

Thanks Mike...........

Club Rat

[nevets88]

@mvmac Excellent post. Still reading through it. What do you mean by parallel left?

[mvmac]

@mvmac Excellent post. Still reading through it.

What do you mean by parallel left?

A "square" set-up with the feet and body.

Yellow line would be the target line, body lines are parallel to that

[big stoke]

Thanks Mike. Really appreciate these posts. With proper practice and the information I get off of this site I broke 90 (shot am 89 on a course I usually shoot 95+ I ) for the first time last week.

[Dave2512]

Great stuff should help a lot of people. Never met a slicer that wasn't doing most if not everything mentioned above trying to play the slice.

[outlaw1984]

Very very very good post Mike!!!!!

[billchao]

Great post, @mvmac ! You couldn't have done this at the beginning of the year and saved me all sorts of trouble? ;-)

[David in FL]

Great post Mike! :beer:

[bste]

Well done @mvmac perfect timing, cooler weather allows for more practice time.

ps

I needed these, I'm always right.lol

[mpb1472]

Excellent post. Especially, the video accompaniment. You are so right about how closing the face in all the ways you often hear about is not the way to do it. I tend to setup in a partially closed stance to get the right path but the ball will stay there or fade a little. I come out of it a bit. I am going to work on this. Thanks.

[mvmac]

Excellent post. Especially, the video accompaniment. You are so right about how closing the face in all the ways you often hear about is not the way to do it.

I tend to setup in a partially closed stance to get the right path but the ball will stay there or fade a little. I come out of it a bit.

I am going to work on this. Thanks.

As I said in the post, make sure not to aim too far right. You might instinctually know you're aimed away from the target and start swinging more towards the target. So the path can actually become INward.

Don't know for sure if this is your issue, just wanted to point that out, especially for anyone else reading the thread.

[Deryck Griffith]

You mentioned the left wrist being bowed at A6 which is the famous position most of us dream of getting to.

Can you give a quick explanation on the "feeling" you also have with the right wrist on obtaining that position?  Do you feel like the right wrist turns down and "cups backward" when going from A4 to A6?

[chris3putt]

As always Mike, great instruction and great presentation!

[mvmac]

You mentioned the left wrist being bowed at A6 which is the famous position most of us dream of getting to.

Can you give a quick explanation on the "feeling" you also have with the right wrist on obtaining that position?  Do you feel like the right wrist turns down and "cups backward" when going from A4 to A6?

Popular feeling we use has to do more with the lead wrist, to feel like you are "revving" a motorcycle on the downswing. Another would be to feel that the trail elbow stays "under" the lead elbow on the downswing.

[Deryck Griffith]

Popular feeling we use has to do more with the lead wrist, to feel like you are "revving" a motorcycle on the downswing.

This is gold.

[14ledo81]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvmac

Popular feeling we use has to do more with the lead wrist, to feel like you are "revving" a motorcycle on the downswing.

This is gold.

Another vote for this "feel" working.