Time to forget the draw and embrace my fade

[lmkhl]

So for the longest time, I've been trying to learn and accomplish a draw with my driver. After taking several lessons and countless hours on the range, I think I can count the number of times I've actually succeeded in hitting a draw on one hand. .

However, I have been able to tweak my slice into more of a fade and am now thinking I should just embrace the fade, line up on the right side of the tee box and let it rip. BUT, the one issue that remains is the lack of distance. One main reason I wanted to learn the draw was to get a bit more roll and more distance on my drives.

Does anybody have any tips on increasing distance with the fade? Tips on hitting a power fade? OR, do I just need to work on increasing my swing speed for more distance?

[No Mulligans]

I've also spent time trying to eliminate slices and fades.

My fades (and slices) lose a lot of distance compared to my hits that are straight or draws.  I'd say 250 turns into 200 if I fade it.  Unfortunately, I fade/slice way to often.

Not what you're after, just thought my experience/observation might be of interest to you.

[CarlSpackler]

You can turn your fade into a draw. It takes practice and dedication, but it IS doable. 

[phillyk]

For distance, I always look to make sure people are hitting center of face, hitting up on ball, and releasing hinge as late as possible.  That last one is a hard one to accomplish, but that orange whip and other swing aids help.

[DaveP043]

16 minutes ago, lmkhl said:

Does anybody have any tips on increasing distance with the fade? Tips on hitting a power fade? OR, do I just need to work on increasing my swing speed for more distance?

You might find some useful advice here:

 

[lmkhl]

Thanks. I think I've gone through that article and it's been posted up in the forums several times. I'm not saying it's a good article, but I just can't seem to apply its concepts to my swing. Same goes for lessons. I've had lessons with 3 different pros and there's really been no changes to my swing - or I guess the resulting shot of my swing.

I love playing golf, but I would definitely consider myself more of a weekend golfer. I only get to play once or twice a month. Would really like to enjoy my times out there and start shooting a bit lower and I think focusing on hitting a power fade instead of a draw might be better/easier strategy for me. Sure, being able to hit a draw would be nice, but if I can consistently hit a nice power fade that puts me in the fairway, why not?

 

[No Mulligans]

How about your 5 wood, how do you hit that?  What is the loft of your driver?

39 minutes ago, lmkhl said:

I love playing golf, but I would definitely consider myself more of a weekend golfer. I only get to play once or twice a month. Would really like to enjoy my times out there and start shooting a bit lower and I think focusing on hitting a power fade instead of a draw might be better/easier strategy for me. Sure, being able to hit a draw would be nice, but if I can consistently hit a nice power fade that puts me in the fairway, why not?

 

How about your 5 wood, how do you hit that?  What is the loft of your driver?

If you hit your 5 wood (or 4 wood or 3 wood) better than your driver you might try increasing the loft of your driver and/or shortening the shaft length (or choking up a little).  The higher loft should reduce the amount the ball curves and may result in longer drives.  There was a post somewhere on this site that showed most don't launch their drives high enough for optimal distance.

[lmkhl]

So I don't hit any woods. I carry 5-GW and a SW and LW. I do have a 3 hybrid, but I use it sparingly. I usually just opt to hit my 5 iron as I can hit it pretty solid and get it to carry 185+.

I have a 10.5 driver, but increased the loft to around 11 with an upright lie. I've also cut my driver to a playing length of 43.75. I've tried it all!

Honestly, if I play from the middle tees (which I think is the right tees for my handicap range as I shoot low to mid 90's), I think I'm OK with driver distance. I can usually grab an iron for my second shot and end up OK. BUT, a lot of my friends insist on playing from the back tees and that leaves me with a pretty long 2nd shot.

[Ernest Jones]

The difference in distance between a fade and a draw is hugely overstated. There is absolutely no reason why a fade is less desirable than a draw. There's a whole slew of hall of fame, multiple major winners who played a fade. Don't get blinded by the push-draw love fest, a pull-fade is just as effective and any potential differences between the two are so negligible that it would be folly to think a fade is a problem. 

[Patch]

Fade or draw, I don't think it really matters as long as it's consistant for the golfer, while giving the golfer a decent second shot. I've played both at one time or another. I scored the same with both. 

I do think that what ever ball flight the golfer has, the day they are playing, is the one they should go with for the rest of that round. I've seen too many golfers who just had to hit a draw or fade put up a larger than normal number when their stock shot was not there that day. They wasted the rest of their round trying to get their stock shot back. 

[Lihu]

2 hours ago, No Mulligans said:

I've also spent time trying to eliminate slices and fades.

My fades (and slices) lose a lot of distance compared to my hits that are straight or draws.  I'd say 250 turns into 200 if I fade it.  Unfortunately, I fade/slice way to often.

Not what you're after, just thought my experience/observation might be of interest to you.

This is probably a perception thing. If you actually measured, I think you'd find that they are not that much different.

 

44 minutes ago, Ernest Jones said:

The difference in distance between a fade and a draw is hugely overstated. There is absolutely no reason why a fade is less desirable than a draw. There's a whole slew of hall of fame, multiple major winners who played a fade. Don't get blinded by the push-draw love fest, a pull-fade is just as effective and any potential differences between the two are so negligible that it would be folly to think a fade is a problem. 

I tend to agree with this. I think the roll might be a bit better with a draw if you hit hard pan? IDK for sure, because I don't record the flight in Game Golf.

 

52 minutes ago, lmkhl said:

So I don't hit any woods. I carry 5-GW and a SW and LW. I do have a 3 hybrid, but I use it sparingly. I usually just opt to hit my 5 iron as I can hit it pretty solid and get it to carry 185+.

I have a 10.5 driver, but increased the loft to around 11 with an upright lie. I've also cut my driver to a playing length of 43.75. I've tried it all!

Honestly, if I play from the middle tees (which I think is the right tees for my handicap range as I shoot low to mid 90's), I think I'm OK with driver distance. I can usually grab an iron for my second shot and end up OK. BUT, a lot of my friends insist on playing from the back tees and that leaves me with a pretty long 2nd shot.

At that 5i distance, you should probably get your 10.5 degree driver out to at least 250 yards even with a fade. So, I don't see the fade as a reason to move forward, but it's always a good idea to move forward if you want to improve your playing.

Here's something that might help:

 

If you have a centered pivot with an inside out swing (see the post from @DaveP043), your draw will come.

[Kalnoky]

I know exactly what you are going through! When I started, I used to hit a fade w/ my driver. It was due to the club face being closed relative to the path, a weak grip, and no leg drive/lower body movement. My driver has a closed face, and so I would set up closed, and sometimes make it even worse by closing the face further. Combined with an out to in swing path, it would fade when well struck. And this was pleasant to watch, playable even, but never went very far. When struck poorly, it would slice in spectacular fashion. 

Edited December 9, 2016 by Kalnoky

[Pretzel]

Do you happen to know what your current swing speed is, or what any of your launch conditions (launch angle, spin rate, face angle, etc.) are? If not, that's okay, but they can give you a good starting point of where to look if you're interested in finding more distance. 

As for the draw, the simplified explanation is that you will draw the ball just about every time that your face angle is closed relative to the path of the clubhead. This means if your swing has a path of 4* right of the target, your face angle at impact must be less than 4* open (for a right-handed golfer) for your golf ball to draw.

There were three things that helped me develop my current in to out swing path that I prefer;

1. I slowed my swing down to practice, down to 50% or less. This is really important, and any instructor worth his/her salt will tell you to do the same. It lets you feel the change and lot better and ingrain it into your muscle memory before trying to speed things up and make it difficult.
2. I would visualize pulling the cord on a ceiling fan at the top of my backswing. The only way to turn the fan on is to pull down, so I would picture pulling the fan's cord straight down at the top of my backswing. Helped with the in to out path and helped me to develop better lag, so it was a win-win for me.
3. This will sound a bit weird, but one drill that I still like to do when my swing feels off is to take swings with a cut-off follow through. By cut-off I mean taking your swing through impact to only about waist height, making sure to emphasize your turn in the process. If I was swinging with my arms or casting the club (both common cause of cutting across the ball from the outside to the inside) it would be difficult for me to stop the finish and would feel really obvious to me. Your mileage may vary on this one, but it was the one for me that really made it click in my head since the abbreviated finish made it much easier for me to feel what I was doing and helped to emphasize the rotation of my core. 

[saevel25]

It's a myth that draws go further than fades. It depends on the launch conditions. If you happen to get optimal numbers on a fade then it will go further than a draw. 

[Rainmaker]

There are different kinds of fades, though . . .there is the kind of fade a major winner might hit.  That one is just as good as a draw, is not appreciably shorter . .and is definitely hit by a golfer who *can* hit a draw if they want to.  It might not be their most reliable shape . .but they can hit it on demand.  

Then there's other kinds of fades . .where the swing is off plane, path is indirect, ball gets a glancing blow, etc.  That one you have to work to get rid of, imo.  The other one is fine to keep.  

[70sSanO]

5 hours ago, lmkhl said:

Honestly, if I play from the middle tees (which I think is the right tees for my handicap range as I shoot low to mid 90's), I think I'm OK with driver distance. I can usually grab an iron for my second shot and end up OK. BUT, a lot of my friends insist on playing from the back tees and that leaves me with a pretty long 2nd shot.

So do your friends consistently out-drive you?  If they do then I guess it makes you easy pickin's for them.

How would they react if they hit from the back tees and you from the middle?  That would make sense to me.

John

[David in FL]

You can talk to a fade, but a hook won't listen...!

- Lee Trevino

[StefanUrkel]

I think the magic number for worrying about that is about a 7 handicap or under.  Just try to hit it straight