Tag: Fade

Working The Ball – Fade, Draw, High, Low

Working The Ball – Fade, Draw, High, Low

Although at times it seems like the golf ball when hit chooses its own flight path, this is not true the ball only responds to how it was hit. Was it hit by a square, closed or open club face, was it hit with 21 degrees or 34 degrees of loft, was the club head traveling at 80 miles per hour or 100 miles per hour. It is really all a matter of physics.

What if those different ball flights and the conditions that created them could be controlled? The good news is they can, and once you know how to create the exact ball flight you need for the shot at hand, you have many more weapons at your disposal to put the ball where you want it. The better news is it only requires small variations of the your regular full golf swing to create these shots.

These are the nine different ball flights you would want to know how to create;

Straight with normal trajectory, this is the shot you want to use if there is no trouble to avoid, you just need the ball in the middle of the fairway. Straight with higher than normal trajectory, this shot could be used if you had some obstacle, such as a tree you wanted to go over.
Straight with lower than normal trajectory, maybe you need to stay under some branches, or you want to keep it lower going into the wind.
slight movement to the right, highly skilled players who use this shot can control how much it moves to the right. Possibly the pin is on the right side of the green, you might want the ball to start at the middle of the green, but work to the right.
A fade with a high flight, might be used if that right pin placement is behind a front trap.
A fade with a low ball flight, how about trees with low branches in front of you and the fairway or green to your right.
Moving to the left this is called a draw, (again for a right handed shot) not to be confused with a hook, the draw is a controlled movement to the left and is said to produce the most roll.
A draw with a high flight, now the pin is to the left and tucked behind a sand trap.
A draw with a low flight, same scenario as the low fade, only you need to get to the left.

You see these shots attempted every week on the pro tours, not always as planned. Some of the players are not adept at creating all of these shots, those who are have more weapons to choose from.

Investing the time and practice necessary for learning to execute these shots as needed will make your game better and lower your scores. You will have much more confidence in your golfing ability, and be part of an elite group, not many recreational golfers are skilled at working the ball effectively.

Jim Newell is a robust 66 year old retiree, a very zealous amateur golfer and serious student of this great game. Once being a mid handicap player he is on a quest to improve his swing and re-gain some of the distance he once had. His website http://www.golfdriverswingkeys.com is dedicated to helping him and other golfer’s in their quest for working the ball. 

The Golf Fade Shot ?Tips – How to Hit a Fade

The Golf Fade Shot ?Tips – How to Hit a Fade

Most weekend Golfers hit a fade naturally or its ugly sister the slice. The fade is a higher hit shot than the draw and doesn’t run far when it lands. It’s the perfect shot to play into the heart of a green because it stops quickly and lands softly.

Lee Trevino was the master of the fade shot and he once said he can make the ball hit the green like a butterfly with sore feet. The one thing that should be remembered with this shot is that it will cost you a bit of distance. So you should remember to go up one or two clubs to make up for the loss.

To set up for the fade, I would first keep my stance open, by this I mean that your feet hips and shoulders should all be aiming slightly to the left of your target. With this stance it will encourage an out to in swing path for the club head. This will in turn create a clockwise spin on the golf ball.

You should next set up and adjust your grip. At this point take a look at how you normally grip the club. If you tend to hook the ball, the chances are that you have a strong grip i.e. your hands are turned to the right of the grip and you can see three knuckles of your left hand.

For the fade shot it is required that you use a weaker grip where the left hand is turned slightly to the left on the golf grip. If you already slice the ball you may not need to move your grip so much. Just aiming your body left of target might just be enough for this shot.

The final part of the set up is the ball position relative to where you would normally play it. I you normally hit a straight ball you should place the ball about one ball width further forward in your stance. This will allow you to hit the fade with a bit more height on the ball.

So the key points to hitting the fade are to set up with your body aligned slightly left of target with the club aligned to the target. Your grip should be weaker or turned slightly to the left on the grip. The ball position should be brought slightly forward in your stance.

Being able to fade the ball is quite useful in a variety of situations and it is essential if you ever want to improve your game.

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How to Cure a Slice With a Fade

How to Cure a Slice With a Fade

Most golfers believe that you have to draw the ball to be a good player.  However, some of the best players ever moved the ball left to right.  Guys like Hogan, Trevino and Nicklaus all played a fade.  So if you are trying to cure a slice you might want to consider turning into a fade instead of a draw.

 

Curing a slice with a fade is actually easier to do because you are already hitting the ball left to right.  You just need to get it under control.

 

The best way to approach this is to leverage some of the things you are already doing but fine tune them. There are just a few factors that create a fade.  From a physics standpoint a fade occurs when the clubface is only slightly open relative to the path of the clubhead.  If you are slicing the clubface is very open relative to the face. 

 

Grip

Let’s start with your grip.  The left hand should be on top of the shaft with at least one knuckle, (possibly two) showing.  Then fit your right hand to the left with the thumb of your left hand resting comfortably in the palm of your right hand.  You don’t want to have too strong of a grip or you will start hooking the ball. 

 

When you are trying to cure a slice and learning to play a fade this should feel close to your usual group.  Your grip will probably be a little stronger than usual but not a whole lot stronger.   Practice taking this grip over and over away from the driving range and golf course to make it feel natural.  When your grip reverts to its old form, and it will, just turn it over a little stronger to the right.

 

Setup

Since you are trying to cure a slice you already set up aimed to the left.  But you are aimed too far left.  So for starters take your normal aiming position and then turn everything a little more to the right.  Get your feet, hips and most importantly shoulders turned more to the right.  If moving all of these feels too awkward you can try leaving your feet and hips pointed where they are now but square up your shoulders more.  Your shoulders are the biggest determinant of the clubhead path.  Try and get your shoulders square. 

 

Swing

Here is the good news.  If you’ve followed the steps above you will still be able to swing a little out to in.  This should produce a gentle fade.  Many instructors will tell you to hit a fade by swinging from the inside but with a slightly open face.  However, the reality is that most slicers can’t easily change their swing path from outside-in to inside-out.  So let’s assume you’re still going to be a little out to in.  Make certain the grip is just strong enough to turn the slice into a fade. 

 

Here is another tip that may be different than what you are used to hearing.  If you are trying to cure your slice with a fade and you start hitting it left, then go at it a little harder with your body.  Yes, I said swing a little harder.  The reason is, if you swing a little harder with your legs and shoulders the clubhead will not be able to catch up so the ball will start to fade right again instead of going straight left.  

 

However, if you are still slicing the ball too much then swing a little easier.  Give the clubhead a chance to catch up with your body and swing past center.  This will get you squared up and producing the gentle fade you want.  . 

 

To cure the slice swing problems, start practicing with a middle iron.  Swing easy, you will be amazed how far you hit it.  If you normally hit a 6-iron 150 yards try and hit it only 130 yards.  Try and quiet down your lower body and swing your arms more.  If the ball starts going left instead of fading then swing a little more aggressively as we talked about above.  Once you’ve mastered this you will be able to play on any course with a controlled fade.

Bob Charles has worked in the Golf Industry for over 13 years and walked inside the ropes at many PGA Tour events. This experience gives him a unique insider’s perspective on the game of golf. To see how other golfers are learning how to cure a slice with a fade go to http://www.how-to-fix-a-Slice.blogspot.com/