Tag: Skilled Players

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.