So after years of hitting fades and slices, I've finally gotten my swing under control and hit draws, but now I can't seem to conjure up a fade when I need to. I still hit them unintentionally but if I try to, I can't seem to do it.

WHat do you guys do the hit one? Open stance? open club face? keeping the follow-through low and abbreviated?

Scott, just weaken your grip a little (set your hands a fraction to the left).

Thanks Bill. I will give it a try though I'm not a good one when it come to changing my grip. I wind up finding my focus during the swing is what's happening with my grip. May just need to take a few practice swings before I take the real one, to convince my mind that things are ok and get back to focusing on my shot.

I was hoping to head to the range today but it's pouring rain here now so we'll see what the afternoon holds.

Concentrate, and think in your mind about hitting a draw. The result should be a fade.

I close my stance, which allows a more outside to in swing path. Result is a fade.

Doc,

If you take a normal swing, doesn't that cause a more inside to out swing?
It would seem to me, by closing your stance, you are pushing the ball, more than fading the ball.

Bill

Related question:
I tried dropping my right foot back when hitting driver to hit a draw (since I'm hitting a fade and losing distance) and it caused me to hit the ball too high (ie, swing got steeper) - what am I doing wrong?

Aimee, dropping your right foot back is probably causing you to pick the club up sooner in your backswing, which means you will hit more down on the ball in your downswing. A closed stance will, most likely, also cause you to not turn through the ball on your downswing. So, you are hitting down on the ball and not turning through the ball. Result: Hit it high or pop it up.

If you want to hit a draw, try strengthening your grip. Just turn your left hand clockwise a little and use your normal swing.

Bill

Scott, try what Jack used to do and teach. Setup to a targer about 20 yards LEFT of where you want to hit the ball, Then, release your grip, AIM the clubface where you want to land the ball, then re-set your grip pressure. Then just make your normal swing. The ball should start out left and curve back to the right, and end up where the clubface was aligned. That's what Jack did, and it's what he says to do in his golf video.

That's exactly what weakening your grip does. It opens the clubface, but it allows you to square up on the clubface at address.
Going through Jack's scenario will cause most people to fight pushing the ball.

Since my brain's not functioning too well, does turning the left hand clockwise mean that you see more or less knuckles?

Who's on first???

More, I think Aimee, if I understood the question.

So as expected there are two schools of thought, either change your grip or change your setup, both resulting in an open club face. I'll give them both a shot at the range tomorrow and tell you what I found.

Doc, you have a closed stance to hit a fade? Never would have thought that would have worked. I agree with Bill, maybe you're hitting a push instead.

Scott, thanks, I figured it meant more knuckles once I looked down at my hand. Since my instructor had me weaken my grip a while back to correct something in my swing, maybe that something has corrected itself and I can try a stronger grip.

Did I use the wrong terminology? I push my right foot more forward than my left. If I draw a line from right toe to left toe, then the line would go left side of the target. Isn't this a closed stance? This gives me a more outside to in swing path for the fade. Sorry if I'm wrong. But this is what works for me.

And if I want a draw, I open my stance (right foot is behind left foot, line from right toe to left toe would go to the right side of the target). This stance gives me a more inside to out swing path.

My club face is square to the target at all times.

Doc,
Reverse it. Your closed is OPEN, your open is CLOSED.
Now your post makes sense, to me.
Doc, I like using grip position instead of changing my swing path because I find it easier to control the amount of fade.
Bill

Maybe Doc is "left-handed"....

No, he's Asian. Reads from right to left..........

I thought that was Jewish...
My Jewish friends read the menu in restaurants right to left.

Doc is right handed, either that or the new driver I built him doen'st fit at all. And I agree with Scott and Bill. Doc.T has his OPEN AND CLOSED terms backwards. "Feet aligned left of target, means OPEN stance. Feet aligned right of target, means CLOSED stance. Reverse that for leftys.

So hit the range this afternoon and here are the results. Don's recommendation (one I've tried before) worked about 50% of the time. The other 50% of the time I do what I normally did on the course which was somehow role my wrists over unconsciously and hit a draw. It has something to do with my brain seeing the clubface open and wanting to close it.

Bill's method worked almost every time. Since the club face was square my brain left it alone and the natural un-weakening of my wrists left the club face open without me noticing it.

So I'm going to work on this more over the next few weeks and see how it goes.

Thanks

Scott,

You should have been a politician... You know that you are not going to use Bill's method. Your swing is too ingrained.
Strong grip, closed club face and slow the swing down...Easy to draw every time. But when you need it in a match, guaranteed to fail.

Selftaughtman

Self, Self, Self....what do you think about being my campaign manager? I'm ready to run baby!

I have faith in Bill's fade fix. It's gonna carry me to the title in next week's 3 day tournament. Well, if I can keep my wits about me and be ready to respond when things don't go according to plan!

Yes I'm asian. But I read from top to bottom, right to left.

Thank's for getting me squared with the terminology.

I'm left-handed so I read books back to front. makes it sort of interesting to learn who did it before you know what they did.

I'm Chinese, but I start in the middle of the page and fan out.

Kewl! Reminds me of a lady I worked with that could write with both hand..at the same time..Seeing her taking minutes at a meeting was freaky!

I have a slightly different take on this. I learned this from the pro at Spanos Park golf course in Stockton California and it works for me. To hit a cut or fade start by setting up with a club on the ground to aim your feet and another to aim your club face at the intended target. Position them just outside of your path and aim both directly at your target and hit a ball if your grip and swing path are neutral you should hit it straight. To hit a fade or cut keep your club face aimed at your intended target and then open your stance slightly and use your normal swing. This will cause your ball to fly higher and land softer with a left to right movement for a right hand golfer. To hit a draw it is the opposite and the ball will fly lower and longer and come in hotter. If you practice this you can experiment with the amount that you open or close your stance to get more or less fade or draw on your ball. I believe Brian has a video of this if anyone is interested. I am sure it is free.

i agree with what don said earlier...i'm no master of shot shaping, but after trying a lot of stuff, the best results i've had have come with doing the following 3 things:

1. your body should be ALIGNED with where you want the ball to start

2. your club face should be AIMED where you want the ball to end up

3. swing normally on the plane that your body is aligned with.

other things you can try are coming in a little more inside (intentionally making the "mistake" most beginners make), or tightening up your lower hand making it harder to release the club and thus leaving the face a little more open.

another mental trick i learned is try visualizing what part of the ball you want to hit. for instance a straight shot, you want to make contact on teh middle of the ball...the inside of the ball for a fade and the outside for a draw. a drill to help with this is using and impact bag, and trying to make the bag spin a little by hitting different sides of it..its one of those over exaggeration drills that result in the desired ball flight things.

Yeah, that basic technique has been working for me as well. I also remember hearing some tips about holding the club tighter in your grip maybe to also help hit a fade. Maybe it prevents your wrists from rolling over and so teh club stays more open...something like that..

I am not a mechanically person of the game of golf. I do everything by feel. I rarely use swing drills. I want to feel everything in my swing. So when I want to hit a fade or a draw I start to picture in my mind and then drive to mimic that in the practice swing. I just try to feel a fade in my practice swing and then take that to my shot. I know it may sound weird but it works for me. The less I have to think about at address inside or the play box the better I hit it. Jim Furyk gave me the idea to try this when he was doing an interview one time. He just tries to feel the shot and let it happen at address. I love it. Just another thing to try out. Maybe work it into a round so you have less to think about.