Accepting a draw

[Slicer30]

This year has been a good year for me, go my handicap down and broke 80 for the first time. My irons have been a big factor in that as my driving and short game are pants lol.

I have been lucky to be able to drive the irons long and straight to a target.

Recently though, this has changed and I rarely fly them straight. One in 3 or 4 will go straight most go to the right in a fade and more worryingly a slice.

Range practice has seen me struggle to return to the straight irons - but if I play for a draw it will either go straight or draw slightly.

This means I may miss a few greens, but more importantly for me is there is nothing goin to the right. So the potential 2nd shot into the long grass/OOB "should be less likely".

Should I accept this or keep working on getting the straight shots? I guess in all honesty there is a part of me that is apprehensive of taking this on as a natural shot, even though it does feel very natural and I seem to be able to do it without too much swing thought.

maybe by accepting its not gonna go straight, I stop trying to force it straight?

 

[Imurg]

They say the straight shot is the hardest shot to hit.
If you can regularly strike your irons with a gentle draw or, at worst straight, then stick with it.
Having a stock shot is a God-send.

 

[palindromicbob]

i can't recall seeing any straight full shots when watchin golf on TV. Was talking about this with my pro a while ago. We concluded its a funny old game. when u start at a high handicap u want to learn to hit it straight. As u get better u want to learn how to shape it. I'd say accept the natural shot shape and learn to use it to your advantage.

 

[Oddsocks]

just remember a draw may be a longer ball, but in baked summer conditions alot of draw shaped balls with bounce violently and as i found this summer some shots would end in the cabbage that didnt deserve it just because of strong bounces.

Im working on changing my natural shot shape to a fade, and ive got to say after last nights lesson it coming along nicely, its weird because as a junior my natural shot was a fade, i worked for years to get rid of it, and now ive spent almost 400.00 on lessons to get it back.

Stupid bloody game!

 

[G1BB0]

you can buy my fade off me, ok its more of a slice with woods

trouble I have is when I aim left to allow for it with my irons I hit the bugger straight as a die!!!

now trying to learn a draw which I can do up the range but not on the course... all in good time. Learn to play your natural shot shape with control that way you know roughly where its going and can align properly.

 

[One Planer]

just remember a draw may be a longer ball, but in baked summer conditions alot of draw shaped balls with bounce violently and as i found this summer some shots would end in the cabbage that didnt deserve it just because of strong bounces.

Im working on changing my natural shot shape to a fade, and ive got to say after last nights lesson it coming along nicely, its weird because as a junior my natural shot was a fade, i worked for years to get rid of it, and now ive spent almost 400.00 on lessons to get it back.

Stupid bloody game!

Funny this. I hit my irons, even my Fli-Hi's, straight. come to the driver I get a fade

I keep trying to hit it straight, but on reflection to what people have said about learing to fade the ball, maybe I should keep it

 

[Oddsocks]

Gareth, my pro keeps banging on about a 2 way miss with a draw, with a hook (for me caused by coming very in-to-out) i have two outcomes, a block/push right, or a big hook. With a soft cut it will only ever go straight or right due to the swing path required to hit this shot (as he explained it to me anyway) so effectively its a safer shot to have in the bag. He has reeled of lists of players who play a fade as their safe shot..

 

[One Planer]

Gareth, my pro keeps banging on about a 2 way miss with a draw, with a hook (for me caused by coming very in-to-out) i have two outcomes, a block/push right, or a big hook. With a soft cut it will only ever go straight or right due to the swing path required to hit this shot (as he explained it to me anyway) so effectively its a safer shot to have in the bag. He has reeled of lists of players who play a fade as their safe shot..

Bubba Wats-going-on being one of them

I used to hate hitting a fade, but it is starting to grow on me.

My general bad shot is a push right, then it'll start to fade and potentially miss miles right.... With the driver anyway.

 

[Monty_Brown]

I fairly quickly developed a natural fade when I took up the game as a teenager. I was perfectly happy with it as my home course had far more dogleg rights than left, so it was a handy shot to have.

I've now got a draw and have never really questioned why , as on reflection, the fade is a more useful shot IMO. Give me a shorter but soft-landing flight over long and hard-landing any day.

I think we've all been brain-washed into thinking long draws off the tee are the ultimate goal.

 

[Oddsocks]

i think that's he's point. you know where your bad shots come from with a fade... me on the other hand have been setting balls off with the same flight path as a red arrows display team!.... all over the shop!

 

[DaveM]

When I started I always hit a fade. This was a bit of a pain as I am left handed. Most of the doglegs favour a right handed fade. I had to give up golf for around 3-4 years due to neck and shoulder injurys. Since I have started playing again. I hit all the woods and long irons with a gentle draw. Mid and short irons go straight(but not always where I want them to go though) due to the loft of the club. Beeing lefthanded a Draw is better for me.

I think a shot that shapes one way or the other is better off the tee as it gives you more fairway, to play with.

 

[Slicer30]

interesting replies, thanks everyone.

I must add that this is only my irons, the Driver still a fade and more often a nasty slice.

If I can sort the driver I'll happily drop the slicer name!

 

[G1BB0]

once a slicer always a slicer (I hope that is untrue though or thats me permanently knackered)

 

[Region3]

once a slicer always a slicer (I hope that is untrue though or thats me permanently knackered)

It's like an alcoholic is always an alcoholic even when they've been tea-total for years.

I had a horrible slice as a kid and it's still the shot I fear, even though more of my bad shots are hooks.