Draw or Fade...Why?

[kid2]

Not wanting to hijack Lee's thread about natural shot shape i decided to open this thread.....

Why is it that people that slice or fade a ball want to draw it and the players that can hit a natural draw shape want to be able to hit a fade....

Im aware that in a perfect world we would be able to hit both but would it not be more beneficial and easier for someone that slices the ball to groove there swing to enable them to hit a nice soft fade....
Granted yes they may be slightly shorter than there draw hitting buddies but wouldnt the game be far easier for them rather than to try a change everything.......

Wasnt it Monty that said you shouldnt fight a fade you should work with it.....

I hit the ball on an out to in path but i actually hit my woods very straight for some reason....
Iv played hurling here in Ireland until i was 22 so my ball and eye coordination is pretty good.....
This sport requires a ball to be hit at all varying heights but is very upper body and arm dominated which is why i probably swing out to in also......

Just some food for thought for anyone who is trying to turn there fade / slice into a draw / hook....

 

[Split_Fairway]

it probably has something to do with boredom. in my experience seeing the same shot time and again gets very tedious and i would make an effort to switch to the other shape. i dont agree with faders being shorter off the tee than the drawers though, on the days where my shot shape has been a fade instead of a draw ive found that i will hit the ball 5-10 yards further. dont ask me why 'cause i dont know myself but thats how it is.

 

[ScienceBoy]

Two ways of looking at it:

1- Play to your strengths and play with your shape. If you fade aim more right, just make sure to swing along your body line or it will just get worse!

2- Learn to do both, makes those long tough par 3s easier when you can fade one over the bunker to a tight pin rather than hook one over the other, unprotected end of the green and have a tricky chip.

I can both fade and draw now on the range, I only try and do it on the course when I really have to, most of the time I stick to my nice soft high draw so I know where it is going to go!

 

[JustOne]

I hit the ball on an out to in path

You flippin' don't wanna be!!!

 

[kid2]

it probably has something to do with boredom. in my experience seeing the same shot time and again gets very tedious and i would make an effort to switch to the other shape. i dont agree with faders being shorter off the tee than the drawers though, on the days where my shot shape has been a fade instead of a draw ive found that i will hit the ball 5-10 yards further. dont ask me why 'cause i dont know myself but thats how it is.

Im not saying that a player who fades the ball is short....There are so many variables involved with amateurs swings that you cant compare one with the other...Iv hit past peoples draws with my natural shape of a fade


But what i find funny and im not criticising anyone here is why if you can hit the ball with "5yrd" draw its the be all and end all when a player who can do the same the other side of the target from left to right is in some cases looked differently.....

Surely both shots have the same conclusion?

 

[kid2]

I hit the ball on an out to in path

You flippin' don't wanna be!!!

Work in progress

 

[Parmo]

Mostly hit a draw, sometimes hit a fade. Play with what I have on the day.

 

[NWJocko]

Surely both shots have the same conclusion?

Exactly, I don't really care how I get the ball to, or in, the hole or anyone else for that matter, whatever works for them.

I saw someone quote on here "it's not how, it's how many" which pretty much sums it up.

 

[TonyN]

When I began golfing, I faded, and my bad shot was a powerfade (not quite a slice).

The hardest shot to hit in golf, is a straight shot and so rather than learn that, I learnt how to draw, SO i didn't have to look at a right to left shot.

I guess I thought if I hit a natural draw and hit a bad shot, it was more likely to go striaght.

Having only played once in 3 months, I found myself hitting slight fades on friday, I just worked with it.

Personally, for a right hander, I think a draw looks like a better shot shape and it travels further.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Lawrence22]

I had a natural slice that I have managed to turn into a fade. At the minute I am more than happy as long as I can keep a bit of control with it. Today I managed to hit 9/14 fairways, which is by far my best so far. I'm not even thinking about a draw at the moment.

 

[lee_leggett]

I think its down to wanting something you havent got... If you hit a draw, you want a fade... I think wanting something you cant have is in mens DNA.

If you hit the draw and want a fade, Once you get that fade you have been after, you have changed your swing so much you can no longer draw the ball. And it all starts again.

For me in winter there is no difference between my draw and fade, but in the summer I can get anything from 10-20yrd extra with my draw. And thats fine on a dog leg left...

 

[Macster]

My natural shot is a draw with my irons, and I wouldnt change it for the world. Sure, some days arent as consistent as others, but thats golf.

I can fade it when I need to, if I'm blocked out or the pin is particularly hidden away, but there's always risk, as it isnt my 'natural shape'.

I change nothing more than my stance to play either, its simply a matter of right foot back for more draw, or left foot back for fade, with the clubface always pointing at the target.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I tend to hit everything right to left (with the exception of the occasional block straight right over extra cover) and have struggled to get any sort of slice or fade going. I'm not a great fan of trying to work the ball deliberately and so tend to set up for a draw or straight shot (aim right edge of the fairway) and let my natural incompetent swingpath do the rest. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn't

 

[Ethan]

A lot of good players fade the ball. But a lot of bad players think a fade is just a reduced magnitude slice, but it really isn't.

I hook the ball and would love to be able to hit a soft consistent fade.

 

[Split_Fairway]

what i find funny and im not criticising anyone here is why if you can hit the ball with "5yrd" draw its the be all and end all when a player who can do the same the other side of the target from left to right is in some cases looked differently.....

Surely both shots have the same conclusion?

it would depend on the course layout. if dogleg lefts or right-hand trouble heavily featured on your usual course you would want a draw to bend it away from the trouble.

 

[kid2]

A lot of good players fade the ball. But a lot of bad players think a fade is just a reduced magnitude slice, but it really isn't.

I hook the ball and would love to be able to hit a soft consistent fade.

Thats exactly what im trying to get at Ethan.....
Im not sure does everyone know the difference between a slice and a fade......

I tend to aim the clubface at my target and everything else paralell left ie. if its the centre of the green i want the ball to finish on then my clubface is aiming at or just outside the left edge of the green with my feet knees hips and shoulders paralell to this.....

So whats my shot shape? Slice/ Fade?

 

[Toby_LeRhone]

Draw: bow my wrist at the top of my backswing, face closed at impact and ball draws.
Fade: cup my wrist at top of backswing, face remains open at impact and ball fades. For me, a slice is just a big fade.
Straight: straighten my wrist, ball goes dead straight.

 

[JustOne]

There's nothing wrong with a fade provided you have enough length to play the course.

 

[JT77]

My natural shape is a draw, i worked hard last year on a fade, because I was finding that my bad shot is a bad hook, and they are far more destructive for me, I think a good controled fade is a great shot to have, I dont have to worry to much about distance, as long as it goes where it is intended and not the trees, then I am pretty happy!!

 

[Ethan]

Anyone who can hit either shape with a controlled 5 yard movement will do just fine, but there are some differences between a fade and a draw which are down to physics. The fade is associated with an open face, and that adds loft, so it goes higher and lands softer, but may struggle into a wind. The draw is associated with a closing face, which reduces loft, so it goes lower and lands less soft.

Many players would also say that a hook can 'get away from you' faster and worse than a slice, for the reasons above. Most pros fight a hook, and some of the great faders in the game including Hogan and Trevino developed their technique to fight a hook. I think Martin Kaymer has done some of the same too.