Ball Shaping

Hey Michael,

I would have to agree with Ken, best thing on "how" is to see your local pro and get your swing looked at and have a quick lesson.

For a draw you are really trying to hit the inside part of the ball and make sure you are rotating your hands THROUGH the shot! Practive overexagerating your hand rotation on the down swing, and hey if you hit a few hooks at first thats ok, your heading in the right direction.

For a fade you just want to keep the club face a little open coming to impact with a little bit of a hold off finish.

AP1's are great irons but it will be a little harder to work the ball because they have a little bit of an off-set to the iron. But still possible.

See your local Pro, get a quick lesson so you can see it first hand.

Good Luck!

That is a very unorthodox way to hit draws and fades. It's not consistent either. If you read the book "The ten most feared shots in golf" Dave pelz shows you how to hit draws and fades. The easiest way to fade is to:

1. open the clubface

2. open your stance and aim the clubface left of the target

3. fire away

the ball will start wherever the face is pointed and will keep fading because you are cutting across the ball. If you were to close you stance and point your clubface at the target, it would go way left of it. Do the steps above the opposite way to hit a draw:

1. close the clubface

2. close your stance and aim the clubface right of the target

3. fire away 

That is a very unorthodox way to hit draws and fades. It's not consistent either. If you read the book "The ten most feared shots in golf" Dave pelz shows you how to hit draws and fades. The easiest way to fade is to:

1. open the clubface

2. open your stance and aim the clubface left of the target

3. fire away

the ball will start wherever the face is pointed and will keep fading because you are cutting across the ball. If you were to close you stance and point your clubface at the target, it would go way left of it. Do the steps above the opposite way to hit a draw:

1. close the clubface

2. close your stance and aim the clubface right of the target

3. fire away 

That is a very unorthodox way to hit draws and fades. It's not consistent either. If you read the book "The ten most feared shots in golf" Dave pelz shows you how to hit draws and fades. The easiest way to fade is to:

1. open the clubface

2. open your stance and aim the clubface left of the target

3. fire away

the ball will start wherever the face is pointed and will keep fading because you are cutting across the ball. If you were to close you stance and point your clubface at the target, it would go way left of it. Do the steps above the opposite way to hit a draw:

1. close the clubface

2. close your stance and aim the clubface right of the target

3. fire away 

[/quote] You're basically saying the same thing I am but I left out the step of gripping the club open or closed (omission because I didn't think about it and that is probably now an automatic action). Just a difference in wording. You still swing along your foot path and the clubface is square with the target (open or closed in relation to swing path).

[/quote]

You have to aim the clubface when it's closed to the right of the target because wherever you aim the clubface the ball is goin' in that direction. So if you close the clubface and then aim it at the target, it will start at the target and keep going left. Same thing for a fade

ok this is all making sense, but the only thing is my aiming, I don't get what do I try and aim to my target? Do I aim the club face to my target even though its a bit open, or do I still point my hips to my target, but open/close the stance a bit? 

You aim the clubface to the right of the target for a fade and aim your stance and body a little more right while opening the clubface. Note: the clubface is open and aimed right of the target for a fade. Just do the opposite for a draw.

Michael,

Learn to take a divot, that way you can see for yourself which way the ball starts, and then learn to control your flight.

Ok here is my best advice with out being able to show you in person. your standing at home plate on a baseball diamond. Second base is your flag or target. approach the ball and set your club face to wear your club is aiming at second base just like you were trying to hit it straight. 

step to for a fade your feet should be in line aiming at were the short stop would be standing. and for a draw were  the second base men would be standing.

one you have your feet shoulders and hips lined up (second baseman or short stop) and your club face is lined up take your normal grip. 

your swing path should reflect your feet and body aiming directions. your only swing thought should be swing to the second baseman or swing too the short stop. this should give you the desired affect. these are small fades and draws. 

here is a few thoughts to see if your doing it right

draw. when lined up your club face should look closed down slightly in relation to your feet.

fade would obviously be the opposite affect when looking. down.

also you may have read in a few golf magazines about your hands finishing higher or lower than normal. this is explained like this. on a draw your hands will finish higher. this is because your swinging out a little bit so your bodies natural tendency is to allow them too go out and up. 

fades because you tend to pull across the body you tend to bend your elbows sooner in your fallow threw and this will cause a lower hand finish in your swing. remember do everything at 80% speed. you'll make better ball contact and be able to catch on to this quicker.

hopefully this was helpful 

cheers greens and fairways to all

You also may want to move the ball back in your stance for both shots and when you hit a fade it will go higher and stop quicker so take 1 or 2 clubs long depending on how much your trying to fade it. The draw will carry about the same distance except it will be lower and run more. Hope this helps

Ok everyone, 

First of all thanks for all you're help. I'm the kind of person that researches everything, try them all out and see what works and what doesn't work. In the end, I use a little bit of everything and I am able to tayor it to my game.

I went to the driving range today and I was able to hit a draw first swing. I found it easy and I was able to hit them just as far as if I were to hit them straight on... I was loving every minute see the ball start out right and start drawing. 

Now for a fade... I had a little more trouble. I think that I found it a little weird to have the club face open. I think I was actually doing it wrong the whole time. So I don't know if it was more issues on my swing, or if it was my set up.

Thanks once again. My goal this year is to break 80.

Michael H