This sounds a bit unusual I am sure, but I have difficulty drawing or fading the ball consistently. I hit the ball to darned straight! I aim left with my body and straight with the club face... setup sensibly for a fade... the ball starts left where it should... but it stays there. If I go for the draw... the ball starts right... and stays there!
I know that somehow I am managing to have the club square to my body at impact, but I cant for the life of me work out why!
Does anyone else have this and have you any tips which have helped you to stop this sort of sub conscious correction?
I have had this problem. In my case it was caused by the fact that when I setup the clubface off the swing-line (i.e. shoulder line, feet line etc.) with the clubface on the ground I didn't really rotate my grip, I just set up crookedly. I now check for this before I swing by lifting up the club in front of me, to check that the clubface is truly rotated for a draw or a fade.
Straightshooter's got it. The clubface needs to point at the target, and your feet/hips/shoulder line on the line you want the ball to start on. That will make the ball move in the direction you want. I also find that imagining slowing down my left arm through the impact zone allows the toe of the club to catch up and pass the heel through impact, causing a draw/hook, while imagining speeding up my left arm keeps the clubface open through impact creating a fade/slice. I prefer the first thought over the second though.
I do actually have myself setup correctly... I take my normal grip when the club is either opened or closed... so i am managing to square up inspite of that.
I have more success moving the ball when i set up normally and actually swing for the shape... but this is altogether wrong and i do not wish to do it.
I have more success moving the ball when i set up normally and actually swing for the shape... but this is altogether wrong and i do not wish to do it.
If you mean moving the ball towards the target for a fade, and moving it away from the target for a draw, then you are in good company: Phil Mickelson uses this, so it can't be all that bad. If you can repeat this consistently, why fight it?
As for the subconcious squaring of the club, when setup correctly for a curve, I have struggled with that also. It helped me to 'practice' hooks and slices, instead of draws and fades. Going to extremes can make you get the right feeling for what you really want to do.
No... I meant that I can intentionally swing on the inside or outside and keep the face square producing the swing.... so basically i make a swing change, not a setup change
No... I meant that I can intentionally swing on the inside or outside and keep the face square producing the swing.... so basically i make a swing change, not a setup change
Understood, I misread your message, even though I have experimented with that method myself in the past (and also dismissed it as unsound). Again, the way I found to fix this problem was by setting up for extreme slices and hooks on the range to get the feel for them.
Im thinking maybe I should just reschudule next weeks lesson... I was going to be working on 30/50 yard shots but maybe i should get the help on the shaping...
It is starting to be troublesome... certainly yesterday I had two shots where i needed right to left by more than my stock few feet. One I needed a 40 yard hook and the ball just went straight... drop shot. The other I only needed 10 yards and got nothing and ended in the drink.... several drop shots.
I have forged players clubs... I used to be able to cut or hook the ball miles with my old game improvement cavities, but the latest swing mods have meant the ball almost always just goes dead straight (though not always dead straight in the correct direction!). Im on the practice ground later today so will have a play (and attempt not to mess up my swing at the same time!).
The way I shape the ball requires a few changes, but the most important for me is to adjust the timing and swing path. I set up the same as I would when I try to hit a straight shot, except I either open or close the face depending in what I want to do. Secondly, I make sure my club is going back on the normal plane - the downswing is where I make the changes. By firing my hips a touch earlier, I can create and out to in swing and fade, or even slice the ball. By holding them back a tad, I get a more in to out swing for the draw or hook. If I do this with a square clubface at setup, I tend to draw or fade the ball. By changing the clubface angle at setup, the results are more pronounced.
I can drop the hands on the inside on the way down from a square position and fire my hands through to get a big draw too... but I find it is an unsafe shot for me since it is hard to control how far it goes... so I want to do it in a technically pleasing manner.
Bigvivec,
You'll not want to hear this, but believe it or not, that harder I hit it, the straighter it goes ;)
I can drop the hands on the inside on the way down from a square position and fire my hands through to get a big draw too... but I find it is an unsafe shot for me since it is hard to control how far it goes... so I want to do it in a technically pleasing manner.
You might as well try this: Position the ball towards the target for a fade, and position it away from the target for a draw: Phil Mickelson uses this, so it can't be all that bad. This should be more sound than the drastic path change.
August 5th, 2006, 03:25 PM
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