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with me my distance can fluctuate. So today I was hitting the ball about 260-270 on my good drives. then on the back nine one hole set up for a draw so I closed the stance and played a draw, it ended up being the farthest drive of the day so far right at 290 yards. So i played like that for the next four holes. shortest drive was 260 and that was a big push, but still in play. had another drive at 295 and also one at about 305. My thinking is that this allows my right arm/elbow to clear in front of my hip and that is the reason for more distance with what is otherwis the same swing. Now I know that a draw goes a little farther than a straight ball but not 25 yards farther. In ben hogans book His stance goes from closed/driver to open/wedges. I also believe that was before he changed his swing. is this a bad move, what do you think?

i think the best way to enhance driver distance is to put the ball in the way front of your stance.. line the ball up with the toe of the driver so you have to reach for the ball at impact. i've found that you'll recieve more distance and accuracy doing this and it may be a bit uncomfortable at first, but after practicing, you'll not only have lots more confidence off the tee, but your second shot will have a much better placement.... don't worry about a draw, that will only screw you up more.

The closed stance magnifies the release which is great for distance.

The open stance retards the release which is great for short shots making them more consistant.

This question would not be such an issue if I did hear all the time how a power fade is the go to shot of choice. Is there any tour player who goes with primarily a draw? Also, do you agree that it should allow the right elbow to clear the hip easier? In the few times i have tried this I have gotten good results. however, i have worked hard on my swing and dont want to put a band aide on that will cost me in the long run.

Yes, you are correct about the power fade, it is easier to control for the longer players (the ball sets sooner not going as far into trouble when the ball is missed). Yes there are players on the tour who draw the ball, the one that comes to mind is Seve Balistaros (sorry about the spelling) who is no longer on the tour but there are others. Tiger Woods said once that one of the strengths in his game is that "I can turn the ball over", keep in mind he can do all shots.

Don't think of it as a "band-aid", think of it as another way of playing. Every player has there own way and this one you speak of is one acceptable way. You will learn alot about spinning the ball playing this way so think about it as a great learning experience. To draw the ball requires lots of timing and rythm which makes for finesse, so you will learn alot more than just spin.

As you learn about yourself you may deside to do something else in the future, for example Seve was a very long player and a tall man, the hook or draw got him in to lots of trouble so he could have changed to a fade which is easier to control. Now, a smaller man under 5'9" may need to draw the ball to get the distance so he would learn to draw for distance and learn to fade the ball when coming into the green because it will stop sooner once it lands.

I hope this will help and maybe the men that post here can give you names of PGA Tour players who draw the ball.

Good Luck

Tom Lehman comes to mind. Also, Phil prefers to hit a draw but the reason for his newfound driving accuracy is that he went to the power fade...which led to his statement "Man, if I had known how easy this game was from the middle of the fairway, I would have gone to the fade sooner." Good to have both shots in the bag. Wouldn't worry about 25 extra yards unless it's a really open tee shot. Otherwise go with your bread and butter.

Shade

I think I recall the announcers covering the Mercedes Championship at the start of this season saying that Els plays a draw off the tee.

I have been trying to swing on more on an inside to outside swingplane, but sometimes I get this huge annoying draw.