How To Shape Your Shots

Most golfers curve the ball one way or the other when they hit it, usually from left to right. Many simply play along with that curve. Slicers aim more to the left, while hookers more to the right. The problem with this approach is that these golfers don't know why their ball is curving in flight and therefore have no real control over it.

There is nothing wrong with curving the ball, but to make it effective and help you score better, you should know why it curves and how to make it do so. We are not talking about big slices or hooks, but draws and fades of varying degrees that you want when a pin is tucked into the corner of a green, a tree is dead in your line or you are playing into a strong wind, as shaping your shots also includes controlling their height. All are important in producing lower scores.

Cause And Effect
The ball curves in flight because it has a certain kind of spin on it. The spin comes from the difference between the angle of the clubface at impact and the club's path. That's the first thing you need to know and always keep in mind.

A right-to-left flight, or draw, is the result of the clubface being closed at impact -- angled to the left of the actual target -- and contacting the outside half of the ball. This imparts a counterclockwise spin on the ball. A left-to-right flight, or fade, is the result of the clubface being open at impact -- angled to the right of the actual target -- and contacting the inside half of the ball. This causes clockwise spin to be put on the ball.

Most golf instruction has it that the club's swing path must depart from normal in order to produce a draw or fade. For example, the club must be moving from inside to outside the target line at impact to hit a draw, and from outside to inside the target line to produce a fade. Or, you must flatten your swing plane to hit a hook, and swing on a more vertical plane to hit a slice.

I don't think any of that is necessary. I believe you should attempt to strike the back of the ball relative to the target line and adjust the amount of curve by how much you align your body left or right of the ultimate target. This way you can maintain your basic swing. By maintaining your regular swing path, you are far more likely to make solid contact with the ball. Any time you change your swing path, you run the risk of poor timing and a mishit ball.

The degree of curve can be increased or modified by how you use your hands and arms in the impact zone, and how much you have the clubface angled at address. The more closed the clubface, the more hook will be put on the ball. The more open, the more slice. It is a matter of degree.

We will deal with each shot separately, starting with the draw.

The Draw
Again, without changing your natural swing path, you can draw the ball by setting the clubface closed at address and aligning your body to the right of your ultimate target. How much to the right is something you must learn from personal experience.

A better way to draw the ball is by rotating your left forearm clockwise in the backswing and rotating it counterclockwise in the downswing. This is what I call the "swinger move." Some golfers will hook the ball by keeping the left wrist bowed or flat, which keeps the clubface toed in or closed. I believe only pros and low-handicap golfers can do it this way. For the average golfer, the "swinger style" is easier to do and can be just as effective.

By keeping the clubface closed or aiming left from the point at which you want to start the shot, you will get a subtle draw, the ball curving a few yards in the air. Assuming you are able to return the clubface back to your aiming point in your setup, at impact the greater the difference between the clubface aim and body alignment, the greater the hook spin you impart on the ball.

Actually, forearm rotation is worth developing as a basic swing key. It is an excellent way to swing the club on your natural plane and generate power in a simple, smooth way. However, keep in mind that it is the forearms and not the hands that do the rotating.

It also is helpful when you want to hit the ball from right to left to play it a bit farther back in your stance -- about an inch or so more to the right than normal.

There is a drill to get a good feel for the "swinger move," which I associate with Ernie Els' basic swing. Hold the club with only the forefinger and thumb of each hand, then swing it back and through. The club essentially swings itself, and it is almost impossible to not let the face roll over to the left. It's that sensation you want to imprint as a muscle memory.

Greg Norman taught me another method for hitting a hook, although it was while demonstrating how to hit a high bunker shot. Grip the club with the last three fingers of the left hand off the handle. When you swing the club, its weight and centrifugal force whip it right through and turn the clubface over at impact. You can also hold the club as you normally would but with very light pressure in the left hand.

The Fade
There are two ways to produce a fade. One is to delay the release or hit what is called a block shot. I don't teach that because you're disrupting your basic swing motion and because it puts an action into your system that could come back to bite you under normal circumstances. In other words, when you don't need a fade, you're apt to push the ball to the right.

I teach a "release fade," which is essentially the same as described previously for the hook but with everything reversed. The difference, of course, is that the face is open at address. Preset the face angle to the degree of fade you want, aim left of your target accordingly and make your normal swing with a rotation of the left forearm. You will produce a nice, sliding left-to-right flight. With the driver, it becomes a power fade, which is both powerful and well-controlled. If you want more fade, simply open the face a bit more and aim that much more to the left.

There are a few adjustments to make in shaping shots from left to right. First, hold the club tighter in your left hand, specifically the last three fingers. Next, at address, set the handle of the club a bit more to the left than you would normally. In other words, get your hands more ahead. Finally, play the ball a bit more forward in your stance -- about an inch or so more left than usual.

Grip
Another common teaching for hitting draws and fades is to adjust your grip. For instance, to hit a hook, turn your left hand more to the right into a strong position. For a fade, weaken the left hand by turning it to the left. I don't advise this for the same reason I don't recommend changing your swing plane. You get away from your basic technique and risk a poorly timed swing.

Images & Drills
There are certain images I use in my teaching that seem to provide students with a good understanding of how to curve the ball. One example is the ping-pong paddle. The golf club is like the paddle being held in your left hand. Imagine hitting a topspin shot, which produces a hook. Or, undercut the ball to produce a fade or slice.

There are also some drills to help you get the feel for drawing and fading the ball. To produce hook spin, practice hitting shots with the ball above your feet. You invariably will hit a hook from this stance if your swing path follows the terrain, and certainly with a higher-lofted clubface. You might also hit balls off a Texas Tee or one of the extra-long tees available, which in effect produces the sidehill lie with your feet below the ball.

To hit fades, practice from a sidehill lie in which your feet are above the ball. However, there are no tees to simulate this lie.

High Shots
The easiest way to hit a high shot when you need it is to take a club with a lot of loft. But that may not work for you if you need to cover more distance than that club affords.

You want a shallower attack angle so the club is on a sweeping path as it strikes the ball. You can do this without altering your basic swing by widening your stance, getting your head a little behind the ball at address, playing the ball more forward in your stance, putting a bit more weight on your right side and standing a little farther back from the ball than you would ordinarily. The farther you stand from the ball, the flatter your swing plane will be. Always make a high, full follow-through.

To get a sense of how to hit high shots, play the ball from an uphill lie. The lie encourages getting your weight back on your right side and your head behind the ball. You feel what it's like to swing up on the ball. Of course, you can play shots from downhill lies to get the feel for fading the ball.

Low Shots
For low shots, reverse all of the instruction for high shots. Take a club with less loft and strike the ball with a more descending or vertical attack angle. Like so much of what is being taught here, the setup at address is the key to getting the job done.

To hit it low, play the ball in the center or right-center of your stance, narrow the distance between your feet, stand a bit closer to the ball and put your weight a little more on the left side. For these shots, you want an abbreviated follow-through.

Another rather sophisticated method you might try is to ease the tension in your left arm as you begin your downswing. This narrows the arc of your arms and the club's arc, which in turn steepens the attack angle.

Consider The Lie
Know that when playing from wet grass or simply the longer grass of the rough, you are not able to put as much spin on the ball and shape the flight as readily. There is less friction between the ball and the clubface because of the water intruding on the surface of both.

If the grass is lush and you need to hook the shot, it's like playing with a 20-mph wind behind you. It is hard to do. Use a club with more loft to get the ball in the air or take a lower-lofted club and play a run-up shot if there is no hazard before your target.

The best turf for shaping shots is firm and tight so you can make clean contact with the ball.

Equipment And Shot Shaping
With modern-day drivers that are designed to reduce the spin imparted to the ball on contact so you can hit the ball farther, you will have to make sure your swing path is a sweeping one in order to shape the shot. With the perimeter-weighted irons, getting height is not a problem, as the clubs are designed to help you get the ball airborne.

However, you also have to consider the type of ball you're using. There are a lot of balls on the market with hard covers and low spin rates. While perimeter-weighted irons may get these balls up in the air, because the clubs are almost invariably made of a hard cast steel, it's not easy to put sidespin on your shots. Older tour pros complain about these balls. They grew up playing forged irons and balls with relatively soft covers and could put all sorts of spin on their shots. It's harder to do now.

You can help yourself by keeping your golf balls warm. A cold ball is harder to compress and therefore more difficult to spin. Don't keep your balls in the garage or the trunk of your car when the weather is chilly. But even at that, the solution to getting today's golf ball to spin so you can shape your shots from right to left or left to right is to exaggerate all the moves that have been described in this article.