How to Create Shape in a Golf Shot

Nozyfo

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posted on 5 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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The golf swing is one of the most complex movements in all of sports. The coordination and timing of your entire body controls the way the golf club strikes the ball. Any change movement can mean the difference between a straight shot into the fairway and a ball in the water. Therefore, understanding how certain movements affect the swing and how that swing controls the flight of the ball is very important to becoming the best golfer you can be. Now even though this is a very difficult skill to master, the understanding and even practice of it can greatly improve your skills and dial in your golf swing.

Steps

The Fade

Lay an alignment stick or club down in the direction of your target.

Open your body towards the target by moving your front foot back about half a foot.

Align your feet, shoulders, and hips while following the new target line that you just created. This is a key concept because you want your ball to land on the target, so by aiming left, you account for the curvature of the ball. Your new target should be about ten or so yards to the left of where you want your ball to land. The picture above may be exaggerated to show the action.

Slowly practice an outside-to-in swing path from here. An outside-to-in swing path can be produced by swinging across the body. Think about hitting the ball further to the left without moving your feet.

Slightly open the club face by rotating the club away from the ball. This presets the club face to produce a spin on the ball when accompanied by an outside-to-in swing path. This spin is what generates the curvature of the ball flight.

Confirm a steady grip by making sure that your bottom hand is not too far underneath the grip. If your hand is too far underneath, it can open up the club face more during the swing which will cause a slice. Step 6.2 fade.png

Place the ball and swing! Your focus is the outside-to-in swing path. If the other steps are done correctly then everything else should be already in place. Depending on what the result was, adjust your grip or your aim to create more or less of a curve.

The Draw

Lay an alignment stick or golf club in the direction of your target.

Close your body to the target by moving your back foot backwards about half a foot.

Align your hips, shoulders and feet in that new direction while along your new target line. What this does is it accounts for the curvature of the ball so that it lands on your target.

Practice an inside-to-outside swing path. When trying to do this, think of keeping your hands a little lower than normal. This will keep the club towards your body and as you rotate, the club will stay on the inside of the ball. Think about throwing the club as you hit the ball. This will then move the club outward enough to create the desired motion.

Slightly close the club face by rotating it towards the ball. Only a few centimeters will do the trick. This presets the club head angle to create the spin necessary to creating the right-to-left curvature.

Confirm a balanced grip by making sure your bottom hand is not rotated too far over the grip. If your bottom hand is what they call too “strong”, then this can create too much of an angle between the club path and the club face which is what causes a hook. Step 6.2 draw.png

Place the ball and swing! Try to think about the inside-to-outside swing path.