Although the average golfer is suppose to focus on hitting the ball straight, certain variations of golf shots can give you an advantage…if you can pull it off. A “draw” golf shot will provide a flight path of right-to-left for a righty golfer and left-to-right for a lefty. When the ball is struck, (for a righty) the ball will begin slightly to the right of the target before “drawing” or “curving” back to the left towards the target. Do not confuse this with “hooking” the ball – as that is a more violent pull which, in our case, usually ends up out-of-bounds.

A draw is an advantageous shot to play to increase the roll and distance on the ball because of the flight path and speed. Also, on a hole that is dogleg left (for a righty), you can use this type of shot to play the ball around the turn or maybe around a set of trees.

Remember Bubba Watson’s miraculous shot from the woods in the playoff at the 2012 Masters? That was an ideal draw that happened to have worked out perfectly.

Here’s how it done: Aim your stance towards where you want the ball to begin and keep the club head facing where you want the ball to end up (the target). Don’t over exaggerate your stance because if you don’t draw properly, the ball might end up 3 fairways in the wrong direction. After taking your stance with your body and club head, back off the ball a bit. Keep your right shoulder (for a righty) high and rotate around the target, rolling your wrists over as you come through and strike the ball with a more closed clubface. Don’t kid yourself, the shot is very difficult, but give it a try on the range and see if you can pull it off.

As for the fade, it works in the complete opposite direction. Do not confuse this with a slice because like a “hook”, the ball will probably end up OB or in some other unfavorable spot. A fade shot is played intentionally to create a “cut” on the ball for the same reasons as a draw, but in the opposite direction.

Again, aim your stance towards where you want the ball to begin and keep the club head facing where you want the ball to end up (the target). In this case your body will be more open and not closed like the draw stance. Your right shoulder (for a righty) should work down and under which will allow you to hold the face of the slightly open, allowing the ball to curve from left to right.

Our best advice is this…hit the ball straight and be conservative! But if you can pull these shots off, you may give yourself a bit of an edge when taking your friends money this weekend.

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