What is the difference between draw and fade

Although there are golfers that will believe otherwise, to hit a draw, you will have had to release the club properly with a square clubface. Fades, on the other hand, can happen when the direction and path are slightly open. Sometimes this is intentional, and other times players fade the ball unintentionally. Some players have a natural draw shot shape. If your normal trajectory and ball flight is a draw, you should continue with that as often as you can.

There are, however, times, for instance, on a dogleg hole, or if a pin is tucked into a corner, that hitting a fade is necessary. The fade is a shot that players need to learn how to hit so they can adjust their swing and hit better approach shots to the green. The fade can be more reliable than a draw from the position of control.

It is easier to control a fade than to control a draw. Sometimes a draw starts to get a bit too much movement to the left, and it causes the ball to hook a bit more than necessary. Hitting a draw is easy if your natural swing path sends you a bit from the inside. Hitting a fade is easy if you tend to hold the clubface slightly open as you swing inside out. Essentially to become a better player, you need to tun into the natural strengths and benefits of your golf swing.

Without doing this, you will struggle to become consistent. This allows you to aim for the middle of the green, which is where the ball should land if you fail to curve it properly. If you draw it as planned, you have a good chance of landing it close to the hole. The reverse logic applies on greens in which the flag is closer to the right edge, in which case a fade shot is the safer play. Remember that the more loft your club head has, the more difficult it will be to apply the side-spin necessary to draw or fade the ball.

Rose has worked as a print and online journalist for more than 20 years. He has contributed to a variety of national and local publications, specializing in sports writing. Striking the ball with an open clubface is another strategy. If this is properly executed, the club will return to the same position while generated the left-to-right spin needed to accomplish the shot. To hit a ball from right to left, you need to grip the club in a stronger position.

The best way to accomplish this is to set the grip in the base of your fingers. Having a clear path is also important so you can automatically hit the draw with just the right backswing. To make room for the swing, pivot around your trail hip as you take the club back.

So how exactly do we hit a draw? The first and easiest is the opposite of hitting a fade. At setup slightly close your stance, this will help create an inside-out swing. You can see in the image below where the yellow lines are pointing to the target and red line shows a closed stance. Along with that, make sure to keep your grip loose so that through impact you release the club easily and quickly which will help the face go from open to close through impact.

A controlled draw compared to a controlled fade can sometimes be a harder shot to hit. The next and relatively easy way to hit a draw is by slightly adjusting your grip.

See the image below for an example of a stronger grip.