THE DRAW

Set up

As I mentioned, all the work for shaping shots is done at address. I am careful to follow a process that allows me to set up the right relationships with my lines:

1. I line up the clubface accurately. With the draw, that means aiming it a little right of target. The tee pegs either side of the ball illustrate the face’s aim. The bigger the draw, the more open to the target the face will be.

2. Now I set the aim of my feet, hips and shoulders, to program the swing path. I don’t get super-specific with my feet; I simply know that if the clubface aims right, the feet must be further right. This is where feel comes in. You can’t go ‘face five yards right, feet 15 yards right’. That’s not how we play golf. The shaft by my feet represents the body’s aim. As you can see, it is further right than where the tee pegs are pointing.

So I have now set up a situation where the face is open to the target but closed to the path – perfect for a draw.

At The Top

I said earlier that you do not have to manipulate the swing itself to hit a draw or a fade – and here’s the proof. I’ve simply made my regular backswing, trusting in the relationships I set at address to do all the work. The “across-the-line” look of the shaft at the top is simply a consequence of aiming right – and it’s good to see the shaft pretty parallel to the one on the floor, representing my toe line.

Through The Ball

The common perception of the draw is of releasing the hands and arms through the ball, rotating the forearms to close the face and so create the draw spin. But with the face being so influential on the ball’s initial path, this is why so many people that try this start the ball too straight, and end up left. Don’t forget, you need the face open to the target at impact to send the ball right.

I am actually very passive through the ball. I’m not trying to manufacture anything with my hands; I’m just trusting the fact that I’ve set everything at address. If I swing in the direction of my feet, I know I’m going to create a right-to-left ball flight. If I do have a swing thought, it is simply to keep my hands ahead of the club through impact. Hands ahead means the face is open.