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YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO HIT A DRAW
BY TOM ATKINSON, PGA GOLF PROFESSIONAL
This month I could have the little bit of instruction you’ve been
waiting for in your quest for the draw!
They say the most natural players hit a draw, however you’re right, some
of the best in the world hit a fade so don’t panic if you can’t do it. This
may help though.
The first thing that is hard to get your head around is that the club face
needs to be open to your target to execute the draw shot, the bit you’re
missing is that it needs to be closed to your path. Imagine it, there’s a tree
in front of you and you want to shape the ball around it, your clubface
would need to be aiming right to avoid it. Have a look at this picture of
myself on the range:
If I swing along the blue line but my
club face is square to the red line
then, with a good contact the ball
will draw. Loft will negate shape
on a golf ball meaning that for the
same swing a less lofty club that
hits the ball further will have more
shape to it. Think about this when
choosing your starting direction.
Why do you want to be able to
hit the draw ? The answer is for
control. A lot of amateurs struggle
to control the clubface through
the impact zone on a consistent
basis. In a draw swing, the club
will be square and the path will be
coming from the inside making a
centred hit more achievable, not to
mention the fact that the draw will
tend to go further too.
Take the first hole at Heswall for
example. This is a long opening
hole at 431 yards. A draw here
will keep you away from the out
of bounds down the left and also
allow a much shorter second shot
to the green. Pick your line over to
the right and commit to your shot.
Good luck !
You can contact Tom at Heswall Golf Club on 0151 342 7431
www.heswallgolfshop.co.uk or @heswallgolfshop.
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