Hitting a controlled fade down the middle of the fairway is something the top professionals often demonstrate. When it comes to club golfers shaping the ball often happens by accident. Or, they don’t know how to do it properly with consistent technique. As strange as it might sound, hitting the ball arrow straight is much harder than shaping the ball. For a straight shot, a golfer must get both club path and face pointing exactly at a target at impact. This is extremely difficult.
So, learning to shape the ball might be easier than you think.
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In the article below, PGA professional Jack Backhouse explains what a fade is, and when it can be useful and ultimately how to hit a fade with driver.
What is a Fade?
It is probably worth starting at the very beginning with the basic ball flight laws. For a right-handed player, a fade is a golf shot where the ball starts to the left of the target, curves to the right in the air, and finishes on target. This shot shape is also referred to as a cut.
If the ball curves beyond the target and misses to the right, it is now a slice. If the ball starts left and doesn’t curve back to the target, it is a pull.
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How to Hit a Fade With Driver
Set Up Adjustments
We can do our best to pre-set a fade into our swing in the address position. This can be done by:
- Aligning feet, hips, shoulders and forearms left whilst keeping the clubface square to target
- Moving the ball forward in the stance
Swing Path
There are really two different ways to hit a fade. One is employed by the best players in the world, like Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler. The other is the way most amateur golfers do it. Amateur golfers ‘fade’ the ball by coming over the top. This is where they swing steep and across the ball. This gets the ball to move left to right but in a weak, reduced-distance way.
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The pros align their bodies significantly to the left of the target. Swing on the neutral path they normally do, and hold the face open to create the left-to-right spin. This a more of a shallow fade, where the clubhead speed is still very fast.
The tour player’s method of hitting a fade is actually much simpler than trying to cut across the ball. You can just use the same swing you normally do but aiming left with the body approximately 15-20 yards. By swinging left and keeping the club face slightly open in the downswing, it promotes a fade.
It will take some practice to understand what the right amount of open to the club face feels like. You will hit some that don’t curve enough and some that curve too much. The more reps will help you understand what the right feel is.
Grip
A weakening your grip reduces the chance of the club face closing at impact. A club face that’s more open at impact will promote a fade.
Weakening the grip slightly can help with this. To neutralise the golf grip, the left hand thumb should be sitting more straight down the shaft. The right hand can then move more on top, rather than sitting under the grip.
Conclusion
A fade with driver is popular amongst tour players and is often a fluke by amateur golfers. It can be used as a fairway finder. PGA Professional Jack Backhouse, gives a full run down on how to hit a fade with driver. Give it a go and see how you get on next time you play…
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