How to get that Draw
shot that everyone is looking for
If you read the last article and got your takeaway where it
should be this article will be helpful in a continuation of hitting great draw
shots. Without a proper takeaway such as the one described in the previous
article you may not see results. Example, if takeaway is too much to the inside
on the way back you may suffer from coming over the top. So before you read on
make sure to check out the article on Hand
path is a critical and often overlooked fundamental in golf.
90% of amateur golfers out there have never hit a draw in
their life. Some people may say “Hey I have a hit a draw before; I have hit the
ball way left.” But was this really a draw? The majority of the time less
skilled golfers are swinging left or over-the-top but manage to keep a square face
to the path and pull the ball way left or even shut the face and it is a huge
pull-hook. The next thing you know they are changing the face position thinking
that is it super shut and now they are hitting huge slices because the path is
so far left and the face it open. Throughout this article I will give you a few
helpful hints that will get you understanding what a draw is and how to hit the
draws you desire.
First, what is a draw and how does a draw work. For a ball to draw from right-to-left we need
the clubface to be to the right (Open) to the target at impact and for the path
to be to the right of the face. Face determines 85% of where the ball will
start and path determines 15%. Since the face is open to the target it will
start out to the right and with a path to the right of the face the ball will
draw back to the line due to the difference in the angles as seen below in the
diagram.
Next, how is it that we will get you to hit a draw? First go
ahead and lay down a golf club in front of you which will represent your target
line. Next setup in your golf posture and check your stance and your aim. If
you are aiming right down the line at the target we are not in a position to
hit an ideal draw. What we want to do is “close” our stance to the target or
aim our body out to the right. This will help promote a path that is in-to-out
and get the ball to travel from right to left and going no further left than
our target (this is an ideal draw).
Next, you are going to feel that your upper body is slower
than the lower body throughout the swing. You may feel that your back is
pointing at the target a little longer at the top of your backswing or that
your head is staying behind the ball through impact letting your right shoulder
pass under. Doing this will allow the arms to drop underneath (in-to-out) and
allow the hands to release properly for a draw.
Drills for an
In-to-Out path
Drill #1 (See image and description)
Here we can see an alignment stick on the mat (Orange) which
represents your stance.
In front you see an alignment stick that is pointing
straight out (target)
Then you see two alignment sticks to the right of the target
stick which is a gate or “runway” that we want the club to travel down.
Take your setup; get to the top of your backswing and feel
your lower body turning first and the upper body pointing at the target longer
and focus getting the clubhead to go through the runway. It will feel like the
path is going over the right stick in the runway and the face is going over the
left stick when releasing.
Drill #2: Using the Game-in-Glove for path
This helps create proper feel and a visual for where the
club should be.
Watch the laser moving from in-to-out to promote a draw
swing.
Check out Game-In-Glove
HERE for more information
