How to stop fading my drives

Tones69

Ive read up some stuff but just wanted to know what helped you if you had the same probem with the driver, doesnt happen too drastic as i changed my 10.5 reg flex to a good TM with stiff flex and 9.5 but still there ,a good bit bettr now but its annoying having to aim over to the right to allow for it to swing back in (im a lefty).

Ive tried hitting the ball a bit easier and not swinging as far back,l tried standing with the ball inline with my front foot, 2 inches inside my front foot, and also about 4 inches inside my front foot, cant seem to cure it really, its gotten a bit better but still there! Only losing 1 or 2 balls now in 18 holes as opposed to about 10 balls a few weeks ago any help appreciated

stockdam

Play more often?

A fade is ok as long as it's repeatable. To correct a slice or a fade then you need to learn how to hit a draw.

It's pretty simple as long as you have a reasonable swing.

Don't grip the club yet.
Take your stance with the ball teed up quite high and opposite your right heel (leftie).
Aim your shoulders and your hips and feet down the left rough (for a leftie).
Now aim the clubface down the middle of the fairway (it will be closed relative to your hips and shoulders).
Next take your grip (you should experiment with a stronger grip).
Now just try to hit the ball down the left hand rough but don't try to manipulate the clubface and don't try to "look for the ball" until it's been hit.
Maybe get a slight sense of hitting out to the left and not trying to hit down the middle (or you'll try to cut across the ball).

If you still fade the ball then try again but strengthen the grip a bit.

It's important to setup first then grip. If you grip first then you'll end up with the face open as usual.

I'm not sure why you changed from 10.5 deg regular to 9.5 stiff as both of these won't help a slice/fade.

Watch a good player setup and notice the timing and shape of their swing.

Tones69

stockdam wrote: »

Play more often?

A fade is ok as long as it's repeatable. To correct a slice or a fade then you need to learn how to hit a draw.

It's pretty simple as long as you have a reasonable swing.

Don't grip the club yet.
Take your stance with the ball teed up quite high and opposite your right heel (leftie).
Aim your shoulders and your hips and feet down the left rough (for a leftie).
Now aim the clubface down the middle of the fairway (it will be closed relative to your hips and shoulders).
Next take your grip (you should experiment with a stronger grip).
Now just try to hit the ball down the left hand rough but don't try to manipulate the clubface and don't try to "look for the ball" until it's been hit.
Maybe get a slight sense of hitting out to the left and not trying to hit down the middle (or you'll try to cut across the ball).

If you still fade the ball then try again but strengthen the grip a bit.

It's important to setup first then grip. If you grip first then you'll end up with the face open as usual.

I'm not sure why you changed from 10.5 deg regular to 9.5 stiff as both of these won't help a slice/fade.

Ive played every day since last saturday so im trying

On everything else thanks, il give it a shot, aim my shoulders off to the left and try hit it right, hmm this could be dodgy

stockdam

Tones69 wrote: »

Ive played every day since last saturday so im trying

On everything else thanks, il give it a shot, aim my shoulders off to the left and try hit it right, hmm this could be dodgy

Ha........you'll have to play a bit more than just a few days.......it will take months of practice until it starts to feel right. Do it at the driving range where you aren't afraid of where the ball ends up.

Aim down the left and try to hit down the left........you aren't trying to hit the ball to the right as you'll then try to swing across the ball. If you hit down the left then if the clubface stays a bit closed then the ball will start left and draw back. Once you think about trying to hit the ball down the middle then you'll swing down the middle and not down along your shoulder line (left rough). It does take a leap of faith and your automatic "yip" will be to swing across the ball and not out to the left.

The reason why you can't stop your fade is that you aim to the right and then try to add a bit extra (swinging a bit more to the right) and all that does is to cut across the ball. If you setup with a closed clubface and then swing to the left rough the setup will ensure that the spin on the ball does the work.

To summarise....

Make sure your aim is to the left. You won't get this right for a while and your feet may point left but your shoulders will stay right (open). It's important to feel as if your sternum feels like it is pointing behind the ball and you feel very closed. It's also important to only grip the club after you set it down closed. Don't grip then aim the club. Align the face and then grip......remember to aim the clubface down the middle which will appear closed to you.

The magic thing is once you suss this out you can switch from a draw to a fade depending on where the trouble is.

Tones69

stockdam wrote: »

Play more often?

A fade is ok as long as it's repeatable. To correct a slice or a fade then you need to learn how to hit a draw.

It's pretty simple as long as you have a reasonable swing.

Don't grip the club yet.
Take your stance with the ball teed up quite high and opposite your right heel (leftie).
Aim your shoulders and your hips and feet down the left rough (for a leftie).
Now aim the clubface down the middle of the fairway (it will be closed relative to your hips and shoulders).
Next take your grip (you should experiment with a stronger grip).
Now just try to hit the ball down the left hand rough but don't try to manipulate the clubface and don't try to "look for the ball" until it's been hit.
Maybe get a slight sense of hitting out to the left and not trying to hit down the middle (or you'll try to cut across the ball).

If you still fade the ball then try again but strengthen the grip a bit.

It's important to setup first then grip. If you grip first then you'll end up with the face open as usual.

I'm not sure why you changed from 10.5 deg regular to 9.5 stiff as both of these won't help a slice/fade.

Watch a good player setup and notice the timing and shape of their swing.

Sorry, diff thread for that one a few weeks ago ha, i got that because the cheapy driver i had was a high launch jobbie and seemed to go into the heavens, have a pretty fast swing too so just felt the stiff shaft and 9.5 was a better option, cheers for the advice, il try it tmrw at the range

sector

one thought during a golf swing only or it gets random.

anyway the one thought you need now is the classic 7 o'clock to 1. (just to clarify, clock is 6 o'clock at impacT, with a perfectly hit shot coming in at 6 & out at 12...)

think of a circle around the ball at address as you look down (assuming tee shot for simplicity), you want to hit inward and outward (nobody emphasises the out enough) at a 7 o'clock to 1 o'clock in relation to the analogue clock face.

I was the same, at first, when you get it, it will feel like you've hooked the ball but then you'll look up & it's straight, or maybe a gentle fade to begin with. anyway don't hit em all full power until you've sussed it cos it can be real annoying! (as in you'll naturally try to melt em, well i did anyway and this can lead to just another well struck slice!) let us know how u get on

Tones69

Gonna try it out tmrw at range first then play my first stableford comp at 5, let you know

k.p.h

You need to look up the ball flight laws tones. They explain why the ball curves the way it dose. Simply put the ball starts travelling the way the clubface is pointed and then curves the way it is spinning. The spin is put on the ball by the path of the club.

Lets say for instance your ball starts off where you are aiming and the curves to the left. That means your clubface hit the ball the direction you were aiming but you cut across the ball with your swing path. This would mean you have to work on your swing path and to try get it coming from the inside.

A word of warning.. changing your grip won't change your swing path. Lots of people recommend it as a fix but it won't work or hold up, I know from experience.Their are lots of simple fix's offered as advice to fix this problem as every golfer suffered from a fade/slice at some stage and a lot of it is useless. I still suffer from it and it's a severe pain in the you know what. The only way to fix it is to start building a swing with solid fundamentals that attacks the ball from the inside.

Worth getting your hands on a copy of Ben Hogans 5 fundamentals book for what its worth.

Tones69

k.p.h wrote: »

You need to look up the ball flight laws tones. They explain why the ball curves the way it dose. Simply put the ball starts travelling the way the clubface is pointed and then curves the way it is spinning. The spin is put on the ball by the path of the club.

Lets say for instance your ball starts off where you are aiming and the curves to the left. That means your clubface hit the ball the direction you were aiming but you cut across the ball with your swing path. This would mean you have to work on your swing path and to try get it coming from the inside.

A word of warning.. changing your grip won't change your swing path. Lots of people recommend it as a fix but it won't work or hold up, I know from experience.Their are lots of simple fix's offered as advice to fix this problem as every golfer suffered from a fade/slice at some stage and a lot of it is useless. I still suffer from it and it's a severe pain in the you know what. The only way to fix it is to start building a swing with solid fundamentals that attacks the ball from the inside.

Worth getting your hands on a copy of Ben Hogans 5 fundamentals book for what its worth.

Thanks dude, yeah i know why its happening, im obviously coming across the ball instead of going straight through it and thats whats causing the ball to spin that way, its just correcting it isnt as easy at it sounds me thinks, il get it eventually

k.p.h

Yeah it's a pain in the arse really. Thing is i would say start tackling it now I played for 18 months just trying to control it and compensating. It worked OK in a sense that I could aim so far out and still get it landing in the right general area but it takes a lot of distance off which is obviously a disadvantage. When I finally decided to sort it out I had so many compensations in my swing that it was really hard to fix. Actually I had so many compensations it basically felt like square one when I tried to hit it properly haha I'm still recovering from that realization, and not doing too much better :rolleyes:

I like what sector say's about hitting the 7 o clock area of the ball. For me a great help has been the idea you hit the back quarter of the ball that is closest to you. Forces you to come for the inside. Best of luck anyway dude

NoelAPM

I'd make sure your swing plane is on track. The club should stay on the same plane it starts on Throughout the swing. And most importantly should come back down to the ball the same way it left it.

alxmorgan

One thing to look at aswell is how close you stand to the ball.
I've focused on standing further away and while it takes getting used to it has definitely improved my slice/fade.

snowy666

alxmorgan wrote: »

One thing to look at aswell is how close you stand to the ball.
I've focused on standing further away and while it takes getting used to it has definitely improved my slice/fade.

This. Was actually about to post the same! When you're too close to the ball, your trailing shoulder can force you too 'cast' at the ball and come over the top. This cutting across the ball will make you slice all day long. the guys above are all correct in the 'in to out' swing path, but to do that, you're setup has to be better, with better angles. It gives your shoulders space to rotate around properly and also takes away almost ny possiblity of coming over the top.

moycullen14

Absolutely. An inbuilt deficiency in the driving swing is a pain in the h*le. A slice is less destructive than a hook but having to aim way left to compensate for the slice that's coming is highly unsatisfactory - never mind the distance you lose - the ball is landing and running at an angle to fairway/green that makes control almost impossible. Get someone to video your swing from behind (a mobile phone will do) and the plane of your swing will become obvious. Something simple like pushing your hands forward, rotating your right hand, standing more forward or placing your left foot closer to the ball than the right one will 'readjust' your swing plane. If you're slicing the clubhead is not perpendicular to its path. You have two things to sort out. Plenty of videos on youtube that should help.

Tones69

Will take the advice on board, wish me luck in the stableford later fingers crossed for no lost balls or triple bogeys

Tones69

Still fading the drives but not losing any balls or anything crazy, just losing distance as when it landes it bounces to the left instead of straight ahead, great for dogleg lefts but as said i need to learn how to draw the ball too, happy enough with the 27 pts in the comp

stockdam

It will take a long time to learn how to shape the ball the other way; but learning how to draw the ball is a much better attitude than learning how to live with a slice.

Tones69

stockdam wrote: »

It will take a long time to learn how to shape the ball the other way; but learning how to draw the ball is a much better attitude than learning how to live with a slice.

Oh yeah deffo, i dont wanna have to always aim out to the right in hope that itl swing back to the left, grand for long dogleg lefts mind you

TheGrump

One thing I've noticed is that a lot of people who aim down the left side (for a right hander) to allow for there slice, have actually opened their stance and their shoulders still point down the middle. This actually promotes the slice and makes matters worse. It's worth checking out when you aim down one side of the fairway.

rafared

Tones69 wrote: »

Still fading the drives but not losing any balls or anything crazy, just losing distance as when it landes it bounces to the left instead of straight ahead, great for dogleg lefts but as said i need to learn how to draw the ball too, happy enough with the 27 pts in the comp

Download Brian Manzellas "never slice again". It will be the best 20$ you ever spend on golf.

http://www.brianmanzella.com/shop/

PARlance

TheGrump wrote: »

One thing I've noticed is that a lot of people who aim down the left side (for a right hander) to allow for there slice, have actually opened their stance and their shoulders still point down the middle. This actually promotes the slice and makes matters worse. It's worth checking out when you aim down one side of the fairway.

Yip that was me

mr.mickels

Harry Bradshaw was asked by a journo how does he hit a draw or a fade at will on any tee, as Bradshaw was known for being good at shaping the ball-flight either way at will. His answer should be of great help to the OP.

"When I want to hit draw I thinks draw, and when I want to hit fade I thinks fade" came the sound reply!!!