Shot shaping with driver

There are clearly times where working the ball one direction or another makes sense, assuming you have some confidence and competence to hit it. I play a draw on almost all my shots and know that my mishits will either go short or farther left from the target which is helpful in disaster avoidance. The little time I attempt a fade is if there is a tree in my way and I want to get to the green (or close by) knowing that getting closer to the hole from a SG risk/reward sense. I also play a fade when I have a significant side hill lie with the ball below my feet albeit I’d be happy if the shot ended up going straight and I’m trying to be more fade-like in my swing path to avoid the heel digging into the hillside. I’m less likely these days to hit fade when there is a large cross-wind but I think that may be a legitimate strategy as well.

As a huge @Adamyounggolf fan, I think regardless of whether you take it out on the course, it’s worth practicing shaping to get a feel for it and to train your body to make micro-corrections when you swing. I’ve rapidly improved my strikes by doing shot shaping, purposefully hitting on the toe and heel, and all the tools in the differential toolbox and it’s helped a lot.

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I don’t really think about shot shape with driver too much. My swing patch usually is going to produce a draw, but with my driver setup (and the way the club is designed) I really don’t want to curve the ball too much. I don’t get nearly as much bend on the ball with driver vs my irons. So when I tee it up I’m just aiming in the middle of where I want my dispersion. Some are going to go left, and others to the right.

One think I definitely don’t do anymore is try to hit cuts. It doesn’t pay off for me, and I’m not sure most golfers will “profit” from trying to work the ball with the driver in both directions.

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I’m in a weird place with my driver… the rest of my game is back to its prior level or pretty close… my driver isn’t in the same zip code…

I’ve always faded the ball… finally felt comfortable with driver and it was drawing… can’t find the fairway on the course, even if my contact is decent…

I think it’s partially a commitment issue… it’s hard for me to aim right and commit to a draw, just goes against all my instincts…

I’m struggling with what to do moving forward… I’m thinking I’m just going to crank the face open, and try to keep my hands open and play the fade…

What I did today certainly didn’t work!

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When I took up golf, 48 years ago, my natural shape was cut/fade. In a series of lessons a couple decades ago (an entirely new thread on that…) I was taught to draw the ball. Late last season, and into this season, I’ve been re-committing to opening my stance a bit and fade.

I’ve found that a slightly open stance allows me to clear hips more effectively. I also get a feeling of freer swinging with open stance/push fade. I’ve found that with smallish stance adjustments, I can make the same swing and hit baby fades or baby draws. As mentioned above, there is a small psychological plus knowing that you can put two different swings on the ball, whether you actually need to or not.

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I just want to hit it one direction… fade or draw is fine, I just need to be confident in it…

I’m just not used to hitting a draw and worry about getting too handsy with it… but it would probably give me better launch conditions as I need lower launch and spin.

I’m really not sure… I just have 0 confidence in the tee box right now.

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I know. I was like that with my repeatable draw, until it became unrepeatable. The zip driving confidence in my draw on some holes, as well as some flexibility issues pushed me to try the push-fade. Being able to somewhat hit these is “freeing”.

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