Lesson 10 --Drawing the Ball. (Changed -29/12/2006)

The ability to create a draw shot is a big advantage when you require the ball to bend to the left, for example, if you need to bend the ball around the corner of a dog leg hole or if you need to bend the ball around a tree that is directly in line to the target point.

To make a golf ball bend to the left, it requires the ball to leave the tee peg with a very fast anti-clockwise spinning motion.

Therefore to impart any sideways spin on the golf ball, you need to alter the swing path of the golf swing so that it causes the clubface to cut across surface of the ball.

To make the ball spin in an anti-clockwise motion, the swing path must be adjusted so that when the clubhead makes contact with the ball it is moving across the surface of the ball on an "in to out" swing path.

The swing pattern that is required to create a draw shot is identical to the swing that is required to hit the ball straight. --The only difference is the way that you set up your body at the address position and the adjustment that you need to make to realign the club face.

The set up that the golfer has to adopt in order to play a draw shot requires the shoulders and the feet to be aligned to a point that is to the right of the actual target area.

Because of this "closed" set up at the address position, most high handicapped golfers find it difficult to draw the ball, this is because the golfer is actually facing slightly away from the target area, although only by a few degrees, but this psychologically affects the golfer and can lead to the head being lifted early so that the golfer can see where the ball is going.

The Set Up

Set up your body with the shoulders, hips and the feet "Parallel to the Target Line", as if you are to play a golf shot that you intend to go straight.

Look down at the area where your feet are placed and also look at the position of the ball on the tee peg, you will notice that if you first of all draw a line between the feet and then draw a line from the the ball to each of the feet, you will see that the three lines form a triangle.

Using the ball position as the pivotal point of the triangle and whilst strictly maintaining the angles between both feet and the ball, shuffle the feet around the pivotal point to the left, until your whole stance is facing to the right of the original stance.

Your body position at this point will indicate that the feet and the shoulders are now both aligned to a point that is aiming to the right of the target area.

If you carried out your normal swing with out any adjustment to the club face, the ball would fly in the direction that your body is aligned, which is to the right of the actual target area.

This is the correct set up in order to play a draw shot. --- The only adjustment you now need to make is to slightly close the clubface.

The Swing

The actual mechanics of the golf swing required to create the required draw shot is exactly the same as if you were to hit the ball in a straight line, you do not have to make any adjustment to your swing.

The only adjustment that you need to make is to close the club face a few degrees so that face of the golf club is aiming at a point that is in between the line that your shoulders and feet are aligned - and the actual target area.

Because you have set up your body with the shoulders and the feet aligned to a point that is the right of the actual target, this means that the revised swing path will cause the club face to be cutting across the ball at the point of contact.

The whole swing process must be focused on maintaining the swing path that follows the alignment of your shoulders and the feet.

Therefore it is important that at the end of the swing process, the body must be facing towards the point that the shoulders and the feet were aligned - and not facing the actual target area that you intend the ball to finish.

The other point to consider is that when you select a golf club in order to play a draw shot, you must allow for the fact that the clubface of the club that you would normally choose to hit a ball a given distance, will effectively be slightly de-lofted -- this means that the de-lofted club face will cause the ball to fly on a lower trajectory and therefore the ball will run further upon landing.

Therefore in order to compensate for the extra distance that the ball will travel you will need to use a club face that has a higher degree of loft.

So remember, the swing action that you must use to "draw" the ball, is identical to the swing that you learnt during in Lessons 3,4,5.

The only difference is that you must set up your body at the address position in order to alter the swing path, so that the swing path cuts across the "Straight to the Target line" which imparts a sideways spin on the golf ball.

When you practice the swing in order to to draw the ball remember:-

1) To rotate the "Upper Body" (as taught in lesson 2)

2) Keep the head slightly behind the ball and also in the "Fixed Frontal" condition"

3) Watch the ball until the club head makes contact.

Please Note.

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