Why The Clubface Position Can Help You Shape Shots!!

Now once you've learnt the basics of swinging the club, you'll soon learn how to shape shots. It's actually a lot easier than you would think. The two shots that are available to you when shaping shots are draws and fades. To be honest these shots once learnt, are actually easier than hitting straight shots. There are two methods used commonly when executing these shots with one being dependant on body position and the other on clubface.

The traditional method is where you would aim the clubface at where you want the ball to finish and then aim your body at where you want the ball to start. You would then ensure you swung on the direction of your feet to ensure the ball started in the desired direction. This method is very good and is quite an accurate way of curving the ball the required amount.

The other method is simply using the clubface to help dictate path. Most players have a hard time applying the correct swing path required. Therefore when using the clubface to help you, you could simply 'open' the face at the set-up when playing a draw. This is because when trying to execute a draw you need your path to travel from in to out. That means the path should be travelling to the right through impact. Therefore when the face is open it will help you in having a path that travels more to the right through impact. Have the face open can also help you in feeling the swing work more around the body instead of being too steep. Just a note you do want to be actively rotating the clubface through the ball to ensure the draw.

The opposite is also true when trying to play a fade. You could simply have the face aiming left at the start, as to play a fade, the path needs to be more out to in. This means the path needs to exit more left through the ball. Also with the face aiming more left, this will help you swing steeper on the backswing as the body will adjust for the difference in clubface angle. Just like the fade, you just want to feel the clubface stay open more through impact.

If you'd like help in shaping shots, just send me a message.