Golf strategy 3 Nov 2026 10 min read

How Do You Hit Draws and Fades When You Need Them?

To hit draws and fades, give the ball a clear starting direction, match the clubface and swing direction to that curve, then check whether the shot does what you intended. For a right-handed golfer, a draw curves right to left and a fade curves left to right. The useful skill is making that shape fit the shot in front of you.

Kyle’s iron lesson with Piers Ward brings those pieces together. Kyle could already strike the ball well, but an intended draw that faded could leave him in trouble. He also had a hard left miss. Piers helped him find a setup for each shape, use a clear picture of the flight and develop a way to choose a shape for each shot.

Why the wrong shape causes trouble

If you aim right expecting a draw, you have allowed room for the ball to turn left. A shot that fades from that starting direction can finish farther right than you planned. That was one of Kyle’s concerns. At the other extreme, too much draw could become a sharp left miss.

Before changing anything, separate where the ball starts, which way it curves and how you strike it. Those are three useful pieces of feedback. One early shot in Kyle’s lesson moved left to right, and he described the contact as thin. A change in curve and a poor strike need more thought than simply aiming farther away from the trouble.

Piers could see that Kyle already had a lot that worked. His approach was to improve the predictability of the shot while keeping Kyle’s useful natural release. That matters when you try the ideas below: the amount of alignment change that suits one golfer may be too much for another.

What makes the ball draw or fade?

Keep three directions separate: the target line, the direction the clubface points and the direction the club travels through the strike.

The face has the main influence on where the ball starts; the face relative to the club path helps determine its curve.

For the right-handed draw Piers explains, the face can point slightly right of the target while the club travels farther right than the face. The face is then open to the target but closed relative to the path. That relationship gives the ball a chance to start right and curve back left.

For a fade that starts left and curves right, reverse those relationships: the face points left of the target, while the club travels farther left than the face. The face is therefore open relative to that path, even though it points left of the target.

This explains why pointing the face straight at the flag can be awkward when you want a draw. If the ball starts at the flag and then curves left, the curve takes it away from your finish target.

The setup is a way to encourage those relationships. It does not guarantee the exact face and path you deliver at impact. Judge the actual start and curve, and remember that wind can alter the flight you see. The left and right instructions here describe Kyle’s right-handed shots; a left-handed golfer reverses them.

How do you build a repeatable draw?

Start with a target and a visible start-line reference. Piers gives Kyle a line through the flag and ball, then asks him to start the ball right of the reference and draw it back. The task is specific enough to judge after each shot.

Use alignment aids only in a suitable practice area and keep them clear of the club’s swing. You need a reference you can see, without placing an object where the club could hit it.

Kyle’s successful draw setup had two important ingredients:

1. Point the clubface a little right of the finish target.
2. Aim the body farther right than the face, then commit to starting the ball right and turning it left.

Piers had noticed that Kyle aimed his body farther right on an earlier successful draw than on the following attempts. Recreating that setup helped him return to the intended shape.

Kyle releases the club actively and can close the face quickly. For him, a face aimed slightly right gave him permission to release without feeling that every committed swing would go left. Copy the reason for that adjustment as carefully as the adjustment itself. If your pattern is different, the same amount of rightward aim may not help.

After the shot, ask whether it started in the intended window, curved left and had solid contact. A ball finishing right is not automatically a failed draw: in Kyle’s crosswind, a modest draw could be held to the right. Look at the curve as well as the finish.

How do you build a repeatable fade?

Give the fade an equally clear task: start it left and make it curve right. For Kyle, Piers works with the face slightly left of the target and the body farther left, encouraging a swing direction left of the face.

The amount of change needs testing. Kyle initially sets up very open. Piers asks for a less aggressive setup before making another change. When Kyle asks whether he should weaken his grip, Piers says not yet. They first explore what alignment and the shot picture can produce with his existing release.

That gives you a useful practice decision. If the fade is not behaving, check its start line and the amount of alignment change before adding a new grip thought. In Kyle’s case, the draw and fade did not require identical amounts of exaggeration in opposite directions.

His fade delivery also looked steeper than his draw. Piers accepted that as a functional way for Kyle to create the shot. A different delivery for a different intended flight does not, by itself, mean the swing needs correcting.

When should you use each shape?

Choose the shot by looking at the wind, the ground and the trouble. Then allow enough room for the shot you can realistically produce.

With a left-to-right wind, Piers considers a draw that works against it. The intention is to hold the flight in a more useful area, while allowing for how that choice affects distance. There is no fixed yardage adjustment to copy from the lesson.

Change the pin position and the decision may change. A back-right flag, space on the green and a helpful slope can make a fade with that same wind a sensible option. You are now using the conditions and landing area rather than trying to resist them.

Trouble is another part of the choice. If the ball’s intended curve works away from a hazard, that may give you a more comfortable shot. You still need room for your normal misses. Do not make a hazard your starting target unless your shot pattern leaves an appropriate margin.

Kyle already thought about draw or fade with his driver. Piers encourages him to make that decision for iron shots too. You can also learn how to choose a repeatable driver shape when you want a dependable option from the tee.

Predictability here means producing the direction of curve you planned. It helps you make a decision, but it does not guarantee a safe finish. A draw that turns too much can still miss the green.

How can you practise both shapes?

Give each attempt a shot picture and a feedback check. Kyle’s tennis experience helped him imagine different flights, rather than trying to assemble a long list of swing positions. His imagined fade trace was red. That was a personal cue that made the shot vivid for him; you can use whatever clear picture helps you see the intended flight.

Build your practice around this sequence:

1. Choose the finish target and the curve you intend to use.
2. Establish a target-line reference and a starting window in a suitable practice area.
3. Set the face and body for that task, using the draw or fade relationships above.
4. Picture the start and curve, then play the shot.
5. Check the start direction, curve and contact before changing another ingredient.
6. Switch shape when you can give the next attempt a clear intention. Then imagine a course situation and explain why you would choose it.

You can explore our Training Aid products for your practice sessions. Keep the purpose of any aid clear: it should help you check the task you are working on.

Video or app feedback can add another check. In Kyle’s lesson, Piers positions Swing Coach parallel to the target and selects feedback for the club at delivery. That lets them compare the delivery label with the intended flight and actual strike.

An on-plane report is not a promise that the ball will curve correctly or that contact will be solid. Piers explains that the app uses a corridor. Keep those delivery-plane labels separate from clubface or path measurements at impact and from launch-monitor ball-flight data. If you are researching launch-monitor equipment, you can explore Full Swing.

What did Kyle’s two shapes look like?

The draw work gave Kyle two useful reference examples. An earlier recorded attempt displayed “Club Steep By Two”; a later draw displayed “Club Shallow By One.” The comparison below shows the club and app reference at a similar delivery stage in those two iron swings.

Those are Kyle’s lesson examples, not numbers every golfer should chase. The stills do not establish the exact impact path, the whole motion or a lasting result. They give Kyle a visual reference to compare with his shot intention and ball flight.

Later, Piers reviews the draw and fade from the same camera position. Kyle’s fade reports “steep by five,” while his draw is on plane or slightly shallow. These are two intended shots with different recipes. The steeper delivery was part of his fade recipe.

Piers and Kyle also report more consistent contact during the later sequence. What Kyle can take away is a clearer task for each shape and a way to check it. Keep testing your own start line, curve and strike as you take the idea from practice to the course.

For delivery feedback during your practice, explore Swing Coach.

If you would like in-person coaching, explore our MMG golf schools. For course information, visit The Grand Golf Club at Fairmont Grand Del Mar.