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My natural shot is a fade. I don't have a problem hitting (or feeling) a high, normal, or low fade.

However, I have no feel, but I can hit a draw. With a 5-iron, I can hit a low draw and chase it about 120-150 yards. My typical 5-iron goes about 200 yards.

How do I hit a high draw? I think it's a cool shot, and I want to be more comfortable when I attempt to hit a draw in general.

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That is more than a cool shot. It's beautiful! – Ste Aug 10 '12 at 16:40
@Ste Gorgeous even! – edmastermind29♦ Aug 10 '12 at 16:52

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A draw (or hook for those who can't control it) is accomplished by squaring the clubface perpendicular to the line of your body, then swinging from inside to out. As the clubhead moves from the left to the right (for a right-handed golfer) across the ball, it will induce the sidespin that makes the ball curve left.

To do this, raise your backswing, and think about swinging down, then out at the ball as you swing through. Be careful to still strike the ball with the sweet spot; if you hit off the toe, it'll push or worse. Another method is to move the ball towards your trailing foot, and close the clubface slightly; the clubhead will move in a circle, and so its tangent direction further back in the swing will be more outward. However, the further back you move it, the higher the clubface will be in its arc at impact, so the ball will launch lower; if you want a "high" draw, you're going to want the ball to be more forward in your stance, so you hit it as you come up out of the bottom of the swing.

If this is a tee shot, you may also tee it a bit higher to add some loft; the more of the club that's under the ball when it hits, the higher the ball will launch. Don't go crazy high, though, or the club can pass right under the ball, obliterate the tee, and send the ball pretty much straight up.

Understand the clubface must remain square to the ball. If you open the clubface, you'll bring it in line with the swing path and the result will be a straight push. If you close it, you'll launch the ball left and it will curve "lefter"; a "snap hook".

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Found time to go to the range today. It doesn't go as high or draw as much as I want to. However, I'll be working on this shot and get some reps in. – edmastermind29♦ Aug 11 '12 at 16:16
I think the high-draw 8-iron would launch about the same as a straight 7-iron, because at impact the 8-iron would be slightly closed relative to its swing path thus imparting less backspin, more sidespin. I deleted my comment to re-format it so I'll simply restate: the amount of sidespin is actually a function of the difference between the swing path and clubface angles. The shot will draw (curve inside) when the swing path is outside the clubface angle. You get much more radical angles (more curve) by closing the clubface; the problem is that a closed clubface launches lower and to the left. – KeithS Aug 13 '12 at 17:18
One thing I used to do is set my feet for a fade, then open my clubface. I used to be appaled that it would push rather than fade... No wonder why my attempt at draws were knee-high at best with this thinking. Would you prefer to focus on where your feet or your club is pointing at address? (we know that we cannot do both or that would lead to a pull or push) – edmastermind29♦ Aug 13 '12 at 17:22
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So, if you want the highest, straightest-launching draw you can get, you want a square clubface. You can go higher by opening the clubface, but that then requires you to swing even further outside, first to simply get enough sidespin to curve the ball inside, and second to overcome the initial outside launch. If you go this route, I would also open your stance, which would aim the ball more toward your side of it at address. – KeithS Aug 13 '12 at 17:24
You actually do have to focus on both. Unfortunately, "open" and "closed" are subjective terms, and it's the combination of the relative openness or closure of various parts of your stance and swing that determine how the clubface is pointing and moving when it hits. Basically, the higher you want it, the more open the clubface has to be (or the deeper under the ball you will have to get), but the more open the clubface is, the more outside it will launch and the less spin your inside-out path will induce. So, you have to keep the clubface angle pointing left of the swing path no matter what. – KeithS Aug 13 '12 at 17:37
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up vote 3 down vote

Hitting a controlled draw in golf isn't as simple as just making a setup change, at least not if you want to hit an effective and consistent draw that gets up in the air. A draw will tend to fly lower because there is less dynamic loft on the clubface at impact, so you need to change your swing plane and path if you want to hit the longer clubs like the driver with a proper draw.

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From Golf.com:

"...requires a wide, shallow swing path. Place the ball forward in your stance, off your left armpit, which will allow you to take greater advantage of the upward path of your driver at impact, and close your stance about an inch to invite a right-to-left ball flight. During the takeaway, focus on keeping your hands in front of your body all the way up to the top — this will prevent you from taking the club up and down on a steep path, which is a killer when you're trying to hit a high shot... And there's no need to turn your right arm over your left at impact in an effort to impart draw spin to the ball — your slightly closed stance will take care of that."

There are a few more tips on that page, but I think this is the gist of it.

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Do you have any experience of your own you would like to add? – edmastermind29♦ Aug 10 '12 at 14:54
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I'm not a great player by any stretch of the imagination, and honestly haven't really tried to work on this shot. But conceptually it sounds good and makes complete sense to me. – Matt Aug 10 '12 at 14:57
Likewise. My issue is not being able to feel the shot. It is so unnatural to me. I've watched instructional videos and practiced...and I've come a long way. This makes sense to me also, but the fact that my swing is mental and mechanical on draw shots is what gets me. – edmastermind29♦ Aug 10 '12 at 15:01
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Matt, this would 100x better if you could add some more commentary, maybe even summarize another tip or two from that page. – wax eagle Aug 10 '12 at 15:07
@Matt What if I want to hit a draw with an iron (see "cool shot" in question)? How would you "close your stance?" – edmastermind29♦ Aug 10 '12 at 15:25

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