Re: Ball flight?

I've seen this school of thought.

The logic behind it is that you're intentionally trying to do something with every shot, versus 'hoping it goes straight'.

The more I think about it, the more it kind of makes sense.

The other thing that rattles around in my brain is that we all have a natural shot shape, and so perhaps we need to play it.

Re: Ball flight?

Thanks LowPost, The trying to do something with every shot is kinda what I thought they where getting at, on a forum last summer a poster was scolding everyone that you should never hit a straight shot. I tend to fade, but always
try to hit it straight.

Re: Ball flight?

I generally play the same way. I allow for some left to right ball movement, but play that if I happen to have it go straight, I'm OK, too.

In other words, if the ball comes draw side, I'm pooched!

Re: Ball flight?

Whats wrong with straight?

Re: Ball flight?

I forget who said it, but the quote is 'if you hit a straight one, you've done something wrong'.

Re: Ball flight?

hi
the hardest shot in golf is hitting it straight, Jack Nicholas said that and he fades most shots.
the club head has to come into the ball square and the ball leave the face of the club square. to do this repeatbly is very hard, even for the top pro golfers.
hitting a fade or a draw lets you have some error and still get away with the shot.
if hitting a fade the the ball will spin from left to right. the ball will be fading towards the target you are aiming at. it the same with a draw, it turns right to left. if you have a bunker on the right fairway then aim at the bunker and hit your draw and you know the ball will be moving away from the bunker and towards the fairway.
if you try and hit it straight and hit it off just a little you dont know if the ball will fade or draw and if your aiming for the middle of the fairway then any error in the face of the club hitting the ball will fade or draw the ball and the ball will be moving away from your target and not towards it and you never know if it will go a bit right or left. if you set up for a fade then you know if you hit the ball bad then it goes straight and dont fade if it fades a little then its ok if it fades a lot then most times its still Ok but on the far right side of the fairway.
i know i can hit a fade all day and only hit one or two shots that are not on target. if i tried hitting straight with a driver i would be all over the couse and have no real idea where the ball would end up. with a fade i can bet on it being close to where i want it to be.
cheers
bill

Re: Ball flight?

If you have hit a straight one you have done something perfectly right

Re: Ball flight?

hi Brian
yes your right, but how many of us can hit a ball perfectly every time. i know that the pro golfers cant that why most play a fade or draw as there bread and butter shot, with say a 7 iron you can hit it straight as the backspin overpowers the side spin. you also find commentaters often say someone had hit it it straight down the middle but if you had been behind the golfer you would of seen the ball fade or draw. Lee Trevino is often said to be one of the straightest hitter in golf and almost all his shot faded some.
i dont know of any pro golfers that dont fade or draw with there driver and long irons. some are said to be straight but when you view the ball you always find some turn, its the percentage shot hitting a fade or a draw.
cheers
bill

Re: Ball flight?

I don't disagree with that Bill, I am only making the observation that hitting the ball straight or trying to hit it straight is OK. Most of my standard iron shots fly fairly straight. OK, I know that there may be a little draw or fade but generally it is not perceivable, they may sometimes be a straight push or pull but fairly straight all the same. I need to be deliberate to hit a fade or draw with them. I don't like hitting fades so compensate and try to draw my driver where I can unless a fade or slice is required.

Re: Ball flight?

hi Brian
someone like you that has fast hands and turns the club at impact are much better at hitting a small draw, someone like me with a lot of hips and not wrist turn are much better suited to hitting a fade, we all have a type of shot the fits us and it down to using what your body does naturaly and not trying to do things that feel unnatural. with the newer drivers most have a little draw built into them and some look closed when setting up but some dont but still are closed at little.
all clubs put spin on the ball and it using the spin to help your game that what most pros do.
ever since they put dimples on a golf ball the games been about spin. with the shorter irons its about back spin but with the longer irons and woods its about side spin and controling it. hitting a ball with no or almost no side spin is so very hard to do and thats why the pros use a fade or draw, to know what way the ball will spin and have that ball spinning toward the target. if you have no idea what way a ball will spin when you hit it then how do you control it toward the target. if a ball turns 10 feet to the right in the air then that a fade. it dont have to turn much to still be a draw or a fade. if its over 30 feet of turn then its a slice or a draw to me. most of my drives move about 15 feet from where the balls starts out to where it first lands.
cheers
bill

Re: Ball flight?

Well here is what is wrong with straight. Unless you do hit it straight then you WILL be moving the ball away from your target. So if the ball will move either left, right or straight, then you will be missing two of the three shots. If you work the ball either left of right, you eliminate one of these sides and you will be always moving towards the target. Even if you overdo it, you still will end up closer to the target, then if you had hit it straight.

Re: Ball flight?

Go Navy,

I made that comment tongue in cheek, thus the smiley. I picked it up from a remark once made by Veejay.

However, a draw 15 yards off target that was meant to be on target will be 15 yards off target, the same for a draw and the fact it's bending it will probably be more in the rough or trees. I have not suggested that players should not fade or draw, just as I wouldn't suggest not hitting it straight, there are penalties and gains with both of them (draws lower flight fades higher, loss of power due to more of an oblique hit, etc) just the same as straight shots have penalties and rewards

Re: Ball flight?

hi Brian
i agree with what you say and it up to the player to find out what works best for him, its just there are not many of us that can hit the ball straight every time or even most of the time and its easer to play with a fade or a draw and most player's can play with say a fade and fade every shot in a round.

Trevino said, "If you know a guy that can hit the ball straight then let me know and i'll payroll the guy to get on the PGA and and give up golf and live well on the intrest i make on this guy."
cheers
bill

Re: Ball flight?

Push is the miss for the draw, and a pull is the miss for the fade ... the side is not eliminated. Don't forget the hook for the draw-er and the slice for the fade-er ... these also happen even at the pro level ... just ask Tiger.

Aiming straight ... I would think ... the worst that can happen is a push or a pull. So long as the clubface is square to the target, a push or pull will correct to some degree.

3 cents ... darn inflation.