Drawing a golf ball can seem extremely hard to average golfers. Bad habits formed when you learned how to golf and an over-the-top swing are the two main culprits for this. But in this guide, we’ll show you 3 different ways on how to hit a draw in golf.
These methods are used and taught by some of the best golf instructors on the internet today:
- Chris Ryan
- Scratch Golf Academy
- Pete Styles
These videos helped me learn how to hit a draw and improve my golf game and I think they’ll be helpful to you too. Follow the videos at home with a club in your hand and then head out to the driving range to practice in real list.
What is a Draw in Golf?
A draw shot is one of the most popular shots hit by professional golfers. The reason for this is that it is a fairly easy shot to hit and can provide more distance on your shots.
Learning to hit a draw is not overly difficult, but you should be confident in your overall ball striking ability before attempting to curve your shots. This is why most beginner and higher handicap players don’t usually rely on drawing the ball until they are more confident with their golf swing in general.
A lot of amateur players have a natural slice (also called a fade shot) to their swing. Understanding how to hit a draw in golf can help you hit straight shots in general and help you get rid of your slice.
Right Handed Golfer
For a right handed player, a draw is where the golf ball starts out right and curves to the left. This is in contrast to a slice or a push, where the ball starts right and continues in that direction.
The chart below illustrates each golf shot for a right handed golfer.
Left Handed Golfer
For left handed golfers a draw is where the ball starts left and curves to the right. The chart below illustrates shots for a left handed golfer.
Golf Draw Equipment and Aids
In addition to the tutorials on how to hit a draw in golf ball, there are a number of golf equipment adjustments, swing aids, and accessories you can buy to help you out.
Draw Weighted Golf Clubs
Some golf clubs, drivers especially, are sold in “high draw” varieties. Three popular examples are:
- TaylorMade Stealth HD (High Draw) (Full Review)
- Callaway Rogue ST MAX D (Full Review)
- Cobra LTDX MAX (Full Review)
These golf clubs have extra tungsten weights in the heel of the club, which does two things:
- This weight helps promote better turnover in your club at impact so that you can hit that elusive draw shot more easily.
- The sweet spot on the club gets shifted to the heel so that you can hit a straighter ball even if your clubface is open at impact.
Amateur golfers should take advantage of this technology to help fix your swing.
Swing Plane Trainers
Swing plane trainers can help you visualize and feel what a proper golf swing should look like. Go and take a video of your swing and compare it to the swing of any professional golfer. If you see more than subtle differences, then a swing plane trainer is right for you.
The Swing Plane Perfector below is one example that can help you improve your swing.
At-Home Practice Simulators
Practice makes perfect in golf and a simulator at home can help you work on your swing any day of the week. Plus, you can get a working home simulator for a lot less than you think.
The Phigolf is a good indoor simulator that is quick to setup and can track your swing speed and club path.
If you have a bit more money, then the OptiShot 2 with a golf hitting net is another great option for practicing at home.
We have a complete guide of the best golf simulators for home where you can see dozens of other options.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hitting a Draw
Why is a draw an important shot to be able to hit?
A draw is an important golf shot to hit because if you can master it, it can be a very consistent shot to hit. It is also easier to limit the damage on mis-hits as you can expect the ball to curve to some degree towards your intended target. Lastly, hitting a draw can help add distance to your shots.
Most draw shots have less backspin on the ball, which means wind will be less of a factor and help the ball travel that much further.
Where should I aim when I want to draw the ball?
Where you aim a draw shot depends on if you are a right handed or a left handed golfer. If you are a right handed golfer, you will want to aim right of your desired target at impact. If you are a left handed golfer, you will want to aim left of your desired target because the ball curves from left to right.
A perfect and consistent draw will curve the golf ball from right to left.
Should my grip be different when hitting a draw?
As a rule of thumb, you should try and have a strong grip when attempting to hit a draw in golf. What this means is rolling your right hand away from you if you are a right handed golfer. If you are a left handed golfer, roll your left hand away from you.
By rolling your top hand underneath the club, you’ll have a stronger grip and it encourages your wrists to rollover at impact to cause the curve during your ball flight.
If you have weak grip pressure, you will be unable to turn your hands over effectively to hit your draw shot. This is a common mistake that you should work on out on the golf course.
Should my foot position be different when hitting a draw?
As a right handed golfer, you will draw the ball better if your left foot is one to two inches above your right foot. This means that once you are set up in front of the ball, slightly move your right foot back.
As a left handed golfer, this means having your left foot be one to two inches below your right foot. What this does is change the swing ever so slightly so that you are coming across the body and hitting the ball with a closed clubface at impact. This will promote a gentle draw shot towards your desired target.
What should my club face be during a draw?
In order to execute a draw, you will want your club face to be in the closed position at impact. Your grip and foot position are very important elements in promoting a closed clubface at impact and getting a draw ball flight.
Should my swing path change during a draw?
In order to properly create a draw in golf, you must impact the ball with an inside-out swing path. This means taking a more inside takeaway and then pushing outwards on the downswing. What this type of swing path generates is a rollover of the wrists at impact to promote a closed club face.
When the club face in the closed position strikes the ball at impact, it promotes a draw on the ball with a right to left shot as a right handed golfer and a left to right shot as a left handed golfer.
Overall, the draw is a basic shot in golf that you should learn when you become more comfortable with the game. If getting the perfect draw sounds hard, don’t worry. We’ll break down three different methods below, along with videos for each, that will teach you how to hit a draw shot on a consistent basis.
Each video will say roughly the same thing in three different ways, so you can decide which message resonates with you and allows you to hit a proper draw.
How to Draw a Golf Ball With a Driver: 3 Different Methods
Method #1: Hitting a Correct Draw by Chris Ryan
- The number one thing to remember when attempting to hit a draw is to have the clubface slightly closed at impact because that is what causes the draw curve if struck properly.
- Do not force your hands to change your swing path to hit the ball to the right of your desired target. If you force your hands to the right (as a right handed golfer), you will stall rotation of your body.
- Hold your golf club like a hockey stick and take a few practice swings. This will help show how the rotation and clubface should look at impact.
- The best way to ensure correct body rotation and a closed club face at impact is to make sure your club head is behind your hands on your downswing. This allows you to rotate through your swing.
- An easy exercise to do is to know the difference between your setup and delivery. At delivery, it shows your club face behind your hands, which allows you to rotate through with your hands and grip going to the left, while the club head stays out to the right. This motion is what causes a draw.
- You don’t necessarily need to adjust your feet position at all. By learning to have the club face behind your hands on the downswing, it will promote the closed club face. This will allow you to keep your power by rotating through and keeping the club out to the right in order to promote the draw.
Click play on the video below from Chris Ryan and follow along to the point above while you watch!
Method #2: How to Hit a Draw by Scratch Golf Academy
- The best thing to recommend when starting to hit a draw is to get the correct club face angle path. Once you have that down, you can practice changing your swing path to promote the draw.
- Most amateur golfers struggle with a slice already. If you already struggle slicing it to the right, changing your swing path won’t automatically draw the ball to the left.
- Think of your club face like you are hitting a forehand with a tennis racket. You hit the tennis ball with a slightly closed face in order to promote that topspin on a forehand shot.
- SGA recommends to practice hitting with a closed club face on a small scale first (not swinging full force). Take a few half swings and practice turning the club face closed at impact to hit a little snap hook to first see the ball curve.
- Start small, be creative and be open to making mistakes as that is how practice makes perfect in this case.
- Once you are comfortable with the closed club face at impact, you can practice larger scale shots.
- As a right handed golfer, square up the ball and then point your left hip towards the sky as if you were leaning backwards. You will find that this changes your swing path ever so slightly to a draw shape. Doing this, along with closing the club fact at impact, will promote a draw curve on your shots.
- As always, practice practice practice!
Click play on the video below from Scratch Golf Academy and follow along to the point above while you watch.
Method #3: How to Draw the Golf Ball by Pete Styles
- Practice by laying a golf club or alignment rod on the ground at your feet, pointing at your desired target.
- Place a golf ball just above this club and set up your shot.
- What you want to do is instead of squaring up the ball is close your stance by quite a bit. What this means as a right handed golfer is to have your left foot on line of the club and your right foot about 3-5 inches back. This closes your stance and shoulders and promote a draw at impact.
- If you take a few practice swings with your feet in this position, you will see that your swing path will be inside to out. With a closed club face at impact, this will promote a right to left draw for a right handed golfer (opposite for left handed golfers).
- Aim for your target and take a swing with this closed stance. It should put the ball starting out right and turning back left. With a closed club face at impact, you are de-lofting your club so the shot will come out a little lower than normal. However, this also removes spin which can make the ball travel further.
Click play on the video below from Pete Styles and follow along to the point above while you watch.
Conclusion
Hitting a tight draw in golf can seem impossible to some. However, practicing this shot is really good practice that can also help to reduce your natural slice and hit a better flight path with your golf ball.
Above are three different tutorial videos you can use to help you hit beautiful draw shots. Chris Ryan, Scratch Golf Academy, and Pete Styles are all professional PGA coaches who have helped thousands of golfers out.
In addition to these videos, there are some additional swing trainers and accessories you can buy to help you practice.
Last update on 2024-10-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
