Learning how to shape your golf shots (hit a draw or fade when you want to) is crucial if you want to take your golf game to the next level.

Shaping shots takes you from ‘decent amateur golfer’ to ‘guy who makes his buddies jealous with his incredible par saving shots.’

Being able to shape your golf shots will enable you to recover from a sliced tee shot with a beautiful fade out of the rough, and on to the fairway or green. Mastering these shots will enable you to miss-hit the occasional tee shot and still beat your buddies on that hole.

In this short video Golf Professional Mike Gorton will show you the secrets to shaping your shots without changing how you swing.

As you can see from this video once you know the tricks shaping your shots is really pretty simple.

The key is understanding the two key variables that affect where the golf ball goes. The first variable is the way the club approaches the ball (inside out, outside in, or square). The diagram to the right shows these angles in case you are having trouble visualizing this (note: the diagram on the right is for a right handed golfer, it would be opposite for lefties).

The second variable is the position of the club head (open, closed, or square).

In order to shape your shots you simply need to change your stance. Changing your stance (opening up or closing up your stance) will cause you to chance your swing path without even having to think about it.

Hitting a Fade:

As Mike explains in the video all you need to do is open your stance while still aiming at your target.

By opening your stance you force yourself to make an outside in swing which puts right hand spin on the ball resulting in a fade.

Hitting a Draw:

To hit a draw you need to close your stance while still aiming at the target. This will force you to have an inside out swing path.

This swing path will put left hand spin on the ball causing your golf shot to draw to the left.

Practice these shots on the range to get a feel for how much you need to open and close your stance to get the amount of movement you are looking for.

These shots are actually a lot of fun to practice so grab a bucket of balls and hit the range.

For more tips from 3 time Long Drive World Champ Mike Gorton check out his Bombing it Long Package.

For Better Golf,
Doc O’Leary
Head Golf Nut, OHP Golf