Short Game

Fade It With Control

April 22, 2012
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Turn the hips first: For a controlled fade, lead with the hips, not hands, through impact.

The No. 1 goal off the tee is putting the ball in play. And probably the easiest shot to control with a driver is a fade because the ball doesn't roll as far.

The most important thing to know about playing a controlled fade is that the clubface must be slightly open to the swing path at impact.

When you're playing a fade, the timing of the swing is the real key. If your hands and arms outrace your body through impact, the clubface tends to close too fast, causing the ball to hook. Feel that your body--and in particular your hips--are leading the clubhead through the shot (right). The faster you turn your body through, the less chance the face will close too much.

So rotate your body through the shot faster, and feel like your hands hold the clubface open a little through impact. Think body and hips before arms and hands.

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is a Golf Digest Teaching Professional and runs the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy in Hilton Head Island.*