The Loop

A unique explanation for how to work the ball both ways

November 20, 2013

The anatomy of working the ball from left-to-right (fades) or right-to-left (draws) may seem complex at first, but strip it down and the formulas are actually pretty simple.

Trackman says that about 80 percent of where the ball starts is dependent on where the face is pointing. The direction the ball curves is the result of the face's relation to the swing path. So, for example, if you come over the top with an open clubface, as practically every slicer does, the ball will start left with side spin, which will make it curve right.

Andrew Rice, the Director of Instruction at Berkeley Hall Club in South Carolina who blogs regularly at AndrewRiceGolf.com, has put together a good video explaining how it works.

He starts by showing the target.

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Leaving it out to the right is the most common miss for players trying to hit draws (Tiger has been doing it a lot with his driver recently). It's also what a lot of former ex-slicers suffer from once they change their swing path, because their body isn't used to closing the clubface, Rice said.

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