Driving

Steal My Feel

By Adam Scott Photos by J.D. Cuban
February 15, 2012
instruction-2012-03-inar01_adam_scott_feel.jpg

I've tried to get away from hitting drives that curve from right to left, especially those big, sweeping draws. I naturally draw the ball, but I can get the hooks going if I'm not careful. In fact, by Sunday in a lot of tournaments, I'm so loose that I'm hitting draws no matter what I do. So it's important that I reduce the amount of right-to-left curve by trying to fade it. Even if the ball doesn't curve the other way, making a fade swing helps keep away the hooks. My ball flight stays a lot straighter.

I've really worked hard on the fade. To pull it off, I feel as if I'm making a more deliberate move through the ball and really keeping my arms from rolling over. I call it "holding off the shot." I'm keeping my arms quiet with far less forearm rotation and delaying the closing of the clubface. I think of it as squaring the face with my body rotation. You can see here my hips have turned significantly toward the target before the club has reached the ball. That's a good fade feel for me.

Adam Scott has won eight PGA Tour events and 10 more worldwide.