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Golf Swing Instructions
How to Hit a Draw or Fade Download Article Co-authored by Michael Metz
Last Updated: January 5, 2026 Approved
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This article was co-authored by Michael Metz. Michael Metz is a Golf Instructor and the Director of Instruction at Simi Hills Golf Course. With more than 15 years of experience, Michael is adept at coaching all facets of Golf. Mike uses technology, such as Flightscope, V1 Swing Suite, Blast Motion, and BodiTrak pressure mapping, to provide advanced golf training with quick results. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 83% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 275,882 times.
Being able to hit a draw or fade on the golf course is a key skill to have if you want to drastically improve your game. Better yet, hitting a draw will increase the average distance of your drives. Unless otherwise stated, this tutorial features information on how to hit both shots with a driver only. Read on for more information on how to hit a draw or a fade with a driver.
Things You Should Know
To hit a draw, use a strong grip and aim to the right of your target, drawing an imaginary line to your target while keeping your swing low and rounded.
Straighten your arm out on the downswing and keep the toe of the club in front of the heel as you hit the ball.
Use a weaker grip to hit a fade, aiming to the left and hitting the ball with a slightly open face.
Keep your swing even and tee the ball low, lining up the center of the ball with your driver’s sweet spot.
Steps
Method 1 Method 1 of 2:
Hitting a Draw
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1 Use a strong grip. Hitting a draw means hitting the ball to that, for a right-handed player, the ball curves slightly from right to left. Employing what's called a strong grip will help you do this. Weak grips tend to cause fades, while strong grips encourage draws. In order to hit a draw:[1]XResearch source
Place your left hand on the top of the grip, with your wrist turned in to your body, so that some knuckles are showing.
Place your right hand below of your left hand, covering your left thumb, with the crease in your right hand angled to your right shoulder. Your palms should face each other.[2]XResearch source
Note: Rolling your right hand over the club is what "weakens" the grip, causing a slide or fade. If you can see the knuckles in your right hand, you're weakening your grip, making a draw harder.
2 Aim to the right of your target. Point your feet and shoulders so that they are aimed slightly to the right of your intended target, but aim your shot right at the target. This is called a closed club face.[3]XResearch source
When you hit the ball, it should start out right of its initial target, curling back to the left the closer it gets.
Some golfers prefer dropping their front shoulder, believing that more of an upward trajectory on the ball contributes to a draw.
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3 Draw an imaginary line to shoot with a rounded swing. What does this mean? When you set up your feet and shoulders, draw an imaginary line that both your feet and shoulders are pointing to. On the takeaway, keep your swing low and on the inside of this imaginary line. Try for more of a rounded swing than a vertical swing.
4 Straighten your right arm out immediately on the downswing. When your club begins to come down, try to straighten out your right arm. This will create good club head speed, promoting a right-to-left path in the flight of the ball.
As you do this, keep your right shoulder back for as long as possible. This, in combination with a straight right arm will help the club face close on time, creating a draw.
5 Keep the toe of the club in front of the heel of the club. As you hit the ball, try to make sure that the toe of the club is in front of the heel; as you continue your follow-through, the toe of the club should travel farther in front of the heel than it was when you made contact.
To do this, the right arm will cross over the left arm as you make contact with the ball. This will create the signature draw arc.
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Hitting a Fade
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1 Weaken your grip. If you're a right-handed golfer, move your grip over to the left a bit. Make sure your knuckles on your left hand aren't visible on your grip, but your right-hand knuckles are. Don't overdo this. A fade can easily turn into a slice if you move your grip too much to the left.
Make sure your left hand is on top of your right hand for as long as possible. Hold your club face square to your release path, or even open to it.
2 Aim slightly to the left. A fade is where the ball starts off left and slowly drifts back to center. To make sure your fade doesn't become a slice, aim slightly left of target with your feet and shoulders.[4]XResearch source
3 Hit with a slightly open face. On impact, hit the ball so that the toe of the club is tilted slightly rearward and the heel is in front of the toe.[5]XResearch source This will promote the left-to-right movement that you're looking for with a fade.
4 Don't over swing. Swinging really hard with an open swing encourages a slice. So don't kill the ball. Swing evenly so that your hands don't turn over.
5 Tee the ball low and line up the center of the ball with the sweet spot of your driver. A lower height on the teed-up ball will help you swing more level at impact.
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Question What other factors affect hitting a draw or fade? wikiHow Staff Editor Staff Answer This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow Staff Editor Staff Answer There's also the wind factor and the firmness of the greens. The wind can significantly impact your shot and the firmness of the greens could influence where you want the ball to land. You'll have to shape your shot according to the hole's architecture. For example, if the hole has a dogleg to the right, aim to move the ball from left to right, this increases your margin for error and you can potentially gain more distance. When approaching the greens, consider the pin's placement. If the pin is on the left side, avoid a left-to-right shot to prevent starting over a left bunker. You should aim for a safe target with a straight shot, this allows any curvature to bring the ball toward your intended target. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 1 Helpful 0
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Tips
Don't kill the ball. A nice, even swing will make both draws and fades easier. Thanks Helpful 3 Not Helpful 0
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Co-authored by: Michael Metz Golf Instructor This article was co-authored by Michael Metz. Michael Metz is a Golf Instructor and the Director of Instruction at Simi Hills Golf Course. With more than 15 years of experience, Michael is adept at coaching all facets of Golf. Mike uses technology, such as Flightscope, V1 Swing Suite, Blast Motion, and BodiTrak pressure mapping, to provide advanced golf training with quick results. This article has been viewed 275,882 times. 6 votes - 83% Co-authors: 15Updated: January 5, 2026 Views: 275,882 Categories: Golf Swing InstructionsArticle SummaryX
To hit a draw, maintain a strong grip on your club since weaker grips tend to cause fades. You should also point your feet and shoulders slightly to the right of your target, while still aiming right at the target itself, which will help the ball draw to the left. Also, straighten out your right arm immediately on the downswing and keep your right shoulder back for as long as possible to send the ball along a right-to-left path. To learn how to hit a fade, scroll down!Did this summary help you?YesNo
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Reader Success Stories
G. Shortell
Feb 25, 2018
"Read this article. Next game, I saw much improvement finally hitting straight shots vs the slice. I also gained yardage. Don't over-correct your stance. Just a slight adjustment will do. "..." more
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Yes No Advertisement Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Co-authored by: Michael Metz Golf Instructor Co-authors: 15Updated: January 5, 2026 Views: 275,88283% of readers found this article helpful. 6 votes - 83% Click a star to add your vote
G. Shortell
Feb 25, 2018
"Read this article. Next game, I saw much improvement finally hitting straight shots vs the slice. I also gained yardage. Don't over-correct your stance. Just a slight adjustment will do. "..." more
Anonymous
Aug 12, 2016
"Putting all of the pieces together to form a complete swing package helped."
Eduardo Schmidt
Jul 2, 2017
"Good explanation along with the visuals." Rated this article: Share yours! More success stories Hide success stories
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Co-authored by: Michael Metz Golf Instructor This article was co-authored by Michael Metz. Michael Metz is a Golf Instructor and the Director of Instruction at Simi Hills Golf Course. With more than 15 years of experience, Michael is adept at coaching all facets of Golf. Mike uses technology, such as Flightscope, V1 Swing Suite, Blast Motion, and BodiTrak pressure mapping, to provide advanced golf training with quick results. This article has been viewed 275,882 times. 6 votes - 83% Co-authors: 15 Updated: January 5, 2026 Views: 275,882 Categories: Golf Swing Instructions Article SummaryX
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1 Use a strong grip. Hitting a draw means hitting the ball to that, for a right-handed player, the ball curves slightly from right to left. Employing what's called a strong grip will help you do this. Weak grips tend to cause fades, while strong grips encourage draws. In order to hit a draw:[1] 
2 Aim to the right of your target. Point your feet and shoulders so that they are aimed slightly to the right of your intended target, but aim your shot right at the target. This is called a closed club face.[3] 
3 Draw an imaginary line to shoot with a rounded swing. What does this mean? When you set up your feet and shoulders, draw an imaginary line that both your feet and shoulders are pointing to. On the takeaway, keep your swing low and on the inside of this imaginary line. Try for more of a rounded swing than a vertical swing. 
4 Straighten your right arm out immediately on the downswing. When your club begins to come down, try to straighten out your right arm. This will create good club head speed, promoting a right-to-left path in the flight of the ball. 
5 Keep the toe of the club in front of the heel of the club. As you hit the ball, try to make sure that the toe of the club is in front of the heel; as you continue your follow-through, the toe of the club should travel farther in front of the heel than it was when you made contact. 
1 Weaken your grip. If you're a right-handed golfer, move your grip over to the left a bit. Make sure your knuckles on your left hand aren't visible on your grip, but your right-hand knuckles are. Don't overdo this. A fade can easily turn into a slice if you move your grip too much to the left. 
2 Aim slightly to the left. A fade is where the ball starts off left and slowly drifts back to center. To make sure your fade doesn't become a slice, aim slightly left of target with your feet and shoulders.[4] 
3 Hit with a slightly open face. On impact, hit the ball so that the toe of the club is tilted slightly rearward and the heel is in front of the toe.[5] This will promote the left-to-right movement that you're looking for with a fade. 
4 Don't over swing. Swinging really hard with an open swing encourages a slice. So don't kill the ball. Swing evenly so that your hands don't turn over. 
5 Tee the ball low and line up the center of the ball with the sweet spot of your driver. A lower height on the teed-up ball will help you swing more level at impact. Advertisement 
wikiHow Staff Editor Staff Answer This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. 
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