There are situations when you need to make some ‘cheeky’ shots to get through certain holes. One such technique is known as the fade golf shot.
Understanding the fade golf shot
Naturally, a fade is where the ball curves away from you after you hit it but if you are not doing it right, you risk hitting a banana ball. If you are a right-hander, the ball will curve to the right and vice-versa if you are the opposite. This is the type of shot that will come in handy when you want to get around a corner or a tree. In other situations, it works when you want the ball to curve towards a pin around the corner of the green after hitting towards the center. Getting the fade golf shot only requires unnoticeable changes and in most cases, you will set up for a straight shot before making adjustments to get the fade shot.
Getting the shot right
Now for the technique. What you want to do is to get your pre-shot routine set up for a straight shot. Then:
- Standing right behind the ball and the target in front, this is the spot where you now visualize the straight line. Ensure that you have a good grip.
- Now, you want to have the clubface behind the ball and aiming at the target upfront.
- Get your shoulders, feet and hips to be parallel to the target line. This is the square stance and is a common posture.
- You have to now do the ‘opening’ stance where you will have to adjust your posture for the fade. Align your feet about 1 to 2 inches to the left of your original (square) stance.
- Then, turn both your feet toward the left. Make sure that your shoulders and hips are aligned with this new stance and let your left foot drop backward and your right foot forward.
- Now for weakening the grip where you rotate it to the left just slightly.
- This is where you can now swing the club and let it go along the line where your feet are. You will notice that the ball would slightly start on the left and then fade towards the line.
- If you are left-handed, complete the steps above using the opposite side.
