Golf Shot Shaping Made Easy: How to Shape Your Shots (Drills & Actionable Tips)
Do you struggle with not having the right shots for every situation on the course?
As a new golfer, it’s hard to learn to hit a straight shot. Then you start hitting them all straight, only to find out that you need left, right, high, and low shots, too.
Golf shot shaping makes it easier for you to score. Whether you are looking to break 90, 80, or 70, understanding how setup, grip, and wrist action play into your golf shot shaping can change your golf game.
Golf Shot Shaping (Key Takeaways)
If you don’t have time to head to the driving range right now to work on your golf shot shaping, here are a few of the key takeaways that you can keep in mind:
- Making slight adjustments to your setup and grip will help you shape shots without having to change your golf swing too much.
- Your wrist action controls the angle of the clubface at impact. The more extension in the lead wrist, the more open the clubface is.
- There is more than one way to hit a fade or a draw. Practice these shots on the range so that when you are on the course, you have a reliable go-to method for shaping your golf shots.
- Remember that each adjustment you make in your swing to shape your shots should be minimal; extreme changes can lead to swing faults.
Contents
1. What do you want to improve in your full swing?
Simple Adjustments for Shot Shaping
Setup
Start by adjusting your setup. Your setup adjustments will include your feet, hips, and shoulders. In addition, you’ll need to pay attention to ball position when getting your setup right for shot shaping.
We’ve provided the tips you need to hit both left and right shots, as well as high and low shots. With this, you can then combine the information to hit a high fade, low draw, etc.
Left
To hit the ball left (draw), you’ll need to align your feet, hips and shoulders slightly right of the target. The ball will be slightly back in your stance to ensure you take more of an inside-out swing path.
Right
For a fade shot or something that turns a little to the right you want to keep your feet, hips, and shoulders aligned slightly to the left of the target. Positioning the ball slightly forward in the stance can also ensure you catch the shot as part of your outside in-swing path.
Improve your game in two weeks, even if 'wrist motion' sounds like rocket science.
High
To hit high shots, you won’t need to change the direction of your setup. You’ll still set up square. However, positioning the ball slightly forward in the stance and tilting your spine slightly away from the target can increase the launch angle.
To get the ball higher, you want to catch it a little more on the upswing, and this ball position and spine angle can help with that.
Low
Low shots require the ball to be positioned slightly back in the stance. You may also have better luck with a narrower stance. Add a little weight on the lead side to encourage more of a descending blow.
Practicing impact drills can help you hit lower, more penetrating shots.
Grip
Another adjustment to make when learning the best golf shot-shaping techniques is grip changes. The key things you’ll want to consider here are grip position (weak or strong) and grip pressure (firm or loose).
To hit golf shots left, you need a slightly stronger grip. The strong grip is one of the top ways to fix a slice because it gives the hands more control in closing the clubface through impact.
A fade requires a slightly weaker grip, with the hands rotated more toward the left. It’s common to increase grip pressure when trying to hit different golf shot shapes.
However, you want to try to keep the grip pressure light, especially when hitting higher shots. For low shots that you want to hit a little left, it’s safe to add some grip pressure.
Wrist Action
Another way to influence the shape of your golf shots is to take a more in-depth look at your wrist action in the golf swing.
For each of these shots, the position and movement of your wrists can significantly impact the outcome.
Left
To hit a draw, you will want more flexion in your lead wrist. This position, combined with a natural release of the forearms as you swing down from the top, will help close the clubface through impact and encourage a draw.
If you are more of a feel-type player, this is a great way to learn how to hit a draw. Additionally, if you have been working on setup and grip but are still struggling with controlling the shot shape, make sure it’s not a wrist action issue that is causing it.
Wearing HackMotion can make it much easier to determine the position of your wrist at any given time in the golf swing.
Right
For a fade shot or a cut, the wrist release can be slightly delayed. In addition, delaying the wrist release through impact can give you just a little extra time and leave the clubface slightly open through impact.
Some players say this motion feels like less wrist action or delayed wrist action in their downswing.
High
To hit the ball higher, consider adding a bit more hinge to your lead wrist on the backswing. The wrist hinge helps increase the loft at impact and get the ball up a little higher. Wrist hinge has to be added carefully, as the extra hinge will also add extension to your lead wrist.
Low
For lower shots, keep the wrist hinge minimal. You’ll also want to keep your hands ahead of the clubhead at impact and promote a bit more shaft lean. This movement will help deloft the clubface and keep the shot more controlled.
Drills to Work on Golf Shot Shaping
Start with learning one new shot at a time. If you are a golfer who slices the ball often, consider trying to learn a draw. Working on the opposite type of shot will actually teach you a lot about your golf swing and natural tendencies.
Here are a few of our favorite drills for working on shot shaping.
1. What do you want to improve in your full swing?
Alignment Stick Swing Path Drill
The drill described by John Costas is a simple yet effective way to learn about how swing path plays into your shot shaping.
Using three golf balls, you create a “gate” that helps guide your swing to hit either a draw or a cut.
To hit a draw, you position the balls to encourage an inside-out swing path, while for a cut, you adjust them to promote an outside-in swing. This drill enhances your ability to control the direction and shape of your shots.
Vertical Alignment Stick Drill
In this drill, you’ll put an alignment stick in the ground a few feet from where you are hitting golf balls.
You’ll then use our suggestions for setup, grip, and wrist action and this alignment stick as a visual aid to improve your chances of hitting the shot shapes you want.
Bryson DeChambeau Shot Shaping Practice
When it comes to shot shaping, in addition to working on drills and learning to control the clubface, you’ll need to practice.
The first time you hit a draw, you shouldn’t be on the golf course. One of the best ways to increase the effectiveness of your golf practice is to work on shot shaping at the range.
This video from Bryson explains how he has been able to develop so much accuracy in his ball striking, even when under extreme pressure.
Final Thoughts
At this point, you should be ready to get to the range and start shaping your golf shots. If you are still in the stage of your game where a straight shot is rare, work on that for a bit longer.
When you learn how to shape your shots, you’ll also be much better at self-diagnosing and fixing issues that you may have in your golf swing.
Wearing HackMotion while you practice shot shaping makes you more aware of your wrist angles and how they have impacted the shape of your golf shots.
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