Hit the Perfect Draw: 7 Proven Tips to Master the Draw Shot in Golf
The draw is one of the most satisfying shots in golf to hit.
Since your clubface is just slightly closed when you make contact, the draw feels powerful, it has the perfect ball flight, and it curves toward your target with ease.
The problem for most amateur players is that the draw is actually the opposite of their typical fade or slice shot.
If you want to learn how to hit a draw, I’m not going to bore you with the step by step.
I’m going to show you exactly why you aren’t hitting a draw and things you can do to fix it right now. We have drills, data and more to get you finally turning the ball from right to left.
Hitting the Perfect Draw Shot in Golf (Key Takeaways)
If you don’t have time to go through our entire guide on how to hit a draw in golf, here are a few of the most important takeaways.
- Swing Path Adjustment: The swing path should move from inside to outside to help facilitate a draw.
- Lead Wrist Position: Maintain a flexed lead wrist at the top of the swing to help keep the clubface closed relative to the path and keep it in this position through impact.
- Arm and Body Connection: Keep the lead arm close to the body during the backswing to support the inside-to-outside path.
- Weight Distribution at Impact: Shift weight onto the lead leg at impact to promote a draw ball flight.
- Strengthen the Grip: Modify the grip slightly stronger to aid in turning the clubface over through impact.
1. What do you want to improve in your full swing?
7 Practical Tips for Hitting a Draw in Golf
1. Get the Path More Inside to Outside
To visualize the correct path in your golf swing, it’s best to use alignment sticks. Take two alignment sticks to the range with you to start working on your draw shots.
The draw is easiest to hit when you take the club a little inside on the way back and swing out to the target on the follow through.
This motion of inside to outside (with a slightly closed clubface) causes the draw.
You should pay attention to your path, which is one of the first motions in your backswing. If the club gets too far outside on the takeaway, you may never get it to a position where it can swing out on the follow through
2. Your Lead Wrist Must Be Flexed
A slightly bowed lead wrist position at impact will help you hit a draw.
We have analyzed more than 1,000,000 golf swings using the HackMotion wrist sensor.
One of the most common mistakes amateur players make is increasing the amount of extension (cupping) in their lead wrist from setup to the top of the backswing.
Once they are at the top of the backswing with this extended wrist position, it’s very hard to swing through the ball and make solid contact with a slightly closed clubface.
Great players have a flat or even slightly bowed wrist at the top of their backswing. We see players like Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa get to this position.
From there, they can fire their lower body through the ball and maximize distance and consistency.
3. Don’t Let the Lead Arm Separate From the Body
Do you know what your first move is on your takeaway?
Record videos of your golf swing and see what the lead arm does as you move it away from the ball. Does it separate from your body? Does it push away from you?
From this position, you won’t be able to return your club to the correct path to hit a draw.
When you start your backswing, take just a little bit of the sleeve of your golf shirt and squeeze it under your lead arm. From this position, you can feel the arm squeeze as you take the club back, and it will put you on that slight path to the top.
4. Hit the Ball with Weight On the Lead Leg
When your weight hangs back a little you are more likely to open the face up as you come through the golf ball.
Golfers who strike the ball with a slight draw have more of their weight on the lead leg when they make contact.
This drill from Chris Ryan, the Flamingo Drill, is a perfect example of this. You’ll notice that if you put weight on the lead leg as you swing through the golf ball, it’s much easier to get the ball to turn from right to left.
You’ll notice the opposite when you hang back and hit a fade. If you are not quite covering the ball on your iron shots it could be keeping you from hitting a draw.
Try this drill and hit a bunch of draws. Then, take your regular stance and see if you can match the feeling.
5. Set Up to Hit the Draw
Setting up to hit a draw is enough for some golfers. Sometimes, the small tweaks to the setup are enough to get the club traveling on the right path and encourage that right to left flight.
One of the best tips for setting up to hit a draw is to add a little ulnar deviation to the lead wrist.
What this feels like is that you will lift your lead wrist up just a tiny bit at setup.
Practice this now, and you’ll feel that when your wrist comes up, your lead shoulder closes just a bit. This motion is enough to help encourage that path that travels a little more from inside to outside.
You’ll want to ensure that with this process, you don’t increase the ulnar deviation so much that you can’t recover or feel like your hands are not working in conjunction with the rest of your body.
Use the HackMotion to measure the amount you add, and play around with this concept as a simple way to draw the ball.
6. Set Your Equipment to Work For You
For any adjustable golf clubs you have in your bag, make sure they are set toward draw bias. To do this, you will want to shift weights toward the heel.
Moving the weights towards the heel of the clubhead helps promote a faster closure rate of the clubface during the swing, which can produce a draw.
Take your adjustable clubs (hybrids, fairway woods, drivers) to the range and make some adjustments to the club to make it more draw biased.
See if you can find that sweet spot that just lets you make a simple stance or grip adjustments and hit the draw shot you want.
1. What do you want to improve in your full swing?
7. Strengthen the Grip a Bit
Having a slightly stronger golf grip can also help you hit a draw.
Getting the trail hand a little more on the underside of the club makes it easier to turn the club over through impact.
Again, when you make these grip changes, they must be subtle, or you will start hooking the ball.
Make a small adjustment at first, and then continue to strengthen if you feel it’s helping you turn the club over and hit the draw.
Final Thoughts
At this point, it’s time to head out to the driving range and practice.
Bring your HackMotion with you and pay close attention to the amount of flexion in the lead wrist. If you find that your wrist is more extended than flexed, it could be why you are not hitting a draw.
Spend time on the range perfecting that position at the top of the swing, and you’ll then get it right as you swing through the golf ball as well.
A draw is a long golf shot that feels great coming off the clubface; use these tips to incorporate it into your golf game.
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