8 Practical Tips for Consistently Hitting a Fade Shot in Golf
You can go through the step by step of how to hit a fade over and over again and still not hit a fade.
There are several different pieces of this puzzle and they all have to fit into place to help you hit a shot that flies straight and then falls to the right.
A fade is a softer shot that is easier to control and stops where you want it to. It comes in handy throughout a round.
Here are the tips and advice you need to hit a fade in golf.
How to Hit a Fade in Golf (Key Takeaways)
If you don’t have time to read our entire guide on how to hit a fade you can take away with you these most important tips.
- To hit a fade your clubface must be slightly open to the swing path at impact, control that angle of the clubface by having a little extra extension in your lead wrist.
- Weakening your grip should help you keep the clubface more open through impact and hit the fade.
- Moving the ball position slightly forward can help promote a more left to right ball flight.
- Check to make sure your equipment is not draw bias and preventing you from hitting a fade.
- Trying a slightly outside-in swing path should help you get the ball fading, if you exaggerate this too much you’ll hit a slice.
8 Practical Tips for Consistently Hitting a Fade in Golf
1. Get the Lead Wrist Slightly Extended
Extension in the lead wrist is the nemesis of all amateur golfers who are trying to hit straight shots.
The good news is you can use this lead wrist extension to hit better fade shots.
Extension is when the flat top part of your hand is bent up towards your wrist. It’s sometimes called cupping of the lead wrist. When you cup your lead wrist, it opens the clubface.
You don’t want to add too much cupping here, just enough to get the clubface into impact with it slightly open.
This drill shown below is a pre-set drill where you can set your hands into the right place to hit a fade and then just use your normal swing.
Wearing your HackMotion as you practice will help you measure and control the amount of extension in your lead wrist. It’s a great way to practice when working on this type of shot.
2. Weaken Your Grip
A weaker grip will help you hit the ball with a slightly open clubface at impact.
If you have ever struggled with a slice in your game, chances are the professional you were working with told you to strengthen your grip.
The opposite can play true for the fade.
Take your hands and turn them slightly to the left (for a right handed player). Your left and right hands will sit slightly more on top of the grip instead of the right side or below.
This position makes it harder to shut the face through impact giving you that slightly left to right ball flight.
Pro tip here – make these adjustments subtly; you don’t want to completely change your standard grip, so it’s good to just make a slight adjustment you can count on when needed.
3. Move the Ball Position Up a Bit
Moving your ball slightly forward can help promote a higher fade shot. The high fade is a shot that stops quickly on the green and helps you feel like you are the one in control.
You’ll play the ball forward of center and forward of where it usually is. In addition, as you come through the ball, you may feel as though you keep your head behind the ball just a second longer than usual.
The extra time behind the ball should help to get that clubface to stay open a second longer and promote the higher and softer ball flight.
You can use alignment sticks on the ground to check ball position and make sure you are actually forward of center. If you get it too far forward, you’ll notice considerable inconsistency in your ball striking.
4. Let the Club Exit Left (Right Handed Golfers)
The fade shot has become increasingly popular for golf professionals. These golfers have all the power they need; what they want to focus on is control.
One thing that all the best golfers have in common is the way they exit their swing.
This means the position the club takes after striking the golf ball.
To achieve this, you will take an extra golf glove and put it under your right armpit. As you swing through the golf balls, squeeze the glove in place. This will push the club to the left and ensure it’s on the proper path.
As long as you keep the clubface just a little open as it works its way through impact, you’ll hit a nice fade shot.
5. Keep Weight Back Longer Through Impact
Having just a little more weight on the trail side as you swing through the ball will make it easier to hit a fade.
A great drill to do this is the flamingo drill from Chris Ryan. With this drill you’ll put all of your weight on your trail foot, and put your lead foot up on its toe.
Practicing from here, you should see the golf ball start to fade and move to the right of the target.
Keep this drill in mind because you can also use it to hit a draw shot.
6. Visualize the Shot You Are Trying to Hit
Visualization always helps when it comes to hitting solid golf shots. You should visualize the ball’s left-to-right movement before you take your swing.
Interestingly golfers have a good amount of feel in their golf games. Sometimes, without making too many adjustments or changes to the swing, you can hit a shot left or right on demand.
However, to do this consistently you’ll need some idea of the technique you are using.
Visualization combines the technique changes we are making with the natural ability and feel that you have in your game.
7. Check Your Equipment
Some golf equipment is made to fight the fade.
You may have incorporated these adjustments into your swing only to find out that they do not work. Draw bias and significantly offset equipment is really hard to fade.
There isn’t too much you can do here to change this. You’ll have to go for a golf fitting to ensure your equipment is designed for your game.
If you were a new player and bought overly forgiving equipment just to make sure you could hit it straight, it may be time for an upgrade.
8. Stay More Centered in the Backswing
When you take a backswing that causes your head and body to move behind the ball, hitting a draw or a hook is more common.
This type of movement makes it so that you rotate further behind the golf ball and swing more in to out.
To hit a proper fade, it’s best to swing out to in.
To do this, you can try staying more over the golf ball.
You’ll stay centered and be able to get a more upright path that moves from the outside to the inside. The result should be a pretty simple fade shot.
Final Thoughts
At this point, you should have the insider tips you need to hit a fade shot.
Most amateur players make big changes in their swing, which are unnecessary. If you can keep things to a minimum and make these small teaks, you will have no trouble switching from straight shot to fade while out on the golf course.
Learn to control your wrist angles with the help of HackMotion, and you can quickly incorporate the draw shot into your game.
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