Try these two easy tips for hitting a smooth draw every time

A high draw is one of the prettiest shots in golf. Sure, a fade might be easier to control, but there’s something about a draw that is just downright sexy. Anyone who’s played golf at one time or another has aspired to hit a draw. The only thing is, it’s not the easiest shot to pull off.

So how do you get the ball to start outside the target line before taking a gentle turn at its apex and coming back to earth in the center of the fairway? To hit a draw, you must get the clubface closed in relation to the path of the club as you swing. This will promote the right-to-left shot shape you crave.

There are a few ways to do this, but we enlisted the help of instructor Daniel Carraher to show us two different ways to hit that pretty draw — one for the high-handicapper and one for the low-handicapper.

High handicap

Place an alignment stick on the ground and make sure it is aimed at the target. Next, you want to aim your body well to the right of the target line. For a right-handed player, your left foot will be several inches in front of your left. This will promote a swing path that is more out to the right.

To counter this path out to the right, you need to close the clubface at address so it is facing closer to the original target line.

“If I make my normal swing, this ball will start out to the right and then draw back,” Carraher says.

Low handicap

Lower-handicap players can shift their swing path out to the right in a different way. Move the ball back in your stance so it is just behind center. If you make a normal swing on the ball in this position it will cause you to come into the ball and swing out to the right. To counter the out-to-right path, move the handle of the club forward in order to close the clubface.

“This allows us to accomplish the same thing, while aiming less to the right and more at our target so that the draw can be a little more precise,” Carraher says.

If you’re a high-handicap player, start with the first method for shaping a draw, but as you get more comfortable try to use the second method and tighten the shot shape to be even more precise.

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