Callaway Golf staffer Alex Noren‘s go-to shot is a trusty fade. He’s relied on it for 10 European Tour victories, two top 10s in majors, and a winning Ryder Cup appearance.
But it wasn’t always that way. In fact, when Noren was a college golfer at Oklahoma State University, he hit a big push draw that he often struggled to control.
“When I got to collage people would tell me, ‘you’ve got to hit it in-between the jungle. You’ve got to hit it in the fairway,” Noren said.
To help Noren learn his now-signature draw, his coach created a game for him to play, and it’s something you can easy try yourself: He’d put a stick down the target line and pull his drive. The goal is to aim straight at the stick and have your ball finish in line with it, but the route it should take will be different.
First, aim at the stick, try to start the ball left of it and curve it back in line with it.
Next, aim at the stick, but this time start the ball right of it and curve it back.
Here’s GOLF Top 100 Teacher Krista Dunton illustrating the drill…
Instantly, the drill started to work.
“I remember being able to play rounds with out bogeys all of a sudden, on tough courses, when before I was struggling with hitting so many provisionals,” Noren said.
It’s something he said he’s been revisiting more recently with his Callaway Mavrik Driver as he attempts to ingrain a more neutral ball flight off the tee.