Shot Shaping: Fade for Beginners
Pete Styles
The method covered in this article is generally easier for most golfers. It doesn’t offer as much control or workability but it’s a good way to understand how your set up and alignment can significantly affect the flight of the ball.
Playing A Fade With The “New” Ball Flight Laws
The fade method that I’ve set out below is based around the “new” ball flight laws in golf…
More recent data from the Trackman launch monitor and high speed cameras shows us that swing path and club face direction at impact, has a different effect on the golf ball than has been typically taught by most teaching professionals.
We won’t go into detail here, but rest assured that the instructions below are based on this improved understanding of ball flights in golf. You should find this method easier to work with and more consistent compared to older shot-shaping methods.
If you’d like more details on this topic please see this explanation of the new vs old ball flight laws.
Golf Fade Method (Easier Version)
A fade shot starts to the left of the target line and then turns back right finishing on target (vice versa for the left-handed golfer). A combination of swing path and the face angle of the club create the fade, placing clockwise spin on the ball.- Set up so that the club face is aiming slightly to the left of your target.
- Aim your feet, hips and shoulders further to the left than the club face (this will, in effect, give the club face an open position relative to the swing path, imparting cut spin on the golf ball).
- Swing along the line of your feet, hips and shoulders, starting the ball out left and allowing the open club face to curve it back right.
Pete Styles
Since becoming a Golf Professional 17 years ago, I have used my experiences of teaching every standard of golfer, from Tour Professionals to complete beginners, to develop, refine and hone my teaching skills.
My teaching combines a wealth of knowledge about golf and a great passion for seeing people improve, into a straight-talking, simple-to-follow style that is tried and tested over the course of 40,000 plus individual golf lessons.
I currently deliver my teaching to pupils in two forms – either in person at The Trafford Golf Centre next to the Trafford Centre in Manchester, or via Video lessons from my website free-online-golf-tips.com
My main passions in life apart from golf are, my family – wife Clare, son George and daughter Hannah.
I am also a qualified ski instructor and after living in the Italian Alps for a number of years, I now relish any opportunity to get back out on the slopes.
I also enjoy reading, particularly autobiographies and real-life adventure books and would encourage anybody who hasn’t already to find and read a copy of Touching The Void, and Between A Rock And A Hard Place.