Want to know how to hit a draw? Stop thinking about "hitting a draw" and think about putting side spin on the ball. A draw is just right-to-left spin (left-to-right for you lefties). There are two ways to get it. You can change your path, where you drop the club under and swing out. Or you can keep the same swing and close the face a little, regrip, and aim right. Start with short shots, feel the spin, then make the swing longer.

That's really all there is to it. Let's break it down so you can go do it.

The two ways to hit a draw or a fade, in under four minutes.

A draw is just side spin

If you're playing tennis and you want to hit a ball cross court, you don't stand there thinking, "Okay, I've got to drop in a little bit, make sure my butt's out, come this way and flip it over that way." No! You just hit it over there and you apply the spin you want.

That's what I want you to do with golf. All you have to do is get the ball spinning one way or the other off the face of the club. Here's the science, very simply:

• The face decides where the ball starts. Pointed right, it starts right. Pointed left, it starts left.
• The path relative to the face decides the spin. If the face is pointed at the target and the path is moving in to out, the ball starts at the target and spins left. That's a draw.

The only thing that makes a draw different from a slice is the path and where the face is pointing. Same physics, opposite spin.

Way #1: the Scottie Scheffler method (change the path)

This is the one I use most. I'm more of a "feel the shot I want to hit" kind of guy.

Take the club back, then feel like you're dropping it under on the way down. You're looping underneath it, which changes the path. The right arm is pulling you down, which lets you swing out at it. On the course, I take my line, aim at the right edge of the green, and drop it under so the club is moving in to out.

If you wanted a fade instead, you'd do the opposite. Come up to the top, push out, and come across it.

Way #2: the Paul Casey method (change the face)

This one keeps the swing exactly the same. Let go of the club, turn the face closed a little, and regrip. Then aim to the right and make your normal swing. A face pointed left with the same swing is going to spin it left. For a fade, you turn the face open, regrip, and aim left.

The benefit is that you're always doing the same swing. The downside is mental. You have to get over the fact that you're aiming somewhere other than the target. You can do it. I've done it. And if you're stuck in the trees with a small opening, you definitely want this method.

Which one is best? Go to the range and find out for you. Both work, and both work beautifully.

A deeper look at the path method: aim at the right edge, then drop it under.

How to hit a draw with the driver

Same idea, with one setup change. With the driver, tilt your spine back just a little bit. That makes it a lot easier to drop the club in and swing out. If you stay tilted forward like you do with an iron, you can still get around it, but the ball comes out really low.

Then put a tee a foot or two behind the ball. Take the club head over the tee going back and drop under it coming through. Start with short swings, and only add speed when they're going where you want. If you're hitting a slice right now, the full walkthrough is here: How to Stop Slicing the Driver.

The draw drill: short shots first

Whichever method you choose, this is how you learn it.

1. Get the feel of right-to-left spin on a tiny shot. I don't care if you have to turn the club face right over to do it. Anything that gives you the feeling of the ball spinning right to left.
2. Dial it back. Once you can do it once, turn the face back a little and see if you can still get a little right-to-left spin.
3. Make the swing longer. Can you do it at 100 yards? Can you do it at 150? Keep the same feel and see how far back you can go while still spinning it right to left.
4. Find your sticky spot. At some point it'll stop working. That's usually your hips getting in the way. Leave space between your hands and your hips so the hands have room to pass. If you can't, the hips are probably going toward the ball. That's early extension.
5. Then shape it on purpose. If it's drawing too much, open the face a touch and go again. Do the same thing in reverse and you've learned a fade.

Fix your slice by learning to hit a draw: the short-to-long progression.

Why learning to draw it fixes everything else

It's not really about fixing your slice. It's about having control. Once you know how to make the ball go right to left and left to right, you get to choose which direction you're hitting it and how much. Then when you're stuck behind some trees and need a little punch hook out of there, you can do it. You understand the concept behind it.

That's why I tell slicers to learn a draw, and why I tell people who hook it to learn a fade. The fix to a big miss is learning the opposite spin.

FAQ: hitting a draw

How do you hit a draw with irons?

The same two ways. Either drop the club under and swing out, or close the face a little, regrip and aim right. Start with short 7-iron shots and make the swing longer only once you're getting the spin.

What's the difference between a draw and a fade?

A draw is right-to-left spin and a fade is left-to-right (for a right-handed golfer). Keep in mind that a fade tends to go a little shorter than a draw, because opening or closing the face changes the loft at impact.

Do you aim right to hit a draw?

Yes. With the face method you aim right and let the closed face bring it back. With the path method I aim at the right edge of the green and let the in-to-out path curve it back.

Is it easier to hit a draw or a fade?

It depends on you. Personally, I like to change the path at the top rather than the face, but I can do both. Go to the range, try both ways, and see which one feels natural.

Why does my draw turn into a hook?

Too much face, too much path, or both. Open the face a touch and go again. If it's a full-on hook, here's how to settle it down: How to Stop Hooking the Golf Ball. And if it starts right and just stays there, that's a push: Why Does My Golf Ball Go Straight Right?

Want to build a swing that can shape it both ways? 30 Days to Better Ball Striking starts at the impact position and builds out from there, so you control where the ball starts and which way it spins. Go hit some short ones, try both methods, and let me know which one you like.

Learn to hit it where you want it to go. All of my courses, from ball striking to chipping, putting and bunkers, are in the Big Swing Kings store →