How many times have you had a bunch of trees slightly blocking your ball’s path to the pin? Wouldn’t it have been nice to be able to fade or draw the shot accordingly? It will take a bit of time at the range; but after a bit of practice, you will be confident in fading or drawing your shot.

The Draw:

A draw (for a right handed player), is when the golf ball curves slightly to the left when hit. It is less severe, and more desirable than a hook; which is when the golf ball sharply curves to the left (and often ends up in a pond or the woods).

How to Draw the Golf Ball:

• Stand with a slightly closed stance. This means that if you placed your club even with your feet, the club would be pointed slightly to the right of the target. You will therefore feel as if you are aiming to the right of the target.

• Close the club-face slightly, relative to how you are standing. This means the face of your club will be pointed at the target.

• Play around with this. Go to the range and try playing around with how much you close your stance, this will determine how much the ball will draw.

The whole idea of "closing your stance" causes your swing to have a slight "in-to-out" swing path; which is what causes the ball to curve to the left when hit. The club will make contact with the ball slightly below the ball’s equator (looking down on it).

The Fade:

A fade (for a right handed player), is the opposite of a draw; when the ball curves slightly to the right when hit. The fade is the more controlled form of a slice; which is when the ball wildly veers off to the right when hit.

How to Fade the Golf Ball:

• Just like you had a slightly closed stance with the draw, this time you will have a slightly open club face. Have your feet align slightly to the left of the target. You will feel as if you are aiming to hit the ball to the left.

• Open the club-face slightly, relative to how you are standing. It will again be pointed at the target.

• Again, practice this at the range. Test to see how much the ball curves relative to how open your stance is; the more you do this, the more confident you will be in judging how to fade the golf ball out on the course.

"Opening your stance" forces you to hit the ball on an "out-to-in" swing path. This means making contact with the golf ball slightly above the ball’s equator (looking down on it). The "out-to-in" swing path is what gives it proper spin to fade to the right.

Fading and drawing your golf shots may be tricky at first, but keep on playing around with it, and you will be able to fade or draw your shot around those trees with confidence and finesse. Those are the types of shots people "ooh" and "ahh" over, so get practicing!