The draw is a shot which starts to the right to the target and moves left in flight back towards the target. It’s a useful shot for playing around a hazart. It also increases the distance of your shot because the ball rolls on landing more than it does for a straight shot or a fade. This makes it an effective shot to play with woods and long irons.

The draw is a feel shot so it's not easy. Persevere with it and it will give great flexibility to your game.

When playing the draw, the first principle to understand is precisely how the ball spins from right to left in the air.

If you have a table tennis bat handy, try spinning a ping pong ball from right to left across a table. You soon realize that you need to brush the bat across the ball from left to right to achieve the spin you want.

Playing a draw in golf is exactly the same. You produce an in-to-out swing path, which takes the clubhead inside the ball-to-target line and then outside it after impact. The clubhead brushes left to right through the ball, like the table tennis bat.

Aim and alignment

Aim the clubface slightly to the right of the ball-to-target line. This helps you to visualize the in-to-out swing path and also allows for the draw spin. Now align your body parallel to the clubface, by bringing your right foot back a little.

Your body should now be aligned just to the right of target. Correct aim and alignment are essential if you are to start the ball to the right.

Because the draw is a feel shot, first try it with a club you're comfortable with - a 6 or 7 iron. As your confidence grows, move on to the more difficult longer clubs.



Feel the shot

The draw is a feel shot.

To improve your feeling for the in-to-out swing path required imagines you're standing in the centre of a clock face. The ball is positioned exactly in the middle and your ball-to-target line stretches from 6 o'clock to 12 o'clock. Now feel as if you're swinging to 7 o'clock on your back swing and to 1 o'clock on your through swing.

When you hit the draw shot your swing automatically becomes slightly flatter on the back swing.

This is because your club is swinging more to the inside. On the through swing, your left arm is more extended than normal as the club swings outside the ball-to-target line. The ball-to-target line remains the same as usual.