SHAPE YOUR SHOTS FOR CONSISTENCY

   One of the greatest assets to your game is consistency;
the ability to hit the shot that you can not only execute 90
percent of the time but can predict the results of to nearly
the same degree. Hitting shots with a slight controlled curve
(shape) can help give you that consistency.

   The hardest shot in golf to reproduce consistently is the
straight ball. The main reason this is true for most non-
professionals is their body proportion. 

   Shorter people (and people who should be short) tend to 
have a flatter swing plane which produces draws or hooks. 

   Tall people with more upright, vertical swing planes tend to 
fade or slice the ball (given that they both have good setup,
 grip and swing fundamentals). 

  My natural shot shape is a draw. I'm a bit over 5-10 but have 
very short arms (31 inches) and legs (30 inseam) and a long 
torso. I should have been about 5-7. This gives me a natural 
tendency toward a flatter than optimum swing plane and the 
resultant draw (read: HOOK when the wheels fall off).

   All golfers encounter the same swing effects when faced
with lies that are above or below their feet. When the ball
is above your feet you must choke up on the club because you
are closer to the ball (you just became shorter) and swing
flatter to follow the ground contour. The ball will curve
left. Exactly the opposite occurs when the ball is below your
feet. Every golfer, therefore, has a natural shot shape which
most would be well advised to follow.

   This is particularly important when you have one of the
scoring clubs in your hands (7 through PW). Let's say that
you have an 8 iron shot to a level green and that your
natural shot shape is a draw. Through experiment on the
practice tee you have determined that when struck cleanly you
can expect about ten feet of draw. If you aim ten feet right
of the hole you should never have more than a ten foot putt.
If you don't get your draw and the ball goes straight you
have a ten footer from the right. If it draws twice as much
you have a ten foot putt from the left. Any less than that
puts you even closer to the hole. Just reverse the lefts and
rights if you play a fade.  Good percentage golf.

   Bear in mind that a draw will fly lower and run further
than a straight ball while a fade will fly higher and stop
quicker. This is why the pros choose to play a fade even if
their natural shape is a draw. This doesn't mean that you
can't stop a draw or hit it high when you want to. You can do
both. I'd like to see more amateurs develop a draw and learn
to control it. It's a stronger shot that goes further.

   Ideally, you should be able to play either shape on
demand. Todays courses make scoring much easier if you can
move the ball either way at will. I know several natural
right to left players who can throw a high fade at the pin
any time they wish. They are all, however, single digit
handicap players who practice a lot.

   Learning to play the draw and the fade may seem like a lot
to tackle (particularly if you are plagued by a vicious
slice). If, however, you understand what swing path produces
each, they are not really difficult to produce consistently
and consistency is the name of the game.