How to squeeze the ball into the tightest of fairways
Try this low fade when you can't risk a wild miss
JD Cuban If you’re struggling to hit fairways, or you’re playing a hole that puts a premium on accuracy off the tee, consider adopting a second-serve mentality. The last thing tennis players want to do is double fault and give away a point, so they adopt a more conservative approach and take a little off their second serve. In golf, the shot most akin to this second serve would be a squeeze fade because it’s predictable in terms of both distance (it flies shorter) and curve (left to right, for the right-handed golfer).
Because you know the ball is going to peel to the right, you can aim down the left side of the fairway and swing away knowing the ball is going to turn toward the center. By aiming down the left side, your target area becomes significantly larger than if you aimed down the middle. JD Cuban To hit a squeeze fade, set up with your stance open, ball forward and clubface aimed up the left side of the fairway ( above ).
Make a three-quarter-length backswing to help curb your speed, and as you swing down, get the back of your lead hand to arrive at the ball before the clubhead does. Provided your hands lead and your body continues to rotate ( top ), the face should be slightly open to the path and have less loft, creating a lower ball flight that starts left and peels off right. Master this shot, and you’ll serve up a lot more fairways.
Jackson Koert, a Golf Digest Best Young Teacher, is director of instruction at Atlantic Beach (Fla. ) Country Club.