Learning the Intentional Hook Shot (aka The Draw Shot)

It has been said that the difference between a hook shot and a draw is intent. That awful looking duck-hook shot that we have all hit at one time or another is usually less common than the slice but is one of the most embarrassing shots to make and it often adds strokes to the scorecard. Having said that, learning to control this shot and to create an intentional draw can be a great way to improve your score and impress your buddies as well.

Why would the average golfer want to learn this shot? There are actually several occasions when a draw shot comes in handy:

To curve the ball around a dogleg left (or an obstacle)
To compensate for a left-to-right crosswind
To gain distance into a headwind (a draw tends to fly lower and roll further than a normal shot or a fade)

The good news about the intentional draw is that there are a routine set of steps you should take in order to make it happen. Once you get the routine down, you can finesse your shots with a high degree of accuracy.

Here are those steps:

1. Line up to the target as if you were going to make a normal shot.

2. Ease your rear foot backwards away from the ball a few inches (this generates a closed stance). The general rule is to not move your aim more than 10 or 20 degrees right of your target.

3. Always keep the club face pointed in the direction of the target. This is one of the mistakes that many players make. They believe that aiming the clubface toward the "draw line" is the way to go with this shot. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Your stance and offset aim will do that work for you.

4. Use a normal, full swing. Avoid the temptation to rush the backswing. Your resulting swing should be inside-out, contacting the inner half of the golf ball, and moving naturally through the outer part of the ball, with a full, high finish.

This swing will cause your ball to fly lower and with greater topspin. It will also give the ball some sidespin. The ball should start out to the right, and then curve back to the left. If all goes well, right on target.

You cannot master this shot without practice. Dedicated practice will tell you how much this set up affects your distance, and whether you should take one less club to compensate. Using less club is important if your goal is just to move the ball to the left, without the extra roll.

As mentioned above, this is a very useful shot for some situations but it can cause trouble in other circumstances. For example, you would not want to use this shot to hit a pin on the front of a green unless you plan to land short of the green and have the ball roll the rest of the way. On the other hand, for a back left pin placement on a large green this shot can be very useful.

By spending some time learning the intentional draw shot you can begin to direct the ball in ways that you have not been able to do so in the past. This is one of the best ways to hit more greens in regulation and shave strokes off your scorecard. Practice this shot on the driving range and you will be amazed at how quickly you can pick it up.