Ryan Moore's Sweet Little Fade

With Ryan Moore having picked up his fourth PGA Tour win this past week, perhaps this is a good time to look at how he manages to be so competitive -- even on a big hitter's course -- despite not being a big hitter himself.



The November Golf Digest has an article Moore did about his technique for hitting a fade. I like the way he starts the article:

I've been a professional golfer since 2005. I've got more than 220 PGA Tour starts, 45 top-10 finishes and three wins [correction: now it's four]. Want to know how many swing changes I've made during that time? Zero. I turned pro playing a fade, and I'm still playing one now.

He's right -- if what you've got works, why change? Just learn how to capitalize on it!

Ryan says it's more natural to hit a fade. (Since most of you struggle with a slice, you probably agree with him.) The article has his three tips for hitting a 'pro-style fade,' plus two other tips if you need them.

His keys?

1. Align left at setup (of course, Ryan's a rightie),
2. make a good turn with your shoulders (one-piece takeaway, anyone?), and
3. keep your body turning ahead of the club head for as long as possible. (He expands on that in one of those two extra tips, recommending that you make sure your body keeps rotating all the way through to the finish -- enough that your body faces even farther left if possible.)

He also includes an explanation of why you should have the club face slightly closed at address in order to keep the curve to a minimum.

Of course, for those of you who really want to hit a draw, an understanding of how Ryan hits his fade could help you draw the ball by doing the opposite. (For example, Ryan says that -- in reference to the third key above -- swinging your arms past your body during your downswing encourages a draw.)

If you follow Ryan's tips, they might help you get control of that slice you already hit and turn it into a nice controllable little fade. And anytime you can use your natural tendencies to get good results, why not?