This article was created by Steve Thomas and featured in Today's Golfer magazine for their 2025 April edition - Issue number 462.
The article content:
TOP 50 TEACHER Steve Thomas
www.stevethomasgolt.com, Head of Instruction & Fellow PGA Coach
at Three Hammers Golf Academy, Wolverhampton.
PAGE 1
CRIMEWATCH
NOT PLAYING TO YOUR SHAPE
Any fool can tell you that the object of the game is to hit the golf ball straight. The one problem with this apparent ‘given’ is that, in fact, nobody actually does. Not even the very best. Jack Nicklaus liked to move the ball from left to right. Rory tends to shape it the other way. Throughout his career, Tiger increasingly mixed it up. There is a good reason for this: a straight shot demands such a precise blend of swing path, face aim, attack angle, and impact location that delivering it on a regular basis is just not possible or practical. That’s why even the best prefer the option of what is effectively a controlled miss, fading or drawing the ball onto the target. In the face of this, an intention to hit the ball ‘straight’ – although supposedly desirable – can see us run into problems. Here’s why.
Communication problem
From Jack down, every golfer has a natural shot shape bias; we tend to move the ball from right-to-left or left-to-right. The most common swing shape bias for the club player is a left-to-right shot for the right-hander – a soft fade on our better days and a wild slice on the not-so-good ones. For this shot to work, the ball must start left of our target before curving back towards it. This mandates an address alignment that accommodates this shape… one that encourages a leftward starting line. But what if the naturally fading/slicing golfer believes their goal is to hit the ball straight down the fairway? They will set up for this straight flight with parallel alignment and a square clubface, but your mind and body are speaking different languages, the former intending a straight shot and the latter trained to hit a curving one. This can lead to all manner of miscues, but the most likely outcome is a shot that starts at your target before curving violently away to the right. Effectively, in trying to hit a straight shot you are not permitting yourself to play to your shape. If you want to hit effective shots more consistently, you have to get on top of this.
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1. Self assessment
Begin by taking stock of your regular shot shape. Which way does the ball curve? And by how much? Try to picture your typical shape, not when you are at your best or worst. So let’s say you are a right-handed golfer, picturing a 10-yard curve to the right as your average, general shape bias. Clearly, playing to your shape means aiming around 10 yards left of your target at address. It also means consigning that picture of a perfect, straight drive to history!
2. Adjust to taste
Work on adapting your clubface and body aim to suit the shot you are most likely to hit. It takes a certain leap of faith – after all, the myth of the perfect, straight shot is indoctrinated in most of us – and you will need to watch for well-intentioned playing partners telling you you were standing ‘open’ or ‘closed’. But persevere and you can finally start accommodating your shape instead of fighting it.
Face… and path
To help you along your way here, remember that the face ‘sends’ the ball, while your body aim ‘bends’ the ball. In other words, the ball’s starting line is mostly down to impact face aim, with the subsequent curve down to the swing path. For a 10-yard fade, the face needs to aim around 10 yards left of your target at the point of contact, with the swing path a little further leftward of that.
3. Draw bridge
We’ve focused on the fader/slicer here, but for those of you whose natural shot bias is a draw or hook – right-to-left for the right-hander – the principles and processes are exactly the same. Gauge your average shape, and adjust your aim to allow for it. Above all, park the intention to hit a perfectly straight shot. It works against your natural shape and means the ball can only curve away from your target… and, as Jack himself acknowledged, even if you achieve it, it’s down to luck more than skill!
Written by Fellow PGA Coach Steve Thomas
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